Mar 29, 2021
A new analysis released Monday by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that the U.S. federal minimum wage would currently be just over $44 an hour--more than six times higher than the current wage floor--if it had increased at the same rate as Wall Street employee bonuses between 1985 and 2020.
But during that 35-year period, the federal wage floor remained largely stagnant while the average Wall Street bonus soared by 1,217%, IPS finds, citing the latest data from the New York State Comptroller. The $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, leaving minimum wage workers worse off today than they were more than a decade ago due to rising costs of living.
"While low-wage workers are still waiting for a raise in the minimum wage, Wall Street employees enjoyed a 10% bump in their bonuses in the first year of the pandemic," noted Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at IPS and the author of the new analysis. "Since 1985, the average Wall Street bonus has increased 1,217%, from $13,970 to $184,000 in 2020."
"These bonuses come on top of salary and other forms of compensation," Anderson added. "The average salary (with bonuses) for all securities industry employees in New York City was $406,700 in 2019. At the very top end, CEOs of the top five U.S. investment banks hauled in an average of $27.9 million in total compensation in 2019."
The IPS report came as Democratic members of Congress are attempting to chart the best path forward for a proposed $15 minimum wage bill after senators removed the legislation from the recently passed coronavirus relief package, citing the unelected Senate parliamentarian's advisory opinion that the measure runs afoul of budget reconciliation rules.
As Congress has left the federal minimum wage at a starvation level, Anderson pointed out, federal regulators have refused to implement Wall Street pay restrictions mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, allowing financiers to accumulate large bonuses as low-wage workers struggled to get by on stagnant pay.
"These two failures speak volumes about who has influence in Washington--and who does not," Anderson wrote.
To rein in the soaring compensation of executives in the financial industry and throughout corporate America, Anderson urged Congress to consider two recently introduced bills, including Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. Unveiled earlier this month, the legislation would raise taxes on companies with a CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 50 to 1 or higher.
Anderson also pointed to the Stop Subsidizing Multi-Million Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, Democratic legislation aiming to end "special tax deductions for huge executive bonuses and prevent publicly traded corporations from deducting the cost of multi-million dollar bonuses from their corporate tax bills."
"In the new political landscape," Anderson wrote, "lawmakers have a chance to end the Washington gridlock that has kept the federal minimum wage a poverty wage, while allowing the reckless bonus culture to continue to flourish on Wall Street--even during a pandemic."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
bernie sanderscorporate powerfight for 15inequalityinstitute for policy studiesminimum wagepoliticswall streetworkers
A new analysis released Monday by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that the U.S. federal minimum wage would currently be just over $44 an hour--more than six times higher than the current wage floor--if it had increased at the same rate as Wall Street employee bonuses between 1985 and 2020.
But during that 35-year period, the federal wage floor remained largely stagnant while the average Wall Street bonus soared by 1,217%, IPS finds, citing the latest data from the New York State Comptroller. The $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, leaving minimum wage workers worse off today than they were more than a decade ago due to rising costs of living.
"While low-wage workers are still waiting for a raise in the minimum wage, Wall Street employees enjoyed a 10% bump in their bonuses in the first year of the pandemic," noted Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at IPS and the author of the new analysis. "Since 1985, the average Wall Street bonus has increased 1,217%, from $13,970 to $184,000 in 2020."
"These bonuses come on top of salary and other forms of compensation," Anderson added. "The average salary (with bonuses) for all securities industry employees in New York City was $406,700 in 2019. At the very top end, CEOs of the top five U.S. investment banks hauled in an average of $27.9 million in total compensation in 2019."
The IPS report came as Democratic members of Congress are attempting to chart the best path forward for a proposed $15 minimum wage bill after senators removed the legislation from the recently passed coronavirus relief package, citing the unelected Senate parliamentarian's advisory opinion that the measure runs afoul of budget reconciliation rules.
As Congress has left the federal minimum wage at a starvation level, Anderson pointed out, federal regulators have refused to implement Wall Street pay restrictions mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, allowing financiers to accumulate large bonuses as low-wage workers struggled to get by on stagnant pay.
"These two failures speak volumes about who has influence in Washington--and who does not," Anderson wrote.
To rein in the soaring compensation of executives in the financial industry and throughout corporate America, Anderson urged Congress to consider two recently introduced bills, including Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. Unveiled earlier this month, the legislation would raise taxes on companies with a CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 50 to 1 or higher.
Anderson also pointed to the Stop Subsidizing Multi-Million Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, Democratic legislation aiming to end "special tax deductions for huge executive bonuses and prevent publicly traded corporations from deducting the cost of multi-million dollar bonuses from their corporate tax bills."
"In the new political landscape," Anderson wrote, "lawmakers have a chance to end the Washington gridlock that has kept the federal minimum wage a poverty wage, while allowing the reckless bonus culture to continue to flourish on Wall Street--even during a pandemic."
A new analysis released Monday by the Institute for Policy Studies shows that the U.S. federal minimum wage would currently be just over $44 an hour--more than six times higher than the current wage floor--if it had increased at the same rate as Wall Street employee bonuses between 1985 and 2020.
But during that 35-year period, the federal wage floor remained largely stagnant while the average Wall Street bonus soared by 1,217%, IPS finds, citing the latest data from the New York State Comptroller. The $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage has not been raised since 2009, leaving minimum wage workers worse off today than they were more than a decade ago due to rising costs of living.
"While low-wage workers are still waiting for a raise in the minimum wage, Wall Street employees enjoyed a 10% bump in their bonuses in the first year of the pandemic," noted Sarah Anderson, director of the Global Economy Project at IPS and the author of the new analysis. "Since 1985, the average Wall Street bonus has increased 1,217%, from $13,970 to $184,000 in 2020."
"These bonuses come on top of salary and other forms of compensation," Anderson added. "The average salary (with bonuses) for all securities industry employees in New York City was $406,700 in 2019. At the very top end, CEOs of the top five U.S. investment banks hauled in an average of $27.9 million in total compensation in 2019."
The IPS report came as Democratic members of Congress are attempting to chart the best path forward for a proposed $15 minimum wage bill after senators removed the legislation from the recently passed coronavirus relief package, citing the unelected Senate parliamentarian's advisory opinion that the measure runs afoul of budget reconciliation rules.
As Congress has left the federal minimum wage at a starvation level, Anderson pointed out, federal regulators have refused to implement Wall Street pay restrictions mandated by the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, allowing financiers to accumulate large bonuses as low-wage workers struggled to get by on stagnant pay.
"These two failures speak volumes about who has influence in Washington--and who does not," Anderson wrote.
To rein in the soaring compensation of executives in the financial industry and throughout corporate America, Anderson urged Congress to consider two recently introduced bills, including Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) Tax Excessive CEO Pay Act. Unveiled earlier this month, the legislation would raise taxes on companies with a CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio of 50 to 1 or higher.
Anderson also pointed to the Stop Subsidizing Multi-Million Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act, Democratic legislation aiming to end "special tax deductions for huge executive bonuses and prevent publicly traded corporations from deducting the cost of multi-million dollar bonuses from their corporate tax bills."
"In the new political landscape," Anderson wrote, "lawmakers have a chance to end the Washington gridlock that has kept the federal minimum wage a poverty wage, while allowing the reckless bonus culture to continue to flourish on Wall Street--even during a pandemic."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.