"Corporate profits are up, CEO pay is up, but average wages of Americans are flat."
Hillary Clinton on Sunday, July 22nd, 2007 in Washington, DC
An accurate summary of economic stats
Corporate profits have been rising. The Commerce Department reported that corporate profits from current production increased 21.4 percent in 2006 and were up 12.5 percent in 2005.
CEO pay has also gone up. A Forbes report in May 2007 said chief executives of the nation’s 500 largest companies got a 38 percent raise in 2006, on top of a 6 percent hike in 2005 and a 54 percent raise in 2004.
And Clinton is right that average wages have been flat. Adjusted for inflation, median family income has been flat since 2001, hovering around $54,000, according to government statistics.
Sources: U.S. Commerce Department, Corporate Profit report, March 29, 2007
The State of Working America 2006-7 (pdf)
Forbes, Special Report on CEO Compensation, May 2007
Written by: Bill Adair
Researched by: Caryn Baird
Edited by: Scott Montgomery
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