October 12, 2013
I saw it start in 1992 when Louis Gerstner was paid $42+Million to turn around the IBM ship. We IBM employees thought, "Well, maybe it will be worth it if he can do it." Now, 20 years later, I don't believe it was worth it. What work could these few men perform that would be worth more than the majority of Americans making a LIVING WAGE?!? This inequity *must* change.
I support Dodd-Frank rule 953(b), which strikes me as being all about the intersection of pay equity and investor value.
American workers are more productive than ever, but, year after year, studies show working Americans earning less and less, even as CEO pay balloons and corporate profits soar.
Disclosing corporate pay ratios between CEOs and average employees will finally show which corporations are driving this trend, which siphons money away from investors, and into the pockets of CEOs. In 1990, senior executive pay absorbed 5 percent of corporate profits. Today, according to Government Metrics International, it absorbs 10 percent.
Fairer pay structures mean stronger companies and a stronger economy – both of which are important to me as a consumer and as an investor.
No doubt there are a select few who benefit from the status quo of keeping the pay disparities undisclosed. Stand firm, and implement the law as written.
Thank you for considering my comment,
Ron Standley
Larkspur, CO