Subscribe to Common Dreams News Updates
Most Popular This Week
Popular content
Today's Top News
Obama's Executive Pay Limits Have Loopholes: Report
President Barack Obama's crackdown on Wall Street pay contains loopholes, and may have limited impact in restraining compensation, the Wall Street Journal said, citing executive-pay consultants and management attorneys.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the House Democratic Issues Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia February 5, 2009. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque) Some compensation professionals are already pointing out potential holes in the rules, including tactics such as changing executives' titles or rearranging pay packages, the paper said.
Obama set a $500,000 annual cap on executive pay and imposed other restrictions on companies that receive money from the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
The Journal said just as past attempts by the government to restrict executive pay largely backfired, the new curbs may also have unintended consequences, citing its sources.
Some critics suggested that the restrictions be retroactively applied to companies that already have received federal bailout cash, the paper said.
The critics noted that the most stringent restrictions likely would affect only a few firms and others could avoid some of the curbs by putting extra pay to a shareholder vote.
Others believe the plan does not limit total compensation because it allows companies to boost awards of restricted stock, the paper said.
The Senate voted on Thursday to ban bonuses for top executives at banks or companies receiving taxpayer money from the Treasury Department's $700 billion bailout fund.
Reporting by Ajay Kamalakaran in Bangalore; Editing by Valerie Lee
9 Comments so far
Show Allfree2bee
During WWII executives recruited by President Roosevelt signed on for $1.00 per year.
That's one dollar!!
During this present conflict executives are complaining that $500,000 isn't enough to live on. WOW!!
It's difficult to run 5 mansions on $500,000 a year. I hope they were saving during their glory years.
Joe
Only a millionaire would feel justified in taking the pennies off a dead man's eyes, or taking candy from a baby. After all, he deserves it, it is his, or owed to him, isn't it? It is something he doesn't already have, therefore it is his for the taking.
All together now, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of..."
How about that it's unconstitutional to have salary caps. If you don't believe me, tell me where the federal government has that power.
Just as with any other "person" receiving welfare payments there are limits on earnings.
Hilarious. Now I want social workers to go to their houses and see if they have possessions that hint at unreported income.
Joe
If these corporate welfare bumbs take money from the Federal Government then the Federal Government is correct in attaching strings. If these banksters are offended by the concept, then don't take the damn bailout money. Easy enough.
I know that I couldn't live on $500,000 a year while running a multimillion dollar company into the ground.
Many people have NO IDEA that the first duty of a corporation is to MAKE PROFIT AT ANY COST!
Rape, theft, murder, treason... anything to make a buck.
Tainted peanut butter? Exploding tires? Planes that drop out of the sky? Toxic paint on kiddies toys? Slave labour? All part of business.
Most corporations have legions of lawyers to keep thier clients out of court, to keep the dividends for the investors rolling in. Ask anyone of them and they will tell you that it is more profitable to pay off the survivors or thier families than to suspend or amend production.
The Bush years were a godsend for the corporations. They had all the inconveinient regulations and laws swept aside, so they could reap even more of their blood and pain soaked lucre. The FDA, EPA, SEC, HUD and a host of other watchdogs that were created to protect the public from these very predations were rendered utterly powerless and ineffective, all at the order of the very corporations they were supposed to be watching. Often, corporate insiders were placed in control of these watchdog agencies, turning them into little more than whitewash machines for the corporations.
And NOW you are going to bitch about it?
That's like an aggressive drunk who picks a fight complaining after he just got the crap stomped out of him by the little guy who just wanted to be left alone.
Walk in peace.