Display:
limits on executive compensation

Wow naked greed in all its glory. it's almost like they think we owe them money.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.

by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 05:54:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
To be honest, if the large private corporations are in symbiosis with the State (as, according to Galbraith's New Industrial State they are), there's no justification for astronomical executive compensation.

The symbiosis of Wall Street and the US Treasury has been hidden in plain sight, and now the veil is being pierced.

A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 05:59:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
The justification for high CEO pay is to make sure that corporations are in symbiosis with the state, putting them above oversight and outside of the law.

The symbiosis of Wall Street and the US Treasury has been hidden in plain sight, and now the veil is being pierced.

It's been a wake-up call for a lot of people whose life styles were crumbling - and they weren't sure why, because they were following the officially approved work ethic rules.

I think there's a lot more anger to come as people realise how badly they've allowed themselves to be screwed over.

The bailout debate is the overture, not the main performance.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 06:19:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
I think high CEO pay has come from the realisation that CEOs had more power than shareholders. The pwn3r class therefore left ownership and entered management. A narrative of "competition for talent" was built to justify ever-incresing "executive compensation".

A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 06:22:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
the competition for talent argument is one I've never quite understood.  especially the fact that it seems only to apply at the top end of companies.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
by ceebs (ceebs (at) eurotrib (dot) com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 06:25:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's not surprising that you couldn't understand it, since it was specious.

A vivid image of what should exist acts as a surrogate for reality. Pursuit of the image then prevents pursuit of the reality -- John K. Galbraith
by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 06:35:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
As I responded to Kos yesterday:


CEO pay matters for several reasons:

  • such high pay generates incentives for others to earn as much, and skews motivations towards management-income maximization rather than company income maximization;

  • more deviously, by making such figures, and their incomes, into representatives of success, it pushes forward the narrative of success = money and poverty = failure, which is the single most important driver of conservative policies (you're on your own, etc...);

  • by letting a small, but influential class earn huge amounts, it bring about massive lobbying power against taxes and in favor of deregulation, the exact consequences of which we see today;

Ultra high incomes, and growing inequality are bad things for society, and they need to be tempered by high taxes oe strong regulation - but regulation is fatally weakened when rich people can buy access to politicians and pundits and co-opt them.

So CEO pay is actually at the vey heart of the problem.



In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 09:40:06 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Mig
The symbiosis of Wall Street and the US Treasury has been hidden in plain sight, and now the veil is being pierced.
This makes now the perfect time to rip the veil of limited liability and force disgorgement by execs for compensation taken in the last  seven years on vehicles that are now blowing up. Sen. Dodd yesterday used the term "clawback" referring to such a recovery process.

This is like watching the French Revolution unfold.  What was unthinkable two days ago is policy today and will be hopelessly outdated and superseded in another two days.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Sep 24th, 2008 at 11:02:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:
Login
. Make a new account
. Reset password
Occasional Series