The Corporate Library examined the paychecks of just the CEOs of the Russell 3000 (the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on market capitalization) and calculated these executives were overpaid by $14.7 billion annually. This does not include the huge paychecks of COOs, CFOs, etc. It also doesn’t include tens of thousands of executives at smaller firms. My estimate is that up to $40 billion could be found to reduce layoffs just from excess executive pay.

Of course, some executives consider themselves worthy of any compensation, no matter how disproportionate or unwarranted. Just ask John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, who in a recent interview told CNBC that it was important, even in troubled times, to give top talent over-the-top paychecks.

Well, if these top executives at Merrill Lynch and thousands of other firms are so talented, then how did we end up with 626,000 new unemployment claims filed just last week...with half of our 401(K)’s gone…and with, my personal favorite, a $35,000 executive commode funded from the public trough. Do these corporate “leaders” have no sense of decency?

Fortunately, there are some executives who get it. For example, Thomas A. James, CEO of Raymond James. Sound familiar? They are the sponsors of the stadium of the most recent Super Bowl. Raymond James had almost $3 billion in revenue last year. Yet, Tom James’ guaranteed base salary was only $325,000, less than 20 times the amount of the lowest paid worker at his company. As compared with the average CEO salary, which is 262 times that of the lowest paid worker. [Please note: for every “average” salaried CEO who cuts back his or her base salary to a ratio of even 40 times the salary of the lowest paid worker, almost 200 workers would keep their jobs.]

While the S&P sank 22%, Raymond James had a positive return for its investors. With the bonus he earned, Tom James’ total compensation was slightly over $3 million. But the key word here is “earned.” It is no accident that Raymond James has a conservative compensation philosophy and the company also did well despite the carnage in the rest of the market.

Compare Tom James to Robert Iger, CEO of Disney. According to Graef Crystal, compensation guru, Iger received $51 million during a year when his company suffered losses and layoffs. Or to put it in Disney language, Iger received a king’s ransom for a pauper’s performance.

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