Tuesday, March 31, 2009

May Not Have to Wonder Much Longer

In a post I titled Is That a Promise, or a Threat?, wherein I commented on Congress’ desire to ensure that no one executive’s pay exceeded an arbitrarily set level, said arbitrarily set level to be determined by a committee of professional jobholders rather than the stockholders and market forces, I stated the following.

There will be many American individuals championing this nonsense for State oversight of compensation for executives of private enterprises.  I wonder how they are going to feel about it when the reach of the State makes it down to the worker level?

I may not have to wonder about how the workers, feel, much longer.

But now, in a little-noticed move, the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, has approved a measure that would, in some key ways, go beyond the most draconian features of the original AIG bill. The new legislation, the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009,” would impose government controls on the pay of all employees—not just top executives—of companies that have received a capital investment from the U.S. government. It would, like the tax measure, be retroactive, changing the terms of compensation agreements already in place. And it would give Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner extraordinary power to determine the pay of thousands of employees of American companies.

Beyond AIG: A Bill to let Big Government Set Your Salary

Posted by John Venlet on 03/31 at 09:26 AM
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