How American CEOs got so rich

For a long time, it was off-limits for a corporation to buy back its own stock. Not anymore.
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American companies today spend billions on stock buybacks. So what does that mean for the US economy? And how did it help make American CEOs so unbelievably rich?
To learn more about stock buybacks, General Motors, and the Lordstown GM plant, check out the following sources:
William Lazonick, Harvard Business Review: Profits Without Prosperity (hbr.org/2014/09/profits-witho...)
Irina Lendel, Melissa Piazza, Matthew Ellerbrock, Cleveland State University: Lordstown GM Plant Closure Economic Impact Study (engagedscholarship.csuohio.ed...)
Emily Stewart, Vox: Walmart is paying $20 billion to shareholders. With that money, it could boost hourly wages to over $15. (www.vox.com/business-and-fina...)
Jane G. Gravelle and Donald J. Marples, Congressional Research Service: The Economic Effects of the 2017 Tax Revision: Preliminary Observations (www.everycrsreport.com/files/...)
Stephen Mihm, Bloomberg: How Stock Buybacks Ambled Into Stardom (www.bloomberg.com/opinion/art...)
Lawrence Mishel and Julia Wolfe, Economic Policy Institute: CEO compensation has grown 940% since 1978 (www.epi.org/files/pdf/171191.... Policy Institute)
Irina Ivanova, CBS: GM bought back $10 billion in stock since 2015, double what job cuts will save (www.cbsnews.com/news/gm-bough...)
Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Check out www.vox.com.
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[@r3dp1ll]

And millions of Americans thought electing a billionaire would improve their lives ...

[@saxyrep1]

@Becoming Vincent Yup, that makes about as much sense as deciding to put out a fire with kerosene.

[@bruv5115]

The U.S. jobless rate dropped to 3.7 percent in September - the lowest since 1969.

[@vinny9868]

Now things are going to get worse. Much much worse.

[@thewhitewolf58]

they said it would be to turn america like a business: except americas goal isnt to make money its to better itself and its standing in the world by raising its standards

[@msgirly6827]

Right😂

[@malacki6554]

You’re extremely naive if you think you can trust mega-corporations to do the right thing without being forced

[@zBorderPatrol]

For real. How foolish a person must be to not understand the greed of mega corporations.

[@savageguy134]

I think it works both ways at the level of the collective corporations and at the individual level. Still, it is pretty naive.

[@chrisding1976]

Sure that sounds like a nice saying, but new outlets and other forms of media aren’t gonna broadcast that they do the right thing, they will only broadcast how they did something wrong.

[@pianofry1138]

Unless it aligns with their bottom line. Cough* GM and even then they wanted more money.

[@giorgialadashvili4771]

The same can be said about the governments though.

[@JMS_Hunter]

Uh... Economy looks like the 20's again? We should be worried about that.

[@Nikynik345]

Uh yeah, GREAT DEPRESSION MUCH? 😰

[@pagingdrlamp]

@@Nikynik345 Trump will have an even greater depression

[@jairogarcia3471]

That was the most outlandish statement the whole video ... that statement is so manipulative. I am an economics major.

[@swod1]

Great Depression much?

[@bforthigh1617]

@@pagingdrlamp it sure is looking like it. 26 million jobs lost.

[@rajdeepkashyap5766]

"How American CEOs got so rich?" CEOs: the secret ingredients is crime

[@fredhampton321]

And war

[@angelkingsley5299]

It’s not crime they do it legally and with the help of the government.

[@musent_]

@@angelkingsley5299 yeah and Epstein killed himself /s

[@MillionaireTrader]

youre wrong , they do it legally. Its just that the middle class and poor class dont understand. The poor and middle class focus on jobs whereas rich focus on building empires for next generation.

[@gnmn]

What govt. needs is to put a threshold and all the problems will be gone.

[@eostyrwinn5018]

"The economy now looks a lot like it did in the 20's" Alright, nothing ominous about that

[@javiermendez9880]

Eos it really doesn’t though. A recession is likely coming, but not for the reasons this video outlines.

[@mastersonogashira1796]

(Insert people jumping off building picture here)

[@shaunrosenberg4568]

What's the worst that could happen?

[@debbalt]

As long as nothing happens on Oct. 24, 2019, we're good

[@GMoneyGonz]

We're only days away from the 90th anniversary of the Stock Market Crash......................

[@mattyandsean]

Imagine trusting corporations to do the right thing without being forced to

[@Mkrabs]

Imagine trusting for profit companies

[@angelgjr1999]

Motraq Republican Party in a nutshell. Wages has been stagnant for decades thanks to them. Too bad uneducated whites keep voting them in.

[@zacharymarentette5269]

@@angelgjr1999 wages have been stagnant for decades you say? As you type from your 60 fos desktop or mobile phone that has existed for less than 5 years. Technology everyday is getting more advanced and more accessible and is proof that there is not stagnation.

[@cesargomez8887]

@@zacharymarentette5269 technology evolves and we don't.

[@angelgjr1999]

Zachary Marentette Yeah it’s the same digital technology that is literally automating millions of jobs away every year. What’s your point? That I should worship Steve Jobs?

[@Xeonerable]

Toyota: "Hey guys we're here to make money but also make good cars" GM: "FFUGGGEEEN MONNAAAAAY!!!!!!!"

[@emeraldworldlp8828]

What even is GM? I thought I knew about most brands...

[@deezus6926]

EmeraldWorld LP General Motors? They make Chevy and gmc vehicles

[@emeraldworldlp8828]

@@deezus6926 oh ok, never ever have I heard about them.

[@mattwolf7698]

@@emeraldworldlp8828 They also make Cadillac.

[@davidgoldman3236]

@@mattwolf7698 not all of us live in America 🇺🇸

[@woody_you_want]

Rubio: They are using tax cuts to enrich themselves Also Rubio: let's give them more tax cuts!

[@krmunoz2169]

"I see no possible exploitation happening here in the near future, no sir my job here is done"

[@eugenelee533]

He is saying whenever cooperations reinvest their money into raising wages or the cooperation itself, they would get a tax cut, so it is serving more as an incentive than a free handout like what trump did

[@Anamewhowasnottaken]

@@eugenelee533 A much better way to help the company the workers and the communities these workers live

[@arthalagao8486]

Toyota: "Hey guys we're here to make money but also make good cars" GM: "FFUGGGEEEN MONNAAAAAY!!!!!!!"

[@vernan.9630]

Omg! learn new things every day!

[@SD-tj5dh]

It's time to get Karen to speak to the manager.

[@aconite72]

Karen will save us all and lift us from poverty and homelessness.

[@pankajuchiha9232]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@shadowfox6438]

... send in the Karen

[@hediyehb9082]

Warren is our Karen

[@JanitaShowaars]

Assembles army of middle age moms all over america

[@humphrey-7094]

Rich People: Pssst. Blame the immigrants.

[@forex922]

Jonathan F. Illegal immigration is a huge problem in America !

