Drudge Retort: The Other Side of the News
Saturday, September 19, 2026

A report from the Economic Policy Institute found that CEO pay at the top 350 companies rose 14% in 2025 to an average of $28 million. That means CEOs now make roughly 325 times as much as a typical worker. In 1965, CEOs were paid just 21 times the average worker's salary.

More

Comments

Admin's note: Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

More from the article ...

... America's chief executives are getting paid more than ever.

A report from the Economic Policy Institute[1] found that CEO pay at the top 350 companies rose 14% in 2025 to an average of $28 million.

That means CEOs now make roughly 325 times as much as a typical worker. In 1965, CEOs were paid just 21 times the average worker's salary.

The report said that from 1978"2025, top CEO compensation skyrocketed 1,316% while typical workers' compensation increased only 28%.

"CEO pay has not climbed so fast because their skills or productivity rose spectacularly. It has risen instead simply because CEOs have gained and used increasing leverage over the corporate boards that set their pay," the report says. ...


1 - CEO pay surged in 2025 www.epi.org

#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2026-09-19 02:31 PM | Reply

"CEOs now make roughly 325 times as much as a typical worker. In 1965, CEOs were paid just 21 times the average worker's salary."

Which is why workers were paid a living wage up until about 1975; corporate CEOs weren't quite such a success as bloodsuckers.

Not to mention that:

"Worker Wage Impact

Stagnation: Real wages failed to match productivity

Inflation outpaced hourly gains

Living wage erosion over decades

Shift Factors: Decline in union strength
Deregulation of industries

Shareholder-first corporate models"

also:

"The Productivity - Pay Divergence: After 1979, the historic link between worker productivity and typical compensation broke down.

While productivity grew, real working-class wages continued a long-term flat or declining trend.

Declining Labor Share of Income: Proponents of this view point out that the labor share of national income began a long-term structural decline after 1982.

Profits increasingly shifted toward corporate reserves, shareholder returns, and executive compensation rather than employee paychecks.

Weakened Labor Power: The administration's strict stance on unions"most notably exemplified by the firing of striking air traffic controllers in 1981"significantly diminished the bargaining power of labor unions, contributing to wage stagnation for blue-collar and industrial workers.

Widening Inequality: Studies, including 2020 research by economists David Hope and Julian Limberg, indicate that tax cuts for the wealthy primarily increased income inequality without significantly impacting broader job or wage growth." AI

#2 | Posted by Corky at 2026-09-19 03:37 PM | Reply

A few well placed shots may turn the tide

#3 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2026-09-19 08:32 PM | Reply

"Yes, those are the little urban achievers, and we're proud of every single one of them."

#4 | Posted by Dbt2 at 2026-09-19 09:31 PM | Reply

I remember when CEO pay was around 40 times worker pay in the '80s. Today it's about 325 times.

Reagan's tax cuts didn't just lower the top marginal rate from 70% to eventually 28%. They changed the incentive. When executives could keep much more of the next million dollars they paid themselves, there was a much greater incentive to go after that million instead of leaving the money in the company or paying employees more.

At the same time, the Moral Majority helped mobilize evangelical Christians into Reagan-era politics, while the "prosperity gospel" was spreading the message that wealth is a sign of God's blessing. "God wants you to be rich."

This was also part of a broader social change in the general public. Gordon Gekko reflected in a movie what was becoming a changing attitude in America. "Greed is good."

I call the 80's, "the great sellout"

I'm not saying those things explain everything. But 40 to 1 became 325 to 1 somehow.

Thanks, Jerry.

That's my opinion.

#5 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-09-19 09:35 PM | Reply

btw...I voted for Reagan both times and then Democrat after that...until Trump.

Back in those days, I had a part-time job once helping a group demonstrate a product in Falwell's elementary schools.

The day I was there a teacher showed me a memo they had just received telling them they will be donating 10% of their paycheck to his church.

I saw the memo.

That forever changed my view of Falwell.

I believe God wanted me to see that memo and why I was there that one day.

#6 | Posted by BillJohnson at 2026-09-19 09:43 PM | Reply

The following HTML tags are allowed in comments: a href, b, i, p, br, ul, ol, li and blockquote. Others will be stripped out. Participants in this discussion must follow the site's moderation policy. Profanity will be filtered. Abusive conduct is not allowed.

Anyone can join this site and make comments. To post this comment, you must sign it with your Drudge Retort username. If you can't remember your username or password, use the lost password form to request it.
Username:
Password:

Home | Breaking News | Comments | User Blogs | Stats | Back Page | RSS Feed | RSS Spec | DMCA Compliance | Privacy

Drudge Retort