Executive Pay: A Special Report - A Brighter Spotlight, Yet the Pay Rises

[UpInArms]

Source: New York Times

Soaring oil prices, not stellar strategy, brought huge profits to many oil companies last year, yet Ray R. Irani, chief of Occidental Petroleum, saw his compensation rise 21 percent, to $33.6 million making him the sixth-highest-paid executive in the group of 200 in the survey.

Conversely, the aftermath of the subprime mortgage debacle wreaked havoc at Merrill Lynch, causing the ouster of E. Stanley O’Neal last fall. It is too soon to know whether John A. Thain, who now has the top spot, can restore Merrill’s former glory. But thanks in large part to a hefty sign-on bonus, he was the highest-paid executive in the survey, with a compensation package that totaled almost $83.8 million.

<snip>

In many cases, the answer would be “not much.” According to Equilar, the chiefs of the 10 largest financial services firms in the survey were awarded a combined total of $320 million last year, even though the firms reported mortgage-related losses that totaled $55 billion and that wiped out more than $200 billion in shareholder value.

<snip>

A group of investors, led by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, is asking companies to limit or bar “gross-ups,” in which companies pay the taxes the C.E.O.’s incur from their pay packages.

<snip>

The Corporate Library has just released data showing that 20 percent of chief executives received a tax gross-up on part of their income in 2006. The median gross-up amount was just $13,000, but the concept — that any corporate chief should receive tax assistance on top of multimillion-dollar payouts — stuck in shareholders’ craws.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/business/06comp.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&pagewanted=all

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there's also a great interactive link

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2008/04/05/business/20080405_EXECCOMP_GRAPHIC.html

where you can see the compensation for most of the corps that are listed on the stock exchange

[Phred42]

1. It's time to get SERIOUS about Nationalizing teh Fossil Fuel Industries

They have proven to be Anti-American and completely irresponsible and cannot be trusted

It's a matter of National Security.

[guyanakoolaid]

2. Socialism NOW

[Phred42]

5. Socialism is not the answer -

PS: Single Payor Heathcare is not socialism.

[nichomachus]

6. But capitalism just ain't a-workin'

[magellan]

7. Unregulated captialism isn't working

And it never will work -- for anyone but the robber barons.

[Phred42]

9. Correct! We need to get back to REGULATED Capitalism

Tariffs, and enforcing the Sherman Anti-Trust laws.

Break 'em up!

If a company is "TOO BIG TO ALLOW TO FAIL" That company is TOO BIG and needs to be broken up.....among other things :)

[Phred42]

10. Great Quote - lol

[Ordr]

11. No no no no no no AND no.

[Trillo]

3. If only the minimum wage had increased 20% each and every year

since the 80s.

Poverty would likely have been eliminated, and everyone would have disposable money to spend.

[DBoon]

4. Since income inequality is approaching the developing world here

how long before kidnapping executive's family for ransom becomes commonplace?

Do they really think there is no downside to their success at greed?

[OneBlueSky]

8. we need federal legislation limiting corporate executive compensation . . .

by tying it to the lowest salary or wage paid by the company . . . say 50x or so . . .

if the lowest paid worker is making $8.50/hour, for example, his/her pay annual pay would be about $17,680 . . . 50 times that amount would be $884,000 . . . anyone who can't live comfortably on that needs to find a new financial advisor . . .

the limitation should include ALL forms of compensation, both actual and deferred, both cash and stocks/stock options . . . hell, even make it 100x if need be . . . but we have to have SOME limit on what these people are making -- particularly when their companies are losing money . . .

[rcsl1998]

12. Kick