Mattu's Tax Loss Picks

[Mattu]

One other issue, down the lines of stock options that just really crawls up my back is executive compensation.

To better understand my view, I have absolutely no problems at all with baseball players making huge salaries. They are just like any other person with a job. They will be paid what they are worth (or producing) for the operator of the company (baseball club). It's just like any other company. If they owner is producing a loss, that's his problem. I actually wrote a more detailed response on the topic as the final question to an economics exam. The professor told me I was the only one to respond that way and that my answer was actually correct. Of course it was, Prof. I based it on simple economics! <g>

There, now that we understand I'm not jealous of folks being high-paid, I'll explain my gripe. Overpaid execs. I truly laugh at these tech execs getting paid these massive salaries in stock options and straight cash when their companies aren't even profitable! Why? How can you justify it? Don't give me the bs about "Oh, he's got this record and is talented." Bull crap. His pay should be a function of profitability. How else can you explain a company bleeding money, but paying an exec, $2 million/year? The people at the top, who will generally profit the most by a profitable company, should be paid proper salaries to live off of ($60k?) until the company is profitable. I see no economic or even plain logical reason how CEOs can justify getting paid so much in return for nothing, really. Let's pay the guy $2 million for running the company into the ground. Why even bother focusing on the bottomline when you are lining your pocket with millions every year and cashing in huge options packages. The majority of them don't. Now, pay the guy a little while unprofitable and give him a nice salary bump (double/triple) when he starts turning the thing to the black, and I bet you'd have a pretty impressive operation on your hands.

Matter of fact, I wouldn't accept a large salary from a company if they wanted me to be CEO. I'd turn and run because they are idiots. I want something to work for. I'd rather have a small salary and only a large salary/stock when I reached profitability. Nothing else makes sense to me.