Submitted by John Stauber on
"For all the talk of corporate scandal, one leading proposal for change -- tightening the rules on stock options -- was brushed aside in Congress this week, thanks in part to a powerful business lobbying coalition that has long fought to protect these rich pay packages. ... [L]ast September, an umbrella group calling itself the Stock Option Coalition was formed from high-technology companies, executives of Fortune 500 companies, venture capitalists, biotechnology companies and the Nasdaq market -- all sending out platoons of lobbyists, conducting sophisticated e-mail campaigns and reminding Congress of their hefty campaign contributions. ... These companies are also enlisting rank-and-file employees in a Web-based grass-roots effort, as well. ...an employee can simply put his or her e-mail address on the TechNet Web site and a 'Dear Lawmaker' letter will automatically be sent to Congress in less than a minute. 'If my company does well, I hope one day to use my stock options to buy a home or put my children through college,' reads the form letter." Competitive Enterprise Institute and the powerful Business Roundtable are also lobbying hard to save stock options
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