Can you imagine living on a base pay of only $500,000 per annum? A number of years ago CEO pay was 24 times the pay of the average worker. Last year the multiple had soared to 275 times. Core to this country is the belief that a honest day's work deserves a fair wage.
Is $10,000 per week a fair wage for a CEO? How about $2,000 per day?
While families are losing their homes, workers are losing their jobs, and taxpayers are footing the bill for the enormous errors on Wall Street, it would be nice to see bank executives accustomed to $20 million incomes share in the suffering. That is, if you think making $500,000 is suffering.
The down side is that many of the banking leaders will leave the newly nationalized banking industry and for more lucrative positions elsewhere. Depending on your view this may or may not be a good thing.
I think integrity demands that they stay and clean up the mess they created. Maybe a goodwill gesture of $1 annual pay until the mess is fixed would restore their reputations.
I think Obama is doing the right thing forcing the issue. It is a shame that they couldn't work it out for themselves. Poor things.
