Barney Frank plays a mob enforcer in Congress


Going after the executives of companies that aren't getting bailout cash
Ah yes, the command economy. The offer you can't refuse. I'm going to quote myself because the writing is on the wall.

"The next inevitable step will be changing the companies to comply with government "suggestions" and eventually demands."

Now keep that in mind and read this. Emphasis added.

Congress will consider legislation to extend some of the curbs on executive pay that now apply only to those banks receiving federal assistance, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said.

“There’s deeply rooted anger on the part of the average American,” the Massachusetts Democrat said at a Washington news conference today.

He said the compensation restrictions would apply to all financial institutions and might be extended to include all U.S. companies.

The provision will be part of a broader package that would likely give the Federal Reserve the authority to monitor systemic risk in the economy and to shut down financial institutions that face too much exposure, Mr. Frank said.

<snip>

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said last month that he might try to extend to all U.S. companies a restriction that prohibits bailout banks from taking a tax deduction of more than $500,000 in pay for each executive.

The Troubled Assets Relief Program legislation enacted in October seeks to give companies receiving aid under the $700 billion bailout a number of incentives to curb what it calls excessive executive pay.

Mr. Geithner said he would consider “extending at least some of the TARP provisions and features of the $500,000 cap to U.S. companies generally.”

I have to admit that if the U.S. has an ownership stake in a company, it should have the power to demand reform of executive compensation.

For the moment and for the sake of argument, we'll overlook the crimes and the extortion that created the ownership stake.

But why should the FedGovs dictate terms to any other companies?

Where in the Constitution does Congress get the power to oversee how much executives get paid?

Once that door is open, what makes you think that they will stop at executive pay?

— NeoWayland

Posted: Wed - February 11, 2009 at 02:37 PM  Tag


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