Trey Smith
We all know that the unemployment figures are bleak. The "official" rate has hung around 9 percent all year and the true rate is closer to 20 percent. Not only is there a vast army of the unemployed, but, as good paying jobs dry up, more and more people who DO find work are doing so at far lower wages and benefits. (As a side note, it looks like a good deal of this season's consumer frenzy will be the result of credit cards, not real cash in the bank.)
While the picture is anything but bright for the vast majority on Main Street, one sector of the economy is doing very well. As reported in The Guardian,
America's top bosses enjoyed pay hikes of between 27 and 40% last year, according to the largest survey of US CEO pay. The dramatic bounce back comes as the latest government figures show wages for the majority of Americans are failing to keep up with inflation.Yes, it's that time-honored story of the haves reaping more, while everyone else struggles to remain afloat.
This time around there's a little twist in the story. Not only are the well-to-do receiving a bit of a bump to fill their Christmas stockings, but many of this same people are pushing for austerity for the rest of us. They want us to learn to live with far less, while they are forced to live with far more!
It's a sacrifice they are willing to make for the betterment of the nation!
:D ...and it won't fulfil them, they won't take it with them at death. It's the only funny thing in all of this that they can't see that happiness is not bought.
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