Opinion in CEO Compensation

I read Dwayne’s article about CEO compensation, and he thinks that CEO gets too much compensations. In addition, a company reduces CEO’s compensation, and the company can pay more to lower level workers with that reduced compensation. However, I do not agree with Dwayne’s thought.
As of 2004, when CEOs got their total compensations, only 15% of the compensations was their salaries, a 23% was their bonuses, and a 62% was the long-term incentives such as stock options, restricted stock, and performance units/shares. Thus, basically, if CEOs do not perform their job well or their companies’ shares go down, the 62%, which is the long-term incentive, of their total compensations could be reduced. However, there were some exceptions. Some CEOs’ compensations were increased while their companies’ shares were decreasing. For example, the CEO of Merrill Lynch, Stanely O’Neal, had more than $160 million of total compensation while the company was dropping down 40% of its share value, and imposed huge debts. I think only a few CEOs get their compensations like the way Stanely O’Neal had gotten. In addition, those CEOs cause normal people to think that CEOs’ compensations are too high. Some CEOs got underpaid, for example, Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, raised GE’s assets from about $14 billion to $500 billion before he retired, but he got the compensations relatively lower with his achievements.
Most of CEOs are having too much stress on their heavy works and pressures, the most of CEOs work around 60 hours per week, and they bring their work to home. Even though their pays are about 160 times of the average workers’ salary, I think they deserve it.

http://dwang9.blogspot.com/2009/04/ceos-compensation.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/fundamental-analysis/08/executive-compensation.asp
http://equityprivate.typepad.com/ep/2006/03/yesterday_finan.html
http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2007/09/reich-ceos-dese.html
http://www.blnz.com/news/2009/03/23/Executive_Isnt_That_Excessive_Some_5335.html