For decades, American business was guided by a relatively balanced equation: build great products, treat employees fairly, and success would follow. But in recent years, the equation has been replaced by a single, corrosive priority: maximizing shareholder value at all costs. The consequences have been catastrophic — for workers, for consumers, and for the long-term health of the companies themselves.
The Financialization of Corporate Leadership
At the heart of this shift is a fundamental change in who runs America’s largest companies. In place of product experts, engineers, or long-tenured leaders who came up through the ranks, we now have CEOs and boards dominated by financial managers and investor-class strategists. Their playbook is simple: cut costs, boost short-term metrics, issue stock buybacks, and cash out.
Nowhere is this clearer than in the case of Boeing.
Boeing: A Case Study in Selling Out
Boeing was once the gold standard of American engineering. For most of its history, it was run by people who understood airplanes — people who were engineers, walked factory floors, respected union labor, and knew that excellence required long-term investment.
Then came the 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas — a turning point that slowly hollowed out Boeing’s soul. Headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago, then again to Arlington, Virginia — each time farther from the engineering DNA of the company and the union workforce that made Boeing great. Production shifted to non-union plants in South Carolina, despite the consistent quality issues that followed. There’s even a ‘shadow factory’ in Everett, Washington – with union workers – that is ‘fixing quality issues’ with South Carolina built aircraft.
The result of this leadership model? Two crashes of the 737-MAX that killed 346 people, driven by corporate pressure to rush a flawed product to market. The fallout has been immense — billions in losses, reputational damage, and most tragically, avoidable deaths.
And yet, in 2024, Boeing’s CEO took home $18.4 million. Meanwhile, many of Boeing’s union workers had to fight for four 1% pay increases in the last eight years. Yes, Boeing finally signed a new contract with their union (after the union’s first strike since 2008) that equals a 38% increase over the next four years. This comes, of course, after they’ve reduced their union workforce by over half since 1980. It is likely they agreed to what sounds like a great contract for their union workforce because they know that they are moving more and more work to non-union plants and will be closing the union plants. While that certainly hasn’t been announced and is speculation, it’s a common tactic we’ve seen with other companies (see John Deere’s most recent deal with their union and how shortly after that they announced they are moving production to Mexico). It’s no coincidence that even though the South Carolina plants were falsifying inspection records Boeing just celebrated a $1 Billion factory expansion there. Make that make sense.
The Layoff Bonus Paradox
This isn’t just about Boeing. Across every major industry, we now see a disturbing pattern: companies slash jobs, shutter plants, and outsource work — and executives are rewarded with performance bonuses for “increasing shareholder value.” Layoffs are treated as financial wins. Long-term investments are sacrificed for quarterly gains. Corporate tax obligations are dodged while workers are told to “tighten their belts.”
What We’ve Lost — And How to Get It Back
The American middle class was built by workers, not hedge funds. By engineers, welders, designers, technicians, and tradespeople — not Wall Street spreadsheets. We must return to a model of capitalism that rewards value creation, not just value extraction.
Here’s what we need to do:
- Hold corporations accountable for reinvesting in their workers and communities.
- Enforce fair taxation for companies that benefit from U.S. infrastructure and labor.
- Respect organizing rights and rebuild the strength of labor unions.
- Elevate product and service quality over financial maneuvering.
- Tie executive compensation to long-term outcomes — not layoffs and stock prices.
Conclusion: A Better Way Forward
Maximizing shareholder value should not mean minimizing human dignity, product quality, or ethical responsibility. If America wants to build again — truly build — we need to put workers, integrity, and long-term vision back at the center of the conversation. It’s time to stop rewarding those who extract, and start honoring those who create.
