Which was when Congress, in a fit of class warfare envy, capped CEO salaries at a significantly lower level than the national average at the time. I'm SURE you thought that was a great idea.
The Law of Unintended Consequences is always a hidden amendment to any legislation of this sort.
CEOs started getting paid in stock options because they could NOT be paid actual salary above a certain level. Wise CEOs negotiated clauses that ensured that they could lock in any increases, even if they stock started falling afterward.
It would have been a lot simpler to just not have a CEO salary cap, and keep things on a basic level: "Yo, profits were up 27% last year, so's your salary, have a nice day."
But the Democrats didn't cotton to that.
Good points.