The Rich Get Richer

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chief executive officers in the United States earned 262 times the pay of an average worker in 2005, the second-highest level in the 40 years for which there is data, a nonprofit think-tank said on Wednesday. In fact, a CEO earned more in one workday than an average worker earned in 52 weeks, said the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. The typical worker's compensation averaged just under $42,000 for the year, while the average CEO brought home almost $11 million, EPI said.

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That seems fair. After all, golf is expensive, and who's going to pay for the gasoline in their big, expensive company vehicles? We are. I would like to be able to explain why one person is 262 times more valuable than the people who are actually doing the labor, but words and logic fail me. But, at least our legislators have a grip on the situation, right? Read on if you dare...

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Reuters) - The Senate on Wednesday defeated a proposal pushed by Democrats that would have given some of the lowest-paid hourly workers a boost in their wages for the first time in nearly a decade. A majority of the Senate, 52 senators, voted in favor of incrementally raising the federal minimum wage -- unchanged since 1997 -- 40 percent from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 by January 1, 2009. But the measure needed 60 votes to win under a procedural agreement worked out earlier.

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So, now the gap between wage earners and their CEOs will get even larger. Good news, folks. You'll be working even longer to make up for a decade of earning the same wage. Take my advice, cheat on your taxes and steal shit from work to make up the difference. After all, a pay raise every 10 years should be enough for anyone - unless you're the CEO.

That's OK, they would probably just piss away that extra $2.10 on food, rent and clothing anyway.