Reader question:
"In this sentence - Data recently compiled by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston offers a startling look at just how out of whack executive compensation has become (January 11, 2007, New York Times) - what does 'out of whack' mean?"
My comments:
"Out of whack" is an American expression. To say "something is out of whack" is to mean it is out of order, out of line, out of tune, out of the ordinary, disproportionate, inappropriate and in short not right.
To say that executive compensation (money paid to top officials of companies) is "out of whack", is to say those executives are paid too much more than ordinary workers are paid.
If the executives were paid too much less than the going rate, that could also be described as "out of whack". But that is contrary to the tone of the sentence in question.
A Google search confirms this. That New York Times article (titled Working Harder for the Man) is an op-ed written by Bob Herbert, who said (in part):
"Data recently compiled by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston offers a startling look at just how out of whack executive compensation has become…. According to the center's director, Andrew Sum, the top five Wall Street firms (Bear Stearns, Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley) were expected to award an estimated $36 billion to $44 billion worth of bonuses to their 173,000 employees, an average of between $208,000 and $254,000, 'with the bulk of the gains accruing to the top 1,000 or so highest-paid managers.'
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