October 17, 2011

Impacting Excessive CEO Compensation

Our government accounts for more than one third of our total spending.

One way to address inequities in worker versus executive compensation is by encouraging Congress to eliminate all government contracts with any company that compensates a manager with more than 50 times the average worker compensation.

Many companies pay their CEO thousands of times what the average worker makes while they, or their subsidiaries, receive taxpayer funded grants, loans, or lucrative contracts.

No American has the right to dictate how much profit a company makes or how much compensation they provide to their management. We have a Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to pursue success free from unreasonable government restraint.

However, that same Constitution does not guarantee a business access to taxpayer money. Congress is empowered to decide how our taxes are disbursed and there are already criteria in place that a business must meet in order to have access to that money. So let's add another!

We can send a loud message to greedy executives by electing people to public office who will embrace the concept of pay for the average worker based on pay to management for any company that receives taxpayer money, directly or indirectly.

The consequence of such an approach will be nation-changing. Many companies that have been unreasonably enriching executives will have to change that policy or abandon significant business opportunities and government loans.

And small businesses with no lobby to get them all those "special deals" will fill any void saving countless millions of taxpayer dollars.

We can begin the process of bootstrapping America back to her entrepreneurial greatness by supporting candidates for public service that support this approach.

Rex A. Hoover
Sumerduck