Hodgepodge

When it comes to excessive executive pay I am as disgusted as the next person, but for the government to set the rules is too invasive in my opinion. The problem as I see it is that like so many of these types of government interference is where do you draw the line? In a free market society the government should not tell private companies how to run themselves. That is the job of the management, the board of directors and the stockholders (if the company is publicly traded).

Granted the system has problems, but in the end companies that pay executives insane amounts of money usually end up bankrupt or finally end up changing the pay anyway. If you think about it, many of the financial institutions that were paying execs dump trucks full of money went belly-up. The government just happened to say "that's OK here's some bailout money for you." If we had let them fail, it would have sent a stronger message that if you want to stay in business, run a tight ship. The automotive industry is another example. I doubt they will be paying their CEO's anywhere near the money they were before the fall.

As an owner of companies we give bailout money too we should have a say in executive pay as well as other key areas, but only because we the taxpayers are major stockholders.

This article outlines the debate.