Letters to the Editor: Hold Boeing accountable for the 737 Max by denying it billions in defense contracts

To the editor: Michael Hiltzik correctly posits that Boeing Co. board members should be held responsible for their actions that resulted in the deaths of 346 passengers in two Boeing 737 Max airliner crashes.

However, Boeing has no incentive to change its practice of protecting its board members and shareholders as long as the Department of Defense continues to award it billions in contracts annually.

Boeing will change its faulty decision-making process when our government agencies stop rewarding the company.

Sharon Sasse, Valley Village

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To the editor: The biggest problem in corporate governance is the process by which corporate directors obtain their positions and the lack of real accountability.

Shareholders have little say as to who serves as directors. It is a country club where each member scratches each other’s back.

Long ago, the Committee of Concerned Shareholders petitioned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to allow shareholders proxy access in order to nominate directors and effectively solicit votes. Corporations fought the novel idea of true corporate democracy.

Until directors fear that their poor performance can have personal consequences including removal by shareholders and monetary claw-backs, nothing will improve for corporations and their customers.

Les Greenberg, Culver City

The writer, a securities attorney, is chairman of the Committee of Concerned Shareholders.