Measuring talent by compensation

Is the best metric for talent, compensation?  This is the latest claim by those who wants to increase compensation for the "talent," managing bankrupt companies kept on life-support by tax payers. This is a circular argument. If the executives of these firms convince the public, compensation indeed is the best measure of talent, it will be only reasonable to assume that they would want their own compensation increased because they are, indeed, great talent. The only measure for talent is the success of the firm and the value added to the economy and this is (thus far) inversely proportional to short term compensation such as bonuses. If a company is bankrupt, the "talent" that led the company to the hole is not "great," regardless of the compensation bestowed upon them. This is yet another sign that inept leaders of incompetent firms are far from learning anything new.