Executive Pay Caps – What’s Your Opinion?

The “popular” opinion – that is, the one the media reports as being the most commonly held by “regular people” – seems to be that if companies fail us, and then ask for more of our money to stay alive – that the executives at the helm should be forced to undergo a pay cut.  I have to say, this makes both economic, political and moral sense to me.  I don’t think Obama’s pandering to populist sentiment.  I think he’s abiding by ethical principles that he’s worked out in advance.

What do you think?  Personally I don’t buy the argument, especially in exceptional, scandalous times like these – that huge, celestial pay and perk packages are necessary to keep the best executives.  Are you kidding me?!

If an executive won’t take a CEO position because it only pays $500,000 grand when his/her buddies are getting paid twenty times that amount at other companies actually doing well and providing honest, needed services or goods, then big deal!  I guess that executive will be – gasp! – unemployed for a while.  And if they do take it, they’ll be – gasp! – underemployed, perhaps, for a while.  Is that so much to wrap your head around, you stone-blooded Republicans or criminal Wall-Streeters who stand against this injunction?  Why, the executives might have to live by the same ethical and performance standards as everyone else!!

It’s time to “slaughter” (to use Nietzsche’s metaphor – I’m not talking about real murders, of course!) these false idols and gods, the “CEOs” who live in castles in the sky.

There aren’t two sets of rules – one for ordinary people and one for CEOs, just because they can grow a company.  The old model of growth is on its way out, anyway.  A new one is coming into being based on sustainable, ethical growth.  *Just because you can doesn’t mean you should* might be the motto.

But what do you think?

Obviously there is more to the debate and arguments than I’ve presented so simply here, but my point is that I feel sick to my stomach by the very fact that there are people who are SHOCKED and OUTRAGED by the very question that executives should be held accountable for their actions and mistakes.  Madoff must be their hero.  Everyone else who makes irreconcilable mistakes such as these – not really knowing how to value off-balance sheet items; creating them in the first place; not doing justice; – they would all be fired!  There should be an equivalent process at the CEO, CFO level too – not a golden godamn handshake and jet.

At least in Canada our top bankers are willingly stepping up to the plate to take modest pay cuts (it’s very modest, because they were making about 10 million a year and now they’re making about 7.5 million a year, or something like that).  At least it’s a small move towards doing the right thing.  Otherwise, how could you live with yourself?

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Tagged as: CEO pay, CEOs, ethics, executive compensation