Well, high-paid CEOs are one of the things laissez-faire capitalism didn't really do well. Not the salary per se, but the very caustic obsession on short/medium term profit over long term. You can't really blame regulations here: the most important one was forcing companies to disclose CEO salaries 20 years ago, and we know how that turned out (they exploded because of competition).
I'm very much in favor of Rand's ideas, but we must admit they do require a rather hard to find mix of idealism and dedication for all parties involved in order to work out. They're a good start, but far from a final solution.
Well you kinda sorta can: the board has a fiduciary reponsibility to the shareholders, which is good, but the regulations and penalties in place to enforce that mean that there is an obsession with quarterly figures - it actively discourages long-term planning. No-one dares make tough choices now that will depress the share price for 2 or more quarters, they'd get class-actioned into oblivion. A vast corporation that has been public for decades can weather it. A newly public company is in a very difficult position.
I'm very much in favor of Rand's ideas, but we must admit they do require a rather hard to find mix of idealism and dedication for all parties involved in order to work out. They're a good start, but far from a final solution.