Stephanopoulos: Republicans Signaling Give on Executive Compensation
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ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos reports: Capitol Hill negotiations on the administration’s $700 billion bailout bill are expected to go throughout the night, and top Republicans in Congress and the administration are signaling that they are prepared to compromise on the issue of executive compensation or so-called "golden parachutes" for CEO’s who mismanage their companies.
One top Republican told ABC News, “There are no lines in the sand on individual provisions. The only line in the sand is on getting greedy on this proposal.”
Republicans realize this is not the most popular ground to stand on and that there is a "moral and political hazard" if executives at firms getting government help are making huge profits.
Both houses of Congress have drafted bills that would require an oversight board and assurances that no taxpayer money would be used to finance golden parachutes for executives whose companies were at the heart of the economic crisis.
Today President Bush urged Congress to quickly pass the legislation and not seek amendments that could “undermine the effectiveness of the plan."
"Indeed, the whole world is watching to see if we can act quickly to shore up our markets," Bush said.
Deputy White House spokesman Tony Fratto later urged Congress to not insist on a cap for executive compensation.
"We certainly understand and are sympathetic to the sentiment regarding the pay of CEOs and senior management of these firms, but we have to focus on the problem, and the problem is that we need these firms to participate in the program and sell us this debt. Having punitive measures would provide a disincentive for firms to participate, and that would make the program much less likely to succeed," Fratto said.
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WHAT!?! We NEED these firms to sell us this debt? no no no NO sir. These firms need US to buy this debt or they tank. How many at risk mortgages would be saved if we gave the individuals who had them a $10K bailout? How much Credit card debt would be paid off? These companies and CEO’s can take a flying leap if they somehow believe themselves to be in the position that they are doing US a favor by letting us buy their debt. Take that $700 billion and send out some checks to the people who are hurting. The Credit Reports are out there. If my tax dollars are going to be used in a bailout anyway, I’d rather I’d rather have my credit debt zeroed out and my neighbor keep his house than make sure some CEO gets his $10 million dollar payout.
Posted by: Danny | September 22, 2008, 5:28 pm 5:28 pm
Bush.. The whole world can wait. We made one big mistake letting you back into office. Congress do not close fast, take your time, do the right things to protect US, the people of the United States, Please make sure all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted.
Posted by: beck | September 22, 2008, 5:33 pm 5:33 pm
Danny: You are so right… I wish we had a voice right now.
Posted by: beck | September 22, 2008, 5:35 pm 5:35 pm
that actually makes some sense. If the mortgages that were in danger and that are at the basis of this crisis were directly bailed out then would not those companies stabilize? If we spent the 700 billion to clear or reduce the consumer debt, then those wall street entities can get their credit back.
Posted by: Louis | September 22, 2008, 5:40 pm 5:40 pm
Republicans are signaling??? Well, buddy, so am I:
.!.
Posted by: hang | September 22, 2008, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
What???
Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | September 22, 2008, 5:42 pm 5:42 pm
BTW:
No bonuses above administrative staff for ’07 and ’08 in those companies bailed out.
All bonuses given must be returned.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | September 22, 2008, 5:43 pm 5:43 pm
With the second comment, that is what I would like in the bailout bill but isn’t going to happen.
The first post of mine is the language as it stands in part of the legislation.
What??
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | September 22, 2008, 5:45 pm 5:45 pm
Ooh, I like Danny’s idea. Zero out our credit card balances and let the investment banks tank. That would be a great stimulus to the economy.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | September 22, 2008, 5:46 pm 5:46 pm
$700 billion divided by 200 million taxpayers is $3,500. I will take that as a stimulus check.
Posted by: Mr. Coffee | September 22, 2008, 5:48 pm 5:48 pm
the investment banks are tanking primarily due to all of the unpaid consumer debt.
Posted by: Danny | September 22, 2008, 5:57 pm 5:57 pm
Let it all fall. We got in this mess because the DEMS forced banks to give loans to people with crummy credit ratings and no possible way to pay them off.
I’m tired of paying their way. Let it all crash.
Posted by: Jack | September 22, 2008, 5:59 pm 5:59 pm
Whoa jack, the “ownership society” was a bush doctrine. Lobbied for by the investment industry to open up a new market to take advantage of the deregulation that allowed mortgages to be bundled and sold like commodities. Did some Dems vote for the thing, sure, but this dates back to the GOP controlled White house and congress.
