Obama Governing Too Much From the Center.

[Magiver]

@Richard_Parker

I understand all of that. That isn’t what I’m arguing about. What I’m saying is that the blue parts in that last post do not add up to your conclusion that Obama wants to lower executive pay across the board. It’s as simple as that. Since we’re just repeating ourselves now, there’s nothing more to be said.

where did “across the board come from”? He’s basically declared $500,000 as a nice round number for base pay and he thinks bonuses are too high. If you’ve read what other posters have contributed you would know that these are negotiated by separate committees and not pulled out of someone’s backside. They are already tied to performance.

All this is academic opinion for another post. What I’ve put forth is that Obama swings to the left. He is the most left leaning of Presidents in my lifetime. Someone gets to be “the most left leaning” and right now it’s him. It doesn’t mean I won’t agree with any of his policies but it doesn’t change my cited opinion of his political aspirations. I look forward to banking oversight that reviews large blocks insurance riders against large blocks of risk. CDS’s were given a free from those who should have been watching over them and that needs to change.

[Gyrate]

Let’s all agree that Obama is the most left-leaning of all the people who are currently President of the United States. And also the most right-leaning. And the most centrist.

BTW, “The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks” translates to very little. “Oversight” could just mean they’re going to track numbers more closely. And if the proposed regulations promote closer shareholder involvement (as may be the case), I’m all for it. The shareholders are the ones who should have been keeping tabs on these excesses the whole time.

[Deeg]

@Magiver

Bush spent a great deal more than Clinton did and Obama added to that number even correcting for inflation. He was voted in under the banner of “change” and austensibly was supposed to be a man of the people.

It feels like a trivial event to bash Obama. All the money was donated and it was comparable to what Bush spent. Given that a large portion of the country considered Obama’s election to be a major watershed I don’t understand the reaction.

@Magiver

Now your arguing degrees. He clearly wants reductions in executive pay and he wants to do it on an industry wide basis. It doesn’t matter if the company is healthy or taking tarp money. And unless you can cite that companies don’t already base bonuses on performance criteria it’s disingenuous to throw in adjectives such as “reasonable” in order to make them sound out of line.

Another cite:**
The administration also will propose long-term compensation restrictions even for companies that don’t receive government assistance, Obama said.

Those proposals include:

— Requiring top executives at financial institutions to hold stock for several years before they can cash out.

— Requiring nonbinding “say on pay” resolutions — that is, giving shareholders more say on executive compensation.

— A Treasury-sponsored conference on a long-term overhaul of executive compensation.**

I’m a pro-capitalist Republican and I don’t have any major problems with this. It’s certainly a far cry from the claim that Obama wants to limit all executive pay to $500k. I think it would be better to focus on real problems like Obama’s apparent support for the pro-union legislation (the name of which escapes me atm).

[Magiver]

@Deeg

I’m a pro-capitalist Republican and I don’t have any major problems with this. It’s certainly a far cry from the claim that Obama wants to limit all executive pay to $500k. I think it would be better to focus on real problems like Obama’s apparent support for the pro-union legislation (the name of which escapes me atm).

If it was just limited to bailout companies I would agree with you.

As for private contributors paying for lavish parties during a financial crisis that falls into the “let them eat cake” category. It’s the difference between doing what is legal and doing what is right.

[BrainGlutton]

@Jim_B

Obama Governing Too Much From the Center.

Paul Krugman seems to think so, FWIW.