October 12, 2013
As a shareholder in several over-compensating corporations, I am can say I am NEVER consulted about the pay and BONUSES being handed out to management. All of these arrangements are presented (if at all) after they are dealt by backroom board deals. This isn't chump-change we are talking about! If Unions cannot take dues without member approval for political stuff, then why are corporations permitted to give cash in the name of their board officers? Want to talk about stock bonus? I PAID the going rate for my shares and some opportunist is getting a discount because he'll share it with the rest of the board!? How is fairness and pay and responsibility meted out in a corporation? By taking what they want and leaving shareholders like me the scraps on the table. And they wiggle out of paying taxes, while I pay mine!
I support Dodd-Frank rule 953(b), which strikes me as being all about the intersection of pay equity and investor value.
American workers are more productive than ever, but, year after year, studies show working Americans earning less and less, even as CEO pay balloons and corporate profits soar.
Disclosing corporate pay ratios between CEOs and average employees will finally show which corporations are driving this trend, which siphons money away from investors, and into the pockets of CEOs. In 1990, senior executive pay absorbed 5 percent of corporate profits. Today, according to Government Metrics International, it absorbs 10 percent.
Fairer pay structures mean stronger companies and a stronger economy – both of which are important to me as a consumer and as an investor.
No doubt there are a select few who benefit from the status quo of keeping the pay disparities undisclosed. Stand firm, and implement the law as written.
Thank you for considering my comment,
Kelly Burch
Oakhurst, CA