There are several fundamental issues here that CB should dig into.  First: what do these companies get in return for their high paid directors?  Is this real work that brings real added value to the companies?  To what extent does high director pay correlate with success?  Second: why has average compensation for board directors nationwide doubled or even tripled since 2000 while the average pay for workers grew less than 40% in the same period?  Third: how much of the directors’ compensation is tied to performance – in other words, how many board directors are incentivized with stock options and, to what degree does that accentuate the problem of fixation on short term results at the expense of building long term business success?  Fourth: to what extent does the excessive compensation for directors lead them to approve excessive compensation packages for management?  Fifth: how does this fit into the pattern of growing income inequality in America?