Detroit Today: Why shareholder capitalism limits our economy
CEOs were paid 399 times more than a typical worker in 2021, the Economic Policy Institute reports.
Unionized casino workers rally ahead of a possible strike on Oct. 12, 2023.
Growing strikes and labor disputes across various industries — from the health care sector and auto industry to more recently, casinos — are putting a spotlight on American inequality in a big way.
CEO pay has skyrocketed 1,460% since 1978, with CEOs being paid 399 times more than a typical worker in 2021, the Economic Policy Institute reports. So what is behind the stagnation of worker pay in America and what part did our economic system play? Elizabeth Anderson, a professor of Public Philosophy at the University of Michigan, joined host Stephen Henderson on Detroit Today to discuss how capitalism has changed since the 1980s and where it’s headed now.
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Guest:
Elizabeth Anderson is a professor of Public Philosophy at the University of Michigan. She’s also the author of the book, “Hijacked: How Neoliberalism Turned the Work Ethic against Workers and How Workers Can Take It Back.” She says participating in shareholder capitalism has led to a more unequal society.
“There’s no reason at all to place shareholders, or the owners of firms, on top of everybody else in such a system,” says Anderson.
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