Income Disparity

[professorchaos]

I'm writing an essay for a scholarship. The question is: "The average CEO makes roughly 400 times what the average worker currently makes. Do you think that this is justifiable? and why?"
I don't want you to write it for me; I have plenty of ideas and all that. I thought I would ask here for links to some leftist perspectives, resources, or articles on this general topic.
Also feel free to discuss the issue in a more general sense here.
Posted concurrently on (other sites, to which I cannot apparently link yet)

[Demogorgon]

No, it is not justified. For a whole bunch of reasons. They are earnign the money on the back of exploitation, inequality is harmful to society. People's inequity aversion rebells against it etc.

[professorchaos]

Right, right, of course. But I'm more looking for more statistics and sources and how capitalism necessarily creates this condition, rather than whether it is justifiable. And also more general perspectives/factors I may not have considered.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=985

Addresses such topic as the growing wealth disparity in America and how even educated workers are having their wages stagnate.

"The Reagan administration’s policies haven’t narrowed the gap between rich and poor. The tax cuts in the first five years of Mr. Reagan’s presidency favored the wealthy: reducing capital gains taxes benefited those with capital. Government programs aimed exclusively at the poor were trimmed, but others that help a broader group -- Social Security and veterans benefits, for instance -- weren’t" (September 22, 1986).

[...]

The Congressional Budget Office has indicated that budget and tax changes enacted from 1981 to 1983 have taken $20 billion from those with incomes below $20,000 a year and brought about a $35 billion increase for households with incomes of $80,000 or more.

Bernstein claims the growing service sector accounts for 15% of the losses; I suppose he's taking the position that service jobs suck up wealth while industrial ones create it. I don't know if that is necessarily true though. I can tell you when I visit certain fancy dinners I'm certainly not paying for the food and atmosphere. :glare:

If you want some visualization:

http://members.aol.com/tahitinut/toptax.jpg

http://www.mymoneyblog.com/images/0707/tax_inchistory2.gif

[professorchaos]

Good stuff. Right kinda thing, but more current would be nice.