27 thoughts on “In Greed We Trust”

  1. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/04/business/ceo-pay-workers-inequality.

    New York
    CNN — CEOs are raking in fat pay packages as the US stock market booms.
    Bosses have always made more money than workers. But the gap between CEOs and employees is growing.
    The median CEO in the S&P 500 was paid 196 times as much as the median employee in 2023, according to an analysis by Equilar and The Associated Press.
    That’s up from a ratio of 185 in 2022.
    The widening divide is driven by the fact that CEO pay — which is closely tied to share prices — is rising notably faster than that of employees. Many workers, in fact, are struggling to keep up with the cost of living.
    The jump in 2023 alone was significant. Median total compensation for S&P 500 CEOs (including stock awards) soared to $16.3 million in 2023 — a huge year-over-year increase of 12.6%, compared to just 0.9% in 2022.
    Workers made more money, too. But at a much slower pace.
    The median S&P 500 employee earned $81,467 last year, up 5.2% from 2022, the report said.
    To put it another way: The annual pay hike amounted to about $4,300 for workers. For CEOs, it was an extra $1.5 million.
    Those findings are likely frustrating to employees grappling with high costs for everything from groceries and daycare to car insurance. The rate of inflation in the United States has dropped, but it remains above normal.
    Paychecks are growing faster than prices, a turnaround from 2021 and 2022. Yet workers are still hurting from the cumulative impact of three years of high inflation.
    Americans are spending $1,015 more per month than they did in 2021 for the same basket of goods and services, according to Moody’s Analytics. That spike in costs almost completely swallows up the increase in incomes, which are up $1,109 per month over that span, Moody’s said.
    “The results show that boards and CEOs remain tone deaf related to outrageous pay packages,” Eleanor Bloxham, CEO of The Value Alliance, a firm that advises boards on corporate governance, told CNN.
    Bloxham said boards and CEOs are “absolutely responsible” for ensuring that workers share in financial success. “To not do so puts future earnings at risk because good workers will take action and vote with their feet,” she added.
    [continues]

  2. <p><span style=”color: #0f0f0f; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space-collapse: preserve; background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);”><em>President Biden is on the cover of Time Magazine, Donald Trump discussed his spirituality with Fox News, and an adorable six year-old boy upstaged his father during a speech on the House floor.</em> </span></p>

  5. At the same time the wealthy are raking in more, the lower half desperately trying to pay the minimum to survive on their credit cards are driven deeper in debt by skyrocketing interest rates.

     

  6. 2024 Belmont Stakes post positions and odds:

    Odds as of Tuesday.

    1. Horse: Seize the Grey | Morning odds: 8-1
    2. Horse: Resilience | Morning odds: 10-1
    3. Horse: Mystik Dan | Morning odds: 5-1
    4. Horse: Wine Steward | Morning odds: 15-1
    5. Horse: Antiquarian | Morning odds: 12-1
    6. Horse: Dornoch | Morning odds: 15-1
    7. Horse: Protective | Morning odds: 20-1
    8. Horse: Honor Marie| Morning odds: 12-1
    9. Horse: Sierra Leone | Morning odds: 9-5
    10. Horse: Mindframe | Morning odds: 7-2

  8. Jamie, Dornoch is good for me again, though I’m likely not to see the actual race this time. I’ll be partying in Nashville. 

  9. Taxes in 50’s-60’d were way up there80% + then with Reagan they lbegan to come waaaay down until they’re where they are now.
    maybe some wise men could figure out how to un-buy some elected officials and put the taxes where they need to be:  SOMEWHERE IN THE MODDLE.

  10. I mentioned Florida panhandle Loons at one point…..guess who?
     
    Matt Gaetz

  11. https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/05/business/janet-yellen-artificial-intelligence/index.html

    “Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is expected to warn bankers and tech executives on Thursday that while artificial intelligence could open the door to vast rewards for the financial system, the technology also threatens to introduce new dangers…”

    “Last December, a team of leading US regulators led by Yellen warned for the first time that AI poses a risk to the financial system. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, a SWAT team of regulators formed after the 2008 financial crisis, formally designated AI as an “emerging vulnerability.”
     

    Automated greed isn’t artificial.

  12. Gotta go with Wine Steward. (Tell  me he’s not a white).
     
    Gaetz, you mean the No. 2 winner in the no receipts congressional housing/food/expenses reimbursement program?

    Of the 435 voting members of the House, 319 members — 153 Democrats and 166 Republicans — received reimbursement for some food or lodging expenses last year, alongside three delegates from U.S. territories. The other 116 members received no money from the reimbursement program, according to a Washington Post review of the first 11 months of data released by the House as of last week.

    According to that data, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) was the program’s overall top spender, with nearly $30,000 in lodging expenses and more than $10,000 for meals in 2023.
     
    Updated data The Post reviewed Tuesday showed Rep. Jack Bergman (R-Mich.) was the program’s top spender. He was reimbursed more than $32,000 for lodging and nearly $12,000 for meals in 2023, according to data released by the House as of Tuesday.
     
    Bergman’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    A spokesperson for Gaetz said he was reimbursed for lodging expenses on days when the House was out of session but Gaetz remained in Washington on official business for depositions related to his post on the select committee on weaponization of the federal government.
     
    “Rep. Gaetz has always complied with House rules regarding congressional reimbursements,” a spokesperson for Gaetz emailed in a statement. “In 2023, Rep. Gaetz dedicated significant time to his work on the Weaponization Subcommittee, requiring his presence to be in Washington, D.C., on days often when there were no votes, which incurred additional reimbursement expenses to conduct depositions.”

    And I’ll just bet he believes that.

  13. https://www.newsweek.com/trump-stock-down-serious-anomalies-1908338
    “TMTG CEO Devin Nunes said on Tuesday that he written to Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman requesting the exchange’s full cooperation with any investigations into “naked” short selling, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.”
    ”Nunes has requested Congress to seek a formal investigation by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to examine “severe” anomalies in trading in between April and June.”
     
    “Naked short selling is a fraudulent practice where traders sell shares of an asset without first borrowing them or ensuring they can be borrowed.”
    “Shares in the TMTG – which trades under the ticker symbol DJT – have fluctuated dramatically since going public earlier this year. Trump owns an almost 65 percent stake in the firm.”
     

  14. Idea: Per diem for meals and hotels is x dollars, and if you go over, you foot the bill.

    Idea: All Americans have Cadillac healthcare coverage like members of Congress.

  16. Wow… we are old!… especially in dog years.
    I’ll take Sierra Leone.
     
    oh yeah… greetings from Cape Cod.  Having a relaxing time… eating lots of fresh seafood.

  17. jamie, mystic dan again for me, but I’m really tempted to go with seize he grey.

  19. RESILIANCE.  Nothing comes more higher rated 

    “Let the Cowboy Ride”
    —Bob Seger

  23. I’ll catch up tomorrow on posting everyone’s pony picks.  I’m tempted by Mindframe, but Seize The Grey has been my baby from the beginning.

  25. I remember when Craig tipped us off on this new concept called YouTube.  Now thousands make their livings as YouTube influencers.  YouTube accepts you for a monetized video a few times a week, that’s fat jack in your pocketbook. I did slack off from TrailMix after Trump took office, from pure disdain for that creep, and now am feeling excited again as we are about to put the Trump saga to rest, come November 5.  I did miss out on the Mary Trump case against her Uncle Donald…she lost, right?  I am going to research this.

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