But they don’t want to take over private industries or run any companies, remember?
Sometimes a Caddyshack quote is the only lighthearted response one can find to the ever-expanding federal creepiness that covers the land with each new “helpful” idea from Team Lightbringer.
The U.S. pay czar will slash compensation for the 25 highest-paid employees at seven firms receiving large sums of government aid and demand a host of corporate-governance changes at those firms, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury Department’s special master for compensation, will lower total compensation for 175 employees by an average of 50%, these people said. As expected, the biggest cut will be to salaries, which will drop 90% on average.
The hair on the back of my everything stands up when I read crap like this. This isn’t about saving the U.S. economy, it’s about vilifying “THE RICH” and pandering to the kind of populist pinhead who is most easily hypnotized by a politician.
But, hey, this should make us feel better:
But while the overall levels will fall, some executives will still walk away with large paychecks.
Of course they will. That leaves the administration a “We didn’t cut enough,” CYA out if when this bureaucratic circle jerk doesn’t work out as planned.
Don’t plan on them stopping at just this, it’s not the nature of the federal beast. The federal bureaucracy is the original “give an inch/take a mile” monster. There will be all sorts of encroachment into the private sector and none of it will come with an exit plan.
Stephen,
I see your id is getting the best of you. That is you are reacting again to the imaginary enemy that you call government again. This “beast”, as you state, can only do harm with what it tries to regulate. Now it would be too easy for me to say: Stephen had the companies not taken money they would not be in this situation, or Stephen at least they are getting paid because about 20% (???) of the US population “work force” is trying to find a job or just gave up.
No, the answer for you so that this beast that haunts you goes away is stop being over critical on measures taken by Gov’t/beast that actually provides stability to our unstable economy. The “beast’s” purpose is validated every time the market reacts, good or bad (or rise or fall in the mkt). Many nations today long for a government strong enough to take measures to keep the economic engine progressing, yet humble enough to let the engine run untouched when it well on its way.
Now remember what they say you can always question the hand that feeds you, but don’t bite it. After all this “beast” you speak of, is you and I. So go out there and get those votes you need to sway it in your corner but keep the propaganda talk at home. That is keep to the facts.
.
The story of hyperactive governments that become overly zealous in their involvement in private industry is one of propaganda, it’s one of history.
Dear Ernesto, or Mr. Fabela (whichever you prefer, I don’t much care):
The Leviathan. Read it.
While you’re at it, read Wealth of Nations, Atlas Shrugged (fascinating story, even if you disagree with the philosophy), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (history will do you well), The Art of War, the Federalist Papers (tough read, but excellent information), Liberal Fascism (excellent argument, unheard by many on the newly tone-deaf Left), Common Sense (not the Glenn Beck for-idiots redux, the Thomas Paine version), A Message To Garcia (available for free online, google it), and last but not least, Free to Choose.
If you’re not a fiscal conservative at the end of that, you’re too mentally deficient for the rest of us to argue with. Because most of us have read three or four of those books — and I’ve read all but two.
When the beast shows up at my front door offering me “protection” from “stuff that could happen” because “yeh nevah know, capische?”
…that’s when we get upset — as we should. Not that you know, given your Tonka-toy version of the world.
Mike,
If you would take the time to note. My comments above allow for challenging what may be “wrong.” But running around like Chicken Little isn’t going to get you anywhere.
I never really never took well to Tonka toys. My preference was pin ups.
Much Love, Even if you Come on Like an Extremist.
I am skeptical that the TARP money is stimulating economy by generating new employment or sustaining the current head count level. Many of these TARP bailed out companies have not reduced salaries of their employees, rather they continue to slash jobs. Needless to say that employing more people is better to the economy than paying higher salary to a few.
In this context the Compensation Czar’s attempt to cap employee salaray becomes more relevant. Though I appreciate Compensation Czar’s efforts to regulate executive compensations of government bailed out companies, my suggestion is not to limit that effort to top level executives, but to expand the scope to cover at least up to middle management level. And also it is necessary to make sure that these companies use money released from pay cuts for hiring new employees and or to sustain existing jobs.
Employers like ours ( IT Service provider) are surviving in this economic downturn by cutting employee salary across the board. However I do not think any of these TARP 7- for sure the Autofinancier in TARP 7 list- cut their employee salary. Also it is noticeable that these TARP-7 are cutting down their head counts resulting reduced cash inflow in to the economy.
TARP is financed by people’s money, and it should be utilized for the advantage of a broad spectrum of people in the society, not to over stuff the wallets of a few! Go ahead Compensation Czar, we are with you..!!