Back in the 1990s, I was a big fan of The X Files. Little did I know that the central tenets of that program—distrust, cynicism, and a deep suspicion that people in Washington are controlled by aliens—would be so useful when analyzing the economic stimulus bill.
Compliance officers and corporate secretaries in the financial sector have spent the last two weeks with one watchful eye on the Treasury Department and the other on Capitol Hill, as lawmakers whirled out all manner of attacks on executive pay. Politically, walloping overpaid CEOs has been great theater. Practically, the theatrics have led to increasing confusion about exactly what is supposed to be included in the corporate proxy statement due later this spring. And the Fox Mulder disciples out there, trusting nobody, have been wondering when the new pay restrictions would start applying to all companies, not just those receiving government bailouts.
