In times of hardship and distress, we should be more vigilant than ever in holding corporate abuses to account, as in the case of the housing market. Americans are right to be offended when the extravagant salaries and severance deals of CEO's -- in some cases, the very same CEO's who helped to bring on these market troubles -- bear no relation to the success of the company or the wishes of shareholders. Something is seriously wrong when the American people are left to bear the consequences of reckless corporate conduct, while the offenders themselves are packed off with another forty - or fifty million for the road. If I am elected president, I intend to see that wrongdoing of this kind is called to account by federal prosecutors. And under my reforms, all aspects of a CEO's pay, including any severance arrangements, must be approved by shareholders"
Share holders should have some say on CEO pay. The problem is that those corporate members usually have huge blocks of stock. The vote of the small shareholders is not enough to stop anything the board plans to do. I have never seen a shareholder proposal win an approval when it comes to a vote. I have never seen a board recommend a yes vote on any shareholders proposal.
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