Executive salaries of companies receiving bailout money capped.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bailout_executive_pay
President Obama moved to cap executive salaries of corporations receiving bailout money. I think this is a great move. I would like to see salaries of all executives of publicly traded corporations be linked to the performance of the company.

happy jack wrote:

sparks wrote:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bailout_executive_pay
President Obama moved to cap executive salaries of corporations receiving bailout money. I think this is a great move. I would like to see salaries of all executives of publicly traded corporations be linked to the performance of the company.

I have no problem with someone begging for a government handout having financial restrictions placed on him, but it is most certainly not the business of the government to set anyone's salary in the private sphere.

I agree with you 100% that the government has no business setting salaries in the private sphere. However, I do not believe that companies that issue stocks that are publicly traded are private. Much of that stock is owned by middle class America, either as part of a pension fund or a mutual fund. The compensation for CEO's has increased with absolutely no accountability for performance. These fat cats have had a license to steal for far too long. This is just the start of what needs to be done to make Wall Street work for the average American.

sparks wrote:

I agree with you 100% that the government has no business setting salaries in the private sphere. However, I do not believe that companies that issue stocks that are publicly traded are private. Much of that stock is owned by middle class America, either as part of a pension fund or a mutual fund. The compensation for CEO's has increased with absolutely no accountability for performance. These fat cats have had a license to steal for far too long. This is just the start of what needs to be done to make Wall Street work for the average American.

Sparks, a publicly traded stock is a private company. Period. When the bank accepts tarp funds, then the government should step in a curb excess where they see it so the bank can get back on track.

Face wrote:

sparks wrote:

I agree with you 100% that the government has no business setting salaries in the private sphere. However, I do not believe that companies that issue stocks that are publicly traded are private. Much of that stock is owned by middle class America, either as part of a pension fund or a mutual fund. The compensation for CEO's has increased with absolutely no accountability for performance. These fat cats have had a license to steal for far too long. This is just the start of what needs to be done to make Wall Street work for the average American.

Sparks, a publicly traded stock is a private company. Period. When the bank accepts tarp funds, then the government should step in a curb excess where they see it so the bank can get back on track.

The government has the authority to regulate companies who have publicly traded stocks. IMO, when you have CEO's making hundreds of millions of dollars while that company is losing money, those executives are not acting in the best interests of the shareholders. I would like to see Congress pass laws that address the situation. I think it would help restore some trust back in Wall Street. Far too many CEO's treat the companies they run like their own personal piggy banks instead of acting in the shareholder's interests.

The shareholders can remove a CEO from office if they wish. It happens all the time. No need for government involvement.