‘Greed — is it good for Iowans?’

Ivan Boesky, an Inside Trader, once opined, “Greed is all right... I think greed is healthy... You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.” Really? In the same frame of reference, most moviegoers in Iowa who watched “Wall Street” can still remember Gordon Gekko’s famous comment, “Greed is good.” But, good for whom? Ordinary citizens in Iowa overall? What greed?

Greed can take many forms. One metric worth examining, however, concerning greed, is inequality in salaries. For example, if one reviews CEO-to-worker pay ratios for S&P companies in 2023, the difference is 268 to 1! More specifically in this same period, the median CEO salary was $14.9 million, while median worker pay was just $54,857 (Policy Matters Ohio). For Iowa, a recent study by the American Federation of Labor focused on this escalating wage disparity between CEOs and their employees and noted that Iowa experienced some of the largest gaps. For example, for Casey’s General Stores, where the CEO-to-worker salary ratio was 579:1 (Form DEF 14A/July 17, 2024/Securities and Exchange Commission).  

For Iowans, in particular, one wonders why a CEO’s work ethic and experience are worth so much? In today’s world of business, a CEO’s main responsibility appears to be satisfying the interests of company shareholders, rather than a directed focus on the welfare of workers and their working conditions. How are these business/profit interests satisfied? Namely, increasing the dividends paid to shareholders by reducing both the overall workforce/salaries and the investments in R&D, while utilizing profits in buy-back schemes designed to enhance company stock prices.

In light of this wage disparity, who/what is really more “valuable” to the ultimate success of any company? The employer (CEO/company) or the employees (workers)? In reality, both partake in the meaningful operation of said company, but without “workers,” no product is manufactured, shipped, marketed, maintained, or improved. Given this lopsided proportion of effort to support the overall goals of any company, why are workers in Iowa not valued more with higher salaries? Answer: greed.

If our focus on the many forms of greed is shifted to the world of politics, what role does greed manifest itself in establishing and directing the functions of state/national governments? In other words, do the wealthy have a disproportionate influence on policies which benefit them at the expense of serving ordinary citizens, regardless of their status? Yes. Since Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission, corporations, PACs, and the wealthy have exerted enormous political/legislative sway, namely, by allowing said entities to reap the benefit of laws which reduce their overall tax burden, while allowing ordinary citizens to be taxed at higher rates. Is this fair? Is it fair to allow the wealthy to own two or more homes, while homelessness in Iowa cities and elsewhere surges? Is it fair for citizens in Iowa to work more than one job in order to pay exorbitant rents imposed by unscrupulous landlords? Is it fair to reduce affordable housing options for ordinary citizens?

The answer all these posed questions is no. It is not fair. However, where is the legislation to correct these injustices? The decision in Citizens United allows corporations, PACs, and wealthy individuals to spend unlimited funds on elections, concomitant with restricting ordinary citizens with their ability to influence legislation to correct these examples of unfairness. But according to Boesky, “Greed is healthy.” Well Mr. Boesky, greed is not healthy, but toxic to ordinary citizens in Iowa and throughout this country.

Is there a solution? Maybe in a perfect and just America, ordinary citizens can one day determine “how much greed is enough” and create equitable legislation which rescinds Citizens United and, in addition, allows the wealthy, banks, and corporations to contribute more to solve the problems faced by ordinary citizens in Iowa and elsewhere, namely, more affordable housing, higher wages, accessible health/dental care, reasonable rents, lower interest rates, and ensuring equal opportunities for every person.

Quoting Mr. Boesky again, “You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself.” Maybe you shouldn’t. In the final analysis, however, ordinary Iowans just want to feel good about fairness, not greed, to guide their lives.

John M. Mishler is a former Associate Vice Chancellor for Research and Professor of Basic Life Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Missouri. He currently resides in Harpswell, Maine.