Caterpillar, maker of heavy construction equipment, had record profits last year and projects more of the same this year. They're doing so well that they've raised executive compensation.
And they're trying to freeze worker wages for the next six years, along with freezing worker pensions.
Got it? Executives get more and more money, regular workers get less and less, despite record profits, to "stay competitive." The workers are striking, as well they should be. I wish they'd get out the tumbrils.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteExecutives get more and more money, regular workers get less and less, despite record profits, to "stay competitive." The workers are striking, as well they should be. I wish they'd get out the tumbrils.
A pertinent story from yesterday:
A global super-rich elite had at least $21 trillion (£13tn) hidden in secret tax havens by the end of 2010, according to a major study. The figure is equivalent to the size of the US and Japanese economies combined. The Price of Offshore Revisited was written by James Henry, a former chief economist at the consultancy McKinsey, for the Tax Justice Network.
Mr Henry said his $21 trillion is actually a conservative figure and the true scale could be $32 trillion. A trillion is 1,000 billion.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/21/global-elite-tax-offshore-economy
Potentially, this is perhaps the most significant story about money since 2008 (or 1929). And, here it is - 2.30 PM EDT on the east coast of North America (24 hours later) - and America's "newspaper of record" (hint: published in New York) has not even mentioned this report. I don't know about you, but when "£6.3tn of assets is owned by only 92,000 people, or 0.001% of the world's population" I think it's news - and certainly "news that's fit to print".
If this doesn't get the 99% totally pissed-off, I don't know what will.
Thank you - that's a great story.
ReplyDeleteThe Times did have a weirdly fascinating story about art stuffed away out of sight in the Geneva Freeport, a sort of offshort tax haven in Switzerland. There's a museum's worth of important / valuable art there, sheltered from various transaction taxes. It's financially yet another manifestation of what the wealthy can get away with, and culturally - well, I would like that stuff in the museums. It's part of the world's cultural heritage and should be seen.