Revisiting Executive Pay: The Problem is Systemic
By Robert Salomon
09 April 2009 @ 06:07 pm EDT
The issue of executive pay has resurfaced again in the wake of questionable AIG bonuses, and exorbitant compensation packages for banking executives. Pundits see the problem largely as a consequence of a lack of independence among boards of directors. They criticize compensation committees for being too cozy with top management – showering them with lavish pay, outsize option packages, and a host of other perquisites. The solution, they argue, is to increase the percentage of independent directors serving on the board, and to provide shareholders the right to vote on executive compensation. Increasing the number of independent directors, and allowing a corporation’s owners to vote on pay, should provide a healthy check to balance the system.