[@shaunrosenberg4568]

The ones working 10 hour days in the hot sun of for less than minimum wage?

[@prathameshshirke6684]

@@forex922 ohh really?

[@cesargomez8887]

@@forex922 sure if you don't question what your master tells you. Btw Im a immigrant and im coming for your wife and kids 😉😉

[@PaulAntonescu]

@@forex922 most likely, a person who takes the risk of relocating, is willing to work for its future.

[@Leslie-ge2dt]

This video almost made me cry. The extreme greed and selfishness of these corporations and the lack of consequences for their harmful actions is repulsive. It does not have to be like this.

[@time4955]

What do u mean a company has to make money that’s it’s goal they can shut down a plant and cut wages whenever they want. Their literal goal is to make money the govt can’t force them to keep a failing factory open and as for stock buybacks those are not bad at all when someone starts a business they have to sell part of it to shareholders so they have capital to grow. If they succeed than they won’t want to keep paying dividends to shareholders the owner will want full ownership of the company

[@Leslie-ge2dt]

@@time4955 and what does anything you said have to do with the disgusting greed showcased here? So a company can make money( in this case maximizing profits) off the backs of the workers, environment, lobbying etc, but a CEO can’t take a pay cut? Why? Kindly gtfoh. Thx.

[@Pretender6996]

@@time4955 right, but OP is talking about ethics, you're talking about business logic. A balance between the two is much needed. Businesses have social and societal responsabilities too, it's too easy to exempt them from that as you do. It doesn't have to be binary/black and white

[@MRkriegs]

I feel u dont understand this topic well.

[@internetperson9813]

"If we lower taxes, business will pay their workers more" "So couldn't we just use the taxed money as a grant for workers?" "No"

[@nielzie97]

!!!!

[@internetperson9813]

@1 2 I know

[@hectorramirez9889]

@1 2 So they will throw a fit because they won't be able to buy their third Pen house?

[@K-xor]

You think you've made a point but in reality you haven't. The hint should be that when other people's ideas seem so childish it's because you haven't understood them. But I'll explain: Businesses are what drives the economy, our prosperity. It's with a free and competitive market that we can DETERMINE what everyone should earn (marginal productivity), what we should produce, how many resources we should use to produce, how much should it cost, etc. Governments incentives are just to perpetuate themselves in power. You give them the hand, they take your whole arm. You give them money, they spend it on the non productive economy, they subsidize un productive production plans, they subsidize un productive "grants", that aren't incentivized to be the best ones etc. That happens here in Europe a lot. We have lots of "social grants", we pay really high taxes and then use private Healthcare because even though we pay for public Healthcare with taxes, private Healthcare is so superior that a big chunk of the medium class prefers it.

[@kokorakel2103]

@@K-xor where are you in europe? here in germany where i live even the few rich people i know use public healthcare.

[@illuminatvee]

Every time I watch vox videos I'm struck by how visually and audibly appealing they edit the videos to be. Very well done.

[@Pretender6996]

It's very good, it's a mix of short historical snipets (because people have attention span disorder thanks to social media) and "RSA Animate" to assist our brain with understanding the matter (listening + visual instead off listening only). I like it too... Worryingly

[@wakaneut]

I don't get this "CEO-worship" culture in America.

[@Suedocode]

It's more the philosophy that you can own your own stuff without being bothered too much. It's an innocent enough idea, but things get a little out of hand when people start owning way too much.

[@Sticky1254]

wasp suburban bootlicking class traitors

[@Martinspire]

Nor the "they will invest it in their workers" mentality. Its never happening, so why would this rule do that?... And why do they keep removing laws that were put in place to prevent wealth going to the 1%?

[@neeneko]

A lot of it comes from 'prosperity gospel', a movement within the evangelical community that has really taken off over the last half century. It basically states that wealth and godlyness are intertwined, so if you are rich, that means you are right, as long as you are christian at least.

[@forestpark73]

Unfortunately people worship wealth in America.

[@challah4311]

How to stop this: 1: Ban Buybacks 2: Up the minimum wage 3: Have a mandatory quota for workers on the Company Boards

[@tobias-gr2hu]

no stocks must go up!!!

[@yokunjon]

I disagree on the second one, it might backfire.

[@tobias-gr2hu]

@@yokunjon i disagree with all 3. 1.share buy backs where never banned that is just wrong. 2.companys are more likely to replace workers 3. why would you? btw big companys can just move their HQ. most already have a couple.

[@zachb1706]

Minimum wage should be state run, each state knows better how much money their citizens need, and the cost of living is different everywhere.

[@andrewvetovitz6804]

@@zachb1706 minimum wage hurts small business. You make corporations bigger by every increasing it.

[@skipj6925]

"Make America Great Again", should actually mean going back to the 1960s and helping the middle class.

[@johnmartin4641]

The standard of living today is much better than the 1960s. There’s a Dave Ramsey video on KZbin somewhere where he talks about how miserable the 1960s were and how bad the lifestyle was compared to today. I always took “Make America Great Again” to mean going back to the 1980s when we had high economic growth and low taxes.

[@damiengeorges3344]

Umm yes but stuff was also pretty bad in the 1960s. Segregation, State-enforced homophobia, you name it

[@lamontkhoza2856]

@@johnmartin4641 we still have low taxes but no high economic growth

[@NeonCicada]

@@johnmartin4641 The only reason the standard of living has increased is the advancements in science & technology.

[@johnmartin4641]

@@NeonCicada that may be part of it, but not all of it. In the video, Dave Ramsey talks about how people rarely ate out and rarely went on vacation and when they did go on vacation, it was a very cheap vacation in the mountains, no beach resorts. Those things have nothing to do with technology and science.

[@BookofFuture]

Who else is still waiting for the tax cut benefits to trickle down?

[@cjstats1514]

@@xhenryth7926 Maybe from the .01% to the 1%.

[@BothHands1]

lol the wealth only trickles up. recently it hasn't been a trickle, but rather a torrent

[@duckflight9257]

I'm getting "trickled on"...but I don't think it's money 😔

[@IIllytch321nonadinfinitum]

@@duckflight9257 That's our food--our sustenance. We should be grateful that we get such wonderful portions. Let us pray to the CEO gods for this magnanimous bounty. Peace.

[@VeryJUICED]

They already are

[@SaltySparrow]

Boomers: WORK HARDER YOU LAZY BUMS Millenials: *Blank stare into bowl of rice*

[@generationfallout5189]

You guys are having rice!

[@hansnoor9637]

at least you have something to eat. Post Millenial baby

[@Aar0nMD]

Also millennials: I need an adult, adulting is hard.

[@bsinita_wokeone]

@@Aar0nMD that's b******* and you know it we are not lazy bums f*** face. We Millennials are paying more taxes in the previous generation and none of it is going into use to rebuild Urban cities or rural areas or transportation. because you trusted Reagan and later the Clinton Administration those f****** scammers.

