I said before that I was not advocating any particular change or regulation.

You seem absolutely convinced that the free market has squeezed 100% efficiency out of CEO salaries and therefore there couldn't possibly be any kind of reason that CEO salaries are priced inefficiently.I'm 100% convinced that it's at least possible if not likely, and I can think of dozens of likely scenarios where that's possible. I can also name dozens of scenarios where CEOs have driven companies almost into the dirt and walked away with huge bonuses. There are highly qualified journalists, economists, and business analysts who agree with me, but I imagine that there are just as many on your side as well.

As for the personal attack regarding my time on reddit and the suggest that I becoming a business consultant, I doubt the CEOs would hire me knowing I'd be looking to cut their salaries. Hmm... Maybe that's one of those inefficiencies I was talking about...

Also, I think your analogy about Hollywood actors is very much on point. Well paid actors make most of their paychecks because they're famous. People recognize them and often pick what movie they want to see based on that. "Oh, this has Sandra Bullock in it, it has to be good." Even though the movie's quality is made up of many factors other than the acting (directing, lighting, scripting, musical score, etc.) Hiring good actors is much less about their acting talent (although that certainly plays a part) as much as it's about marketing. They could have hired an up and coming actor whose skills were as good, but whose face and name weren't as well known. They are very likely to make less money, but only because new actors aren't as marketable.

CEOs may be much the same. They make the money they make because they have, in their niche, name recognition. A new, equally skilled, manager may be able to make as good of decisions, but he's not got the name recognition to make the stock price jump and perform because he's untested in the CEO role, even if his past experience show him as talented and qualified. Because in the end, as I said, the CEO only answers to the board, and the board only really cares about stock price. The only reason they give a shit whether the company makes a dime or not is how quarterly earning statements will affect stock prices. So, in that respect, CEOs are much like actors.