[mlindner]

Arguments like this are absurdity taken to the max. Any executive's pay is a tiny tiny fraction compared to the combined salary of all the employees. Even if you set that salary to zero and divided it up all equally to all the employees (fractionally, so those who already make more get a bigger cut) the engineers would only get a couple dollars extra.

Secondly stock buybacks are similarly tiny compared to how much money a company actually has to give to its employees. Run the calculation some time. You need to be looking at revenues, not profits.