Reply #95: The shareholders have a tough row to hoe.

[amandabeech]

First, they have to come up with some board of director candidates who want to bring executive compensation down to earth. Then, they have to confice said candidates to run. Then they have to convince the institutional shareholders to go along with them, if they aren't there already. The institutional shareholders are probably friends with the directors.

Then, if the board is staggered, the shareholders have to keep it up for at least six to nine years to get enough candidates to vote down ridiculous compensation.

I haven't seen it happen.

In reality the best thing that a shareholder can do is vote with his or her feet, or maybe find an better run corp to make an offer for the errant corp and fight out a tender offer. Usually, though no one but the vultures do this kind of thing.

It is a long slog and everybody knows it.

On a different note, I certainly hope that you know the difference between what is legal and what is right.

FDR really didn't care about what the business roundtable of his time thought. Maybe Obama should channel FDR instead of the last four presidents.