Administration Seeks Increase in Oversight of Executive Pay

[jefferson_dem]

Source: NYT

Administration Seeks Increase in Oversight of Executive Pay
By STEPHEN LABATON

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said.

The outlines of the plan are expected to be unveiled this week in preparation for President Obama’s first foreign summit meeting in early April.

Officials said the proposal would seek 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.

It will propose that many kinds of derivatives and other exotic financial instruments that contributed to the crisis be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses so they are more transparent and can be more tightly regulated. And to protect consumers, it will call for federal standards for mortgage lenders beyond what the Federal Reserve adopted last year, as well as more aggressive enforcement of the mortgage rules.

The administration has been considering increased oversight of executive pay for some time, but the issue was heightened in recent days as public fury over bonuses spilled into the regulatory effort.

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 go 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.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/politics/22regulate.html?pagewanted=print

[marketcrazy1]

1. consider the chart shown at this link

http://www.tickerforum.org/cgi-ticker/akcs-www?getimagenr=23204

[pnorman]

28. That's the sort of graphic display I was looking for!

THANKS!!

pnorman

[defendandprotect]

2. As others have said . . . we have to get CEO pay hooked to minimum wage . . .

Health benefits for Congress should be the same as for the general public ---

extend Medicare for all. No special health benefits for Congress!

[MannyGoldstein]

3. Administration Seeks Increase in Oversight of Executive Pay

Source: The NY Times

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration will call for increased oversight of executive pay at all banks, Wall Street firms and possibly other companies as part of a sweeping plan to overhaul financial regulation, government officials said.

The outlines of the plan are expected to be unveiled this week in preparation for President Obama’s first foreign summit meeting in early April.

Officials said the proposal would seek 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.

It will propose that many kinds of derivatives and other exotic financial instruments that contributed to the crisis be traded on exchanges or through clearinghouses so they are more transparent and can be more tightly regulated. And to protect consumers, it will call for federal standards for mortgage lenders beyond what the Federal Reserve adopted last year, as well as more aggressive enforcement of the mortgage rules.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/us/politics/22regulate.html?hp

---

Why do they insist on only going after the tip of the iceberg? The real problem is keeping the same crooks running the same banks - and, as of Monday, playing "heads you win tails we lose" with this crowd, using trillions of our tax money.

I never, ever, thought that the Obama administration would pick up the Bush-Paulson playbook and use it.

[btwhiteh]

4. Mob Rule 1 / Rule of Law 0

Well, it's "mob rule"!!!

The Congress just passed a bill to tax a certain set of individuals by 90%. The Politburo is trying to decide how much people should make at their job. And Congress is looking to create legislation to break legal contractual obligations a company has with it's employees.

This is immoral, unconscionable, and dangerous. They have broken the trust with business, businessmen, and the American people. Congress has proven it will throw away the rights of individuals for political gain. This is not about the size of the bonuses, they are insignificant compared to the amount of money these companies manage. This is about stirring up public hatred and distracting people from the government's incompetent (or maybe nefarious) bailout plans.

The good news is that politicians have a weakness. They have no core values but are swayed by the popular opinion of the day. Whew! I thought we were in trouble. Just like the the maintenance we need to do on our homes, our freedoms need to be maintained. The Constitution can not defend itself, referring to it or better yet taking it out and quoting it every once in a while keeps it clean and functional.

I hope the AIG execs have the patriotic spirit to stand up to the Thugs. I for one will donate to their legal defense fund. That's what I need to do...give my hard earned cash to a millionaire to protect his win fall profits. But it's not about them. It's about the government trampling peoples rights. In the same spirit a soldier will fight to protect the lives of war protesters, I support their right to make more money than me.

I wonder if the Supreme Court will be the sentry at the gate, protect our freedoms, and throw these laws out.

Can I get a harrumph?

[defendandprotect]

6. It's a good move to regulate extreme wealth . . .

"Behind every great wealth is great crime!"

I've no problems with the bonuses either -- they aren't earnings . . .

they are windfall!

And I still hold that we should be taxing the hell out of ExxonMobil for their

profits with rising oil prices!!!

[Brucie Kibbutz]

7. Were you as outraged when Repukes did the same to the UAW?

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Do You Know What The Top Tax Rate Was Under Eisenhower?

91%. Capital gains was somewhat less.

Who knew that Eisenhower was from the Poliburo?

[creeksneakers2]

10. There are no mobs

so this is not mob rule. There is anger and uproar.

Congress isn't trying to set all pay. Obama is considering doing something about executive pay. During the campaign, Obama promised to let shareholders have more say. That's protecting free enterprise, not ditching it. The shareholders should have the last word. If they want to pay $100 million to some guy to run an ice cream stand, well, its their money. Although, my hunch is that shareholders don't like big executive pay any more than libs do.

It looks like Obama may go beyond shareholder right now though. That's not a good thing. I don't know how fair pay can be measured. The article mentions a tie to performance, but that's impossible to measure. If a CEO just gets a slice of what a company earns, what would be the incentive for a CEO to take over at a troubled company? A troubled company needs a top notch CEO more than a healthy company does. Leading a company to a $1 million loss could be a great accomplishment if the company lost $20 million the year before.

The dramatic terms you using are misleading. Congress isn't pushing around a private company. Its regulating a public company. The taxpayers now own 80% of AIG. Congress has more right to say what goes on at AIG now than AIG executives do.

