"America's CEOs are raking in big, huge, fat wads of cash," said CNN's Stephanie Elam on the June 11 "American Morning." More specifically, Elam was talking about Yahoo! chairman Terry Semel's pay from last year: $71.7 million.
Elam and "American Morning" host John Roberts then concluded that high CEO pay is justified as long as the company is doing well, the exact opposite of previous comments made on the show.
Elam: "At the same time, Yahoo! stock was down 35 percent last year and he [Semel] is still making more and more money."
Roberts: "It’s one thing to pay when a company’s doing well. It’s another thing to pay for failure."
Elam: "It seems like shareholders don’t mind if you make a lot while the company is doing well, but they don’t like it when it’s not doing so well."
But that sentiment is a direct contradiction to previous "American Morning" shows. When Occidental Petroleum Corporation's CEO Ray Irani was paid $400 million in 2006 after the company's stock went from $9 to nearly $50, the CNN team balked.
"Minding Your Business" fill-in Andrew Ross Sorkin speculated that the unions might go after the company because of the pay package.
"You think with a number like that they will. I've go to imagine," said then-anchor Soledad O'Brien.
Co-anchor Miles O'Brien also sarcastically said that it would be "hard to get by on that" referring to Sorkin's explanation that without stock options Irani would have made just $55 million.
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This may cause an argument.If
June 11, 2007 - 19:46 ET by Clear thinkerThis may cause an argument.
If a company is a publicly traded company CEO pay should stay stagnant until the CEO provestheir worth. If the CEO delivers the goods to the stockholders their pay should be unlimited. Just don't tell Hillary!
Prove you can secure our borders first. The only legislation that counts!
Most CEO pay
June 11, 2007 - 19:53 ET by c5thenIn a publicly traded company is a negotiated contract between the BOD and the CEO. Most of them have goals and incentives that they have to meet to get anything above their base pay. The reason that the MSM brings it up most of the time is to invoke jelousy in shallow people.
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic
Clear,Don't know why you'd th
June 11, 2007 - 19:55 ET by BlondeClear,
Don't know why you'd think that should cause an argument.
A CEO's job description is best defined as "to increase shareholder's value". And the best way to reward him/her is by making him/her a shareholder. In other words, to invest the CEO with a self-interest. Minimize the "salary"....allow the perks (can anyone say corporate jet?)....while hanging the big fat carrot out there. Increased value of the company's stock....D'oh!
Too bad Hillary was never incentivized (sheesh, how I hate that term) by getting paid as a result of her own efforts. (Either that or bagging groceries...a task I'm sure at which she'd excell).
The "smartest woman in the world" would be begging at the intersections of the interestate & major roads. Which is exactly what she deserves.
Anyone who "wants to take those profits" deserves to work in a minimum wage job until she understands what working really means.
Blonde...I was worried someon
June 11, 2007 - 20:03 ET by Clear thinkerBlonde...
I was worried someone would go crazy over my 'stay stagnant' comment.
Whomever came up with the term for Hillary saying she 'the smartest...' is dead wrong. My Mom was the smartest woman on earth!
Prove you can secure our borders first. The only legislation that counts!
Clear,I have to disagree with
June 11, 2007 - 20:10 ET by BlondeClear,
I have to disagree with you on the "stagnant".
A CEO's pay should be indexed to the profits of the company (particularly a publicly held one). Take the risks, earn the big, big paycheck. Not to mention, it takes years of being right to sit in the big chair. Hmmmm.... Wimp out, or fail, taking a losing strategy....sorry, no soup for you.
Each of us, who work for another, accepts or rejects our term(s) of employment. I accepted my salary...and I work my buns off to deliver. For which I get rewarded, the next time my boss and I discuss my salary. Which is as it should be.
Unless that idiot "smart woman" sticks her filthy commie nose into the discussion.
Finally, must disagree....my mom is the smartest....nuff said!
Blonde...I agree with you. My
June 11, 2007 - 20:33 ET by Clear thinkerBlonde...
I agree with you. My simplistic way of deciding pay was to short curciut those that think their pay should always be skyrocketing without delivering the goods. I have known a few in my time that thought they should be rewarded because they show up and use the corporate beach house 4 times a year.
My Mom passed away 5 years ago, so I guess I can't argue with you about yours.
Prove you can secure our borders first. The only legislation that counts!
Your mom is STILL smarter tha
June 11, 2007 - 20:46 ET by KhyrisYour mom is STILL smarter than Hillary
Sorry, Clear.That was rude of
June 11, 2007 - 20:46 ET by BlondeSorry, Clear.
That was rude of me. I didn't know.
Please forgive me.
"But that sentiment is
June 11, 2007 - 22:21 ET by ckc1227"But that sentiment is a direct contradictionto previous "American Morning" shows."
I have a strong feeling they weren't overly supportive of the Exxon ceo's pay/retirement package from last year either, even though he led the company to record profits.
If companies want to pay su
June 12, 2007 - 00:32 ET by steve2007If companies want to pay such huge compensation to CEOs for good performance, why not make the CEOs pay compensation to the company for bad performance?
"If companies want to
June 12, 2007 - 15:34 ET by ckc1227"If companies want to pay such huge compensation to CEOs for good
performance, why not make the CEOs pay compensation to the company for
bad performance?"
They could, but I have a better solution: Let companies pay their CEOs however they want. If they don't want to compensate based on performance, that's up to them. It's not my money, so who am I to tell them how to spend it? And if I'm a stockholder and I don't like it, I'm free to dump the stock.
When are we gonna hear abou
June 12, 2007 - 09:18 ET by Sergeant ROCKWhen are we gonna hear about the fat salaries of news anchors??? Is the lack of coverage due to the fact that their money is a different color?