"Free-market capitalists tired of the cliche that Big Business Bosses do what they do mostly to enrich themselves should take a look at embattled Merck & Co. Inc.'s latest executive pay trick.
"It would make any self-respecting executive a little sick because it's another exception that confirms the stereotype.
"Here's a company whose shares have tanked 38 percent since it pulled its Vioxx arthritis drug from the market Sept. 30 because of links to heart problems. Yet, in the name of 'retention,' Merck is giving 230 executives rights to one-time payouts equal to as much as three times their annual salary and bonus should Merck be acquired." [The Detroit News - Opinion]
