Another good column by Paul Krugman: Plutocracy and Politics. "In 1981 [America's 10 most highly paid C.E.O.'s] were paid an average of $3.5 million, which seemed like a lot at the time. By 1988 the average had soared to $19.3 million, which seemed outrageous. But by 2000 the average annual pay of the top 10 was $154 million."