[@woodyguthriesghost344]

I dunno. I'm Gen X. My kids work as hard as I did. They've got cool things that I didn't, like the internet and iPhones, but they work hard. The difference is now the economy's whack, with nearly everything going to the top 1%, so they'll have to work harder to stay where I was. And that video explains part of "why" that is.

[@burpiii]

3 rules to get rich: 1. Don't pay taxes 2. Don't pay taxes 3. Repeat

[@BrutusAlbion]

actually the real way to get rich is to make the people pay for your income. Do it the roman way ... Le example: So one easy way to get rich easy and stay rich is to use your wealth to buy property and then tax the regular people through rental fees as a source of income. Since everyone always needs a place to sleep and live, rental fees and property are guaranteed success and wealth long term. As a rich person you have vastly larger % sums of your income dispoasable that you can use to buy real estate with. That means that the poorer people always pay a premium on real estate buying it from you or try competing with you for the property itself directly and since they have vastly lower expendable money % wise of their income to save up for that said property purchase, they will never win the race in buying property to buy themselves out of basically extortionate prices. The process becomes worse as the richer the top percentage of owners gets because they will start competing with the money they made from the regular people against each other and drive up prices even more so that even middle-class won't be able to afford proper housing. This driving up on the cost of real estate and drives up rental fees until increasingly more and more of the average wage of low and middle-class gets siphoned off into rental fees just so that the rich can use those fees to put even more pressure on the real estate market. It's a giant bubble and the poor are paying for it essentially. It's a beautifully destructive system really, tried and true since Roman times. It's rather easy to dismantle actually ... though the means to that end are probably to radical for people nowadays. It's such a tried and true money making machine that it's the bedrock of old money and aristocracy.

[@swamidan277]

BrutusAlbion and bow would you dismantle it?

[@BrutusAlbion]

@@swamidan277 An easy example is Australia/Canada actually where housing prices are shooting out into orbit because Chinese mega-firms (state or private owned) buys up the houses wholesale and then rents them back out to the very people who could have bought them if not for the chinese mega-firms buying them up from underneath their noses. Now these folks are paying rents for homes they could have owned themselves. So the money is directly being funneled back into the big owners rather than the home owners who need it for the future. The renters don't build up value, in fact they are just paying a premium and thus lose out on future disposable income, they are charged like chattel to live in the houses they need close to their jobs and livelihoods. The person who owns the house doesn't actually need it. Well ... other than to make money of their chattel ofcourse.

[@darxoonwasser]

0. Be rich already

[@lynnpehrson8826]

You forgot "have rich parents"

[@broed731]

CEOs fail to realize that they'll make more money when the working class has more money to spend

[@bobsteve4812]

They realize it, they just don’t care

[@user-rw6xo9jc3n]

Bob Steve at all

[@migueltichareva904]

Sometimes it's not the CEO's. It's the board and shareholders. Sometimes you do what they say because it pays well. I'm not saying be a sell out, but it's easier to end the world when you dont see the world ending. That's why normal CEO's are not celebrities or famous. They want to do there job cash in and live there life in peace. It's the billionaires and multi-millionaires love seeing there wealth grow. Its the nature of the game.

[@jessicayates87]

You are right. It could be a win win but instead its a win lose.

[@revanofkorriban1505]

Only a universal rise in wages would be enough to finance a substantial rise of consumption and therefore profits. That's why so few companies are raising wages; they only really profit from it if everyone does it.

[@crozraven]

7:49 yeah, like that ever happened. the very thought that most rich people would do a fair things instead of succumb to greed is so freaking asinine & downright appalling.

[@BothHands1]

bernie 2020 or if necessary warren. we cannot have biden or trump. the oligarchy needs to go. enough is enough. it's time for serious legislative change, and if that doesn't happen, we need to take a cue from the french. let them eat cake, they say? they are so far out of touch that our words can't even reach them. if one person can spend a million dollars a day and still never run out of money, then their wealth is obscene. trump told us exactly who he was when he refused to put his assets in a blind trust, the first president to ever do that (i'm sure his megalomaniacal self is proud of that), and the first president to refuse to release his tax returns. everything he does is to enrich himself personally. he hasn't made a single decision that wasn't to enrich himself. even the republicans are mad at him for pulling out of syria. the only people who are happy about it are russia and saudi arabia. that should tell you everything. why did he pull out of syria, even though both parties say it's a terrible idea? because he has several trump tower hotels in turkey, and he wants to protect his assets. these types of oligarchs need to go. our kurdish allies are being slaughtered right now because of his decision to protect his assets.

[@BothHands1]

i don't know if trump is more akin to marie antoinette, or emperor nero. i'm leaning towards the latter. he won't rest until the country is burned to the ground, and all the wealth is in his pockets. he fancies himself an emperor, that's for sure

[@BothHands1]

roman empire 2.0, coming to a country near you

[@lazarovera03]

Take away “rich”. People in general tend to be greedy, it’s who we are as a specie. Some of us are more compassionate some aren’t. Truth is that this people are slowly but surely bringing down their companies and it is affecting normal people. They are smart women and men that aren’t doing the smart thing for the longevity of the economy rather they are enriching. Don’t forget that we don’t live in a utopia, human behavior can be unpredictable at times. Hopefully this peculiar issue is dealt with in the most beneficial manner for our economy’s longevity.

[@neeneko]

Rich people do whatever benefits them the most. The trick is to create a regulatory framework where what is best for them and what is best for society align.

[@887frodo]

Marco Rubio’s so smart he is willing to give more tax breaks to fix the problems his previous tax breaks created. A truly Florida man. God willing we’ll vote that joke out of congress next year.

[@saxyrep1]

Let's hope so but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Florida to do the right thing though...

[@AgoristsRising]

Like voting criminals out of power and replacing them with another criminal to hold power would ever work. The problem isn't just the politician, buddy. It's the government.

[@r3dp1ll]

@@AgoristsRising exactly. It's the whole system that needs to be taken down.

[@OstriMonk]

We have to wait until 2022 until he's up for reelection :/

[@mastersonogashira1796]

Florida is an “interesting” state, more murder last year than entire Canada XD

[@HallowqueenCrafting]

The lordstown story I have lived through first hand. We had a large Ford plant just outside of town. It was a big part of our local economy, with high paying jobs. It left during the recession. Because it closed, it's feeder plants closed. They were a major user of the railroads here, so some railroad people got laid off. The taxi drivers who ferried these railroad employees around lost money. While many of the workers at the plant did find other jobs, they were lower paying, so luxuries like gym memberships, golf course memberships, new cars etc became less in demand. Restaurants closed because people couldn't afford to eat out as much. Boutique stores closed, higher end grocery stores struggled. It's been around 10 years since the plant closed, and we're still feeling the effects of it.

[@Yukosan13]

Trickle down economics 😅

[@daniel931016]

No wonder people vote for Bernie and progressives when information like this reaches the masses!

