March 27, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
How come you are giving lawyers a $169,000,000 gift horse but want us to schlep the internet for "free" information on a company's total return? Total return data on the internet is nearly impossible to obtain, and I can't find it for free or for that matter anywhere. I can't believe you are looking after the shareholders by making us look for this information on the internet while giving fat-cat corporate lawyers a huge windfall. Who do you think is going to ultimately pay for implementation of your rules? I'll bet its not management. The shareholders are going to get the bill Even if I could find it on the internet, you have opened a giant opportunity for abuse as the internet is less than reliable especially for "free" information. Regardless of its internet availability, the chart should still be a part of in the proxy for the ease of shareholder and to make sure all the comparisons between total return and executive compensation are accurate. I think the smart thing to do would be for the SEC to require plain text comparing shareholder total return with management's pay. This is the acid test for me.
Sincerely yours,
Lynne Jones