The New York Times is reporting that Obama plans to increase federal oversight of "executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation."
The officials said that the administration was still debating the details of its plan, including how broadly it should be applied and how far it could range beyond simple reporting requirements. Depending on the outcome of the discussions, the administration could seek to put the changes into effect through regulations rather than through legislation.
One proposal could impose greater requirements on the boards of companies to tie executive compensation more closely to corporate performance and to take other steps to assure that outsize bonuses are not paid before meeting financial goals.
The new rules will cover all financial institutions, including those not now covered by any pay rules because they are not receiving federal bailout money. Officials say the rules could also be applied more broadly to publicly traded companies, which already report about some executive pay practices to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Last month, as part of the stimulus package, Congress barred top executives at large banks getting rescue money from receiving bonuses exceeding one-third of their annual pay.
Beyond the pay rules, officials said the regulatory plan is expected to call for a broad new role for the Federal Reserve to oversee large companies, including major hedge funds, whose problems could pose risks to the entire financial system.
[snip]
Long before he became Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner had sought broader authority for the government to resolve problems at financial institutions that were not under the supervision of bank regulators.
The government now has the power to take over only the banking unit that controls federally insured deposits of large troubled institutions, not the parent company, a limit that could pose problems if large financial conglomerates like Citigroup or Bank of America continued to spiral downward.
In unveiling the regulatory plan this week, President Obama would signal to Europe that he intended to crack down on the risk-taking and other free-wheeling practices by the financial industry that resulted in the global economic meltdown.
In truth, what Obama is signaling is that he is expanding government in ever wider ways, sublimating the will of the people and marching us on a steady course toward European-style socialism.
I become increasingly convinced that A.I.G. was a setup. They absolutely knew about those bonuses when the stimulus bill was being written - Chris Dodd has told us as much with his special amendment to exempt bonuses agreed upon prior to February 11th. They knew, and they planned it this way. Let the bonuses be paid, then, after the fact, make them known to the general public, and release the story in such a way that the uninformed masses will hate the bonus recipients. At least one member of Congress, Charles Grassley, I think, actually went so far as to say that those who received the bonuses should kill themselves! They have succeeded beautifully. The public is absolutely outraged about those bonuses, and absolutely loathes the recipients. The anger and hatred that should rightfully be directed at our elected officials is instead, 100% by design, targeting free enterprise business people.
Now, while the hatred is rampant, the administration announces that they will take care of us - will administer justice on our behalf - by limiting how much these evil capitalists are allowed to earn. But they're not just going after the companies that received bailout funds...no, they are leaving it open. Already planning to target all banks, Wall Street, and "possibly other companies." Possibly other companies? Possibly every company? But the public will cheer, thrilled that the rich, evil bastards are getting their comeuppance, ecstatic that someone is looking out for us!
How long will it be before it's not just the top executives? How long before it becomes all of us? How long before President Robin Hood and his band of merry idiots will tell all of us how much money we're entitled to earn?
America, WAKE UP! This is not how a free market society functions! The rich are rich because they know more, or work harder, or supply a product that everyone wants and needs, not because they are evil thieves who make their fortunes by keeping the rest of us down.
Dr. Adrian Rogers said it spendidly:
You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.
Learn those words, and live by them, or you will wake up one day in a country you no longer recognize and find yourself wondering how in the world it ever came to this.
You my dear are right again. eems to me I just said that. When we were talking about this prior to my reading the 3 most recent postings, I suggeste that Geithner may have been using cronyism to get bonuses to old friends. You said to read the 3 postings just mentioned. I think we are both right. He wanted to reward his friends and create a smoke screen to avoid the political fall-out we're seeing. I don't think he is bru=ight enough to realize what would really happen. Who was it that said "never waste a real catastrophy"? Oh yes, the foul mouthed, dead fish deliverer who resides in the office next to Odumbo. We are in trouble as a nation and we need more people like Basso to present it in a way that everyone can understand. You are right. Sam is right, ans I'd like to think that I'm right from time to time. We must send the tea bags, join the tea parties, call the non-representing representatives and fax them. We must inunfate the capitol phone lines and fax machines and email servers with constant complaints until they realize that they are not getting away with impeachable actions any longer. We know it starts with us. If we, the people, don't start a movement to take our country back, it just won't happen. The worst thing about this is that each generation will become accustomed to less and less self will and responsibility until it seems right to have government take care of them. At that point, all is lost. We are not that far away from that happenstance right now. Act Now!!! Let's save our nation for our children and grandchildren by acting out NOW!!! JC
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