We all know that the Democrats recently took control of the House and Senate, but what does this mean for executive compensation? Currently these kinds of issues are handled by the House Committee on Financial Services, which oversaw the development and implementation of laws like Sarbanes-Oxley. Prior to the elections, the chairman of this committee was Republican Michael Oxley from Ohio; however, it is likely that he will be replaced by Democrat Barney Frank from Massachusetts. Barney Frank has pledged to push legislation that will give shareholders much more control over executive compensation. One of the aspects discussed the most is the social implications of corporate profit-sharing; some believe that the stagnated middle-class could benefit from money that would otherwise be lining the pockets of upper-class executives. Essentially, they seek to close the growing income gap between executives and employees, which has grown even greater according to recent reports that executive compensation was growing at 20% per year while employee salaries remained nearly even. So far these ideas have not gained much political traction; however, this could change as the Democrats have taken control of the House and Senate and more media attention has been drawn to executive compensation.