I’m sure that someone else around these parts already caught wind of this, but just in case you missed it, an important vote on corporate governance was held last Friday. The bill allows shareholders in a company some say in the compensation paid to the CEO of said company. Certainly, this seems a sensible proposition: if the shareholders are happy, everybody wins, right?
Well, you might want to call a few of our Republican representatives and ask them why they disagree. Both Randy Kuhl and Tom Reynolds voted in the minority to attempt to strike down this bill:
MyDD :: Bush, House GOP Side with CEOs Over Shareholders
This afternoon the House of Representatives held an important vote on legislation that would, for the first time, allow shareholders of corporations to at least have a say in the salaries given to executives. While the legislation did not give shareholders veto power, the power to make a statement of approval or disapprobation could go a long way towards reining in excessive CEO pay — particularly in cases in which corporations are hemorrhaging money but executives still receive fat paychecks and ridiculous bonuses.Yet on this sensible piece of legislation, how did most House Republicans vote? Nay, naturally. Of the 184 memberds of the House Republican caucus who voted on this bill this afternoon, fully 70 percent (129) voted in the opposition. This group not only included members of the leadership, like Minority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Roy Blunt, but also potentially endangered members, including . . . , Randy Kuhl (NY-29), . . . , Tom Reynolds (NY-26), . . .
I don’t think it at all unreasonable to allow the people paying the bills to have a say in the decisions. And by the admission of the CEOs themselves, one of the most important decisions that a company can make is the choice of CEO, hence the exorbitant salaries. Fair enough, but let’s see those CEOs prove themselves to someone who can take that money away.
Technorati Tags: Congress, Randy Kuhl, Tom Reynolds, NY29, NY26, 2008
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