I’ve just about exhausted what I can say about politicians; anyway, at least we get a chance to get rid of them on Thursday.
Compared to the ladies and gentlemen who run our public companies, they are amateurs when it comes to spending other people’s money. Many of the executive directors of our top listed businesses pay themselves well over a million pounds per annum. On top of this there is a system of expenses, share options and bonuses that would make your jaw drop. We private shareholders fume at them, but are totally impotent. Each year when we get to vote on their remuneration our votes are irrelevant. The fund managers who manage our pensions and unit trusts own the vast majority of the shares; and they mainly turn a blind eye to what is going on. Probably that is because they are all earning similar excessive salaries and don’t want to rock he boat.
The directors all argue that you need to pay these massive salaries to attract the best talent. Yes, and we all know how talented were the gentlemen running the Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS. They made a remarkably good job of running these companies, and displayed breathtaking levels of skill and financial acumen.
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