Corporate Looters

While many executives in large companies are paid reasonable salaries and perks for strenuous efforts in our competitive economy, too many of them are overpaid and some even underworked!

As modest investors with frequent contacts with management, we have firsthand knowledge of the truth in Will’s article.

But this problem is not limited to our CEOs. No, it also impacts our taxpayers by the salaries and perks paid to “PEOs”--political executive officers! For instance in the last two years, members of Congress have voted themselves almost $25,000 pay increases at a time when we face a serious recession and the Treasury faces huge deficits generated by these same officials.

If representatives do not have the courage to reject pork-barrel legislation, why don’t they authorize the President to exercise line-item veto powers as used by 43 of our state governors? Then they would have an easy solution--they could say, “Let George do it.”

Yes, pay for our representatives should be contingent first on balanced budgets. In a similar manner, pay for CEOs of large companies should be subject to the profits, dividends and the stockholders!

DAVID J. FOURNIER

RALPH S. LITTRELL, West Los Angeles