BARACK OBAMA is unloved by business. And as the mid-term elections approach and voters ponder whether to hand the Senate to his Republican opponents, that could make a difference. Business owners give Mr Obama lower than average approval ratings. Corporate lobbyists discuss his reform of health care with contempt. A Wall Street boss accuses the government of extorting fines from banks in order to win votes. A technology chief says he is Mr Obama’s last fan in Silicon Valley. On October 8th Randall Stephenson, the head of AT&T, grumbled about a wave of damaging regulations. His audience, many of them bosses, approved.The puzzle is why big firms are so miffed when they are so minted. Since Mr Obama took office in early 2009, AT&T’s earnings-per-share have risen by 56% and Mr Stephenson’s annual pay by 47%. The S&P 500 index of shares is near a record high. American firms dominate rankings of the world’s most valuable companies for the first time in a decade and a half. Profits are at their highest level relative to national income since the 1960s. While the median household has seen its income stagnate, the median pay of an S&P 500 chief is up 43%...
from The Economist: United States http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21627659-big-business-angry-small-firms-are-even-angrier-fury-makers?fsrc=rss|ust
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