[@haiho7693]

Men i am glad to read this

[@LorcTheBest]

well, they don't so much

[@xoranginho]

Boomers dont watch youtube videos. And MSM cannot air this as the companies that buy ads on their programs do exactly what is being described here. If CNN starts reporting this, companies will just pull out their money and CNN will go bankrupt.

[@dickcastle]

Are youbkiddong? You have to hunt for this information. History class wont teach you...and the msm sure wont

[@yassinehelaoui7078]

well Bernie just dropped out ...

[@alexwschan185]

Immediately when seeing the video: Wait, isn't buying your own stock like illegal? Then: ohh....

[@1985toyotacamry]

It's used to be illegal before 1982

[@hectorvega621]

@@1985toyotacamry God I'm learning that almost everything is, because of Reagan.

[@vraisairs9201]

@@hectorvega621 so many of the economic issues we have today are because of the Reagan administration

[@Asocialite__]

@@hectorvega621 It's almost like electing someone with very little political/economic knowledge is a bad idea.

[@hectorvega621]

@@Asocialite__ Well you know what they say about History, it either repeats or rhyme. I didn't exist in Reagan time, but I can see 2016 another person with no political/economic knowledge, and I couldn't vote, because I was not old enough to vote. 2020 is my first time to vote for a President.

[@zeromailss]

The easiest way to make money is to have money The one making decisions are always the people that have the most money, so of course they will find a way to make it so that they get the most profit

[@8is]

And that's a bad thing because? They don't steal anything. And all Amercians have gotten richer. Of course, the rich have become richer than the poor but it's not like the poor are getting poorer. How is that a loss?

[@gsm5104]

ew It’s not as simple as money. The problem as shown in the video is that not only has the greedy CEOs caused thousands to lose jobs in order to increase their own profits, but the effect even had waves in the community as a whole. You can say it’s not the CEO’s responsibility to help the community’s economy but if things continue like this it’ll be detrimental to everyone

[@scholaroftheworldalternatehist]

@@8is the ultrarich have way more than they need, and dont really give back much through philanthropy. Thus the poor do get poorer, reslatively speaking

[@8is]

@@scholaroftheworldalternatehist As long as everyone to the poorest of the poorest are getting richer and richer, I don't see how that's a problem. You're not hurt by the rich getting richer than you, are you? And look how much they have contributed to society and you. Someone made your iPhone possible, Steve Jobs, and he got arguably underpaid in 12$ per phone. Even though he was responsible for its creation, he got a small profit per phone but it still made him a billionaire. Some people are just so useful to other people that they get underpaid in billions. But you're not hurt by that, are you? It should be the opposite, you got a phone that you can voluntarily purchase.

[@8is]

@@gsm5104 It doesn't sound like you actually know how companies are run. Companies' objectives and communities' objectives are not the same and forcing them to have the same objective would be more detrimental than to let them play out their part in society.

[@Simplejackfade]

It’s really hard to hold onto hope seeing things like this.

[@kenpanderz672]

ive already given up honestly. with global warming already too bad to fix without incredible technology that we dont have yet, economic disparity as bad as a time before black people could use the same bathrooms as white people and right-wing extremism as bad as, if not worse than, when the klan was at its height, im pretty sure the US wont last much longer, atleast not at in a pre-apocolyptic state. moving to another country, if possible, might be the only hope Americans have at this point

[@brendanfoster5548]

I would like to hear the argument against this video

[@gid7865]

If America is so bad then why are we the most successful country in the world?

[@leonyoung4707]

A successful country doesnt have people dying cause they cant afford insulin

[@xfreeman86]

There's nothing wrong with buybacks. It's an efficient way to return capital to investors that, unlike a dividend, can be cashed in when the investor chooses (by selling their shares) and is taxed as capital gains instead of income.

[@Revealingstorm.]

@@gid7865 America isn't the most successful country. I would argue that's Scandinavian countries.

[@spheyuh]

mr. mongolion if your only measure of a successful country is GDP then sure. however, take a look at all the scandinavian countries and canada. their people are doing so much better than ours and they have a much higher standard of living.

[@blemone7481]

How American CEOs got so rich: taking advantage of the working class

[@user-rt8sh7xt1d]

Thats capitalism for you

[@StonedMagician99]

@@jelly3374 Republicans are so much worse. Yes, both sides have too many bad aspects. But as to which one I'd trust to run the country, Democrats win hands down in virtually every way. Don't even pretend that both sides of the coin are equally clean, because that's just not true.

[@estebanromo344]

@@StonedMagician99 Yeah Republicans are much worse but trusting dems with the country is quite a stretch

[@creounity]

well that's capitalism :)

[@BothHands1]

StonedMagician99 trump told us exactly who he was when he refused to put his assets in a blind trust, the first president to ever do that (i'm sure his megalomaniacal self is proud of that), and the first president to refuse to release his tax returns. everything he does is to enrich himself personally. he hasn't made a single decision that wasn't to enrich himself. even the republicans are mad at him for pulling out of syria. the only people who are happy about it are russia and saudi arabia. that should tell you everything. why did he pull out of syria, even though both parties say it's a terrible idea? because he has several trump tower hotels in turkey, and he wants to protect his assets. these types of oligarchs need to go. our kurdish allies are being slaughtered right now because of his decision to protect his assets.

[@_MintArcade]

Stock manipulation, that's not real business, more like get rich quick scheme

[@themasstermwahahahah]

It appears that the companies are just getting liquidated for short term gains

[@angelgjr1999]

This explains why Google and Apple now have stopped innovating. Their sales are going down while their stock is rising. This is literally what caused the Great Depression...

[@wasabij]

I read this like Money for Nothing.

[@marshal7969]

But it works

[@alquinn8576]

stock buybacks are not very different from paying dividends (the reason buybacks are preferred is due to tax incidence)

[@jhoang861]

I find it sad that people hating on other people and blaming on minorities for taking their jobs when it’s really these corporations and their greed that is to blame.

[@hunkarsultan4727]

Its their company its their faie right.

[@issecret1]

Every time something changed for the worse in the US, it's always in Regan's time

[@noobgamer-cq1wm]

Also nixon, bush, clinton and now trump.

[@nathanielibrahim3492]

I just learned today that America used to have quite a bit of wealth mobility before the 80s. The idea that you could work hard and pull yourself out of poverty was (a little bit) true. That all ended with Reagan, and since the 80s it's pretty unlikely that someone will be able to change their class. The absolutely massive military spending was Reagan too. So was tough on crime policies that jailed and killed massive numbers of people without helping society. Wealth inequality has shot up with Reaganomics too. He was a nightmare of a president, but American politics is defined not by people's real interests, but by the nonesense economics pushed by the wealthy, extreme nationalism, and religious belief.

[@nicholasfield6127]

Always.

