Jackson, Michigan-Based Utility CMS Energy's Top-Tier Executives Average Pay Raise Was a Clean, Very Robust 21.9% Per Year During the Past 10 Years (2009-2018)

Detroit, Michigan is the site of the second Democratic 2020 Presidential candidate televised debate to be held on July 30-31, 2019.  The Under 75 Progressive Wing will be led by the energetic Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Corey Booker and Julian Castro.  The Under 75 More Moderate Wing will be led by Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Beto O'Rourke and Latecomers Michael Bennet and Steven Bullock.

The key issue to Detroit and to Michigan citizens should be the huge and continuing Income Inequality Expansion which is at the core of many critical problems the US faces.

Thus I will be doing research and making posts on the average pay raise per year that the Top-Tier Executives of many large Michigan Companies were rewarded with in the past ten years.

The eighth Michigan Company I am addressing is Utility Company CMS Energy.

From annual compensation information contained in Company Proxy Statement filings with the SEC, the chart at the very bottom below shows CMS Energy's Top-Tier Executives Annual Total Compensation for each of two consecutive full years of employment for the most recent ten years. 

CMS Energy's Top-Tier Executive Average Pay Raise was a clean, very robust 21.9% per year for the last decade and is the second highest of the large Michigan Companies I have addressed so far.

1. General Motors  +29.5% per year for the past ten years
2. CMS Energy +21.9% per year for the past ten years
3. Stryker Corp +20.7% per year for the past ten years
4. Ford Motor Co +17.0% per year for the past ten years
5. Ally Financial +15.6% per year for the past four years
6. DTE Energy +10.6% per year for the past ten years
7. Aptiv PLC +10.0% per year for the past eight years
8. Kellogg +7.8% per year for the past ten years

My objective is to get a better handle on just why the US and especially Michigan has such massive continuing Income Inequality Expansion ..... it appears to be predominantly about the relative long-term annual pay raise percentages, coupled with the stock price appreciation subsequent to the time the Top-Tier Executives were rewarded in their pay with stock equity compensation.

To fix Income Inequality driven mainly by Company and its Board of Director choices on Percentage Annual Pay Raises, the US Government should step in and pass wisely-designed Fair Pay Raise Income Inequality Narrowing Company tax incentives ..... the carrot ..... and Company wise tax disincentives ..... the stick.  

And the continuing annual net tax revenues raised by the US Government here should be set up in a separate fund to be used only for wise additional income inequality narrowing initiatives.  This fund should be run by an outside group made up entirely of minorities harmed the most by Income Inequality Expansion of the past decades  .....all women, all blacks, all Latinos, all other non-white people, all past and present union members, all LGBTQ, all non-employee contract workers and all middle and lower income people of all ages.

Also, the US Government should require all US Corporate Boards to include at least one worker representative and to exclude any Company Executive.

	FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE
	Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec
CMS Energy	2018	2017		2017	2016		2016	2015		2015	2014		2014	2013
Top-Tier	Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total
Executive	Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp
	$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s
Patricia Poppe CEO	8,091	6,862		6,862	3,483		3,483	1,734		1,734	1,344		N/A	N/A
Rejji Hayes CFO	N/A	N/A		N/A	N/A
Catherine Reynolds SVP	3,069	3,828		3,828	2,952		2,952	2,032		2,032	2,120		N/A	N/A
Brian Rich SVP	N/A	N/A
Garrick Rochow SVP	1,855	1,576		N/A	N/A
Thomas Webb Former CFO				N/A	N/A		3,025	2,612		2,612	3,663		3,663	2,140
Daniel Malone SVP				1,980	1,961		1,961	1,808		1,808	1,710		1,710	1,400
John Butler SVP							1,835	1,731		1,731	1,452		1,452	1,402
John Russell Former CEO							N/A	N/A		10,298	11,451		11,451	6,817
David Mengebier SVP													2,037	1,004
Totals	13,015	12,266		12,670	8,396		13,256	9,917		20,215	21,740		20,313	12,763
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	6.1%			50.9%			33.7%			-7.0%			59.2%
5 Year Average Per Year % Change		28.6%
	FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE
	Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec
CMS Energy	2013	2012		2012	2011		2011	2010		2010	2009		2009	2008
Top-Tier	Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total		Total	Total
Executive	Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp		Comp	Comp
	$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s		$ 000s	$ 000s
John Russell Former CEO	6,817	8,274		8,274	6,717		6,717	4,893		4,893	2,954		2,954	1,985
Thomas Webb Former CFO	2,140	3,346		3,346	3,218		3,218	2,915		2,915	2,700		2,700	2,121
John Butler SVP	1,402	1,270		1,270	1,201		1,201	1,030		1,030	1,055		1,055	686
Daniel Malone SVP	1,400	1,403		1,403	1,304		N/A	N/A
David Mengebier SVP	1,004	1,636		1,636	1,438		1,438	1,303		1,303	1,126		1,126	892
James Brunner SVP	1,471	2,452		2,452	2,414		2,414	2,284		2,284	1,975		1,975	1,596
David Joos Former CEO										N/A	N/A		7,781	5,401
Totals	14,234	18,381		18,381	16,292		14,988	12,425		12,425	9,810		17,591	12,681
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	-22.6%			12.8%			20.6%			26.7%			38.7%
5 Year Average Per Year % Change		15.3%
10 Year Average Per Year % Change		21.9%