Centrarian.Com

Gretchen has another good article on executive pay, this time on what Congress is contemplating doing about it - Is the Fix Worse Than The Problem?. It seems that Congress claims to have a “fix” to the problem of excessive executive compensation plans but this will do more to hurt midlevel workers saving for retirement and workers who have recently changed jobs than to limit greedy executives’ takes.

So how should we fix the problem? A later article - The C.E.O.’s Parachute Cost What? - suggests that just publicizing the issue may be enough. It seems that the whole reason all of this is coming to light in the first place is that new regulations forcing greater disclosure of executive pay - especially exit pay received by executives in pension plans and buyouts - are making them public. The problem may already be well on the way to being solved just because directors are suddenly having to justify these packages.

So maybe instead of making things worse, Congress ought to wait and see if disclosure solves the problem. On the other hand, if pressure is brought to end the disclosure requirements they need to stick to their guns.