Posted by: Danny | September 22, 2008, 6:07 pm 6:07 pm
Jack: Sorry, but the Republicans are the bad ones here. You can try all you want to make this out to be a Dem.. but it won’t wash.
Posted by: beck | September 22, 2008, 6:09 pm 6:09 pm
Jack
we got into this mess the same way we did with Mccain keating’s S&L crisis…
no corporate regulations because they had been slammed back by the lobby that seems to surround Mccain every waking moment.
corporation’s battery is greed…it’s good with regulations…it’s very bad without…
corporations and banks did this but mostly because the corporations could do whatever they wanted in defining risk and property.
so please stop
Mccain fought for this
and now that it’s failed and we have to come up with an answer to another trillion dollar failed Mccain belief that he has to switch on…
our grandkids are that much further down the hole.
can you imagine if mccain and palin had actually been elected…ugh.
armageddon.
Posted by: dl (the real one) | September 22, 2008, 6:18 pm 6:18 pm
and mccain still wants to do this to the healthcare industry…ugh
oh yeah …and so does Palin…
“Palin wanna cracker…sqawwwk!”
Posted by: dl (the real one) | September 22, 2008, 6:21 pm 6:21 pm
NO GOLDEN PARACHUTES ON MY NICKEL! As a taxpayer, I won’t stand for it. Congress, hold your ground and don’t let BushCo get this loophole. It’s bad enough that we’ll be paying for this for years to come.
Posted by: HeidiL | September 22, 2008, 6:21 pm 6:21 pm
Danny must be a democrat!!! He is willing to help his neighbor keep his house. Most average Republicans listen to the media (their media of course) and think that it would actually help our economy to give the company Big Whigs bonus checks. Hey, they think like Jack. They are told that it is a political party trying to help people with crummy credit get a house the reason our country is in the shape that we are in, instead of laying the TRUE blame for this at Phil Gramm’s doorstep. I am thinking that he was an Economic prof before he went into politics!!!!! And I believe, hmmmmm, he is a bonifide REPUBLICAN.
Posted by: Dale | September 22, 2008, 6:29 pm 6:29 pm
This article is a load of sophisticated language that hides the real message of this story: The Republicans fight for the CEOs’ bonuses while the Democrats stand up for the taxpayers. Nothing new there.
Posted by: El_Pajaro | September 22, 2008, 6:43 pm 6:43 pm
the problem is this stuff they are going to buy are derivatives… that where invented for mtges so everyone dead or alive could get one… lets go back to basics.. 20%+ down, and a stable financial history and freddie and frannie mac would not have gone down no aig nor lehman
Posted by: renka21 | September 22, 2008, 6:44 pm 6:44 pm
EL Parjaro, LOL. Democrats stand up for taxpayers so they can get their vote, and raise and create more taxes period, for everybody, just look at Illinois.
Posted by: Liberals are Idiots | September 22, 2008, 9:24 pm 9:24 pm
Although conservatives are being bashed nowadays, I will remind folks that real conservatives deplore government spending on wasteful and dubious federal projects including this bailout nonsense.
Posted by: 1percenter | September 22, 2008, 9:47 pm 9:47 pm
No Executive bonuses for companies bailed out. All bonuses given must be repaid. The repaid bonuses need to be added to cover the bailout to minimize the public debt our children will have to pay for. What are we teaching our children anyway if we reward greed and dishonesty!
Posted by: Disgusted | September 22, 2008, 11:48 pm 11:48 pm
If you want to limit executive pay all you need to do is return to the pre 1980′s tax structure. If you tax incomes over $1 million at 75-85% you’ll see a dramatic fall in top salaries. This is how other countries handle this problem, and it has the added benefit of raising resources for government.
Posted by: Alex S. Vitale | September 23, 2008, 8:08 am 8:08 am
When we fail to balance our check books and credit we fail and no one helps us out. It was our fault to not manage our assets.
When banks fail for greed we the tax payer’s are free to bail them out, right? Wrong I have never heard of a bank saying it is alright we will forgive your debt or we will help you get through this by giving you more credit. They call the law and kick you to the curb. The law protects the banks and institution but who is now protecting the American Tax Payer. This will get pushed through after much wooing of our official and we get screwed.
Let them fail now for it is only a delaying tactic for they will again fail after they have fresh legs to cheat and steal from the American people again.
Bush is protecting his friends with this and using his position to control the Fed.
Posted by: storm | September 23, 2008, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm