I
Igor The Terrible
Guest
Absolutely amazing. After decades of getting hosed and reamed reamed,
the light bulb finally is beginning to flicker. Heads should have
rolled years ago; not now when the majority of America is up to its
ass in debt. Not to mention, having enough money in their IRAs for
their retirement--coming soon.
As I have said before, there isn't a thing wrong with America's
economy that flattening Wall Street wouldn't solve. They, the Fed and
the federal government are at the root of the problem thanks to
unchecked corruption and mismanagement over the years. Don't even get
me started on their F I N E policy-making!!!!
Calls Against Big CEO Pay Grow Louder
Saturday April 12, 4:49 am ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Shareholders Want 'Say on Pay' in Push Against Excessive CEO
Compensation
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's high-rolling CEOs live a lifestyle that
would make Hollywood movie stars jealous -- penthouse apartments,
private jets, and paychecks tipping $60 million a year.
Corporate boards in recent years have rubber-stamped generous bonus
packages for an elite set of executives, a reflection of a go-go stock
market and soaring profits. Now, as the credit crisis roils Wall
Street and decimates stock prices, shareholders are demanding a voice.
Fund managers and individual investors alike are campaigning for a
"say on pay" rule giving shareholders a vote on executive compensation
at major corporations, especially America's biggest banks. This is the
latest salvo in the battle against Wall Street's exorbitance, and this
time it appears shareholders might stand a chance.
Timothy Smith, a senior vice president at Boston-based Walden Asset
Management, nearly pulled off a "say on pay" resolution at Goldman
Sachs Group Inc.'s annual meeting Thursday. The proposal garnered 43
percent of the vote, despite strong recommendations for its rejection
from Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and the investment bank's board.
"To us it appears that Wall Street has a severe rash, to which its
boards, made up of corporate members, respond 'you scratch my back,
and I will scratch yours," said Smith, whose firm owns 65,000 shares
of Goldman Sachs.
Indeed, most boards these days are hand-picked by management and
typically include executives from other companies. Goldman's board has
former top executives from Sara Lee Corp., Medtronic Inc., Colgate-
Palmolive Co. and Allstate Corp.
They might find the latest push on compensation difficult to ignore.
Shareholders who voted in favor of "say on pay" represented a wide
swath of big institutional investors, like mutual funds, foundations,
and pensions.
Smith complimented Blankfein for navigating Goldman Sachs for the most
part clear of the credit crisis, which has cost global banks nearly
$200 billion in write-downs and led to the implosion of Bear Stearns
Cos. However, he said -- "as owners of this company" -- shareholders
should have a seat at the board.
Blankfein, who took home about $54 million in 2007, rejected the
proposal, saying he didn't want anyone "less sophisticated and have
less understanding" of the financial industry making decisions on pay.
Goldman's top five executives were paid about $250 million total last
year, including cash bonuses, stock awards and other compensation,
according to the company's proxy statement.
"This would create a feedback loop. It would create a cloud, a
constraint, a limitation on decisions that have been at the heart of
what a board has done," he said at the company's annual meeting.
He likely hasn't seen the last of Smith, and CEOs across every
industry are facing similar challenges as companies hold their annual
meetings throughout April and May.
Some 100 companies -- from General Electric Corp. to Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. -- will be voting on "say on pay" proposals, but the odds might
not be in shareholders' favor. The average level of support for 51 say-
on-pay-type resolutions in 2007 was 43 percent, according to
RiskMetrics Group.
But shareholder-sponsored proposals rarely pass on the first vote and
can sometimes take a few years before they catch on.
"These sort of proposals take about three to four years to gain
acceptance," said Rich Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and
pension investments at the American Federation of State County and
Municipal Employees. "Goldman is one of a few companies that have done
a good job in the middle of this credit crisis, but that's not to say
shareholders shouldn't have a general right to ratify a compensation
program as a check and balance system."
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Morgan Stanley both rejected
proposals this past week. But there are companies whose shareholders
have a say on compensation, such as Verizon Communications Inc.,
Blockbuster Inc., Apple Inc., and Aflac Inc.
The idea has also become a populist hot button for politicians --
especially for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and
Hillary Clinton.
Obama demanded during a stop in Indianapolis Friday that company
shareholders have a say in executive pay, and he wants Congress to
pass legislation that would require it.
"This isn't just about expressing outrage," Obama said. "It's about
changing a system where bad behavior is rewarded so that we can hold
CEOs accountable, and make sure they're acting in a way that's good
for their company, good for our economy, and good for America, not
just good for themselves."
the light bulb finally is beginning to flicker. Heads should have
rolled years ago; not now when the majority of America is up to its
ass in debt. Not to mention, having enough money in their IRAs for
their retirement--coming soon.
