Four Graphs: What’s Wrong With America Today

Ken AshfordClass Warfare, Corporate Greed, Economy & Jobs & DeficitLeave a Comment

Corporate profits and profit margins are at an all-time high. American companies are making more money and more per dollar of sales than they ever have before.

Corporate profits as a percent of GDP

Wages as a percent of the economy are at all-time low. Why are corporate profits so high? One reason is that companies are paying employees less than they ever have as a share of GDP.

Profits as a percent of GDP

Fewer Americans are employed than at any time in the past three decades. Another reason corporations are so profitable is that they don’t employ as many Americans as they used to.

Employment as a percent of the population

The share of our national income that is going to the people who do the work  (“labor”) is at an all-time low.  The rest of the income, naturally, is going to owners (“capital”), who have it better today than they have ever had it before.

Labor share of income