Since Ballmer assumed the role of CEO in January of 2000, the stock has declined almost 50 percent and has gone sideways for the last 6 years post-antitrust. Despite claiming pay should be commensurate with stock performance, Ballmer's compensation actually increased almost 32 percent this year despite the stock only improving by about 7 percent. (Over the same year, Oracle is up nearly 24 percent.) While executive pay is a real issue, it's never smart for one CEO to start pointing at another. It only invites invidious comparisons.