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April 6, 2005 Securities and Exchange Commission Dear Securities and Exchange Commission, I am writing to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission to act on its proposed rule making on executive compensation disclosure. Too often executives are richly rewarded even when their companies' performance is below par. Without better disclosure, shareholders, employees and the general public cannot evaluate whether executive pay packages are unjustly enriching executives at shareholder cost or providing fair compensation. The newly proposed rules will make this crucial information more accessible to shareholders and the public. The new requirements to disclose total compensation figures, pensions and detailed compensation breakdowns will make it clear exactly how much top executives are earning and why. I believe that CEO pay should be set by independent directors. I think CEO's should NOT be paid with company stock. They should be paid in cash, like all other workers and management. Once senior management gets ESOP or other company stock, they are no longer interested in the company, but in wall street and how the stock is trading. They lose sight of the business, and try to sell it to make a lot of money on their company stock. I also urge the SEC to require that companies disclose pay-for-performance data. In order for investors to understand how pay and performance match up, companies need to explain more clearly what level of performance is necessary for a particular level of pay. I urge the SEC to require companies to disclose both the performance criteria and the performance targets they use when setting executive pay. Sincerely,
Tom Kerwin |