# What's the cure for runaway executive compensation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 8, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293 "2009-09-08T15:46:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Never\_Say\_Dice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee59a6/32.png) [@Never\_Say\_Dice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Never_Say_Dice)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/41 "2009-09-08T23:52:05Z")
Remove executive compensation. I think you should make all the CEOs pay for the privilege of sitting in the power chair. The rush is their reward. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/42 "2009-09-08T23:58:21Z")
Make them personally liable for all the losses of the corporation for up to 3 years after the compensation is received. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/43 "2009-09-09T00:05:05Z")
> [@Never\_Say\_Dice](#): > > Remove executive compensation. > > I think you should make all the CEOs pay for the privilege of sitting in the power chair. > The rush is their reward. Yes and watch the world burn starting two days later! What possible motive would any intelligent man have to take on such a job? You’d be putting the reins of every company in the world into the hands of people who have no desire but to be able to play games with people, with no personal responsibility for it. You might be late to the game, but in fact if every company in the world went to hell, the world itself would fairly well go to hell with them. ---
**Author:** ![michael34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@michael34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michael34)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/44 "2009-09-09T00:19:49Z")
This WORLD survived 4 billion years without companies and, until 75 years ago without mega-corporations. I hardly think that they have so ingrained themselves into the WORLD that thier demise would imperil us all. Most of what they peddle is meaningless junk that we would probably do better without, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/45 "2009-09-09T00:25:22Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > It isn’t an old boys network. The board members are people who battled their way up the ladder themselves, and have a great interest in seeing any company whose board they are on succeed. They might all seem affable and whatnot, but these are all guys who, when it comes to business, are hardasses. If the CEO is doing a bad job, they kick his ass and get all over him to show results. They don’t just throw money up in the air while cackling. That’s not the sort of person who makes it to the top. :rolleyes: Oh, please. And I bet they all started as poor homeless children mining coal with their bare hands and walked uphill through the snow to school both ways, right? They got to the top primarily by knowing the people already at the top; by living in the same neighborhoods, going to the same schools. And they have little concern for the welfare of the company. Haven’t you ever heard of golden parachutes? If the company fails they can loot its assets for their own profit, let it crash and burn and their friends will appoint them to lead some other company. They aren’t “hardasses”; they are a pampered elite that never need face the consequences of their actions. Bush the Second being a classic example; a self indulgent, incompetent fool who ruined everything he touched, and still was given one position of authority after another. > [@Oakminster](#): > > But really, that’s the fatal flaw of liberalism. Liberals don’t want to produce anything, or take responsibility for their own well being. They want to take from the haves and give to the have nots. The liberal mantra is “Success must be punished!”. No, liberals just recognize that we all belong to the same society, and that more often than not we don’t have the power to solve all our problems ourselves. That’s why society exists at all. Liberals are the ones who believe in responsibility; it’s the right that is all about sociopathy. > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Yes and watch the world burn starting two days later! What possible motive would any intelligent man have to take on such a job? You’d be putting the reins of every company in the world into the hands of people who have no desire but to be able to play games with people, with no personal responsibility for it. In other words, no change. ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/46 "2009-09-09T00:33:14Z")
> [@michael34](#): > > This WORLD survived 4 billion years without companies and, until 75 years ago without mega-corporations. I hardly think that they have so ingrained themselves into the WORLD that thier demise would imperil us all. Most of what they peddle is meaningless junk that we would probably do better without, anyway. The majority of people would rather watch baseball & football packaged and marketed by MLB and NFL instead of local minor league games. They’d majority would rather pay a ticket for a Hollywood movie or pay cable/satellite fees to for premium movie channels instead of watching local actors performing in plays and theaters. For their kids, they’d rather buy a brand name like Nike and Levi’s instead of paying local sewers to make their clothes. Everyone’s collective buying choices have allowed the corporations to exist and thrive. If you want to kill them off, then you need to kill off all the consumers, because they keep choosing what corporations produce. Maybe that’s a sad fact but that’s the situation you have. The world also survived 3 billion years without bipedal primates and the Earth does not need you but that fact is irrelevant since you can look in the mirror and… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/47 "2009-09-09T00:39:12Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > They got to the top primarily by knowing the people already at the top; by living in the same neighborhoods, going to the same schools. And they have little concern for the welfare of the company. Haven’t you ever heard of golden parachutes? If the company fails they can loot its assets for their own profit, let it crash and burn and their friends will appoint them to lead some other company. They aren’t “hardasses”; they are a pampered elite that never need face the consequences of their actions. Bush the Second being a classic example; a self indulgent, incompetent fool who ruined everything he touched, and still was given one position of authority after another. Non-representative samples are meaningless. 80% of the wealthy were born middle-class or lower. Sure, there’s some dynasties, just as there is in any profession, but saying that is meaningless because it’s a statistical blip. Insisting things doesn’t make it true. You can ask a CEO why he picks his board, and you can ask board members why they serve and what their intents are. They’ll say what I said and I know that because I’ve actually asked. This is factual, first person information. It’s not speculation, nor something that came from a Hollywood movie. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/48 "2009-09-09T00:54:12Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I think a nice, big, fat tax on the $1,000,000.00+/year bracket would be a good way to start. If you cut down the take home salary then the logical response would be to ask for an increase in gross pay until equilibrium is reached. The alternative is to simply move the company overseas. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/49 "2009-09-09T01:00:03Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > They can get voted out. You can fire an executive immediately. It’s a lot harder to recall a politician and 4 years is a long time to wait. ---
