Shareholders Should Object to CEO’s Pay
I was so happy to see the compensation of CEOs discussed [“Some CEOs Amply Rewarded Last Year Despite Slowdown,” Aug. 5].
As a shareholder I have objected to these exorbitant salaries, bonuses, stock options and long-term incentive pay to no avail. Even worse are the yearly retainer fees ($20,000 to $40,000), pensions, life insurance, etc., paid to members of the boards of directors.
These people are usually heads of other large companies or presidents of colleges, so it is obvious they already have these benefits from their own companies.
Besides that, they usually serve on the boards of other companies, so I question how much time or thought they give to the company in which I own stock.
To justify these payments, the company always says they have to do it to “attract and keep good employees.” This leads to ever-increasing hikes in compensation whether the company is making money or not.
Most people don’t take the time to read the proxy statements they receive but just vote the way the company recommends. I hope this will change after they read the figures.
Jeanne H. Manning
Laguna Woods
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