November 21, 2013
Dear Securities and Exchange Commission:
I am an investor in publicly traded companies through my retirement plan and personal savings.
I strongly support the SEC’s proposal requiring companies to disclose the CEO-to-median worker pay ratio, as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
Pay ratio disclosure will help investors evaluate CEO pay levels when voting on executive compensation matters. The ratio of the CEO-to-worker pay is a valuable metric for investors, because it places CEO pay levels into a broader perspective.
For example, investors may use pay ratios as a factor when casting say-on-pay votes. Pay ratio disclosure also will help investors better understand their company’s overall compensation for all employees.
High CEO-to-worker pay ratios can have a negative impact on employee morale and productivity. Disclosure of the pay ratios will help the capital markets better allocate capital to those companies that invest in their workforces.
Also, since these CEO's and the corporate cultures they have created no longer adhere to an established form of ethical conduct or hold any concern for the welfare of the common worker or any others beneath their station, they need to be held accountable and clearly disclose their rationale for such obscene compensation.
Sincerely,
Thomas P. Elias
Cedar Rapids, IA