[@Charles-hy6gp]

@@nathanielibrahim3492 He didn´t dismantle communism, he did dismantle middle class

[@suryanshsingh4533]

Are you talking about gamestop

[@tim..indeed]

The only reason why America still kept their pace up when it comes to GDP per capita with Germany/Japan in the last 30+ years or so is because of Silicon Valley's dominance of the internet which lead to literally all the big internet firms like Google, Apple, Microsoft and more being American. Silicon Valley saved this destructive economic system. We'll see how long it holds up.

[@NaumRusomarov]

It didn't save anything. Google, Apple, Microsoft and Facebook make huge amounts of money, most of that money goes to what is basically a handful of people. Most US citizens don't see a dime of that money because the companies don't pay their fair share in taxes and the money just lies in off-shore bank accounts.

[@w8ting4fri]

That is not true even a little bit lol

[@johnmoore1495]

Naum Rusomarov it’s not just those companies there’s thousands of smaller IT companies across the country. IT was the primary reason Bill Clinton managed to get a surplus during his presidency, all of a sudden a huge surge of income from a whole new sector. America (especially in the beginning) is the biggest innovator in the IT field.

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@NaumRusomarov it did save the system in that it kept the growth up against other industries. Of course it didn't help most workers, cos that's not what the system is about. Even most workers in Silicon Valley are underpaid database/spreadsheet fillers like in many other offices, after all

[@ryanm2051]

Tim Fischer what r u talking about? Japan has been goin through severe stagflation and horrible economic issues that’s way worse than what the us has gone through...and Europe is heading down the same path with qe. Not sure about u but the us is looking much better

[@FarazMazhar]

Was Regan the president when he said 'Government is the problem'?

[@DeeDee-zu2pv]

It was his Inauguration Speech, so yeah, it was his first day on the job.

[@antonyandrewson5803]

oh the irony

[@rubyparker5831]

That's what rich presidents say when they're president they want nothing more than to convince American's that we shouldn't trust the government but that we can trust cooperation. You can argue about which you should or shouldn't trust but frankly rich CEOs benefit from convincing others that government is the problem and that they should be unregulated and everyone else usually hurts for it.

[@spinner771]

Ruby Parker the government is suppose to be the people’s lawyer against corporations but what happens when your lawyers bought 🤔?

[@rubyparker5831]

@@spinner771 like I said you can argue that the government is corrupt but I'm just saying that rich people benefit from lack of regulation that's what my point was not whether or not the current government is corrupt

[@gilbertflores2744]

I think it’s about time hard working people take back from the rich. Generation after generation they get rich. The poor just struggle.

[@clydemorgan1439]

not just the poor they make the average person poorer.

[@nevergonnagiveyouup.9162]

@@clydemorgan1439 Thers no "middleclass" anymore in America only an "poorclass" and an "richclass". Its really sad to see Millions of people struggle to survive

[@coopsnz1]

@@nevergonnagiveyouup.9162 franchise owner are in middle class you buy from

[@vitsadelhole]

actually statistically speaking the vast vast majority of second and third-generation wealth held by the rich is lost leading to rich families getting poorer each generation (ofc there is exceptions but generally >80% of wealth is lost by third-generation I think it>60% for second-generation) On the other hand overwhelmingly amongst the lower classes the average family wealth tends to increase as people on the lower end of wages

[@johnmartin4641]

Hard working people are rich people. How do you think we got rich? We worked hard and made good career choices. It’s time for people to make better career choices so they can be rich like me.

[@rulofmg]

there will come time where the company produce nothing and the stock still going higher

[@benvoliothefirst]

I would argue we've been there since the 80's, with a few notable exceptions.

[@steffenjensen422]

It's right now. Ronie stopped the economy, but the stock market doesn't even care. It's scary, even to stock market investors

[@Blastoise-1123]

That has already happened with the south sea trading company that traded nothing and just raised stock prices to make money

[@Acid31337]

It's already there in Japan

[@tackytaco8133]

*Enron has entered the chat*

[@xdanulicious4275]

it’s not a question of “whether or not it should stay that way” it’s when will it will finally crash? if you don’t believe that a crash is coming. all i have to say is that history tends to repeat itself...

[@apc9714]

We can't expect the economy to grow constantly and forever, but even with some up and down the general trend is way positive

[@davilimalol4612]

Tech bubble 2025 let's go /s

[@terrymp1091]

They happen all the time. It’s a cycle.

[@RealCaptainJaws]

@@terrymp1091 Economic crashes happen all the time... and in a cycle? Buddy that thought is gonna need some 'splainin.

[@bhul9899]

@@RealCaptainJaws homie its basic econ

[@racoonzattack]

8:13 Wow! So the companies used the money they saved with these tax cuts to buy back stocks instead of reinvesting in the company. This is sickening.

[@M123Xoxo]

And wages have been suppressed for decades for this very reason.

[@schalear]

2019: The economy is too similiar to the 1920s What happened after the roaring 20s? Yep, the Great Depression, and here we are.

[@thegoldenpyro]

Yes, but this time the reason is completely different

[@knguyennguyen5559]

@@thegoldenpyro Still, it's a depression

[@pablodonner5213]

@@thegoldenpyro not for a lack of trying I assure you, if that whole drone assassination had created a war we would have the war and pandemic just like the 20's

[@gnmn]

That looks like someone recieved hefty cash, for changing the law.

[@Brahmdagh]

This video's message is far more important that we probably realize. Spread it.

[@mattiassollerman]

1980: "Wealth will start trickling down any day now." 1981: *Pikachu face* 1982: *Pikachu face* 1983: *Pikachu face* 1984: *Pikachu face* 1985: *Pikachu face* etc you get the joke

[@imperatorcaesardivifiliusa2158]

Mattias Sollerman no I don’t understand please keep going

[@cesargomez8887]

@Evaristo Fernandez and it's people are suffering

[@prashanthraghavendran2628]

Yeah, America is richer, but most of those riches are concentrated upwards in the ultra-rich elite demographic, and is still continuing to trickle upwards. Wealth does not obey gravity.

[@Alfie-ni7lx]

Trickle down economics isnt actually an economic theory. No serious Economist has ever used that as a theory, Its just used to smeer capitalism most of the time.

[@sharann3482]

Alfie Coulson yes it isn’t a theory but it’s used by politicians who wants to apply the supply-side theory (neoclassical theory) wich they are doing with Trickle Down policies. The Theory says Savings equals Investments, so in order for companies to invest they need savings, so the politicians cut taxes and wages and made the workforce more flexible (making family planing more difficult). This has made companies to savers but forced the state to go into debts. But this is ignored by the neoclassical theory, and the investments growth rates? Are even lower than in the Keynesian Time.

[@chiralhead7577]

this was one of the most informative videos, i have ever watched. thank you vox...

[@henryJ1245]

Who else laughed when one of the options was to increase employee wages?

