Tell me this isn't socialism!!!!!

[Red400EXRod]

WASHINGTON - The Treasury Department on Thursday ordered seven companies that received billions of dollars in government bailouts to halve total compensation for their top executives. But the big reductions will not apply to pay earned before November.
Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury official leading the pay review, told reporters that average salaries for the top 25 executives are being cut 90 percent starting next month.
The action will apply to the top executives at Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial.


I don't care if the fed bailed these companies out they should not be able to tell the execs what they can earn!!!!!

This administration is starting to get scary!

[95wolv]

When it's MY tax money that bailed them out, you better believe I don't want it going to excessive bonuses and such. What is specified is approx. 50 % pay cut, don't know where you got 90, no perks such as private jets, chaffuered limos, and all expenses reimbursed for stuff like health clubs, golf memberships, etc, that used to be thrown in with all the other bloated bonuses. In my opinion, this should have happened a long time ago, before all those overpaid crapbags tanked the economy,pocketed billions in golden parachutes, and bailed on the public they so royally screwed over,then stood there with their hands out,expecting us to just plop more cash into their pockets. Make them EARN the money, not just get it handed to them in excessive compensations for little work done.

[Red400EXRod]

I didn't get 90%, it's in the article.

The last sentence in my post are the only words I typed.

[95wolv]

The article I read on MSN.com stated that the salaries would be cut 50%, that's why 90% seemed a bit odd, but hey,for some guy that gets more in a week than some folks earn in a year, I won't shed a tear for any of them.

[MooseHenden]

The private businesses should never have asked for help from the government. It sets a lousy precident and look what it has produced. The more people allow the government to "help" (not in the Constitution) private business the more they are going to come under government control.

[rancher55]

I was just about to post a thread on this topic. Here is what I read;

The plan which was originally reported by the New York Times, would force company's to cut the executives salaries by about 90% from last year. With bonuses and retirement contributions, the total compensation hit would be about 50% per employee.
At all the company's any executive seeking more than $25,000 in perks, including country club memberships, private planes and company cars, will need permission from the government.

It wouldn't surprise me if a few of them told the Obama admin. to stick it!
These executives didn't get to where they are by being stupid,they are top notch, highly educated people who negotiated contracts for their salaries and other compensation with these company's before most of this took place.
What will this do to these company's if they lose a lot of highly skilled individuals? They could be worse off than they were before!

I understand people's need to strip them of the money they are making, I think they make too much also but they have signed contracts for their pay and the Obama admin. is just stepping in and saying the contract's are null and void!? That's not right either. The company's owe the taxpayers the bailout money not the executives, personally. JMO!

[MooseHenden]

You know what? Our government is failing. They're spending us into the poor house. They're trying to overturn 233 years of Constitutionally designed law and make us socialists, dependent on our government for all our needs. Maybe they should get a 90% dock in their pay. We keep sending them money. We should be able to tell them how much they can make.

[KQ400Pilot]

What's the problem?
If they don't like it, they can GIVE OUR MONEY BACK!
We've privatized profits, and socialized losses.
The sickest thing of all this?
WE LET THEM DO IT. How?--by allowing the US Congress to be purchased by the highest bidder, and unraveling the safeguards enacted at from 1900 through 1960-ie: allowing deregulation of the banking and insurance industries, allowing the oil companies to merge (after they had been specifically broken up by Congress).
What to do? Get involved!
Write/email/phone your Congressman (State & Federal). Tell them you will not vote for them if they continue to pander and accept $$ from special interest groups. Remind them that they were elected by, and to represent, the PEOPLE--not Bank of America/Wall Street/AIG/Big Oil/etc. Demand that they act in the INTEREST OF THE PEOPLE.

[MooseHenden]

A large part of the present mess the economy is in was caused by none other than Barney Frank from here in Massachusetts. Using his influence as a Representative on finance committees he pressured the government loan institutions (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) to write loans to low income people who might not have been able to pay their debt back. After a few years of this the private banks were pressured to do the same thing through the FDIC. My wife told me about the pressure and how the FDIC was pressuring banks to write these high risk loans from the early 90s on. If the banks didn't have enough of these low income loans the FDIC would give them a bad rating. Isn't it fun when the government gets involved?

[rancher55]

It's not over yet! I saw an interview with the the guy that designed this plan last night. He said that it isn't going to stop with the top 25 employee's of those company's. He stated that employee's #26 through #100 were the next one's to get their pay reduced. And it's coming soon, and will be repeated in 2010!