We’ve almost all seen the video that went viral this week, the one that illustrates the gaping wealth inequality that we have in the United States (If you haven’t yet, watch it here).
Now that we can grasp the true depth of the problem, what do we do about it? If you’re feeling hopeless, you’re not alone. It’s a complicated struggle with tough solutions.
As an article in the Atlantic recently pointed out, some solutions include unlikely ones like capping salaries, (which I wrote about in a previous post called 580) probably wouldn’t work in our competitive business culture. Other solutions such as giving shareholders more say in the compensation of their executives and banning “golden parachutes” for outgoing executives, could be adopted, with enough public support. In fact, Switzerland – the banking capital of the world – recently did enact this law, making it a crime for a CEO to get paid too much. You can read more about this in an article by the Economist.
There are solutions to the problem of wealth inequality, some might take a long time, some can be implemented now, but we need those in Washington to listen to the struggling middle class and the ones getting hurt by the system. Business owners who care about the issue should join the 200,000 members of the American Sustainable Business Council that works for better standards in business practices and fair executive compensation. With enough support and participation, solutions can be found.