In The News

• Frank Backs Regulator for Systemic Risk - WSJ
• Marty Lipton Takes Aim at Hedge Funds – Dealbook
• Obama to announce limits on executive pay – MSNBC
• Dimon Says ‘Not Every Company’ Responsible for Wall Street Pay – Bloomberg

Comments

[edwil]

Mr. Icahn,

Im with you... with the proposal to limit executive compensation. We all have a responsibilty whether rich or poor to do something good for the society. Im with you and barack obama's executive cap. God bless.

[Trent]

Mr. Icahn,
There is a major disconnect concerning public service and the prosperity of fellow Americans. It's like we are experiencing a national emergency; severe case of the integrity plaque. With no significant cure in sight for recovery. Who are these people disguising themselves as fellow Americans?

Sir you are one of a few that are concentrating on the true underlying issue, shareholder value and capturing the individual investor's representation in this mass confusion. We're posturing poilitically while hard working Americans, those still blessed to have a job continue to lose value in their investments and long term security. We continue to turn a blind eye to the fact that these business tatics and or schemes are the weapons of mass economic destruction. We're looking for foreign mushroom clouds and the smoke is coming from our existing lack of governance from the people we entrust our laws and financial security.

I stated before with numerous posting that we have declared war on ourselves all for the name of greed dressed up to look like capitalism or free market. The disguised government leaders and corporate leaders must come forward and get the antidote before we calapse our republic for pennies.

We have become a selfish nation with very little concern or respect for our common citizens. What have we become that our civil servants and representatives don't pay their taxes while common people pay their taxes and wait for the grimm reeper of job reductions to knock. We are a proud nation founded on principles, religion, faith, servitude, caretaker spirit, brothers' keeper republic and three branches of government. What have we become? Shame on us ALL..

Mr. Icahn your intentions are well intended but you are fighting a common foe, our corporate/government leaders. Why don't we choose common integrity driven people to lead our companies and government positions, individuals not tainted by the money, private favors, special vacations, perks, lobbyists plaque. Example..Just because Mrs. Kennedy didn't want her family involved with the mud slinging doesn't mean she wouldn't make a good Health and Human service Head. Oh I forgot they have to be former politicians or from the political machine.

I don't want a hand out nor does any other hard working American! We just want our leaders to start acting like they have good sense and make descisions based on the welfare of the republic, its people and the future generations versus who paid into the coffer last.

The individual investors and the common tax paying citizens deserve better than this circus of representation. In no way am I trying to be disrespectful but this nonsense needs to stop! These are real life Americans losing their dreams and hard earned assets.

We are better than we are protraying, people get on board and save our people..Please!

[Mine]

my idol!

[William K. Oelsner]

Dear Mr. Icahn,
Here is a short solution, lets call it an Oelsner solution, to help promote corporate governance: allow shareholders to assign their voting rights; require the transfer agent and registrar (TA&R) to additionally record the identity of the party holding the assigned “voting rights”; and require brokerage firms to field instructions from shareholders and transmit those instructions to the TE&R.
Initially, to limit the amount of additional information required per share on the books at the TA&R, potential recipients of voting rights (activists) could be assigned a 5 digit code. In that manner, the increase in computer data per share kept by the TA&R might be limited to one additional 5-digit field.
The first principle is that shareholders be allowed to assign their voting rights to “qualified” activists. The second principle is that assigned voting rights be re-transferable. This would allow the Qualified Activists to transfer voting rights amongst themselves. TA&Rs would be required to record those transfers.
I think the benefit to America will be astounding. I can’t emphasize this enough.
A few well placed ads by United Shareholders of America could turn USA into a clearing house of voting rights, where it would re-assign such votes to industry or company specific specialists, and ultimately, could break CEO strangleholds over their Boards of Directors.

[Richard D. Greenfield]

See letter to Wall Street Journal sent February 8, 2009:

As a lawyer who has specialized in corporate governance for more than 35 years and as a former director of a NYSE-listed bank holding company, I have often been intrigued by Carl Icahn's quests in support of shareholder value. Even though he has used the mantras of "shareholder rights" and "good corporate governance, " he has typically done so in support of his own personal interests (a worthy goal of capitalism). Despite such personal interests, he has concurrently been one of the nation's foremost spokesmen for the so-called "little guy" whose interests frequently get lost in corporate boardrooms.

His op-ed piece, "Capitalism Should Return to Its Roots" (WSJ February 7, 2009), is one of the "it's about time" calls for real shareholder rights and not those to which some courts and state legislatures pay nominal fealty. Mr. Icahn, in urging shareholders to seek re-incorporation in shareholder-friendly states, of which there are precious few, misses the point entirely. What we really need is a Federal Corporations Code which would govern the respective rights and responsibilities of corporations regardless of their states of incorporation, their shareholders and the directors charged with their oversight. Such a Code would be applicable to those corporations with publicly-traded stock whose stockholders reside in more than a single state and which conduct business in at least 5 states.

The abuses in Wall Street and, indeed, in many corporate boardrooms, will not disappear overnight. Nor will increased oversight do the trick since our regulatory resources are stretched too thinly to bring about needed fundamental changes, even if the will to do so were to exist. Among other corrective measures, a Federal Corporations Code can facilitate changes to the suffrage process, making it less cumbersome for legitimate shareholder-originated resolutions to be presented for a vote, provide for clear liability for directors who have been grossly negligent in the performance of their responsibilities, eliminate anti-shareholder "poison pills" and other existing devices by which managements and boards of directors abuse their powers such as through the awarding of excessively generous compensation packages, "golden parachutes," etc.

Richard D. Greenfield
Greenfield & Goodman LLC
250 Hudson Street-8th Floor
New York, NY 10013
(410) 320-5931

[DET]

I fully agree that the CEOs should get "paid for performance". This ridiculous argument of "but we will lose the talent", is crazy. What talent? Maybe if we would have lost the "talent" 4 years ago, then we wouldn't have all these bad loans and a banking system in chaos. They ran their companies into the ground. They shouldn't get paid much. The average investor's portfolio has lost 40% of its value. Why are they redecorating their offices and flying in new jets? This is not capitalism, this is Fantasyland for them.

The other thing that raises my blood pressure is the stock brokerage firms. I have to pay them the same whether they manage my account and return 10% or lose 45%.

These firms and people should be on a "pay for performace program" also. I would be happy to pay them 5% of the appreciation value of my account each year. In the bad years, 5% of $0.00 or 5% of -40% is $0.00