Memo to CEOs: We need to talk about fairness

Dear American CEOs:

Your companies’ products and services simplify our lives, entertain us, make us feel better and provide comfort. Many of the gadgets you make have become iconic symbols of the fabled American way. We Americans love what you do and we have, time and again, shown our willingness to stand by you because we want the jobs your companies provide and we desperately want the stuff your companies churn out. But, its time we had a heart to heart.

As we begin, we have a confession. We, the people of this country, are painfully aware our actions helped cause this recession. Easy-to-obtain credit fueled our growing appetite for bigger and bigger houses and fed our insatiable hunger to consume the devices, tools, appliances and thingamajigs your companies sell. But, hey, you guys didn’t make the wisest use of the easy money, either. Looking back on how we all behaved, it’s hard to believe more of us didn’t see the coming economic calamity. There is plenty of blame to go around. However, we are not here to make you feel guilty about the past.

It’s time to look the future. These are tough times and rebuilding our great country will require hard work and more than a few sacrifices from all of us. That’s right, all of us. Frankly, we called this intervention today because you are not helping. You can and need to do more, but it shouldn’t take an Act of Congress to get you to do so.

We know that’s a funny thing to say in an age when it’s nearly impossible to get Congress to act at all and, when it does, one has to wonder if it wouldn’t have been better if it hadn’t. Most of those we elected and sent to Washington are bickering around the edges of our national crisis, because they suffer the mistaken impression we respect tough-nosed ideologues when what we seek are principled problem solvers. But, let’s not get sidetracked. We still have the ballot box to send those people a message, and this isn’t about them, it’s about you. Your patriotic duty is every bit as great as theirs, and while we appreciate your corporate missions and the demands placed upon you by your boards of directors and stockholders, many of you have lost sight of the big picture – we fear you have forgotten what it means to be an American.

It wasn’t that long ago Americans’ futures were linked. For the 30 or so years following World War II, our incomes grew at similar rates. Every income group saw gains of 80 to 120 percent. Those at the bottom of the income spectrum and those at the top rode the same wave as our economy grew. The last 30 years have been starkly different. Top earners like most of you are keeping more and more of the gains for yourselves. Since 1979 those at the bottom of the scale have seen a 4 percent decrease in earnings, those in the middle have seen income rise a modest 11 percent, while those riding the crest collected 73 percent more. Worse still, the upper 1 percent of earners have experienced an explosion of income hovering around 200 percent. A free market works when people are rewarded for what they contribute, but you are creating a society of have and have-nots. At some point, a top-heavy free market will collapse upon itself.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said raising your taxes is not only a matter of fiscal responsibility, but also of fairness. In response to that line of thinking, many of you have contributed millions and thrown your weight around to convince the political class that raising taxes would be detrimental to society. You have been rather successful in your efforts. After all, an entire party is refusing to work on solving our national budget mess if your taxes are raised. Congratulations. But, again, we have not come today to debate tax policy, but rather your duty as citizens.

It is time for you to broaden your view. Keeping costs down and ensuring profit are at the root of what you must do, but you can no longer do these things in the vacuum of your corporate sanctuaries. The safest and best investments you can make are those that make your country safer and more financially secure. We’re counting on you to do your part in building an America where the free market is a fair market.

With wealth and power come certain responsibility. The American ideal is greater than a race to amass the most toys, build the biggest empire or sit on the largest fortune. As the captains of industry you have the opportunity to do great things. Paying workers more, keeping jobs on our shores and investing in our collective American future are not just noble endeavors; they are also in the best interest of your companies. It’s time for you to step up and serve your country, again.

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This entry was first published as a guest editorial in the print and online editions of the Des Moines Register.