Structure
If we look  at the structure of a company (or a democratic or even communistic government), we will see that working up from the bottom, there are the workers, the supervisors, the managerial departments, the supervisors of those departments, then the upper echelons, the CEO and members of the board and similar. Finally, above that, there are the owners, which might be single individuals, or a few investors, and might well be members of the board.

Where Is The Wealth?
Now, if we break that down, we will  see that the most individuals are generally at the lower levels. This encompasses the production part of the company, the part that achieves work done.
Above that point, the individuals are basically a financial drain on the company, because they are taking out money, but achieving no production that can create money. They would generally be far less in number than the worker level people.

The Traditional Structure
If the company operates honestly, then there will be wealth created by the selling of the production created. And this wealth will be proportional at every level. And, in most cases of older established companies this was the case for years.

The New Ethic Takes Over.
The new ethic that has taken over in the past few decades has been different from the above example. Those above have, over time, changed the amounts paid out from the overall production income, while lowering the portion of the expenses that were attributed to wages and salaries.
Someone at some point realised that by abuse of power, they can make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. They simply adopt policies to reduce the outgoings in expenses that include wages, and at the same time award greater amounts in bonuses for the top company officers. At the point where this started, all remained well.

The Time Decay Syndrome
The passing of time, however, changed the stability of the situation. The lower levels had decreasing disposable income that could be spent by choice. As government departments adopted the same systems, then more tax money disappeared, and the workloads became downloaded to those below, ending up at both the municipal level, then passed on to the taxpayers. This in turn gave the producers of the company wealth even less disposable money.

The Import System
Sales of the domestic products slowed up, due to lack of purchasing power in the American public. Around the same time, companies like General Motors began to have parts made in places like Mexico. The government in turn, brought in systems such as NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement which caused trade barriers to be dropped, allowed the imports to be profitable for the American companies importing the items. At the same time, the US lobby groups prevented the trading partners from exporting into the US goods that were in competition with domestically produced goods.
This allowed any profits from the imported cheaper goods to go into the pockets of the American companies, and not the foreign companies trying to do trade with the US directly.

The Import System Slows Down.
The importation of goods from foreign sources then expanded into such places as China, and the technology for the manufacture was  handed over to these companies, as not only were the wages far less, but also the workplace laws less expensive to comply to, mainly because there are none.
So, for the past few years, everything goes great. The US consumers are getting the goods they want at rock bottom prices, enabling a maintenance of lifestyle, while the companies they work for are happy from the top down, because they are taking out masses of the company value at the higher levels. But this system is not sustainable. It slows down in the end. That end commences when the disposable income is so low for the masses, and their purchases so far inclined to be for imported goods, that the US companies start to decrease in true value, as the future starts to look uncertain.

The Collapse Begins
The whole of the US economy becomes one of reliance on imported goods, and no wealth being created for the US companies, and at the same time, the individuals running those companies are also taking out funds that  are not being replaced. Now, this situation is not a good one to promote future investment, or even maintain the current levels, so, there is a trend towards hiding the situation in some way. This ends up the whole of corporate America being based upon ideas and theories, instead of a true estimate of future wealth.
Then we add to this some mortgages sold under a non-sustainable system that was part of the pack of lies.

The Real Reason The American Economy Is Crashing
And so the above is the groundwork as to why the American economy is crashing. Few individuals have faith in the system any more because the system has not earned such trust. In fact, it has a statistical record of not acting in a trustworthy or responsible manner. When we add to that situation a government that is hell-bent on perpetuating what it is being told to perpetuate by the corporations, and the rank and file population have even less faith.
In short, the gig is up.
The people now have no confidence, and for the most part, this lack of confidence is justified. The corporations and government individuals (not just in America) have milked out funds that were not there seemingly in order to feather their own nests in a short term manner. Just like communist officials do in lesser countries. The only way that investing can now reap rewards is by hit and run tactics, making use of fluctuations in a falling market.
 
Well done, politicians, you worked well for the lobby groups.
Well done, CEO's.
Well done, board members.
Well done, civil servants, you complied without question.

You just collectively screwed up your own ultimate wealth and the futures of your own offspring.
You just shot yourself in the foot.

edited Aug 19th to correct NAFTA being 'agreement, not association, (as per the anon comment) I humbly apologise for any offence or irritation this massive error might have caused! Anon is right, I was wrong.

THE "A" IN NAFTA STANDS FOR AGREEMENT NOT ASSOSCIATION >>>WHAT A WANKER

I thank you for correcting your blog as well as commenting on my own spelling. The content of your article is quite interesting on it causes me to wonder; if all the owners of these failing companies are just in it for a quick buck or get rich and get out, they are not thinking of the future generations. But more to the point; is there any distinct corelation between these companies and CEOs with no children or grandchildren and was their "productive"years wasted in the pursuit of "higher" higher education and striving to get ahead???