Companies’ Pay Policies Are Their Business

Graef Crystal’s “Almost Any Way You Figure It, Executive Pay Remains Irrational” (Sunday Forum, Dec. 3) was not an analysis but rather an attack on a condition in business that is being attacked regularly by many in the anti-business community.

No proof is offered that “most shareholders would argue” that performance is more important than size in determining executive pay. Let us not forget that the companies under discussion are private and that executive pay is approved by the board of directors, which answers to the stockholders.

Obviously the author feels something should be done. Why do I get the impression that government involvement is what will be advocated by the author’s next article? A good analysis of executive pay is one thing, an attack on private industry is another. Save this author for the “Column Left” feature on the op-ed page and give the business pages business news and advice that will help generate the profits that will pay the taxes that will pay Graef Crystal’s public salary as a University of California professor.

ALAN TEST

Studio City