Zeeland, Michigan-Based Motor Vehicle Supplier Gentex Corp's Top-Tier Executives Average Pay Raise Was a Very Robust 19.3% 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 21st Michigan Company I am addressing is Gentex Corp.

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

Gentex Corp's Top-Tier Executive Average Pay Raise was a Very Robust 19.3% per year for the last decade and is the 12th highest of the 21 large Michigan Companies I have addressed so far.

1. Credit Acceptance Corp +195.9% per year for the past ten years
2. DowDupont +94.5% per year for the past ten years
3. Sun Communities Inc +72.8% per year for the past ten years
4. Lear Corp's +56.1% per year for the pat ten years
5. Domino's Pizza +31.8% per year for the past ten years
6. General Motors  +29.5% per year for the past ten years
7. Perrigo +28.8% per year for the past ten years
8. BorgWarner +25.3% per year for the past ten years
9. Dow Chemical +22.4% per year for the past ten years
10. CMS Energy +21.9% per year for the past ten years
11. Stryker Corp +20.7% per year for the past ten years
12. Gentex +19.3% per year for the past ten years
13. Penske Automotive Group +19.0% per year for the past ten years
14. Ford Motor Co +17.0% per year for the past ten years
15. Masco +15.6% per year for the past ten years
16. Ally Financial +15.6% per year for the past four years
17. DTE Energy +10.6% per year for the past ten years
18. Aptiv PLC +10.0% per year for the past eight years
19. Whirlpool +7.9% per year for the past ten years
20. Kellogg +7.8% per year for the past ten years
21. WABCO Holdings +7.5% 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, including those retired.

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
Gentex Corp	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
Steve Downing CEO	3,427	1,075		1,075	791		791	653		653	419		419	537
Kevin Nash CFO	990	600		600	483		483	417		417	461		N/A	N/A
Scott Ryan General Counsel	927	497		497	430		430	381		N/A	N/A
Joseph Matthews VP Purchasing				381	336		336	333		333	347		N/A	N/A
Fred Bauer Former CEO				923	1,684		1,684	1,537		1,537	1,934		1,934	1,709
Mark Newton Former SVP										825	716		716	742
Bruce Los Former SVP													N/A	N/A
Totals	5,344	2,172		3,476	3,724		3,724	3,321		3,765	3,877		3,069	2,988
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	146.0%			-6.7%			12.1%			-2.9%			2.7%
5 Year Average Per Year % Change		30.3%
	FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE		FYE	FYE
	Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec		Dec	Dec
Gentex Corp	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
Steve Downing CEO	N/A	N/A
Fred Bauer Former CEO	1,709	1,589		1,589	1,576		1,576	1,260		1,260	1,062		1,062	1,009
Mark Newton Former SVP	742	688		688	419		419	409		409	441		441	281
Bruce Los Former SVP	417	469		N/A	N/A
Paul Flynn VP Operations	323	258		N/A	N/A
Steve Dykman Former VP Finance	237	490		490	383		383	358		358	389		389	230
Enoch Jen SVP							374	775		775	400		400	432
John Arnold VP Operations							264	414		N/A	N/A
Dennis Alexejun VP Sales-General Motors													259	333
Totals	3,428	3,494		2,767	2,378		3,016	3,216		2,802	2,292		2,551	2,285
Annual % Change vs Prior Year	-1.9%			16.4%			-6.2%			22.3%			11.6%
5 Year Average Per Year % Change		8.4%
10 Year Average Per Year % Change		19.3%