This comes from Politiken, but it sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
Since 2008 when the crisis hit, outlays for directors [i.e., CEOs] at the 16 largest Danish companies have increased by 23 percent….This compared to general labour market wage rises of just over nine per cent in the same period.
….Carlsberg Chairman Povl Krogsgaard-Larsen defends the fact that his two directors shared DKK 39 million last year — 30 percent more than in 2008. “If we are to ensure the most motivated and talented executives, who are willing to work 25 hours per day and risk their health, we should be able to offer salaries close to those paid abroad,” Krogsgaard-Larsen says.
Actually, I take that back. Even in America, I don’t think anyone would quite have the balls to claim that their executives deserved outsize pay packages because they were “risking their health” by working so hard. In the BS department, apparently Wall Street has met its match.
