Thursday, September 3, 2009

Progress

Hello again agents of change,

The new attachments on the right are the letters from the President and Vice president in support of our cause. We now have received over 50 letters from the House and Senate supporting the cause. The positive response from Mr. Feinberg is probably the most powerful because he is the appointed compensation Czar. We did receive 1 letter against our effort.

Lest we forget……….40 years ago a fortune 500 CEO worked one month to earn what the average employee makes in one year. Today the CEO works less than one day to earn what the average employee works all year to earn. At the current trend rate by 2014 the average CEO will make more on his lunch break than the average employee earns all year!

Although this is an injustice on the average worker due to the fact that total wages a company can afford to pay are finite, it is in no way class warfare because the abuse also takes its toll on the investing class—which includes the entire economic spectrum.

Some argue…..what about pro athletes that make $10 million per year. Totally different situation. The athlete receives his pay after intense negotiations between agent and owner. Insider compensation discussion takes place in a room ripe with conflicts of interest and quid pro quo. Not an arms length transaction at all.

Some ask ’what harm does it do’…….well let’s see….

(1) Creates a great tension between the heavy lifters and heavy thinkers which in turn de motivates many employees.
(2) Motivates our government to want to tax all wealth, even wealth earned through great personal risk that was necessary to help the country grow.
(3) Option programs motivate decision makers to take unwise risk and if the decision doesn’t work they merely re price the options.
(4) Excessive compensation lowers share price of US companies which costs everyone money on their retirement investments.
(5) If current methodology of arriving at pay structure for insiders goes unchecked the capitalistic system will collapse due to inequity.


Sincerely,

Steve Hartnett
Member of grass roots movement
Against excessive insider compensation