Senator Proposes Pay Cap: If You Make More Than 400K, You Make Too Much

[PeppyGPhiB]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Pretty much immediately, everyone who made any kind of money and didn't have a lot of savings would have to declare bankruptcy. Want another huge group of bad loans? Pass this legislation!

Exactly...what about the people that carry a debt load appropriate for someone who makes $1 million+, but not for $400,000? Do we expect them to sell everything they currently own and re-buy at their new salary level? Who will buy the $5 million homes?

[madmax]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- One day after President Barack Obama ripped Wall Street executives for their "shameful" decision to hand out $18 billion in bonuses in 2008, Congress may finally have had enough.

"You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses," an angry Sen. Claire McCaskill says.

An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout money. Under the terms of a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, no employee would be allowed to make more than the president of the United States.

Obama's current annual salary is $400,000.

"We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer," an enraged McCaskill said on the floor of the Senate. "They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses."


link

If the Wall Street execs are idiots then what does that say about the politicians that voted to give those idiots billions of dollars?

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by madmax

If the Wall Street execs are idiots then what does that say about the politicians that voted to give those idiots billions of dollars?

that's kind of what i was thinking

our country is screwed

[nate2512]

Look, when you think about cars, clothes, food. Do you seriously think the president pays for any of this. He doesn't have bills, he has perks too. He has a staff that could probably use a few less people, but no, we're paying for those. I'm surprised we don't have a white house ass wiper.

These guys are where they are at because they are really good at what they do. These guys run the biggest companies in the world, they're running multi-billion dollar companies, if they got a cap, they wouldn't have much motivation and most of them would end up quitting because that's like pennies to them.

Plus, they are paying taxes on these bonuses, which I know the argument will be well if taxpayer money is helping pay them, but if we didn't bail them out, they wouldn't be able to pay these execs, and there, a budget shortfall.

[Coramoor]

Originally Posted by nate2512

Look, when you think about cars, clothes, food. Do you seriously think the president pays for any of this. He doesn't have bills, he has perks too. He has a staff that could probably use a few less people, but no, we're paying for those. I'm surprised we don't have a white house ass wiper.

Great point. I wonder how much the President's salary would be if all these were taken into consideration. Certainly in the tens of millions...

[PhiGam]

Originally Posted by Coramoor

Great point. I wonder how much the President's salary would be if all these were taken into consideration. Certainly in the tens of millions...

Obama's book deal is going to be worth hundreds of millions.

[Thetagirl218]

Originally Posted by DaemonSeid

"You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses," an angry Sen. Claire McCaskill says.

I agree with my Theta sister on this point. There should be limits on bonuses to companies who took bail out money. They should be accountable to the American people.

However, I cringe at the thought of the government mandating a salary cap . If we do it on one bill, even if it is warranted, what is going to prevent Congress from making it law for anyone to make over 400,000?

Socialism here we come...

[CrackerBarrel]

And, now we actually get this piece of idiocy...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090204/D964VSP00.html


And it is apparently a slippery slope indeed:

The administration also will propose long-term compensation restrictions even for companies that don't receive government assistance, Obama said.

What better way to try to get poor people excited than sticking it to the rich, even if doing so has no discernible benefit for the government (these firms don't have federal funds anyways, and from another standpoint you are actually harming total tax revenues because even if the funds are instead paid to everyday employees, the executives are in a much higher tax bracket and would be paying a higher percent of that money to the government in taxes).

But hey, guess it's time we "spread the wealth around".

[RU OX Alum]

Originally Posted by CrackerBarrel

And, now we actually get this piece of idiocy...
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090204/D964VSP00.html


.

I guess now all policy decissions will be based on public opinion.

I can't even process that article right now. My head hurts.

[nate2512]

What the hell?

Has, dare I say it, socialism? This is getting ridiculous.

I'd love to see Obama's portfolio, which company does he hold that he's trying to bolster with this stimulus to make himself rich? That's too much power put in the hands of the president and he needs to stop before everything this nation stands for is gone.

[Thetagirl218]

Originally Posted by nate2512

What the hell?

Has, dare I say it, socialism? This is getting ridiculous.

That made me think of this....Comrade Update

[CrackerBarrel]

Originally Posted by Thetagirl218

That made me think of this....Comrade Update

That's amazing. Saw it on Drudge earlier today.

[RU OX Alum]

Isn't using bailout money for bonuses kind of, if you pardon the neologism, uncapitalistic. If the companies that failed and need the bail out (already sign of not the greatest organization) and used it for other purposes besides bonuses, it would, presumbly result in a "brain drain" where the best talent moves on to bigger and better things, allowing their previous companies to hire somebody who is maybe inexperienced, etc, some how less qualified. The company being backed by the government. But, if the companies use the bailout money for bonuses, then no one will move on with their careers, everyone will be in place and it's basically like the government is paying to maintain the status quo.

I feel that the totally free market companies that surived on their own should get the best people, not the ones being bailed out, which is most of them, I guess.