CHART - U.S. Corporate Profits Vs. Employee Wages

Great chart from Paul Krugman's takedown of GE CEO Jeff Immelt's appearance on 60 Minutes last Sunday.  Here's more from FDL on Immelt who told 60 Minutes:

"I want you to root for me. Look, every one in Germany roots for Siemens, everyone in Japan roots for Toshiba, everyone in China roots for China South Rail, I want you to say, win GE.  I think this notion that it’s the population of the US against big companies is just wrong."

Well Jeff, let’s take an unvarnished look at the differences between those companies in Japan and Germany as regards the ratio of pay for a ceo to that of the average worker compared to ceo’s like yourself in American corporations, shall we?

In Japan the ratio of pay for a ceo compared to that of the average worker is…11 to 1.

In Germany that ratio expands to a dizzying.....12 to 1.

And in the United States…..it’s 475 to 1.

In addition Jeff, your company has one of the worst records of any American corporation for exporting American jobs overseas. Since you assumed control of GE, you have cut one-fifth of your company’s U.S. work force while increasing the number of your companies overseas employees dramatically. Your company, the largest corporation in America, paid no taxes in 2010 despite making $145.2 billion in profits and receiving nearly over $5 billion in federal subsidies in that same period.

Before the crisis, 80% of GE's profits were from their finance division.  They were leveraged at 275 to 1.  Paulson freaked out when he learned how insolvent they were and remain.  The stock traded down to $6 and they were close to failing.  But then the FDIC stepped in and let them borrow almost $100 billion at 2%.

Another stealth bailout of corporate America.

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You can watch Immelt's segment on 60 Minutes HERE

Comments

[DailyBail]

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/intellectual-styles-of-the-rich-and-clueless/

http://my.firedoglake.com/freeman/2011/10/10/occupy-wall-streets-misconconceptions-according-to-obamas-job-czar/

Sources for this story.

[Dr. Pitchfork]

What a putz. Forget Solyndra for just a minute (which got 500M in govt.-backed loans), under Immelt GE issued 88 BILLION in govt.-guaranteed debt under TLGP.

[Dr. Pitchfork]

BTW, Immelt made 8-13M in 2007, 3-5M in 2008 and 3-5M in 2009 -- all while presiding over the failure of the company. To his credit he forwent a bonus in both 2008 and 2009. Not that anyone with two firing neurons would suggest a bonus for this kind of performance.
http://www.ge.com/pdf/investors/financial_reporting/proxy_statements/ge_proxy_2010.pdf

[Dr. Pitchfork]

Great post, btw.

[DailyBail]

Iceland's On-going Financial Revolution

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/01/1001662/-Icelands-On-going-Revolution

[DailyBail]

http://desertpeace.wordpress.com/2011/10/12/photo-essay-the-greatest-american-story-ever-told/

Great photos from protests.

[G Street]

Krugman: "Awesome cluelessness."

Galactic. Obama looks clueless. Oh, and he looks like a co-conspirator to me. Someone GE helped put in place to drive the getaway car. Obama of, by and for the billionaires. The only way Immelt could appear more clueless would have been to say "let them eat cake." Oh, he did.

[chunga]

GE started zooming downhill when they decided to become a bank. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe more than half their profit now comes from GE Capital. Making money by manufacturing refrigerators, light bulbs, etc. is so old fashioned. It's much easier to make money by counting it over and over again.

[DailyBail]

CHUNGA...Before the crisis, 80% of their profits were from their finance division. And they were leveraged at something like 275 to 1. Paulson freaked out when he learned how insolvent they were and remain. The stock traded down to $6 and they were close to failing. But then the FDIC stepped in and let them borrow almost $100 billion at 2%.

Another stealth bailout of corporate America.

[Cheyenne]

Fine work, indeed, DB.

Thanks for the reminder on TLGP, Dr. P. When banks are wheedled about TARP, one pat response is "the government made us take the money." The involuntary nature of TARP (made that way because Henry Paulson is a clever criminal) is NOT why Wall Street banks slurped down TARP funds like a hooker in a submarine. How do we know? Because TLGP was a voluntary program. And every bank that's ever trotted out the "we had to" TARP line also REFUSED to opt out of the TLGP program. Like Santa, the FDIC kept a list of the good guys...

http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/TLGP/optout.html

[Dr. Pitchfork]

Great point, Cheyenne.

[Ben]

Post reference for "475 to 1", please.

[Something Polish]

I got your charts right here:

http://www.businessinsider.com/what-wall-street-protesters-are-so-angry-about-2011-10?op=1