**Author:** ![michael34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@michael34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michael34)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/50 "2009-09-09T01:00:19Z")
[ Everyone’s collective buying choices have allowed the corporations to exist and thrive. If you want to kill them off, then you need to kill off all the consumers, because they keep choosing what corporations produce. Maybe that’s a sad fact The world also survived 3 billion years without bipedal primates and the Earth does not need you but that fact is irrelevant since you can look in the mirror and… [/QUOTE] I count myself as being one of the lucky ones who doesn’t feel too pressured to preserve the status quo. Apparently some people’s relevency to this world revolves around thier ability to mindlessly conform to what everyone else THINKS they want. Truth is, they never had a choice. Corporations do NOT produce to fill needs. They create products and then manufacture the need: It’s easy with some people around… Between commercial bombardment and keeping up with the Jones’, Corporate America steers this country. Corporations have no morality, they exist only to make money. Do you really want to teach your children to live this way? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/51 "2009-09-09T01:02:39Z")
> [@michael34](#): > > This WORLD survived 4 billion years without companies and, until 75 years ago without mega-corporations. I hardly think that they have so ingrained themselves into the WORLD that thier demise would imperil us all. Most of what they peddle is meaningless junk that we would probably do better without, anyway. Ain’t no one stopping you from living in a cave and eating bark. If you don’t like having cooked food and internet porn, not having to watch [30% of your children die before reaching the age of 5](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_mortality#Child_mortality_throughout_history), then go right ahead and swim out to some uninhabited island and start up a new life. I ain’t going to cry, missing you. ---
**Author:** ![ELRushbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eada6e/32.png) [@ELRushbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ELRushbo)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/52 "2009-09-09T01:12:48Z")
Mad Hun If you don’t like how much a CEO makes. Divest your interest. That way you are not paying his salary. Secondly invest in some of your favorite SimiState owned European companies. They do not pay their CEO’s as much. That way you can “stick it to the man” and keep walking your merry socialist way. ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/53 "2009-09-09T01:14:45Z")
> [@michael34](#): > > Corporations do NOT produce to fill needs. They create products and then manufacture the need: Many of the pharmaceutical drugs that have been created cannot be designed by a backyard herbalist chopping and mixing plants. A garage shop mechanic cannot manufacture a jumbo jet that can fly 400 people 6000 miles across the ocean. Big and complex products require a large pool of investors and an elaborate management structure to execute. Corporations create shit products but a lot of them produce items of which humanity considers “essential.” Can the government create institutions to create products?! Doesn’t seem like it because even when they tackle a big honkin project like the Hoover Dam, NASA Space Shuttle, or air craft carrier, they sub the contracts out to CORPORATIONS to get the job done! ---
**Author:** ![michael34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@michael34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michael34)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/54 "2009-09-09T03:11:47Z")
You are absolutely right. An herbalist would never release a drug he/she knew to be fatal to a significant portion of the population and then overcharge for that drug in order to pay for the inevitable lawsuits, still turning a huge profit. And a garage mechanic would ground a forty year old plane he knew to be structurally or mechanically unsound. Those darned ethics always get in the way. I’m not anti-corporation. I’m anti-graft, anti-corruption, anti-greed, anti-cronyism, anti-decency and their arrogant belief in their own untouchability. Since when does that make me a liberal? Where did this government crap come from? The only way I’m arguing that side is if there’s money in it. Corporations routinely destroy things which humanity considers essential. They then lie, cheat, stonewall and generally try anything to slither out of culpability. If you knew a person like that, you’d have nothing to do with them. Shareholders buy more stocks. I recall reading somewhere of a group of people thowing off the yoke of the largest corporations on their day(1776). We seemed to survive that calamity just fine. It is a sad fact that some in our society idolize these sociopaths. The world does not need you… ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/55 "2009-09-09T03:18:38Z")
> [@michael34](#): > > Corporations routinely destroy things which humanity considers essential. And early tribes and armies didn’t know to shit causing their only source of water from nearby streams to become contaminated. The Thames River in England was polluted by everyday folks long before mega multi-national corporations came onto the scene. ---
**Author:** ![michael34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@michael34](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/michael34)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/56 "2009-09-09T03:23:23Z")
Not with something that had a half-life of 50,000 years ---
**Author:** ![Ruminator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Ruminator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruminator)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/57 "2009-09-09T03:36:20Z")
> [@michael34](#): > > Not with something that had a half-life of 50,000 years And all those animals that early non-corporate humans hunted to extinction. Are they magically coming back in less than 49,999 years? And also the over-farming over-grazing of land so that it degrades to a desert and no longer able to grow crops. How many hundreds of years of ecological change for it to become fertile again? Another ice age maybe? Humans were plenty adept at destroying the earth before corporations came into existence. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/58 "2009-09-09T03:44:39Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > I think a nice, big, fat tax on the $1,000,000.00+/year bracket would be a good way to start. Indeed. If it bugs Joe Citizen so much that James Q. Exec of MegaCorp is getting the big bucks, then tax James hard. Don’t whine about MegaCorp like they’re a bunch of Satanists or something. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/59 "2009-09-09T04:30:51Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Realistically it has been proved for a long time that stockholders don’t vote. that is how it has been through Dem and Repub times. It has been that way for generations. When I was in college, in the 60s it was taught in my econ class. Again, if they choose not to exercise their rights as stockholders, they have only themselves to blame. If they were truly motivated to change a company, they’d vote their shares. ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2009, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293/60 "2009-09-09T04:41:44Z")
I think the issue is not just that the concentration of wealth is not in the shareholders’ interests, but rather it not in society’s best interest. Taxes used to be much higher on the wealthy, at least in part, for the purpose of avoiding the concentration of wealth. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-cure-for-runaway-executive-compensation/509293.md?page=4)