Promising Revolt on Executive Pay

It's time to mke the big boys play fair

For at least two decades now, I have ranted about the ridiculous pay packages of US CEOs. Most people yawned. Now, according to Brooke Masters in WaPo, ( Reining in Executive Pay ) investors are waking up to the fact that not only does management heavy compensation depress other employees salaries but also cuts into dividends. A number of companies are facing movements among investors to limit pay and severance packages and make them more representative of actual performance.

Executive pay "has always been an irritant but now it's risen to the top of the pile for U.S. investors," said ISS Vice President Patrick McGurn. "We're seeing a steady stream of 40 percent support or more for these pay-for-superior-performance resolutions. Investors are starting to say, 'If not now, when?'

To me, the outrageous salaries of CEOs also has a larger impact of promoting the attitude of life as a competitive sport. I would love to change our culture away from this competitiveness to recognize at least two points. The first is that money should be the means to various ends not the end itself. Secondly, and most importantly, competitiveness should be dampened by a growing concern for the common good. A new vision (and one some are urging the Democrats to adopt) recognizes that everyone benefits from accepting joint responsibility to see that the "American Dream"is less dream and more of a reality for more people.