If we really want to talk about National Defense, let’s start looking at all of our high-tech gear- starting with the computer or cell phone you are reading this on. Made in America? By Americans? By American Companies? Fat chance. In the meantime, we’ve been letting CEOs make millions while laying off Americans and off-shoriing jobs. I don’t think our country will last very long as a superpower when we owe all our money to China.
It’s time, especially in the midst of 2 wars, to put a stop to paying heads of public companies huge paychecks unless they:
- Actually turn a profit
- Pay their investors back something (dividends)
- Not lay off or fire anyone
- Not close American manufacturing jobs
- Pay their workers a living wage
- Never take a dollar of taxpayer money as incentives or bailouts
Sounds crazy? I don’t understand how the good people in the State of Georgia making minimum wage benefit from their governor handing over $100 million of their money to NCR, run by a guy making $2K an hour- who has lost 2/3rds of the companies value.
We need a ratio for pay on publicly traded companies that restricts compensation based on the number and size of full time wages paid to Americans. If you take your company private- pay yourself anything you want, but if you take a penny from a taxpayer, sell to the government, or expect to float your paper on our stock markets- it’s time for pay for performance.
Hire Americans, pay them well- and you can pay yourself as much as you want.