Friday, June 29, 2012

Todd Henderson, U Chicago Law School Professor: Executive perks serve a useful function (HT:GB)

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danielfisher/2012/06/27/the-most-outrageous-executive-perks/


The Most Outrageous Executive Perks


"These perks may annoy investors and envious employees who don’t share in them, but they serve a useful purpose, says M. Todd Henderson, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Henderson penned an article that compared perks to “corporate heroin,” meaning they leave executives tied to the company and less likely to steal or slack off.  Henderson’s theory is that executives who amass enough savings to be independently wealthy are more likely to be disloyal to their employer. So perks like forgivable loans or free housing are better than cash since the company can take them away with little risk of being forced to give them back.
“If you pay him the cash, that cash is gone,” Henderson  says. “If you get him used to a lifestyle of largesse, he’s addicted and will have to continue to perform to get it.”"


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