Thursday, December 22, 2011

How the 1% Get Wealthy

They keep paying themselves.
Even though Mitt left Bain Capital 13 years ago, he's still getting paid by the company. Not only that. This:
Moreover, much of his income from the arrangement has probably qualified for a lower tax rate than ordinary income under a tax provision favorable to hedge fund and private equity managers, which has become a point of contention in the battle over economic inequality. New York Times
Not only that, if Mitt becomes the republican nominee, he won't release his tax returns like every other nominee. Hiding something?
Then there are the overpaid CEOs, whose companies make up our 401Ks and other investments. For example, McKesson is a publicly held healthcare company, which means it has many shareholders. Its CEO was paid $145 million in 2010. There is no excuse for that and no one is worth that kind of salary. Imagine, if the company paid him a mere $10 million and the rest of the salary went to lower level workers, who probably work harder than he does. Imagine the economic benefit to the working and middle class, instead of letting one guy amass several houses, yachts and toys out the ying yang.