Rich are Rich, and well, the States can't help the rest of us much

This morning's WSJ has a sobering page 1 headline: States Slammed by Tax Shortfalls. The article by Conor Dougherty, Amy Merrick and Anton Troianovski paints the bleaking picture:

The stumbling U.S. economy is forcing states to slash spending and cut jobs in order to close a projected $40 billion shortfall in the current fiscal year.

The article goes on to inform us that they, the powers that be, are worried [editorial comment duh] about inflation and cuts to services. In my little town that has been happening for over a year, and from Defuning's comment in an earlier thread, it's happening all over. Oh, but that's because we are not part of the top 1%. Those guys in the upper atmosphere are sucking up all the oxygen. According to another WSJ article, this time in yesterday's edition, entitled charmingly Richest See Income Share Rise by Jesse Drucker:

The richest 1% of Americans in 2006 garnered the highest share of the U.S. adjusted gross income in two decades as their average tax rate fell,the IRS said.

And for those politically inclined and disturbed by what Drucker calls "the increasing inequality," hope is on its way. Sen John McCain "has proposed extending the lower tax rates of 15% on long-term capital gains" -- which will surely level out the inequalities. Okay, I wasn't really being serious. All those CEO compensation plans... guess what taxrate applies to them? But fear not, all is not lost, apparently shareholders and boards are showing some signs of emerging nubs on their backsides -- perhaps the beginnings of spines -- and are trying to fight back. Here's the latest ... but note the hyperbole in the title of the WSJ article on the subject of CEO compensation Boards Flex their Pay Muscle. Would that were with some actual impact. Unfortunately, the truth, however, seems to be better represented by this title -- Persistent Pay Gains. That article lets us know that

"The median salary and bonus for the nation's No. 1 bosses rose 4.7% to $2,939,000, according to its proxy analysis of 200 U.S. major corporations with annual revenue over $5 billion."

Seems indeed that once again> "Chief executives hit the pay jackpot last year -- despite signs of a looming economic slowdown."