Executives’ Push for Fatter Paychecks Is Just Another Example of Greed in U.S. Industry

The first in a series of articles on executive paychecks by Kathy M. Kristof (“Executives’ Wallets Getting Fatter,” May 27) was excellent. Everyone should note that executive salaries are escalating at a rate that bears no relationship with underlying business growth.

It is for certain that California’s top businesses did not grow at a 46% annual rate to match the salaries given out by their interlinked boards of directors.

I was surprised, though, that no mention was made of the 1986 Reagan tax cut.

Now that the top tax rate on income is a mere 28%, executives have become much more interested in the rewards of direct compensation. If left unchecked, this lesser form of greed will become another of the excesses of the 1980s to ultimately result in a less competitive American industry.

A. DANIEL ELIASON

Santa Barbara