[@KeleidoOmni]

Me 🚬🗿

[@pariotaze]

Step 1: buy some congressmen (preferably Republicans) Step 2: pay them to legalize insider trading Step 3: trade with your company's stock Step 4: enjoy the riches NPV > 0, IRR is more than that of legitimate investments

[@pariotaze]

@Dog Ma Yes they absolutely do. But for Republicans greed is a feature, not a bug.

[@BothHands1]

bernie 2020 or if necessary warren. we cannot have biden or trump. the oligarchy needs to go. enough is enough. it's time for serious legislative change, and if that doesn't happen, we need to take a cue from the french. let them eat cake, they say? they are so far out of touch that our words can't even reach them. if one person can spend a million dollars a day and still never run out of money, then their wealth is obscene. trump told us exactly who he was when he refused to put his assets in a blind trust, the first president to ever do that (i'm sure his megalomaniacal self is proud of that), and the first president to refuse to release his tax returns. everything he does is to enrich himself personally. he hasn't made a single decision that wasn't to enrich himself. even the republicans are mad at him for pulling out of syria. the only people who are happy about it are russia and saudi arabia. that should tell you everything. why did he pull out of syria, even though both parties say it's a terrible idea? because he has several trump tower hotels in turkey, and he wants to protect his assets. these types of oligarchs need to go. our kurdish allies are being slaughtered right now because of his decision to protect his assets.

[@MagicznaPanda]

Step 1: buy some congressmen (preferably Republicans) Step 2: pay them to legalize insider trading Step 3: insider trading is still not legal, but dividends in the form of stock buybacks are

[@neeneko]

@Dog Ma The difference tends to be which industries are involved. They are all greedy, but different sectors depend on different economics to do well. The GoP tends to be backed by companies that thrive off large wealth divides, small number of rich customers and large numbers of poor workers. The Dems tend to be backed by companies that depend on a strong middle class customer base. Both are doing what is best for their backers, but what is best for their backers aligns differntly with the general population.

[@alexs1640]

@Dog Ma that's kind of like comparing shoplifting and armed robbery... both are bad, one is far worse. No one is saying Democrats are saints, but Republicans have made it their code. Why do you think Republicans worship Reagan? It's because his administration let them see that they can rob the working class and nothing changes.

[@chongjunxiang3002]

Trump: Wants to bring back the good ol glory of American car GM: Shut down

[@cj16cj16cj]

chongjunxiang3002 I mean the Ohio plant closed in 2015 when Obama was president. That’s probably a good reason trump won Ohio because he campaigned off of bringing the jobs back.

[@q.l.7347]

cj16cj16cj Trump has never supported car companies

[@albertkoshy9678]

sad how Americans put American cars on a pedestal but GM is just another sellout not caring about their fellow Americans.

[@MrShanester117]

Thank you for correctly putting Reagan in his place in history as the destroyer of the middle class

[@eminem2996]

Reagan is a bidenist plastic plate

[@isidoreaerys8745]

One minute in and you’ve already explained stock buybacks better than any economist has ever explained it to me

[@anthonymarquez6493]

The older you get the more you realize that Reagan was the absolute worse president

[@PeterParker-yg6fc]

he made us become debt free.....until bush fd it up

[@omysack1]

Nixon would like a word with you

[@angelgjr1999]

Dont even get me started on how Reagan literally had dementia in his 2nd term...

[@consummateVssss]

* cough cough * yet

[@Septiccatgaming]

What do you mean? Tyler Jackson is hardly even remembered as being a president, and the few things you do remember are bad.

[@kingjayded4752]

Oh boy, I sure can't wait for that wealth to "trickle down"!

[@JordanMadera]

_ Hans _ you have job no?

[@jonathankristensen464]

@@JordanMadera I do, but I'm still being paid minimum wage. If they could, they'd pay me less. Trickle-down economics isn't a thing anymore in this modern world.

[@alan7761]

@@jonathankristensen464 Where do you work?

[@jonathankristensen464]

@@alan7761 Supermarket

[@shelkton.7991]

@@jonathankristensen464 classic mad wagie

[@333angeleyes]

Thanks Vox, we just started learning about buy backs (callable) in my accounting class and they didn't mention any of this. However I have always wondered why CEO's are paid so much even when their workers starve.

[@josuebalderas2075]

I mean it is simple math. If you were to divide the salary of the CEO to the rest of the workers that would amount to a couple of bucks extra every year.

[@time4955]

Because the ceo does harder work that’s like asking why a doctor makes more than a mailman

[@JoySingh]

@@time4955 Like what? He can literally make more money than anyone in that factory by just buying back stocks because that would mean that the stock price is gone up. Do you understand that?

[@MRkriegs]

​@@JoySinghu make it seem like buybacks are an infinite money printer or something 😂😂😂

[@TheBrianFlanagan]

“Buybacks have been secretly reshaping the American economy” *shows a dozen newspapers that inform the public of what we’re doing” 🤣

[@itsblitz4437]

Sounds like Great Depression 2.0 waiting to happen.

[@user-ic4kx9nj2q]

Not wrong

[@quinnmishich8692]

The pandemic was going to swing a recession into motion anyways. Having the same conditions now as there was leading into the Depression, we get to rocket ourselves right into nationwide bankruptcy.

[@harryzhang7573]

Great Depression 2: Electic Boogaloo

[@ahyarhartanto1802]

corona : well you are correct on this one, sir

[@Elcherino123]

Drumpf took a dump on all of US. 41 million jobs lost this quarter.

[@darthchocolate5190]

You make this information so understandable and accessible. Keep up the good work Vox!

[@CraigCall]

Interestingly, the company I work for has an ESPP (Employee Stock Purchase Plan). So, when stock prices go up, I make more money as an employee. Allowing for more ESPP programs for employees in various markets would also tie bonuses of employees to the stock price. I would propose ways to tie workers' compensation to CEO compensation and that anything that would, in effect, boost the CEO salary would also boost the employees as well. The more those become linked, I think that will also help people in addition to the ways mentioned here. Also, I would love if @Vox did a video about ESPP and other stock related programs that most people don't understand either.

[@moskazime2]

Love your videos I could watch them all day long. Awesome animation and footage.

[@PeidosFTW]

Inb4 someone says that American law should protect buybacks because it's a tradition

[@johnmoore1495]

1st Christmas, now my stock buybacks 😢

[@ownthispwn]

American law should protect buybacks because it’s a tradition

[@lordihlendam3619]

American law should protect tradition because it's a buyback

[@overlyasian3488]

muh buybacks

[@jameso6106]

American buybacks should protect traditions because it’s a law

[@kingjayded4752]

"B-But Reagan was a messiah! He t-talked nice and had charisma!"

[@danielbeauchamp2317]

He was a messiah for the rich.

