Thread by @DanPriceSeattle

There is no connection between the stock market and reality.

A thread:

1. Airlines spent 96% of free cash flow on stock buybacks for a decade, then cut 90,000 jobs as soon as trouble hits. Then they got a $50 billion bailout
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

2. GE promised its CEO a huge bonus if stock hit $19. It didn't

So GE re-did contract so the bonus kicks in at $10/share

The CEO cut 20% of aviation staff to increase profits and raise the stock to $10

His bonus: $47M. If it goes up again he gets $270M
ft.com/content/c84bde…

3. JCPenney
April: furloughed 85,000 employees
May 10: Gave CEO $4.5 million bonus on top of $17 million/year in pay
May 15: went bankrupt
Oct: laid off 15,000 people
Dec: closed 150 stores
Now: CEO left with $4.5M bonus after stock fell 88% in her 2 years
cnn.com/2020/12/30/inv…

4. Boeing
Spent almost all of its cash on stock buybacks over the prior decade. In the past year, it cut 27,000 employees.

It also fired its CEO over 2 deadly plane crashes and ensuing coverup, and gave him a $81 million exit package
cnbc.com/2021/01/07/doj…

5. On Jan. 6, when the mob stormed the Capitol, the stock market went up 250 points to a new record, handing the richest 1% an extra $300 billion.

Also that day, a new report showed employment dropped for the first time since April and a then-record 3,900 people died of covid.

6. Albertsons, America's 2nd-largest grocery chain:
*Profit is up 256% in pandemic
*Stock at record high
*Owned by private equity
*CEO made $29M last year
*Fired all California non-union drivers to replace them with gig workers with no benefits/min wage
knock-la.com/vons-fires-del…

7. The stock market for the 500 biggest companies ended the year up 15%, among the biggest gains ever.

Also in that span, those companies lad off a record number of people, and wait times for food banks hit a record high.

8. As part of the first stimulus, the Fed pumped about $3 trillion into the stock market, which helped it soar to record highs. At the same time, a record 30% of small businesses failed and unemployment tripled.

9. Since 2009, the stock market is up 233%.

Since 2009, the federal minimum wage is up 0%.

10. Coca-Cola
This decade: spent $48 billion on dividends and over $20 billion on stock buybacks
2018: CEO got 58% pay increase
2019: CEO got 12% pay increase, to $18.7 million
2020: Company makes $8.3 billion profit
Anddd it just laid off 12% of workers
apnews.com/article/layoff…

11. Among the biggest 50 companies, they spent 79% of profits on stock buybacks and dividends in recent years to enrich executives and mostly-wealthy shareholders. Last year, those companies combined to lay off over 100,000 workers.
washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/…

12. Disney stock is up 21% in the past year to a new record high. In recent months they laid off 32,000 people.

One of our employees lives near Disney World. Recently there was a line of cars outside his house for a drive-thru food bank 7.5 miles away.
cnbc.com/2020/11/26/dis…

13. In the pandemic, total stock value has grown by $16.6 trillion.

$8.3 trillion of that went to the richest 1%, and they pay a lower tax rate than those who are unemployed and need help.

14. Salesforce

In the last five years, Salesforce has bought 27 companies for tens of billions of dollars.

It just bought Slack for $27.7 billion.

Its stock is at record high, up 23% in the past year after revenue surged 29%.

And it just laid off 1,000 people.

15. In November alone, the average member of the top 10% gained an average of $200,000 from the stock market while 7 million people plunged into poverty.

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

16. On one day in November:
*The stock market hit 30,000 for the first time
*Elon Musk became first person to gain $100 billion in a year
*A Census report revealed 6 million people face imminent eviction

17. Uber + Lyft spent $200 million on November election ads to convince Californians they shouldn't pay drivers minimum wage or benefits.

In the two weeks after it passed, Uber stock went up 39% and Lyft stock soared 52%.

In return, all drivers were denied basic benefits.

18. Average stock gains over 10 years
CEOs with above-average pay: stock up 160%
CEOs with below-average pay: stock up 280%

And yet CEOs are rewarded whether the stock goes up or down.
msci.com/www/blog-posts…

19. AT&T
2018-2019: bought Time Warner for $100 billion, cut 29,000 jobs
May: gave departing CEO $64 million pension ($274k/month for life), laid off 4,700 more workers
August: laid off 600 more workers
Now: laid off thousands more - news sent stock up 2%
cnbc.com/2020/11/10/see…

20. Marriott
2018-2019: made $3.1 billion in profits, spent $5B on stock buybacks
April: furloughed most employees, paid $160M in dividends to shareholders, gave CEO a 8% raise and 200% bonus
Sept: laid off 17% of HQ staff
Now: made $100M profit
wsj.com/articles/marri…

21. $3 billion: what Jeff Bezos cashed out in stock in one day, as Amazon profits tripled in the pandemic.

