Questions Raised About Charges Against CEOs

By Emory Bryan, The News On 6

TULSA, OK -- The CEOs are out at the investment banks that were part of the bailout, but what about charges against them?  And will they have to return some of what they made?

No charges yet, but there are plenty of allegations.  Some News On 6 viewers believe taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for huge salaries and golden parachutes for corporate executives.  Some people want to know how these executives aren't ashamed of what they've done.

Business professor Brett Andrews believes textbooks will be written about the meltdown on Wall Street and how it happened.

"Is a corporation accountable?  Legally it's only accountable to the degree it has assets," said Oklahoma Wesleyan University Business Professor Brett Andrews.

But, Andrews believes there's a higher, ethical standard and it's now part of every business course at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

It seems that a lot of people think legal and moral are the same things.  The News On 6 asked Dr. Andrews if that is the case.

"They're not.  Society sets up laws as the minimum standards of good behavior.  But, sometimes what is legal is not always the ethical or moral thing to do," said Oklahoma Wesleyan University Business Professor Brett Andrews.

"The decision on how much an executive should be paid is left to the board of directors," said business attorney Wayne Cooper.

Business attorney Wayne Cooper says that's why shareholders would have a difficult time proving an executive didn't deserve what the company was paying, even if the company failed.

"That's the rub isn't it?  Because you hardly ever hear about executive compensation being a complaint issue if the executive has made a lot of money for shareholders," said business attorney Wayne Cooper.

While a lot of people are blaming the banks and Wall Street, The News On 6 asked Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn who we should blame. He says Congress for not doing more to prevent the problem with stronger regulations.