Grappling with the Gray #96: Paycheck to paycheck?

Are the rich getting too much richer, and is there a limit to how much the poor will take?

That's the question that will drive the conversation when Mark O'Brien, Jolanta Pomiotlo, and Kirsten Yurich join the ethics panel to Grapple with the Gray.

Here is our topic:

According to a recent report, median pay packages for CEOs rose to $16.3 million through 2023, up 12.6%. Meanwhile, wages and benefits netted by private-sector workers rose 4.1%. At half the companies in this year’s survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company’s pay scale almost 200 years to make what their CEO did.

According to some metrics, the average CEO is earning 600 times more than the average employee. Back in the 60s, the ratio was about 50 to 1.

Defenders of the steadily rising pay gap claim it is simple capitalism. CEOs responsible for company earnings are more in demand, therefore they command higher salaries. Others claim it is a symptom of crony capitalism: CEO board members vote one another higher salaries expecting reciprocity from their peers.

Whatever the true reason, the disparity strikes many non-CEOs as patently unfair. They don’t expect the same salaries, but they might reasonably expect a proportionate rate of increase. The resulting resentment likely affects employee satisfaction and, consequently, productivity; and it also erodes trust and confidence in the system, potentially contributing to systemic instability.

Is this a problem that needs to be addressed? If so, can it be addressed? If we rely on the government to enforce antitrust laws to guarantee fair practices, should the same apply with respect to salaries… or is there an intrinsic difference? How effective or consistent is government in ensuring an even playing field, and is there any alternative solution?

Meet this week’s panelists:

Mark O’Brien is founder and principal of O’Brien Communications Group, a B2B brand-management and marketing-communications firm — and host of The Anxious Voyage, a syndicated radio show about life’s trials and triumphs.

Jolanta Pomiolto is Vice President of Information Technology for EXSIF Worldwide who manages innovative initiatives aimed at reducing operating costs, improving profit, and growing revenue.

Kirsten Yurich is an Organizational Performance Management Consultant, Peer Leaders Group Chair with Vistage Worldwide, Inc., and Adjunct Professor of Education at Felician University.