In business, as in politics, there is a simple rule for evaluating decisions: How will it look when it is in the headlines? By that standard, the uproar surrounding revelations that Mr. Richard Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, was awarded compensation of $139.5 million tells us all we need to know. By all accounts, Mr. Grasso is a capable and likable man. Yet, no matter how capable -- likable does not matter in this context -- it is hard to believe that he in any way "earned" that monstrous sum.
The Grasso imbroglio raises once again fundamental questions about corporate governance. Fortunately, those problems are likely to be fixed. More vexing are the moral questions that surround the payments to Mr. Grasso. Is it ever possible to justify the sums paid to him? At what point do they violate fundamental notions of fairness?
While Mr. Grasso has spent considerable time in the spotlight, the glare of recent weeks has not been the type to which he is accustomed. Mr. Grasso was lionized for his management of the NYSE, overseeing its modernization. He played a critical role in restoring investor confidence after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 -- which, it should be remembered, were designed to strike at the heart of American capitalism -- and for reopening the exchange shortly after those tragic events.