Angry Swiss Aren't Done Slimming the Fat Cats

[xchrom]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-04/angry-swiss-aren-t-done-slimming-the-fat-cats.html

The Swiss have approved a “fat-cat referendum" to limit executive pay by a crushing 68 percent to 32 percent, no great surprise perhaps given the current mood on bankers and other superrich around the globe. Yet this is Switzerland, not Greece, Italy or Spain and the vote isn't the end of it. Switzerland is unhappy, and it is changing.

The referendum was the brainchild of Thomas Minder. The independent legislator began his struggle to give shareholders in Swiss-listed companies the right to control the pay of executives and board members in 2006. The anger that turned him into the man many Swiss see as an avenging angel was sparked as long ago as 2001, when Swissair, the national airline, went bankrupt.

Minder’s company, which supplied toothpaste to Swissair, was almost driven to the wall because its invoices initially went unpaid. Mario Corti, the chief executive officer of Swissair's parent Sair Group, left the company after a few months, pocketing 12 million Swiss francs (then $7.5 million) in an advance payment he didn't have to return.

Minder’s "yes" campaign in the referendum received a huge boost on Feb. 15, when it emerged that Daniel Vasella, the outgoing CEO of pharmaceuticals company Novartis AG, was to be given a $78 million payoff over six years in exchange for not working for any of the company's competitors. Vasella renounced the payoff once the story broke, but it was too late.

[sendero]

1. Now...

.... if we could just get something like that here.

[loudsue]

6. If only. It SHOULD be a world-wide law, so that we could begin to put an end to the cruelty and

corruption that these untouchables lead to. That kind of money to lead a company is just not right, ESPECIALLY when it is for not doing anything.

[AllyCat]

2. $ 78M to do exactly nothing.

Well, all those banksters can come here. We raise them up as heros and put them on the cover of magazines.

[n2doc]

3. And we are always told the rich are such hard workers

[meow2u3]

4. The rich work hard, all right

They work everybody else hard--and reap all the benefits!

[Thav]

9. It's probably pretty hard negotiating a sweetheart contract

with absolute clauses so you can work a month and still get paid more than a thousand workers receive in a lifetime.

[Lucky Luciano]

7. Of course, now he is free to go to another company

Last edited Sun Mar 10, 2013, 11:35 PM - Edit history (1)

...along with Novartis' extremely valuable proprietary knowledge and do much more than $78MM in damage to Novartis shareholders.

[cantbeserious]

5. Wonder Why The Swiss Are Different Than Americans - Where's The Anger In The US

eom

[progressoid]

8. Good.

(this needed a cat pic)

[johnnyreb]

10. Kick! nt

[WillyT]

11. HUGE K & R !!!