Another "Compensation" Question

I know I got hit in the comments for my rant against "compensation consultants" the other day. But here's another interesting point that may have been percolating in my sub-conscious and boiled over when I learned about the consultant. (via Ezra) here's Hertzberg at the New Yorker:

Why is that a manual worker gets paid wages and a middle manager or cop or teacher earns a salary, but a corporate boss condescends to accept “compensation”?

Compensation. I have to say, I get a little dizzy with disgust whenever I hear that word used to describe some C.E.O.’s pay envelope. “Compensation package” is even worse. What, exactly, are these people being “compensated” for? Are they victims of crime? Or is it the long hours, the loneliness, the inability to spend time with their children—so much more terrible than the plight of a middle-aged immigrant mother working double shifts as an office cleaner?

Ezra: It's actually a good question. Is CEO pay referred to as compensation because it encompasses so many perks and revenue streams that sit outside their yearly salary? Or is it just because they deserve it so much more than day laborers?