Read this story at BusinessWeek.com
At the Comcast annual stockholder meeting, a proposal to give shareholders an advisory vote on executives’ pay packages failed. It is the third consecutive year that an annual vote on pay has been proposed — and defeated. Such “say on pay” proposals have been around for a few years but gained traction of late, especially after President Obama required the vote for companies getting government bailouts.
Roberts’ pay has long been a sore point for shareholders. This year, shareholders put forward four proposals to curb pay and diminish Roberts’ control over Comcast:
- allow an annual vote on executive pay,
- identify executives making at least $500,000 a year,
- abolish a dual-class structure that gives Roberts voting power that’s greater than his ownership and;
- remove all “golden coffin” deals that provide executive pay and benefits even after death.
CEO Brian Roberts offered such quotable quotes as:
- “executive pay has long functioned within the purview of a company’s board of directors” …because only the inner circle of GOOD OLD BOYS understand that the Country Clubs, Private Jets, and Car Collections aren’t getting any cheaper.
- “a shareholder vote on compensation raises the troubling aspects of how capitalism functions in American business and the world economy” …so Obama, just keep your nose out of my business!
- “The current system in which the board of directors determined compensation worked well in America for a long time”…just look at how well it has worked for ENRON, AIG, GM, and the list goes on.
Last month, Comcast said in a regulatory filing that Roberts has agreed to give up the salary, annual bonus and insurance-related benefits that would have been paid to his heirs for five years after his death. GEEZ, I hope they don’t go hungry.