$2.1 billion: cost to give all Amazon warehouse workers 2 weeks paid sick leave and a year of hero pay (they got none of either now)
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

22. 84% of stock market value is owned by richest 10%

"but what about 401(k)s"

Half of Americans don't have one
The average 401(k) balance has *declined* $5,000 in 6 years after inflation, because employers put in less & people can't afford contributions
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…

23. MGM
Laid off 18,000 people while giving its CEO $700,000 in stock. The value of the stock doubled to $1.4 million after the stock went up, partly because of increased profitability due to the layoffs.
nytimes.com/2020/10/08/bus…

24. Wells Fargo made $10 billion in staff cuts, meaning tens of thousands of employees lost their jobs.

Wells Fargo also made a $2 billion profit.

Wells Fargo also did $24 billion in stock buybacks last year and paid its CEO $36 million.
charlotteobserver.com/news/business/…

25. Black and Latino Americans make up about 32% of the population.

Black and Latino Americans own 1.7% of all stock value

politico.com/states/new-yor…

26. 1948-1979
Worker productivity: up 108%
Stock market: up 603%
Worker pay: up 93%

Since then
Worker productivity: up 70%
Stock market: up 2,200%
Worker pay: up 12%

Corporations and workers used to get richer together. Now companies just keep the money
nytimes.com/2020/09/10/bus…

27. Deere
Construction sales are down 25%. Yet it is posting a $2.25 billion profit as it cuts thousands of jobs.

The result: Its stock grew 23% in a year to a record high. In the week after it announced job cuts, its stock grew 9%.
washingtonpost.com/business/deere…

28. Walmart
*Stock is at record high, up 23% in a year
*The Waltons have gotten over $20 billion richer in the pandemic
*Its online sales are up 74%. Its market share has grown
*... it cut hundreds of corporate jobs
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

29. Macy's
Its stock was down 60% in a year and they cut 3,900 jobs. So what did it do? Gave its CEO a $3.7 million bonus, and gave about $1 million each to five other execs
cnbc.com/2020/07/16/mac…

30. CEOs justify huge pay by saying they're worth it. But there's no correlation between profit and CEO pay at 61% of corporations

Since 1990
Stock market: up 300%
CEO pay: up 550%

Take it from a CEO who slashed his pay: it's about greed, not performance
economist.com/business/2020/…

31. Stock for the parent company of Ann Taylor, Loft and Lane Bryant is down 75% in a year. It closed all 2,800 stores.

So what did it do? Gave executives $5.5 million in bonuses, including over $2 million to the CEO

ibtimes.com/ann-taylor-lof…

32. Where proceeds from stock buybacks + dividends went over the last 15 years:
White people: $13 trillion
Black people: $0.18 trillion
Hispanic people: $0.21 trillion

When we talk about the systemic racial wealth gap, this is a pretty good place to start.

33. Amid the early days of the pandemic, stocks grew 38%, the most ever in a 50-day span. At the same time, thousands of small businesses were closing each day while thousands of people died from covid each day
nbcnews.com/business/marke…

34. Google:
*Stock at all-time high
*$6.8B profit last year
*Founders Page + Brin added $10B+ to fortunes in a year
*Offered jobs to over 2,000 people and axed them with no severance before they ever worked a day - after they already left their prior jobs
nytimes.com/2020/05/29/tec…

35. Companies did $62 billion a year in stock buybacks in the '80s and '90s.

Now they do $730 billion a year in stock buybacks.

Worker pay increases are far smaller now than they were in the '80s and '90s.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

36. Chevron

Its CEO made $33.1 million a year. 5 other execs made a total of $59 million.

It spent $13 billion on stock buybacks and dividends in a year then laid off 10-15% of its staff.
reuters.com/article/us-che…

37. Big companies don't just spend profits on manipulating stock. They are a record $10 trillion in debt - mostly for stock buybacks + dividends to enrich themselves. When the bill comes due, layoffs typically ensue.

washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…

38. In April, a record 30 million people lost their jobs and small businesses lost 55% of their revenue.

At the same time, the stock market rose the most since 1987 and billionaires gained $308 billion.
washingtonpost.com/business/2020/…

39. Marriott: When the pandemic began, it furloughed most American workers, paid $160M in dividends to shareholders and gave its CEO a 8% raise and 200% bonus.

In the prior two years it made $3.1 billion in profits and spent $5 billion on stock buybacks.
nytimes.com/2020/04/13/bus…

40. How big public companies spend their money
*54% on stock buybacks
*37% on dividends
*9% on worker raises, R&D, capital improvements, saving for rainy day ... everything else
washingtonpost.com/outlook/stock-…

41. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg - this thread could go on forever. The truth is that the system is rigged for the rich and against regular people, and the stock market plays a vital role in that.

And I'm a millionaire CEO saying that.

If this thread is upsetting and you want to do something small that can make a difference, sign here to show your support for a billionaire wealth tax in washington state. We have to start somewhere, so why not here: chng.it/pCBwX8WW