Viacom and Oracle are cases of pathological greed, but the essential sin of grabbing and then grabbing more--without any downside--is commonplace. So is the fig leaf of hiring consultants, each of whom lowers the bar for the next.
Watch this spring, as proxy disclosures (and bonuses, and options, and "one-time" bonuses) roll. While shareholders are still trying to earn back their losses, the brass will be accumulating new fortunes. Congress thought it was taking a bold step by instituting so-called say-on-pay for shareholders. But these non-binding votes are merely show. Shareholders should be able to vote, aye or nay on pay--and have it count.
Roger Lowenstein, author of The End of Wall Street, is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.