Thus I think it would be helpful to research the extent of income inequality expansion in the State of Kentucky in the most recent years.
So far in my research of large US Corporations I have shown that their Top-Tier Executives have been rewarded continually with just enormous annual increases in pay and employee benefits, mostly stock equity compensation, even to the extent that the key issue to US citizens should be the huge and continuing Income Inequality Expansion which is at the core of many critical problems the US faces.
There have been many US Government laws enacted in the past two decades that have substantially increased income inequality expansion including the year after year after year of annual furtive tax extenders of predominately special interests additional tax loopholes, which both the Democratic and Republican Establishments voted for under the radar screen every year just before calendar year end, but nothing was even close to being more income inequality expanding than the Trump Tax Cuts Act.
On the other hand, the only highly effective US Government law enacted by either party in the past two decades that has substantially reduced income inequality expansion is Obamacare.
My objective is to get a better handle on just why the US has such massive continuing Income Inequality Expansion ..... it appears to be predominantly about the relative long-term annual pay and employee benefits percentage increases for the executives of a Company vs the many non-executive employees of a Company, coupled with the stock price appreciation subsequent to the time the company executives were rewarded in their pay with stock equity compensation.
My objective is to get a better handle on just why the US has such massive continuing Income Inequality Expansion ..... it appears to be predominantly about the relative long-term annual pay and employee benefits percentage increases for the executives of a Company vs the many non-executive employees of a Company, coupled with the stock price appreciation subsequent to the time the company executives were rewarded in their pay with stock equity compensation.
In my study here of large Kentucky Companies I will be doing this research generally by largest stock market capitalization and thus the 17th Kentucky Company I am addressing here is Lexmark International, which was acquired in 2016.
From annual compensation information contained in Company Proxy Statement filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the table below shows Lexmark's Top-Tier Executives Annual Total Compensation for each of two consecutive full years of employment for the seven years (2009 to 2015) before it was acquired in 2016.
Lexmark's Top-Tier Executives Average Annual Pay and Employee Benefits Increase was a blistering 19.4% per year during the seven years (2009-2015) before it was acquired in 2016.
| FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | |||||
| Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | |||||
| Lexmark International | 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 | |||||
| Rooke Chairman and CEO | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 6,481 | 7,055 | 7,055 | 4,833 | ||||
| Reeder CFO | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||
| Stromquist VP ISS Finance (Former Interim CFO) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 593 | 1,172 | ||||||
| Bish President Enterprise Software | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||
| Canning President Imaging Solutions and Services | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2,376 | 2,776 | 2,776 | 2,117 | ||||
| Patton General Counsel | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1,371 | 1,524 | 1,524 | 1,332 | ||||
| Coons Former President Enterprise Software | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1,966 | 1,612 | ||||
| Gamble Former CFO | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | ||||||
| Totals | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 10,821 | 12,527 | 13,321 | 9,894 | ||||
| Annual % Change vs Prior Year | N/A | N/A | N/A | -13.6% | 34.6% | |||||||||
| 2 Year Average Per Year % Change | 10.5% | |||||||||||||
| FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | FYE | |||||
| Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | Dec | |||||
| Lexmark International | 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 | |||||
| Rooke Chairman and CEO | 4,833 | 3,397 | 3,397 | 5,017 | 5,017 | 5,998 | 5,998 | 3,632 | 3,632 | 1,506 | ||||
| StromquistVP ISS Finance (Former Interim CFO) | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||
| Canning President Imaging Solutions and Services | 2,117 | 1,429 | 1,429 | 1,871 | 1,871 | 3,124 | 3,124 | 2,878 | 2,878 | 1,146 | ||||
| Patton General Counsel | 1,332 | 918 | 918 | 1,148 | ||||||||||
| Coons Former President Enterprise Software | 1,612 | 1,647 | ||||||||||||
| Gamble Former CFO | 2,137 | 1,457 | 1,457 | 1,880 | 1,880 | 3,215 | 3,215 | 2,734 | 2,734 | 1,182 | ||||
| Foresti VP Asia Pacific and Latin America | 1,195 | 1,928 | 1,928 | 1,656 | ||||||||||
| Curlander Former Executive Chairman | N/A | N/A | 9,648 | 2,449 | 2,449 | 3,407 | ||||||||
| Isbell VP Human Resources | 1,952 | 1,089 | 1,089 | 896 | ||||||||||
| Totals | 12,031 | 8,848 | 7,201 | 9,916 | 9,963 | 14,265 | 25,865 | 14,438 | 12,782 | 8,137 | ||||
| Annual % Change vs Prior Year | 36.0% | -27.4% | -30.2% | 79.1% | 57.1% | |||||||||
| 5 Year Average Per Year % Change | 22.9% | |||||||||||||
| 7 Year Average Per Year % Change | 19.4% |
