To Whom The Dollar Goes. Soldiers. Retirees on Social Security. Politicians, as in Elected Officials. Corporate CEOs.

Pay disparity and wage inequities are almost always a hot button topic.

The compensation of elected officials is often the target of disgruntled, ill-informed persons who denounce the compensation of those in the public service of the government of the United States of America.

For example, take a look at the following meme that has been circulating on the internet:

Far too many people see the above meme and accept it as being factually correct, which it is not. The fact is that the meme contains falsehoods concerning the elected officials it cites. For those persons who are open-minded to facts, as opposed to preconceived notions and opinions, I suggest taking a look and read very carefully that which is contained in:

• US GOVERNMENT, U.S. CONGRESS: ACTIONS AND INFORMATION, Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members: The Truth for information on annual (NOT FOR LIFE) congressional salaries and benefits.
• ASK FACTCHECK, Congressional Pensions Update, Posted on January 5, 2015 for congressional pension information.

While, many Americans decry the compensation of our elected officials, very few decry the compensation of America's CEOs.

Did you know that the 2014 compensation of David M. Zaslav, CEO of Discovery Communications, Inc., was $156,077,912? Now, tell me that he is worth more than the President of the United States!

"In 2013 the CEO-to-worker pay ratio was 331:1 and the CEO-to-minimum-wage-worker pay ratio was 774:1. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity, a country where hard work and playing by the rules would provide working families a middle-class standard of living. But in recent decades, corporate CEOs have been taking a greater share of the economic pie while wages have stagnated and unemployment remains high." ref: Executive Paywatch.

The 100 Highest Paid CEOs in the United States cost us Americans millions and millions of dollars. Take a look at the chart contained in the embedded link of the immediately preceding sentence.

The bottom line is that the source of funding the compensation to both elected officials and CEOs comes out of our pockets, whether the compensation is paid to elected officials through our tax dollars or the compensation is paid to corporate CEOs through the prices we pay on goods and services.