ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2008 > October > 08
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Should the government cap executive pay?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Wall Street bailout plan contains provisions that are intended to reign in the hefty executive salaries of companies who participate in the government’s bailout plan. While the wording is vague enough to allow for savvy corporate minds to exploit (look what the AIG executives did after accepting the bailout), the idea is to stop rewarding executives of failing businesses, something that seems to be quite popular with the general public who are struggling to pay their mortgages and buy gas.
Critics question the idea of the federal government imposing salary limits on employees from the private sector. As Steve Schippert states, “Laws on minimum wage are one thing, but putting a government imposed ceiling on earnings in a capitalist free-market economy smacks of class warfare and incremental socialism.” Derek Loosvelt, Vault.com’s global finance editor feared that there could be a domino effect, impacting salaries at companies that are not even participating in the bailout plan, and decreasing the earnings of those further down the corporate ladder.
What are your feelings about the federal government’s plan to limit the executive salaries of companies that accept the bailout deal? Is the federal government overstepping its boundaries, or do you support limiting the salaries for these executives who have allowed their companies to fail?
