[idolaspecus]

I don't know about selling clicks in general but, for me, that headline is even more compelling. Corporate executives' salaries are canonically justified by the fact that they're tied to the success of the corporation. If executives get their millions even when their corporations tank, I see a serious problem.

[invalidOrTaken]

It's an interesting failure mode I've only recently started to see clearly---before bankruptcy, shareholders are comfortable, thinking, "w/e, if the company goes bankrupt, our management gets nothing." But they fail to realize that if the company does go bankrupt, or close to it, it will be hard to find a replacement for someone with that level of knowledge of the firm. So the initial implied threat is now toothless.

[xkcd-sucks]

The "knowledge of the firm" would make sense if execs were promoted internally, but most are external hires who may not even have experience in the industry