Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules.
But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said. The change stipulated that the penalty would apply only to firms that received bailout funds by selling troubled assets to the government in an auction, which was the way the Treasury Department had said it planned to use the money.
Now, however, the small change looks more like a giant loophole, according to lawmakers and legal experts. In a reversal, the Bush administration has not used auctions for any of the $335 billion committed so far from the rescue package, nor does it plan to use them in the future. Lawmakers and legal experts say the change has effectively repealed the only enforcement mechanism in the law dealing with lavish pay for top executives.
Limits on Executive Pay May Prove Toothless - washingtonpost.com
As a comparison of the people we're talking about, consider after reading that article the salaries of congress. I make LESS here in 2008 than the average congressman made in 1969.
Salaries of Members of Congress: A List of Payable Rates and Effective Dates, 1789-2008
$169,000 CASH SALARY PER YEAR???!!!
NO NO NO. Congress, when you STOP fucking up this country every year with your hare-brained legislation for aggrandizement and social engineering, then you can talk about limiting other peoples' pay.
On second thought, not even then. Economic liberty is one of the great powers of the people and you cretinous lot have shown a two hundred plus year history of having no conception under G-d what the fuck you are doing with the economy or liberty.
Remember people, if they can limit one group's salaries and get away with it, it is a precedent and encouragement to control and limit other groups' salaries. Like yours. Why should someone else tell you how much you "should" make and what salary is "too much". Why should the venal and jealous opinions of others be the yardstick of what your pay is decided to be?
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