Why do you think the shareholders approve the CEO salaries if they don't get back profits in return? You can't have the short term long term argument because stock values already account for risk adjusted returns over time.
If as you said, short term profits are prioritised over long term profits - the short term stock price would reflect that and it is not beneficial to shareholders.
You don't think CEOs have gamed the compensation committees?
I think the major institutional investors don't get involved cuz they're major institutional investors, and other investors don't have enough power to influence the compensation committee.
??? Because the typical corporate board usually owns an awful lot of shares, and the c-suite is often largely paid in shares. The second part of this article is about stock buybacks for a reason. There is really no doubt that they are sensitive to shareholders here.
If as you said, short term profits are prioritised over long term profits - the short term stock price would reflect that and it is not beneficial to shareholders.