By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – Anger is a very unhealthy emotion. It causes polarization and dissent, not to mention an inner turmoil that no one wants to live with. Yet what do I do about these feelings concerning many corporate executives? I want to just throw a pie in their face. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
Wouldn't you think, after last year's bellowing over corporate greed, companies would have tossed aside their old ways for a fairer, more realistic approach to compensation? The size of the unemployment line hasn't moved, and personal bankruptcies are at record levels. Those employees still working are so eager to trust again. Face it. It takes a fair amount of conviction to work for someone. Most of us, to different degrees, have to believe in what we're doing and who we are doing it for. How could we get up in the morning if we didn't? All anyone is really asking - if I'm loyal to you, can't you show some loyalty to me? Apparently not.
My definition of loyalty has a lot to do with the sacrifices that the people at the top are making. Most employees over the past couple of years have had to sacrifice raises, time off from their families, as well as their mental health. "Is today the day I get laid off?" I'm not sure if there are any rules in capitalism that address these matters. Can someone continue to make millions and millions of dollars, while those under them are barely paying the bills?
Fortune magazine asked an independent provider of compensation to analyze CEO pay at 100 of the largest companies that had filed proxy statements for 2002. The average CEO compensation dropped 23% to $15.7 million. That's a substantial decline, you say, and I'd agree if it were across the board. This number simply fell because the pay of a few "mega-earners" fell significantly. Here's the real story, as revealed by Fortune:
"Median compensation, or what the middle-of-the-road CEO earned, actually rose 14%, to $13.2 million."
I think a good meringue pie might do it. For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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