Liberal stars do not want to disclose income

LA Times/Houston Chronicle:

A plan to force companies to disclose salaries of high-paid employees who are not corporate officers is in jeopardy after a backlash from Hollywood, where film and TV stars often get bigger paychecks than executives.

Opponents claim the measure could put media companies at a competitive disadvantage by forcing them to disclose detailed compensation packages for luminaries such as Tonight Show host Jay Leno, film director Steven Spielberg and departing Today anchor Katie Couric.

The new rule was proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission this year to ensure that top corporate policy-makers cannot evade disclosure rules. But officials acknowledge that it could potentially expose the salaries of actors and athletes as well.

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The SEC requires publicly traded companies to disclose compensation packages for the chief executive and the next four highest-paid executives. The proposed new rule would force companies to make the same disclosures for as many as three additional employees if they take home more money than any of the five officers.

Under the proposal, these other employees would be identified only by job description. Opponents, however, said that would be a dead giveaway to their identities.

Moreover, critics argued that such disclosures would put companies at a competitive disadvantage by telling rivals what it would cost to steal a valued employee.

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I think these liberal millionaires should have the same treatment as corporate executives, and should be subject to the same restrictions. If they were they would not be so quick to jump on the anti business bandwagon, nor so quick to embrace most of the liberal nonsense that poses as politics these days.