September 24, 2013
I’m writing in support of a strong Dodd-Frank rule 953(b).
***Shareholders cannot exercise their interest in running corporations effectively, and for selecting and compensating executives based on merit, without knowing that compensation. In lieu of such oversight, the executives and the boards of directors become collective clubs for mutual reward, quite apart from their duty to shareholders. Exeuctives are being paid vastly in excess of their value to the company, because those setting their salaries are friends and fellow members of the corporate executive class, and repeat to one another what great men they are, until the claim becomes plausible. It is not possible that executives have become an order of magnitude more valuable in the past few decades, and that shareholders would agree with such an assessment.***
Disclosing corporate pay ratios between CEOs and average employees will discourage the outrageous and reckless pay practices that fueled the 2008 crash.
Knowing which corporations heap riches upon their executives while squeezing struggling employees also will be a useful factor for me when considering which businesses to support with my consumer and investment dollars.
I am aware that you are under intense pressure by business interests to weaken or abandon the rule. Do not give in. Instead, weigh your duty to protect investors and the American public against the self-serving interests of those seeking to undermine this rule.
Thank you for considering my comment,
Jim Steitz
Gatlinburg, TN