The real thugs are the AIG executives. They destroyed an economically critical company just to make a fast buck. Then they got themselves bailed out by extortion. They told Washington if Uncle Sam didn't pay up, the global economy would be wrecked. That is thuggery.

There are politicians out there exploiting the bonus situation. Obama and the Dem leaders aren't among them. Obama and the Dem leaders are getting blamed for the bonuses. They are running from the uproar, not creating it.

The constitution gives Congress the power to regulate interstate commerce. I've read that some think a tax only on bonus recipients might amount to a Bill of Attainder. I haven't researched it, but the founding fathers were speaking of criminal violations when they prohibited Bills of Attainder. This wouldn't be a criminal matter. If you have a specific violation, would you name it?

[JDPriestly]

11. You err, btwhiteh.

Congress doesn't lack core values. AIG, the banks and Wall Street do.

As for freedom to contract, talk to my mom, a retired teacher who worked under contracts that assured her certain pension rights -- which her pension fund has reneged on. I guess her contracts could be broken without ado. After all, she was just a poor teacher.

It's AIG, the banks and Wall Street that violated the trust of the American people.

And, if you want to talk about violations of the Constitution, let's prosecute Cheney and Bush first -- for their many, many crimes.

Stick around here on DU and you will soon be able to list those crimes yourself.

[rpannier]

14. And sometimes 'Mob Rule' is the only way to right a wrong

You feel free to give your 'hard earned cash' to these execs.

They'll be happy to take and laugh at you all the way to the bank.

[No Elephants]

16. Since when is lawmaking mob rule and not the rule of law? And since when does this

Supreme Court protect freedoms?

Hint. War is not Peace, either.

[Waiting For Everyman]

23. Yeah, to laissez-faire freaks, democracy is mob rule.

I don't think any "deprogramming" can fix that, it's terminal. They'll need major watching forever. Better yet, lifetime bans from working in finance ever again.

[inna]

26. wrong board, dude. nt

[girl gone mad]

27. nice faux outrage.

The House legislation is extremely reasonable. All it does is tax corporate welfare recipients at a higher rate. They are in business only thanks to our money, so it's perfectly within our rights to incentivize the banks to get off of the public dole.

[defendandprotect]

5. No way on Federal Reserve having any more power/authority . . . !!!

a private bank is going to do the job that government should be doing?

No -- !!!

[rhymeandreason]

12. The Headline trumpets limits on executive bonuses

but the real story is the Obama administration's intention to give the FRB even more regulatory responsibility. The failure of the FRB to carry out the regulatory tasks that they already have is one of the reasons for the melt-down. What a bad idea. There is no oversight of the FRB whatsoever, not by Congress, not by the President, not by any Federal agency. The Federal Reserve is a private club established to protect the interests of the financial elite.

[defendandprotect]

20. Right . . . I was just trying to send some e-mail messages on this . . .

this could be new privileges for Federal Reserve which is already way out of hand ---

and new precedents, new bank for "toxic debt" -- it's disastrous!!!

And, I don't think this is anything that Obama dreamed up . . . this is corporate-driven

advice and action, IMO.

Would take a lot to undo this !!!

[Overseas]

9. I like the sound of overhauling financial regulation -- maybe we'll get some back

Overhauling financial De-regulation is more like it. Re-regulate the financial sector.

[defendandprotect]

21. by putting the Fed in charge?

[Overseas]

22. No. Regulatory power should not be concentrated there.

I want more oversight and re-regulation of the financial sector from many sources. I do not want more of the "voluntary" regulation or foxes designing the chicken coop.

And some kind of change at the SEC, whereby the next time someone comes along with a stack of evidence against a respected financial trader like Bernie Madoff, his material will at least be read and analyzed and investigated.

I'm sick of deregulation and privatization in many government departments.

[rpannier]

13. I like it good.

Good for the Admin

Can we give shareholders the right to vote on pay and compensation for execs???

[No Elephants]

15. Watch the same Repugs who've been yelling loudest about the bonuses fight this.

[Belial]

17. Smoke and Mirrors....

While the simple minded are easily distracted by one hand.. lets go after the "rich" .. the Gov't is spending its way into debt faster than we can print the money.. SS is 4 trillion in the hole.. that doesn't even count the other "trillions" we are spending.. so lets keep the simple minded happy by looking at bullshit regulations..

[marshall]

18. I want to see regulation and caps on ALL top salaries across the nation

The salaries that actors and celebrities get for movies and tv shows are ridiculous.

[w4rma]

19. Use legislation rather than regulations!!! (nt)

[Waiting For Everyman]

24. It's expecting the guilty to watch the guilty again, and should include a lobbying ban too.

[Frank Booth]

25. Nice to finally see some regulation on hedge funds. The lack of regulation was a major

cause of the current mess.

But watch for the Republicans and Dems like Chuck Schumer to claim this will stifle growth. This part's worrisome:

"But the administration’s efforts, especially on tighter regulation of hedge funds, are not expected to assuage some European countries. Moreover, the hedge fund industry has significant influence on Capitol Hill and has shown that it can defeat proposals it finds onerous.

While a growing number of hedge fund advisers have voluntarily agreed to register with the S.E.C., many of the most prominent ones are expected to oppose efforts to require them to provide what they consider proprietary information about their holdings and trading practices, even on a confidential basis."