Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, April 08, 2013

CEO Perks Packages Rose In Value By 18.7 Percent In 2012

CEOs are living the good life. On the company’s dime.

America's 100 best-paid corporate chiefs got an 18.7 percent boost in their perks packages, according to a survey of executive pay performed by Equilar for The New York Times. Those perks, which range from access to a private jet to company-sponsored security details to life insurance policies, were worth $320,635 on average last year, according to an Equilar analysis of the survey.

The rise in perks comes as companies continue to face pressure to rein in executive pay with ordinary Americans struggling in the wake of the financial crisis. And though lawmakers and investors have railed against the giant perks packages -- most famously when the CEOs of the Detroit Three automakers flew to Washington in private jets to ask for government aid in 2008 -- the generous perks have proliferated.

In addition, CEO pay has gone up, despite rules like the Dodd Frank financial reform bill’s “Say on Pay” provision, which gives shareholders a non-binding say on executive pay. CEO pay rose by 8 percent on average last year, the biggest boost in nearly two years, according to a recent analysis from USA Today.

That’s nearly three times the rate of ordinary workers, whose pay rose by about 2.7 percent last year, according to NBC News.

Still, there are some companies willing to curb their executives' perks. Struggling Chesapeake Energy cut CEO Aubrey McClendon’s use of the company’s private jet in half earlier this year, after controversy erupted over McCLendon’s dealings with a company doing business with Chesapeake.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: -

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