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HUFFINGTON: Upstairs/Downstairs
(Arianna Huffington, AlterNet, October 18, 2002)
"For the first time in eight years, the poverty rate rose," said Dick Gephardt on the floor of the House, but it fell upon the deaf ears of a public preoccupied with sniper attacks and rumors of war. But the statistics to come out of the report are staggering: The number of Americans living in poverty grew 1.3 million last year to 32.9 million, while the most affluent fifth of the population received half of all household income and the poorest fifth 3.5 percent. . . . Upstairs: Former Kmart CEO Charles Conaway received nearly $23 million in compensation during his two-year tenure. Downstairs: When Kmart filed for bankruptcy in 2002, 283 stores were closed and 22,000 employees lost their jobs. Total amount of severance pay for them: $0.00. . . . Upstairs: Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr. received more than $17 million in total compensation in 2001. Downstairs: Wal-Mart employees in 30 states are suing the company alleging that managers forced employees to punch out after an eight-hour work day, and then continue working for no pay. Nevermind the Fair Labor Standards Act, which says employees who work more than 40 hours a week must be paid time-and-a-half for their overtime. . . . Upstairs: The top 1 percent of stock owners hold 47.7 percent of all stocks. Downstairs: The bottom 80 percent of stock owners own just 4.1 percent of total stock holdings. . . . Upstairs: In 2000, the average CEO earned more in one day than the average worker earned all year. Downstairs: In 2000, 25 percent of workers earned less than poverty-level wages.

posted by LoZo 5:24 PM