Obama Ally Introduces Bill to Cap Salaries of CEOS from TARP-Receiving Companies

These businesses become so behemoth that they "can't" fail, for fear of dragging the economy down with them. So, they're bailed out. Then - when their is accountability required (for being handed millions in taxpayer money), the trouble begins.

Too much mismanagement of these massive companies, and then they're not allowed to fail. Do we really want the government being so involved with so many businesses - to the point of practically owning them and being able to dictate the terms of their existence?

These bailouts are becoming a MESS, all the way around.

A few years ago Martin Olaf Sabo from my home state of Minnesota championed a bill which said that the salary of the lowest earning member and that of the highest earning member of any corporation could not be more than a certain percentage difference. (I don't recall what that percentage was.) I thought it was a great bill, but of course it died a quick death in Congress and he retired soon after. It's too bad that the bill never got a decent hearing or decent coverage. We might have avoided all of this.

Let's see... in my company, if you fail miserably, you are fired. These guys, in their million dollar offices get multimillion dollar bonuses when they run their companies into a pit and take the nation's economy with them. Capping their salaries is a slap on the wrist. How 'bout firing the entire executive team when they have to ask for tax payer money and then make their replacements sign statements of accountability?

Obama is a kid playing at president.

No matter what they do, these CEOs will find a way around it.

I say we freeze the salaries of every employee in the federal, state, county, city and school systems. Once they submit a viable and realistic budget and only then, will they be allowed to have salary increases.
Even if this budget means cutting expenses, like unnecessary staff!

This is a fundamentally bad idea.

On one hand, there should be consequence when companies verging on bankruptcy make outrageous payments to insiders, liquidating dividends, or take other actions that are not it the public interest.

On the other hand, draconian measures to limit executive pay will keep the talent that is needed to fix the problem out of the game.

Rather than setting a limit of $x, consider a couple things ...

... use tax policy to discourge excessive compensation

... require compensation over $x to be made in stock with a minimum holding period of say 3 or 5 years so that the consequences of business decisions have played out before the cash is paid out ... that would be a much more effective way to 'recover' compensation for irresponsible actions.

"I think they should ban companies from paying their executives,.."

Who is the "they"? The government? Owners/stockholders of private sector business should always be the deciders of what executives pay, not the government. Sounds like you would like the government to own all private business, no?

I think they should ban companies from paying their executives, or any employees, with the company's stock. That would take away a lot of incentive for them to fudge the numbers and artificially inflate the stock prices, and it would make it clear to everybody how very much they really are making.

Is the $18 billion in bonuses from firms that have taken bailout monies or is this figure for "all" Wall Street firms, including those not involved with bailout?. Limiting salaries and bonuses of those firms that take bailout money might be appropriate, but the government should keep their nose out of firms that don't.

maybe we could cap obamas pay no recovery no pay lol

These CEO's aren't eating $100 wagyu steaks like Obama.

These CEOs aren't spending $150 million dollars on parties like Obama spent on his coronation, the most expensive in history.

these CEO's aren't hiring tax cheats like Obama.

Obama has no business lecturing anybody on ethics. His has been the most corrupt administration in history!

I don't get the headline, it says that an Obama ally introduced this measure. But nowhere in the article does it say if the measure was introduced by Chavez, Castro, Kim Il Jong, Ahmadninjad, or bin Laden. Which Obama ally introduced the maesure??

Anybody here have a home/auto loan? FYI ... your mortgage is now owned by the government. You can soon expect a phone call from Senator Claire, so she can explain how you are now allowed to spend your income. After all, if it's good for one debtor, it's good for all. Forget about that new HDTV for the Super Bowl. She thinks those are "outrageous".

James Dailey .... Actually we should impose term limits for Congress.

They should of done this a long time ago. So you don't have drunken disgusting slobs like Ted Kennedy running things as a senator.

I say CAP the pay of congress and the president and ban all donations of any sort to them also.

And how about examining those bonuses that the federal and state governments pay to contractors, whether or not the contracts have been fulfilled. Those bonuses need to be investigated and capped. Interesting how the new Minnesota bridge was finished ahead of schedule when millions in bonus monies were promised for doing so. Why can't schedules be met without dangling "carrots" in front of contractors? Greed over satisfaction in a job well done?

John wrote: "Perhaps we need to just start over. Get rid of them all."

Actually we should impose term limits for Congress. The members of the House should be limited to 5 terms and the members of the Senate should be limited to 2 terms.

Pay for performance I agree, including the greased inept moron's in the house and senate. If Bush,Pelosi,Frank,Reid and Dodd were handling the Gambino families finance's well enough said.

Pres. Obama voted for the bailout with no restrictions. Now lets blame the CEO's for something so it takes away from the bigger problem. Pres. Obama also said there was a time to make a profit and now is not the time.