Barack Obama made the announcement today that top executives at companies receiving TARP money must cap their salaries at half a million dollars. While that is a sum more than 99% of Americans would love to claim as their own, those that make more are steamed that Obama could try to enact such a thing. Just take a look at what they had to say in reaction to it.
From ThinkProgress:
As news of the plan leaked last night, wealthy Wall Street went into panic mode, insisting that the caps would ruin the financial industry. It’s “a nightmare for any financial institution,” CNBC host Joe Kernen proclaimed this morning, while Fox Business host Alexis Glick said it was evidence of Obama being “a little anti-business.” Others insisted that the “draconian” caps would drive the “best and the brightest” away from Wall Street and that Obama’s anger over executive bonuses was misplaced:
“That is pretty draconian — $500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus.” [James F. Reda, founder and managing director of James F. Reda & Associates]
“If I didn’t pay [bonuses], the people were going to go. … These people didn’t choose to cure cancer. These people didn’t choose to do public service work…These people chose to make money.” [Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric]
Yes Mr. Welch, they did choose to go out and make money, but the problem is that they lost much more than they could have possibly hoped to take home. Their reckless handling of the economy has resulted in more than two trillion lost in pensions alone. The world economy has been rocked by their callous greed. Judging by the reaction of these tycoons to Obama, that callousness has not worn off despite having billions in TARP money coming their way. Alexis Glick can claim Obama is anti-business all she wants, but the evidence of who has been ruining countless business is not pointing in Obama's direction. These scoundrels should be happy to make half a million in salary, because in a just world, we'd have already demanded they billions upon billions in salary and bonuses they've taken in only a few short years.
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