1997 SNAPSHOTS, PART 1

Actually, tax data understate both the actual rise in executive pay, and the higher rate at which it has risen compared to corporate revenues, profits, and taxes, the TIMES reported. This occurs because most executives are given "deferred stock options" as part of their annual pay, and these deferred options are not taxable until the executive "exercises" the option, which may occur years or decades later (usually after retirement). Thus today's tax records do not accurately reflect today's executive compensation.

For example, Roberto C. Goizueta, chief executive of Coca-Cola (who died recently), had more than $1 billion in deferred accounts, according to the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, which he received as compensation over the past 17 years, thus averaging $58.8 million in deferred compensation each year for 17 years. (To add perspective here: Mr. Goizueta's $1 billion could have served a different purpose --it could have provided 1500 good jobs, each paying $39,200 per year for 17 years.)

Occupational injuries cost $145 billion, and job-related illnesses cost an estimated $26 billion for a grand total of $171 billion in 1992. These cost estimates are likely to be low because they do not include costs of pain and suffering, or costs of in-home care provided by family members. Furthermore, the researchers conducting the study believe they undercounted the actual numbers of workers injured, made sick, and killed by their jobs.

This was the first study that had ever tried to tally the costs of on-the-job injuries, illnesses and deaths.

By this reckoning, the costs of job-related harms greatly exceed those of AIDS or Alzheimer's disease, and are comparable (or even somewhat exceed) the costs of the better-known major killers, heart disease and cancer. The main difference between occupational harms and the better-known major killers is that the public has been made aware of cancer and heart disease by media and government attention, whereas occupational illnesses, injuries, and deaths remain underreported, poorly studied, and largely ignored by governments, corporations, and the public.

Dr. Martinez says the problem has two sources: a 35% increase in traffic during the past decade with only a 1% increase in new roads; and an increase in the "me first" philosophy among Americans during the past decade.

According to a study by the American Automobile Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, "violent aggressive driving" increased 7% each year during the period 1990 to 1996.

How can crimes go down and inmate populations rise? "The change in the number of inmates tells us more about our feelings about crime and criminals" and about changes in sentencing laws, than it does about crime rates, says Franklin Zimrung, director of the Earl Warren Legal Institute at University of California at Berkeley.

For example, North and South Dakota are similar in their social, economic and racial characteristics and they have similar crime rates. However, North Dakota incarcerates 90 of every 100,000 citizens while South Dakota imprisons 279 per 100,000.)

Federal crime statistics do not include drug offenses because there is assumed to be no victim, and drug offenses are not expected to be reported to the police. Nevertheless, drug offenses are putting enormous numbers of people in prison --those arrested for drugs jumped 27% between 1990 and 1995. More than half the increase in inmates during the past 15 years is accounted for by drug offenses. At least 25% of new inmates today have never committed another crime besides a drug offense.

But not just anyone is going to jail. Users of crack cocaine make up the bulk of those imprisoned for drug use. Crack is a poor person's drug; powder cocaine is a recreation of the rich. Congress and 14 states have passed laws making penalties for crack up to 100 times as great as penalties for powder cocaine. As a result, African-Americans are much more likely to go to jail, and for longer periods, than whites. In 1993 African-Americans were seven times as likely to be incarcerated as whites. An estimated 1471 African-Americans per 100,000 African-American citizens vs. 207 whites per 100,000 white citizens were imprisoned at the end of 1993.[7]

California is setting the pace for the nation in imprisoning its citizens. Like Florida, California now spends more, in total, on prisons than it does on higher education. The California college system was once hailed as the world's best public university system, but in the last 20 years, California has built only one new college. Instead, it has built 21 new prisons. The state now spends $6,000 per year for each college student, but $34,000 per year for each prison inmate. In recent years, the California college system has lost 10,000 employees, including many faculty, while 10,000 new prison guards have been hired.[6]

Federal guidelines say children should eat each day: 6 to 11 servings of grain; 3 to 5 servings of vegetables; 2 to 4 servings of fruit; 2 to 3 servings of dairy products; and 5 to 7 ounces of meat.

Sixteen percent of children eat diets that do not meet any of the federal guidelines.

Only 30% of children meet federal recommendations for fruits, grains, meat, and dairy; 36% meet the recommendations for vegetables.

Federal guidelines say no more than 10% of a child's calories should come from fat and sugar. According to the survey, the average American child receives 40% of calories from fat and sugar.

White children came closer to meeting the federal guidelines than did African-American or Hispanic children.

[2] Ravi Batra, THE GREAT AMERICAN DECEPTION (New York: Wiley, 1996 [ISBN 0-471-16556-5]), Table 2.1, pg. 10, citing ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT (Washington, D.C.: The Council of Economic Advisors, 1996), pg. 330.

[3] Steven A. Holmes, "New Reports Say Minorities Benefit in Fiscal Recovery," NEW YORK TIMES September 30, 1997, pgs. A1, A24.

[4] J.P. Leigh and others, "Occupational Injury and Illness in the United States. Estimates of Costs, Morbidity and Mortality," ARCHIVES OF INTERNAL MEDICINE Vol. 157, No. 14 (July 28, 1997), pgs. 1557-1568. And see Associated Press, "Job-Related Illness Cost Put at $171 Billion in '92," NEW YORK TIMES July 28, 1997, pg. A9.

[5] Matthew L. Wald, "Temper Cited as Cause of 28,000 Road Deaths a Year," NEW YORK TIMES July 18, 1997, pg. A14. And see: Lesley Hazleton, "Fear Is Increasing on the Roads, But That May Not Be a Bad Thing," NEW YORK TIMES October 16, 1997, pg. G2.

[6] Fox Butterfield, "Crime Keeps On Falling, but Prisons Keep On Filling," NEW YORK TIMES September 28, 1997, Section 4, pgs. 1, 4. And see: Associated Press, "In 90's, Prison Building by States and U.S. Government Surged," NEW YORK TIMES August 8, 1997, pg. A16.

[7] Allen J. Beck and Darrell K. Gilliard, "Prisoners in 1994," BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS BULLETIN [NCJ-151654], August, 1995, pgs. 1-13.

[8] K.A. Munoz and others, "Food intakes of U.S. children and adolescents compared with recommendations," PEDIATRICS Vol. 100, No. 3, Part 1 (September 1997), pgs. 323-329. And see Associated Press, "Few Young People Eat Wisely, Study Shows," NEW YORK TIMES September 3, 1997, pg. A12.

[9] Barbara Strauch, "Use of Antidepression Medicine For Young Patients Has Soared," NEW YORK TIMES August 10, 1997, pgs. A1, A24.

Descriptor terms: wages; executive pay; occupational safety and health; road rage; aggressive behavior; crime; prisons; crack cocaine; california; higher education; diet; children; pharmaceutical corporations; antidepressant drugs; prozac; paxil; zoloft; suicide;