September 24, 2013
I’m writing in support of a strong Dodd-Frank rule 953(b).
Disclosing corporate pay ratios between CEOs and average employees will discourage the outrageous and reckless pay practices that fueled the 2008 crash.
Knowing which corporations heap riches upon their executives while squeezing struggling employees also will be a useful factor for me when considering which businesses to support with my consumer and investment dollars.
I am aware that you are under intense pressure by business interests to weaken or abandon the rule. Do not give in. Instead, weigh your duty to protect investors and the American public against the self-serving interests of those seeking to undermine this rule.
And thanks to the recklessness and greed of all in the private sector who were directly responsible for the crash of 2008 -- aided and abetted by many ill-considered policies and actions approved by Congress and the then current administration -- all hopes of a reasonably comfortable retirement for my wife and me were permanently destroyed.
While we, and millions of others will suffer economically and socially for the few remaining years of our lives while most of those responsible for the disaster will only become wealthier and face no punishment for their parts in the collapse, we hope the SEC will realize its own failures and begin to do the job it should have long ago -- and that future generations will not suffer as you have let us do.
Thank you for considering my comment,
D.T. Magidson,
St. Louis, MO
Daniel Magidson
St. Louis, MO