Yesterday, it was announced that Southern Company is considering a faux “pay cut” to embattled CEO Tom Fanning: reducing his annual compensation from $15.8 million to $15.7 million, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle.

What a joke! But then again, what can you say about Fanning and friends?

While Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson was fighting the repugnant alleged acts of racism in Philadelphia, Tom Fanning and his team stuck their heads in the sand. Balch & Bingham, their sister-wife, alter-ego law firm allegedly engaged in unscrupulous, criminal, and racist conduct.

Fanning’s own General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Jim Kerr appears to have violated Southern Company’s compliance policies by protecting their relationship with Balch instead of holding them accountable.

Criminal investigators were surprised we bluntly told Kerr that Southern Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary Alabama Power appears to be more concerned about protecting their relationship with Balch & Bingham than doing what is best for the parent company or its shareholders.

Now Fanning and friends appear more concerned about covering their rear appendages, reducing his salary by less than 1 percent instead of confronting his lack of leadership on issues of third-party risk and racism.

Shareholders and public advocacy groups must hold Southern Company accountable.