Publicly traded companies that solely enrich the top tier are scams - no more, no less

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

Why don't people get this? To pilfer a company's bottom line for the benefit of a few, while denying stockholders dividends, or employees a fair wage or salary, or stunting future growth because they have starved Research and Development, is a VIOLATION of the FIDUCIARY duties publicly owned companies owe their shareholders. Why is this hard to understand?

These greedy, greedy CEO's and boards are dragging America into a vortex of ruin and poverty. But, they can relax in their gated communities , sipping mojitos on their decks, secure in the belief that no one will ever call them to account.

[dchill]

1. "solely enrich the top tier..."

Yes. So conservative. So Republican. SOOOO PATRIOTIC!

[kestrel91316]

2. Con artists. Foxes guarding henhouses. I like what one of my favorite

writers, Ferenc Mate (A Reasonable Life, the book that changed my life), suggested be done with these wastrels: a good old-fashioned guillotining.

[depakid]

3. These types had better hope that there aren't too many Mme DeFarges

out there- because in the coming years, there's likely to be some upheaval- along with the inevitable search for those responsible.

(from one of my favorite books- Tale of Two Cities).

[Double T]

4. wall street and corporate america is an insatiable vampire draining the life blood.........

(every penny) from everyone.

[Common Sense Party]

5. Give us some examples. n/t

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. OK

http://blog.aflcio.org/2006/05/25/outrageous-ceo-pay-costs-workers-afl-cio-tells-congress/

Outrageous CEO Pay Costs Workers, AFL-CIO Tells Congress
by Donna Jablonski, May 25, 2006

Ridiculous executive retirement packages are particularly offensive as companies are shedding and under-funding employee pensions left and right.

Lee Raymond opted for a lump sum of $98 million from Exxon Mobil—while the company’s employee pension plan has a $11.2 billion funding deficit. Pfizer CEO Henry McKinnell can choose an annual pension of $6.5 million or an $83 million lump-sum payment—although Pfizer’s stock price has fallen nearly 50 percent under his leadership. IBM CEO Samuel Palmisano’s pension is worth $4.5 million annually, although IBM recently froze its pension for employees.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/MostOutrageousCEOPerksOf2006SoFar.aspx

Most outrageous CEO perks of 2006 -- so far
Boards keep showering execs with juicy perks and severance packages while shareholders foot the bill. This time, it's Nike, eBay, Fedders and Starwood Hotels passing out treats.

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/HowStockOptionsRobShareholders.aspx
How stock options rob shareholders
Executives and other employees can pocket billions in options gains at the same time their companies post billions in losses. The biggest losers? Shareholders.

http://www.cwa-union.org/exec-compensation/

How Much Do They Make?
How much does your CEO make? Our table below shows annual compensation for CEOs of some of CWA's major employers (and, where available, chief executives of public employers) as well as how many times larger that compensation is than an employee who makes $40,000. (To compare your actual pay to your CEO's, visit the Executive Paywatch database.)

http://www.forbes.com/business/2006/11/07/executive-comp-horror-stories-biz-cx_emd_1107comp.html
Compensation
Executive Sweets
Elizabeth MacDonald, 11.07.06, 3:50 PM ET

That's because executive compensation scandals continue to dominate headlines, with stories about pervasive backdating of executive stock options and a ruling forcing former New York Stock Exchange boss Dick Grasso to pay back tens of millions of dollars in compensation. Some of the biggest controversies in corporate-governance circles centered on the huge pay packages awarded to former Exxon Mobil (nyse: XOM - news - people ) chief executive Lee Raymond, former Pfizer (nyse: PFE - news - people ) chief executive Henry McKinnell and Home Depot (nyse: HD - news - people ) Chief Executive Robert Nardelli, without regard to their performance, says Glass Lewis, a San Francisco-based financial and corporate governance research firm.

http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/picks/archive/2007/pick0309.htm
CEO Pay: Should Shareholders Have More Say?
Corporate governance watchdog Nell Minow thinks reform is long overdue.
By Anne Kates Smith
March 9, 2007icks/archive/2007/pick0309.htm