[@cesargomez8887]

@Tobby Isiba yep but that is no reason to bote for DRUMPF

[@bri1085]

@@cesargomez8887 Trump is also seen as a Messiah, for simply not being a career politician

[@abdulrahmanchalya7873]

" and he doubled tax revenue even though he lowered income tax"

[@Charles-hy6gp]

"He t-talked nice and had charisma!" So did Ted Bundy and look how it turned to be, same history is repeated with Clinton and Obama

[@henrydumont4482]

2020: mmmmh That's pretty interesting *evil laugh intensifie*

[@neko7309]

Wow, I'm an econ student. This couldn't br told any better. Good job

[@Rethanos]

From my experience working with boards and executives across industries and companies, it's a very "you scratch my back, I scratch yours" environment. Are some CEOs worth the money they make? Few from my experience. What's the best way to address? Unionize if you want to remain a small fish or start your own company. Depending on the industry, many executives are hilariously poor competitors who happen to be at the right place at the right time. Sure many work hard in the beginning, but what they do well is hire people smarter than themselves and the back scratching begins.

[@ZDY66666]

im surprised how uneducated people are on finance... This is honestly the most basic thing that should be taught in middle school...but government won't allow this (to keep us poor?) i suppose? Finance, accounting, economics should be started in middle school or highschool. And anyone older than that should actively learn the fundamentals AT LEAST. I have friends who dont even know the difference of Savings account vs chequing and dont even know what opportunity cost of investment or discount rate or anything like that is. heck, no one even understand the concept of time value of time. One of them didn't even know the meaning of interest. She thought her banker was talking about if she was 'interested' the whole time... HELLO????? How can citizens make educated decisions when they are not educated. So many people are still clueless.qq

[@menger88p]

very true, people are uneducated about finance, and that makes them unable to know which new polices of a president are good for them and which are bad.

[@leif_____8579]

The goverment always benefits from people who don't know how to finance themselves

[@Daisy-pr5bj]

Isn't it nornal in USA to get economics and stuff in high school?

[@pseudonymous1382]

Economics is taught in high school in the US, but it's basically "trickledown good, Government bad" the class.

[@TheeBlackSilhouette]

How are jobs created when you can’t profit off of ignorance or inability to do something?Thats why they don’t teach it.

[@komocity269]

"The American Economy looks a lot like the 1920's" ..when you combine some other things like : -the russian invasion of ukrain / ww1 (2014 / 1914) -when you being the 2020's with a pandemic like in the 1920's -when you realise that 2029 ... is just 8 years in the future

[@jamessweeney2817]

Finally something good from vox. You guys have a 1/5 success rate. More videos about the economy please.

[@TehMorbidAtheist]

It all started with Reagan.

[@BrickworksDK]

I would say it started much earlier. We never really got out of the Great Depression. WW2 gave the economy an artificial boost and the military industrial complex kept it going well into the seventies when it began to stagnate. Along came Reagan, and then it got really bad...

[@Charles-hy6gp]

@@BrickworksDK So everything started with the federal reserve? the problem is that all president and politicians that were against the fed/central banks were killed. Fed is too overpowered that neither the greatest president should bother to abolish it

[@lobeoteu4713]

GM plant closed in my city in 2008, crime and drugs have taken over my hometown and its horrible

[@cahbagus1723]

@naga perak where else?

[@noname-zp1yh]

​@@esequieltovar4955 it doesn't justify it but it does make it more likely. people who are depressed and don't see hope would be more willing to buy drugs and people with no money and in poverty (especially with little education) would be more willing to sell them. you don't have to consider it justified to see the fact that it's going to happen and you aren't going to actually change things by saying people individually shouldn't do drugs instead of changing the systems that caused the problem.

[@pabrodi]

@@esequieltovar4955 yeah. Because they're so poor they can't even afford drugs.

[@pabrodi]

@@esequieltovar4955 I lived in a shanty town and I know the zones that were the "richest" were also the zones with the most drug issues

[@pabrodi]

@@esequieltovar4955 very miserable indeed. At least there were no thiefs around.

[@n0yn0y]

Ronald Reagan has to be the most overrated president ever.

[@adog7787]

Telly Vin-a and since then democrats have burned the body and fed it to dogs.

[@sollymadeit]

He hurt black lives almost crippling them

[@sebastiangely7706]

He is probably the worst president we could have put in for our country’s future. Republicans are just old white men trying everything they can to keep power.

[@sollymadeit]

@@sebastiangely7706 to be fair dems have their issues too... a balance between the 2 ideologies need to be struck because people naturally aren't 100% progressive or conservative

[@360NoFriendsChannel]

@@sollymadeit I agree 100 percent. Obviously, there are a lot of issues with both parties but name a policy that the left has proposed that would change the playing field without destroying the economy? Not only that but Sebastians comment shows the extreme view of the left as all white people being bad. People who actually believe they are trying to keep power don't believe in themselves or the American Dream (many believe this is dead) and this lack of a united culture is what is leading to such a huge divide.

[@Michael_H_Nielsen]

So important and so well explained.

[@rmgill]

Finally subscribed to Vox Video Lab. The quality of content coming out of this channel is unsurpassed, even by large media outlets. Support excellent journalism!

[@anandgoyal]

Marco Rubio wants more tax breaks... there’s a surprise(!)

[@joshn2342323]

He has my vote then. Get that man in office!

[@killero00]

I hate Republican legislatures with a burning passion.

[@sharann3482]

Please do more Series of this Economic Topic

[@Jacob-ry3lu]

Great explanation, but this video completely left out the increase in share-based compensation. When more workers are paid partially in shares of the company, companies have to buy back shares to avoid diluting the share price. This is so commonly left out of the discussion but it is a MAJOR factor in the increase of buybacks.

[@monztermovies]

The bonuses the ppl at the “top” get is unfathomable to 99.9999% of the regular folk.

[@thomasputnam9847]

Though a lot of rich CEOs are definitely corrupt, they supply a huge amount of products in the consumer market and are obviously going to make a lot. Apple has inexcusable sweat shops but supply a large majority of electronics, how is it unfair the CEO benefits from that when they literally built the company.

[@slicky342]

@@thomasputnam9847 They didn't develop or build the company themselves, they hired people to fulfill jobs they couldn't do themselves. No one is saying CEOs shouldn't reap the profits of their success, but when they are making 100-200x what common workers make at the company, that seems a bit excessive. The tax system doesn't help to equalize things either because the tax rate is capped at 37%. Yet most Americans land in ranges that cause them to pay ~20% into taxes. The tax system should continue the logarithmic curve and not be capped for individuals at 37%.

[@milandjuric8043]

Amazing work Vox, reports like this and *Borders* for example makes you great. Focus on that, Bravo

[@jm-je4tl]

Thank you for this video! Easy to understand

[@hrishitbanerjee5703]

The CEOs get rich by exploitation and unethical business policies! This video explains this so well!

[@eduardokuri1983]

it's time to eat the rich

[@user-ec3ix2cf1c]

I really liked this presentation. It was so organized and easy to understand!

[@CptDaves]

The CEO and his friends decide how much the CEO's salary is.

