2021年经济学人 疫情重创之下的美国CEO薪资飙升,那你呢?(4)

Yet their protest votes on pay remain relatively¹ few, they are non-binding, and the number of pay recalibrations last year were unusually high, suggesting their fury on the issue may yet cool. Say-on-pay censure² alone will not end America’s fat-cat era.

然而，薪酬问题上的抗议投票仍然相对较少，没有约束力，而且去年薪酬调整异常频繁，这表明他们在这个问题上的愤怒可能还没有平息。仅仅谴责薪酬决定权并不能终结美国的肥猫时代。

It is hard to imagine what will. Many shareholders³ instinctively⁴ cringe at the thought of taxation⁵ and pay caps, an option floated by left-wing Democrats⁶. Yet their own collective efforts to modify the system are also feeble. Calls to lengthen⁷ the period executives hold shares to, say, five or ten years have so far gone nowhere. Efforts to stop boards benchmarking CEOs against lavishly⁸ paid members of peer-group companies have also flopped⁹.

难以想象接下来将发生什么。许多股东一想到左翼民主党提出的税收和工资上限就本能地恐惧。但他们在修改制度上的共同努力也微不足道。要求将高管持股期限延长至5年或10年的呼声迄今毫无进展。阻止董事会将首席执行官与同行公司的高薪成员进行对标的努力也失败了。

It is quite likely, in fact, that shareholders will focus less on pay in coming years as they prioritise even more emotive issues, such as gender¹⁰ and racial diversity among firms they invest in, as well as climate change. By 2022 environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals are expected to be part of many more CEO pay schemes, especially as the credo grows of maximising value not just for shareholders, but for stakeholders. In the long term, these may help improve stock market returns. But in the short run the risk is that, while oversight¹¹ is lax, some boards will use ESG criteria¹² to distract attention from poor financial performance. One day the world may have cause to cheer the impact of a greater focus on sustainability. But in the meantime some CEOs will no doubt use it as a new way of feathering their own nests.

事实上，在未来几年，股东们很可能会减少对薪酬的关注，因为他们将优先考虑更具感情色彩的问题，例如投资公司员工的性别和种族多样性，以及气候变化。到2022年，环境、社会和治理（ESG）目标有望成为更多CEO薪酬计划的一部分，尤其是当信条不仅对股东，而且对利益相关者而言，价值最大化的时候。从长期来看，这些可能有助于提高股市回报。但短期来看，风险在于，虽然监管松懈，一些董事会将利用ESG标准分散对不良财务业绩的注意力。总有一天，世界有理由为更加注重可持续性的影响而欢呼。但与此同时，一些CEO们无疑会将其作为充实自己薪酬的新方式。

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 censure   

v./n.责备；非难；责难

参考例句：

• You must not censure him until you know the whole story.在弄清全部事实真相前不要谴责他。
• His dishonest behaviour came under severe censure.他的不诚实行为受到了严厉指责。

3 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

4 instinctively   

adv.本能地

参考例句：

• As he leaned towards her she instinctively recoiled. 他向她靠近，她本能地往后缩。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He knew instinctively where he would find her. 他本能地知道在哪儿能找到她。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 taxation   

n.征税，税收，税金

参考例句：

• He made a number of simplifications in the taxation system.他在税制上作了一些简化。
• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 lengthen   

vt.使伸长，延长

参考例句：

• He asked the tailor to lengthen his coat.他请裁缝把他的外衣放长些。
• The teacher told her to lengthen her paper out.老师让她把论文加长。

8 lavishly   

adv.慷慨地，大方地

参考例句：

• His house was lavishly adorned.他的屋子装饰得很华丽。
• The book is lavishly illustrated in full colour.这本书里有大量全彩插图。

9 flopped   

v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• Exhausted, he flopped down into a chair. 他筋疲力尽，一屁股坐到椅子上。
• It was a surprise to us when his play flopped. 他那出戏一败涂地，出乎我们的预料。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。