The unprecedented level of wealth and inequality of CEOs comes from the system of compensation. Stock options play a key role, since salary and bonuses now represent only 20 percent of top executives’ pay. Because of the compensation structure, U.S. CEOs of major companies earned 419 times the pay of the average blue collar worker in 1998, whereas the ratio in Japan approached 20 to 1 and in Great Britain 35 to 1.

Critics of excessive executive pay recognize the power of money in the political process. The wealthy contribute to the candidates and get disproportional political access and influence. Other critics focus on the economic negatives. Excessive CEO pay hurts employee morale. It undermines the bottom line of corporate earnings. And it shifts the tax burden from the corporation to the taxpayer by allowing corporate deductions for executive salaries, benefits and perks as business expenses.

While respecting the arguments against excessive pay in regards democracy and effective business practices, people of faith raise two additional considerations: greed and community. Paul reminds Timothy: "For the love of money is the root of all evils" (I Tim. 6:10.) Yet the entire American culture shows a preoccupation with money. Hourly during the work day the media reports the movements of the stock market. TV and radio programming focuses on getting rich and personal money matters. Financial advisers counsel middle class couples to amass a million dollars just for a modest retirement. A society based on rugged individualism will feed greed, because few can feel truly financially secure.

Yet community can alleviate excessive greed. Images like the Vine and the Branches, the Body of Christ and brothers and sisters in the Lord offer a security for those disregarded by the economic system. John Paul II expresses this common bond: "on the basis of his work each person is fully entitled to consider himself a part owner of the great work-bench at which he is working with everyone else" (Laborem Exercens, par. 14.6.)

Ron, not a CEO but an executive with a Fortune 500 company, watched his firm a few years back restructure and reduce his department by 25 percent. His personal secretary of ten years, a female minority worker struggling as a single parent to raise a teenage daughter, became support staff for seven people. When Ron’s department exceeded its production goals at year’s end, he got a bonus. Support staff, although essential to helping bosses meet their goals, did not qualify for bonuses. Ron, however, recognized the hypocrisy, took out his checkbook and shared his bonus with his secretary.

Until shareholder campaigns prevail against excessive executive pay, or legislation limits the deductibility of executive compensation, people of faith will need the creativity of Ron to limit the greed of the system and promote the community of all workers.