[@michaborski7383]

fascinating, did not know about that stuff

[@victorpopov3809]

Fantastic video about buybacks and economic inequality, really well explained and demonstrated. I was always wondering why enterprise economy in europe look so much different then in the US.

[@bishboshs]

You know we have buybacks in Europe too right?

[@victorpopov3809]

@@bishboshs yes it was mentioned in the video, but it was also mentioned that they dont happen nearly as much as in the US

[@jacobrowe3166]

God, pretty much every problem with 21st century America can be traced back to the Reagan Revolution

[@dewaldt8104]

Yeah I mean the effects of segregation and slavery, both which preceded Reagen, have only yielded positive effects today's modern era.

[@jacobrowe3166]

Dewaldt yes but the civil rights movement were supposed to negate the effects of that, as well as the resegregation of many public spaces, such as schools, however, during the Reagan presidency, he attacked efforts to desegregate schools through shifting around busing routes through both black and white neighbourhoods, as “big government”, and when he cut back on it, unsurprisingly schools became more segregated to the point now where they are more segregated since the 50s! So yes I am also blaming the current segregated school system on Reagan as well, but besides that point i said “pretty much” every problem can be traced back to Reagan, not “every” problem, I’m obviously not gonna blame the Civil War, or the Vietnam War on Reagan

[@dewaldt8104]

@@jacobrowe3166 really. That's rather because in 1988 school integration was at a all time high. Bush senior and junior, Clinton and Obama all had more segregated schools than Reagen did in his second last year. So essentially you want me to believe that somehow Reagan managed to resegregate schools in one year to such an extent that four administrations later and we still can't reach what he got. What other magical powers do you believe Reagen had.

[@jacobrowe3166]

Dewaldt doesn’t change the fact that he attacked busing children around to desegregate schools consistently, much to the chagrin of local southern lawmakers who actually saw the benefits of desegregation, not to mention that his “voodoo economics” of cutting taxes while also increasing spending on the military ballooned the overall deficit and contributed to the massive military industrial complex that’s a problem today, not to mention that it caused an economic recession during the Bush 41 presidency that was only saved by the dot com market boom

[@jacobrowe3166]

Dewaldt the only one who claims to have magic powers is Reagan who thought that “trickle down economics” actually works

[@garymcsullea7330]

No business owner has never ever said ohh my taxes are lower i will pay my workers more.

[@veganpepperoni]

Oh, boy! I have a bunch of extra money and a deep Respec and admiration for the workers who make it for me, let's give it to them! - Every business owner ever, according to trickle down economics

[@debu2striker]

This is a great piece identifying an important problem in the economy being caused by the financial markets... Buybacks should not be allowed to ensure that financial markets are working efficiently is valuing businesses.

[@toompie69]

American greed, gotta love it.

[@generationfallout5189]

Yea its only leading the human race into extinction :(

[@mediawolf1]

Thank you. I know that history is repeating itself but it's nice to get educated about it. Thanks for making it comprehensible.

[@zacker150]

"In particular, in the baseline specification of the model’s parameters, the sixfold increase of U.S. CEO pay between 1980 and 2003 can be fully attributed to the sixfold increase in market capitalization of large companies during that period." - Gabaix and Landier (2008)

[@andrewcarrillo4814]

define market capitalization of large companies

[@highandmightyqueen79]

Very well explained i learned so much from this video.

[@qzh00k]

Coal mine goes bankrupt, screws all employees out of their life's work to a decent retirement Sells itself to previous bankrupt owner. And pollutes the tribal lands and nation air and waters along the way. Both parties need a spanking.

[@OleSAO]

I would be outraged if this happened in my country. It's interesting that this has happened for so long and it's so few that want to change it. Really speaks to the power of the big corporations in the US...

[@bishboshs]

What country are you from?

[@OleSAO]

@@bishboshs Norway

[@tae_mx]

Shouldn't they be using the term "income" as opposed to "Profits" ?

[@Theswaggakid27]

Great Economics lesson

[@arieldonbrais4310]

Now I finally understand the Wall Street movies from the 80s.

[@chantingzhang]

As a foreign observer, it kinda confuses me how did Ronald Reagan become so popular a president among the GOP and some centrists despite how evil and rich-kissing his policies are oh, and he was recently found to be a serious racist who had nice chats with president Nixon. Wait, I think I found the reason.

[@mareksicinski3726]

No... not really? He is remembered warmly because of the cold war, his war demeaner and brash 'rejuvenatory' energy as the american economy etc recovered from the 70s and there was new confidence.

[@aroniez]

The graphics and animations are just superb.

[@Moses255337]

Finally a Vox video that I can stand by

[@dicomohio4743]

Your comment stings because you are right. I usually poke holes in these videos but this time ...smh

[@davidbuschhorn6539]

"Buy low, sell high." When there's a recession/depression, *_BUY_* STOCKS!!!! Don't sell them.

[@diegomoreno6274]

How are you supposed to sell them high if they never raise again?

[@jalapenohiway]

"Be greedy when others are fearful & be fearful when others are greedy" -Warren Buffett

[@Daisy-pr5bj]

@@diegomoreno6274 thats why investing is always a risk but if u know a bit about the companys you have shares of and r pretty sure they will survive the recesion and will grow again u will make big profit

[@jt6404]

They neglected to mention that German state governments often have part ownership of companies like VW. That's why workers have something of a say, even if it's not much. I'm generally a Republican on economics, but buybacks should definitely be at least restricted. The dividend model is enough for investors .

[@diegomoreno6274]

Well, VW is doing way better than GM, so that says a lot about (at least partly) state ownership

[@jt6404]

@@diegomoreno6274 That's not related to any of this really. Luxury cars leave much higher margins than the kind GM mostly sells, and VW owns both Porsche and Audi, and Bentley, Bugatti, and Lambo, while GM is stuck with Cadillac which not even Americans like. The low cost German cars (Volkswagen the actual brand) don't do that well. The only high margin cars GM sells basically are pickup trucks and SUVs which only sell super well in the US. The European brands do much better in China and Europe for that reason. Doesn't have anything to do with worker input, it's a dynamic that's been locked in since the 2000s now. And that's without mentioning the fact that the state owns like a 10% stake, which isn't enough to direct policy.

[@pabrodi]

@@jt6404 I agree it's not related to state ownership. However, the GM model is basically about driving profits to investors instead of creating good fundamentals for the company. That at the expense of their workers and even the company itself.

[@dewaldt8104]

@@pabrodi GM's profit margin since 2016 has was 7,67% since 2010 it has only once had a positive profit margin that was in the double didgets.

[@pabrodi]

@@dewaldt8104 but can you explain why the GM CEO salary is on the top 20 of publicly-traded companies in the US?

[@andrewdojlido7940]

I love the icons for CEOs kinda like the monopoly man - the mandela effect one.

[@Illiteratesoup]

5 days ago Apple announces $50 Billion in Buybacks during the Covid-19 Pandemic. Just like the old days.