[lbo-talk] A Disturbing Economic Trend in the USA

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

Doug:
> Still, your fundamental point is right - the share of the income pie
> earned by "ordinary" workers (what the BLS calls nonsupervisory or
> production workers, who are 81% of the private sector workforce) is
> shrinking. High-income workers, upper-middle and senior managers,
> whose pay conceptually includes a large portion that's a return to
> capital, are getting more. Since the economy bottomed in late 2001,
> wages and salaries for employees of "corporate business" (which
> excludes proprietorships and small partnerships) are up 12%, and
> pretax profits are up 85%.

I think it is a rather different point.  High income employees still earn
wages so they would be included in the stats Chuck posted. 

Furthermore, treating all high income worker remuneration as return to
capital is moot at best.  It all depends on the source of income not the
amount.  A blue collar worker who is making a few thousand $ per year by
buying and selling stuff on ebay is more of a "capitalist" than, say, an
airline pilot or a physician whose earnings from work may reach six digits.

The point you are making may apply, at least in theory, to corporate CEO or
a celebrity inasmuch as his/her income can be divided into rent (i.e. income
derived from selling his/her name and position) and remuneration for value
he/she creates for the company.  In practice, however, that distinction is
difficult to make, especially in case of CEOs.

Wojtek