Mickey Mouse increases

By Jim Hightower

OtherWords

Good news, people: America’s wages are up. The average worker is making more today than a year ago— by 58 cents a week.

Of course, averages don’t tell the whole story. Economist John Kenneth Galbraith explained the problem of averages with a story about a six-foot tall man who drowned when wading across a stream with an average depth of three feet. Similarly, while average workers are trying to decide how to spend their 58 cents each week, your average CEO is wallowing in an extra $860,000 per year.

Golden pensions

That’s just the increase in their bonuses. It doesn’t include their multimillion-dollar salaries, golden pensions, free health care, limousines, or corporate jets. Many corporate chieftains did much better than average. Take Robert Iger of Walt Disney, Inc. He pocketed a bonus of $13.5 million in 2010, a 45 percent boost from one year earlier.

Well, explained his PR agent, Iger deserves his riches this year because Disney’s latest annual profits are up by 24 percent. Swell, but why is his increase double the increase in profits? And, by the way, if his annual salary is $2 million — why does he need any extra incentive to do his job?

Does Iger really think that he alone produced Disney’s rise in profits?

No one goes to Disney World to see Robert Iger. If he wants bonus money, tell him to put on a Mickey Mouse costume in the wilting heat of Florida’s summer and earn it.

Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown. Distributed by OtherWords, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies.