>> I've been a shareholder of many, many companies, and I never recall voting on CEO compensation.
But you have (or could have) voted for the BOD which sets CEO compensation.
More importantly, you can VOTE WITH YOUR FEET. If you don't like the behavior of the BOD and your votes are not enough to change the behavior, then you can simply put your money elsewhere.
It is precisely the same way I feel about having Obama as president except the stakes are far higher. I cast my vote, my side lost, and now I have to live with that or go somewhere else.
A key difference, however, is that most of the people who vote in electing the BOD have similar objectives to yours as a stockholder, which is profits. Corporations, when they are created, stipulate the manner in which a CEO will come to power. If you don't like it, as a stockholder, put your money in the bank.
If a buy shares in a company that is paying the CEO excessively then I should sell my shares. I really don't see how you (or government) should have the slightest say beyond that.
(I've argued more than my share of these cases with IRS over what reasonable compensation is, and never once did I feel I lost the negotiation; there are invariably plenty of arguments to support whatever position you need to. I've argued for near zero and I've argued for multi-millions. The one exception is a person who works for an S-Corporation and takes zero salary, which is an untenable position that you always lose). |
