Paychecks for CEOs Climb

[kpete]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Paychecks for CEOs Climb

By JOANN S. LUBLIN

The chief executives of the largest U.S. public companies enjoyed bigger paydays in their latest fiscal year, as share prices recovered and profits soared amid the country's slow emergence from recession.

Reporter Erin White sits down with Kelsey Hubbard to discuss the results of WSJ's survey of CEO pay, which rose 3% over last year.

At these 456 companies, the median pretax value of CEO salaries, bonuses and long-term incentives, such as grants of stock and stock options, rose by 3% to $7.23 million, according to an analysis of their latest proxy filings for The Wall Street Journal by consulting firm Hay Group.

Investors made out well, too, with total shareholder return (based on the change in stock price plus reinvested dividends), coming in at 29%. The companies' total net income doubled from a year earlier to $510.9 billion.


Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704756804575608434290068118.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsTop

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. why am I not surprised.

SSDD

[toddwv]

14. That's 3% more money that they can stash in untaxable offshore accounts.

They must be pleased...

[SammyWinstonJack]

2. ...

:grr: :mad: :puke: :banghead: :argh: No TAX BREAKS for these greed heads.

[Andy823]

3. If I am not mistaken

Wasn't this one of the main complaints of the teabaggers? I wonder if they will start demanding republicans do something about this kind of insanity?

[TwilightGardener]

4. Any of you peons waiting for that to trickle down?

:rofl:

[Kablooie]

5. I was, but then found it referred to a wet, yellow stream.

[TwilightGardener]

7. Really, it's sickening, but ya gotta laugh anyway.

[patriciaaturner]

17. ceo 3% rise in pay

are we really going to sit here and let these elite free
loaders win?

[Courtesy Flush]

6. They should outsource CEO jobs to India

Average executive pay in India is $40,030. There are a lot of talented people there.

[patriciaaturner]

16. ceo 3% rise in pay

Are we really going to sit here and let this elite
free-loaders win?

[Hissyspit]

8. Tax the rich. nt

[shanti]

9. what did people think would happen

when our jobs were outsourced? :shrug: the "savings" went somewhere, not to the customers, but into the pockets of the CEOs!

[defendandprotect]

10. Not creating jobs -- just more adding to their own pile of wealth--!!

[CatholicEdHead]

11. Good, they are worth every cent, they are so much better than us

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[DesertFlower]

12. Jesus H. Christ.

[Quantess]

13. Meanwhile, wages are down for the rest of us.

At my new job, I make such a low hourly wage. I haven't got this low pay since the early 1990s. Not kidding.

[Canuckistanian]

15. Mission accomplished.

Look like they're right on track with their goals.

[Besmart]

18. Paychecks for CEOs Climb

It seems to me that there might be two avenues of recourse to controls the excesses.

The first is the tax code. Unless there is a reasonable expectation of profit, expenses incurred are not deductible. The same rationale easily applies to "sweetheart" arrangements to pay far more than a reasonable price for goods or for services to achieve a profit. What is reasonable is a question of fact.

The second is the failure of the directors to act in the best interests of the shareholders. If they authorize payments or pay schemes that "deplete the corporate treasury", they are personally liable for breach of trust. Conspiracy principles would make complicit recipients of grossly excessive compensation jointly liable. Again, what is reasonable is a question of fact.

I don't know enough about legalities to know whether grossly unreasonable compensation attracts criminal sanctions.


Still learning

[ProudDad]

19. Sure glad that recovery's workin' for ya'

:sarcasm:

[sarcasmo]

20. While the peasants work for less and less an hour.