CEO Pay Has Increased About 876 Percent Since 1978 (CHART)

The above chart from the Keystone Research Center shows just how good the last 30-plus years have been for America's corporate chieftains.

CEOs saw their total compensation climb by 876 percent between 1978 and 2012, according to the center. But if that number is too big for you to wrap your head around, here's some context: During that same period, worker compensation grew just 5.4 percent, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

The trend hasn't shifted in recent years. Between 2010 and 2012, when worker pay has essentially remained stagnant, while CEO pay climbed 15 percent.

And it doesn't seem that the so-called economic recovery is going to give workers a boost anytime soon. In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that hourly wages fell 3.8 percent during the first quarter of 2013 -- the biggest quarterly drop since the BLS started tracking wage growth in 1947.