In the early to mid 2000s, our annual Labor Day report (with the Institute for Policy Studies) compared average CEO pay to the pay of an average US worker and looks at related issues and possible solutions. Today the executive excess reports continue to be published by the Institute for Policy Studies; visit their website for the latest.

2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Runaway Pay (.pdf) Tax subsidies directly related to executive pay total $20 billion. Average CEO pay is 344 times the pay of an average U.S. worker.

2007: The Staggering Social Cost of U.S. Business Leadership (.pdf) This year we find that average CEO pay is 364 times the pay of an average US worker.

2006: Defense and Oil Executives Cash in on Conflict (.pdf)

2005: Defense Contractors Get More Bucks for the Bang (.pdf) CEO:Worker Pay Ratio Shoots Up to 431:1. Biggest Defense Contractors raise CEOs’ Pay 200% Since 9/11

2004: Campaign Contributions, Outsourcing, Unexpensed Stock Options and Rising CEO Pay (.pdf) CEOs at the companies outsourcing the most workers were paid more than typical CEOs. The report also looks at the link between high CEO pay and campaign contributions.

2003: CEOs Win, Workers and Taxpayers Lose (.pdf) CEOs at companies with the largest layoffs, most underfunded pensions and biggest tax breaks were rewarded with bigger paychecks.

2002: CEOs Cook the Books, Skewer the Rest of Us (.pdf) CEOs of companies under investigation for accounting irregularities earned 70% more from 1999 to 2001 than the average CEO at large companies.

2001: Layoffs • Tax Rebates • The Gender Gap (.pdf) Annual CEO pay report reveals that CEO pay skyrocketed 571% between 1990 and 2000, while worker pay barely outpaced inflation.