April 4, 2017
We the People bailed out the Big Banks in 2008 when they nearly destroyed the global economy in large part because their pay schemes rewarded incredibly irresponsible behavior.
So Congress passed a law requiring most large corporations to make public the disparity between CEO and worker pay.
But after more than five years of delays, the agency in charge — the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — may be trying to stall or even reverse progress on implementing the rule.
Don’t let Wall Street and the rest of Corporate America hide the truth about runaway CEO pay.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has long delayed the Dodd-Frank law’s requirement that public companies disclose the ratio of their CEO’s pay to the pay of their median worker. It would be outrageous to further delay or reverse progress on that rule now.
Americans need and deserve more information about corporate pay practices. Such data helps shareholders guard their pocketbooks against self-seeking executives and it helps us all evaluate the long-term soundness of companies. That’s because excessive compensation at the top encourages risky practices up and down the line—in addition to inhibiting teamwork and reducing employee morale and productivity.
There is simply no excuse to give big corporations a pass about being transparent about their pay practices.
JB Coleman
SC