As a fan of Marvel
"Look for 'incentive stock options' in your next contract," Anders writes. "They could make you rich."
That right there is why doling out options as compensation is so darn troublesome. They aren't necessary. If you believe in the company you work for, earmark a small part of your paycheck to buy shares in it. Yes, the same tax advantages apply until you sell. If you don't believe in the company, options won't make you work any harder or smarter -- unless you're one of the crooked bean-counters.
It's an epidemic at this point. Even companies that are supposedly clean as a whistle, like Apple Computer
Stock options just aren't a great motivator. For every company that Anders can single out as a success story, I can name dozens more that recklessly handed out options like penny candy as their shares plummeted toward zero.
If you think I'm wrong in painting executive stock options as a gateway drug, invite the IRS over for a chat. Last summer, it settled with countless corporate executives for scheming to defer taxes on their stock option income by passing those options to family controlled partnerships.
Even the honest are unfairly enriched, and that should have you seeing red over orange aprons. Home Depot
Don't be too quick with that camera, Spidey. Stock options as compensation make for a really ugly picture.
Think you're done with the Duel? You're not! Go back and read the other three arguments, and then vote for a winner.
Marvel is a Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick, while Intuit and Home Depot are Inside Value selections. Whatever your investing style, the Fool has a newsletter for you.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz works for food, not stock options. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. T he Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.