As I have said before, there isn't a thing wrong with America's
economy that flattening Wall Street wouldn't solve. They, the Fed and
the federal government are at the root of the problem thanks to
unchecked corruption and mismanagement over the years. Don't even get
me started on their F I N E policy-making!!!!
Calls Against Big CEO Pay Grow Louder
Saturday April 12, 4:49 am ET
By Joe Bel Bruno, AP Business Writer
Shareholders Want 'Say on Pay' in Push Against Excessive CEO
Compensation
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street's high-rolling CEOs live a lifestyle that
would make Hollywood movie stars jealous -- penthouse apartments,
private jets, and paychecks tipping $60 million a year.
Corporate boards in recent years have rubber-stamped generous bonus
packages for an elite set of executives, a reflection of a go-go stock
market and soaring profits. Now, as the credit crisis roils Wall
Street and decimates stock prices, shareholders are demanding a voice.
Fund managers and individual investors alike are campaigning for a
"say on pay" rule giving shareholders a vote on executive compensation
at major corporations, especially America's biggest banks. This is the
latest salvo in the battle against Wall Street's exorbitance, and this
time it appears shareholders might stand a chance.
Timothy Smith, a senior vice president at Boston-based Walden Asset
Management, nearly pulled off a "say on pay" resolution at Goldman
Sachs Group Inc.'s annual meeting Thursday. The proposal garnered 43
percent of the vote, despite strong recommendations for its rejection
from Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein and the investment bank's board.
"To us it appears that Wall Street has a severe rash, to which its
boards, made up of corporate members, respond 'you scratch my back,
and I will scratch yours," said Smith, whose firm owns 65,000 shares
of Goldman Sachs.
Indeed, most boards these days are hand-picked by management and
typically include executives from other companies. Goldman's board has
former top executives from Sara Lee Corp., Medtronic Inc., Colgate-
Palmolive Co. and Allstate Corp.
They might find the latest push on compensation difficult to ignore.
Shareholders who voted in favor of "say on pay" represented a wide
swath of big institutional investors, like mutual funds, foundations,
and pensions.
Smith complimented Blankfein for navigating Goldman Sachs for the most
part clear of the credit crisis, which has cost global banks nearly
$200 billion in write-downs and led to the implosion of Bear Stearns
Cos. However, he said -- "as owners of this company" -- shareholders
should have a seat at the board.
Blankfein, who took home about $54 million in 2007, rejected the
proposal, saying he didn't want anyone "less sophisticated and have
less understanding" of the financial industry making decisions on pay.
Goldman's top five executives were paid about $250 million total last
year, including cash bonuses, stock awards and other compensation,
according to the company's proxy statement.
"This would create a feedback loop. It would create a cloud, a
constraint, a limitation on decisions that have been at the heart of
what a board has done," he said at the company's annual meeting.
He likely hasn't seen the last of Smith, and CEOs across every
industry are facing similar challenges as companies hold their annual
meetings throughout April and May.
Some 100 companies -- from General Electric Corp. to Wal-Mart Stores
Inc. -- will be voting on "say on pay" proposals, but the odds might
not be in shareholders' favor. The average level of support for 51 say-
on-pay-type resolutions in 2007 was 43 percent, according to
RiskMetrics Group.
But shareholder-sponsored proposals rarely pass on the first vote and
can sometimes take a few years before they catch on.
"These sort of proposals take about three to four years to gain
acceptance," said Rich Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and
pension investments at the American Federation of State County and
Municipal Employees. "Goldman is one of a few companies that have done
a good job in the middle of this credit crisis, but that's not to say
shareholders shouldn't have a general right to ratify a compensation
program as a check and balance system."
Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and Morgan Stanley both rejected
proposals this past week. But there are companies whose shareholders
have a say on compensation, such as Verizon Communications Inc.,
Blockbuster Inc., Apple Inc., and Aflac Inc.
The idea has also become a populist hot button for politicians --
especially for Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and
Hillary Clinton.
Obama demanded during a stop in Indianapolis Friday that company
shareholders have a say in executive pay, and he wants Congress to
pass legislation that would require it.
"This isn't just about expressing outrage," Obama said. "It's about
changing a system where bad behavior is rewarded so that we can hold
CEOs accountable, and make sure they're acting in a way that's good
for their company, good for our economy, and good for America, not
just good for themselves."