Isn’t the problem of executive compensation just symbolic?
Runaway excessive pay is both a contributing cause of the economic crisis and a symptom of what is deeply off kilter with Wall Street culture. Our executive pay system contributes to what President Obama has called the “quarter by quarter mentality” that has infected corporate American for several decades. When top managers are rewarded for short-term gains — and not long-term stewardship — they are more likely to pursue fast gains through stock price manipulation, outsourcing, speculative investments, and other actions that have jeopardized the stability of our economy.
