Voting every day - thinking about the CEO pay ratio

Thinking about the direction our country is going is extremely troubling to me. In response, I try to think about what I can do. I cannot vote until October (by absentee ballot), but I can “vote every day” by thinking harder about where I spend my money and my time.

It seems to me that wealth inequality is a major cause of our dysfunctional politics and something I can affect, at least in a small way, every time I make a purchase. I try to shop at stores that pay their employees a living wage, such as Trader Joe’s (https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Trader-Joe%27s/salaries?job_category=retail) or Costco (https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Costco-Wholesale/salaries). I avoid stores that have a high CEO pay ratio (https://www.payscale.com/data-packages/ceo-pay/full-list). In the 1970s, the average CEO earned 20-25 times the average employee pay, but in many major companies, it is now over 100 times. Of course, we have to make purchases, and sometimes we have to give money to one of these companies, but I try to avoid them. When in doubt, I prefer small businesses to large businesses, because although they may not pay their employees a living wage, at least their owners are likely not giving themselves huge pay packages like those at Kroger ($21 million, https://fortune.com/2020/05/18/coronavirus-layoffs-furloughs-ceo-pay-bonuses-stock-options-salaries-compensation-covid-19-unemployment/), CVS ($22 million, https://www1.salary.com/Larry-J-Merlo-Salary-Bonus-Stock-Options-for-CVS-HEALTH-CORP.html) or Walmart ($21 million, https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2020/apr/24/walmart-ceo-s-fiscal-20-pay-at-20-9m-20/).

I find it easier to presume that wealth and power are associated with evil, at least until proven otherwise. Of course, this is not always true. But I think acquiring wealth and power tempt us towards evil, and the best way to counter this temptation is by making doing good deeds a major part of our lives. I try to regularly think about what I can do, in a public way, to benefit society, to counteract any bad inclinations I may have in running a business. When I assess businesses that I may deal with, I also want to know what major, public efforts they have made to make the world a better place.

What do you think about the direction our society is moving, and what are you doing about it?