Outrageous CEO Pay/Progressive Banks/Remembering Dick Gregory

Steven Clifford served as CEO for King Broadcasting Company for five years and national Mobile Television for nine years.  He has been a director of thirteen companies and has chaired the compensation committee for both public and private companies.  He holds a BA from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  He is the author of The CEO Pay Machine: How it Trashes America and How to Stop It.

“We’re always hearing about how you can’t regulate drug prices because ‘we need that money to pour back into research and development of new drugs.’ Well, the eighteen companies in the pharmaceutical industry in the S& P 500: last ten years, 50% of their profits have gone for stock buybacks, 49% of their profits have gone for dividends.  Basically zero re-invested.” Steven Clifford, author of The CEO Pay Machine: How it Trashes America and How to Stop It

Keith Mestrich is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Amalgamated Bank, a progressive bank (http://www.gabv.org/) headquartered in New York City.  Mr. Mestrich is a 25-year veteran of the labor movement and prior to joining Amalgamated Bank served as the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

“We’re making sure we don’t use any of our balance sheet to finance companies that are contributing to the adverse impact on the climate.  So, we will never make loans to fossil fuel companies or other companies that are damaging the quality of our air.” Keith Mestrich, President & CEO of Amalgamated Bank