Discussion

Definitely a step in the right direction, but still arguably not enough. The cuts also don't apply retroactively, so it really only affects a tiny minority of executives in the present day. And with anything like this, there will be exploited loop holes.

Rather than receiving compensation, executives should pay for damages. A cap is not enough; executives, presumably acting on behalf on the even richer, wilfully created the financial crisis we are in and should be held accountable for their actions.

No caps, but fines.

While on the surface the caps may seem innocent enough. They make Obama seem like he's on the side of the poor and middle class (he spent christmas in a 23 million dollar house!). But if we look at this with our minds and not our eyes I think there is something more insidious here. Obama said something to the effect of, "these high ranking executives need to know that they have to answer to the taxpayers and that their salaries will be controlled if they received help from the federal government." In my opinion, Obama is a Fabian-Socialist. Meaning he wants to gain total control slowly and economically. With his statement he is letting the public become familiar with government control of wages on government controlled entities. All in the name of Rothschild. I agree with Bucky Fuller, big governments are obsolete. We need a new system which places the responsibility of the people on the people themselves.

I can certainly understand the desire to protect the taxpayer's money by preventing waste, but what does the Federal government know about preventing waste? A cap on executive compensation will make it harder for these companies to hire or to keep the talent that it will take to turn them around - and make it more likely that they will be run by a more moderately highly-paid corporate equivalent of a clerk at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The mistake was "investing" the taxpayer money to begin with. Weak institutions should be allowed to fail. Shifting resources from the productive parts of the economy to prop up failing institutions just guarantees that we will continue to have large, bloated institutions that are "too big to fail." Nothing is too big to fail!

Patience please Obama is not the Messiah just a human and rome was not built in a day at least he is trying to find out what is going on behid the scenes with the governments money-1 little step forward otherwise the rich conspiracy is complete.

Caps are just a start. People are complaining that caps will keep the talent away from these institutions. I, for one, think that the 'greedy talent' is what got us here in the first place. Why should people get a bonus for driving a company into the ground? It's bad enough that the government is bailing them out. If I get greedy and drive my small business into the ground, do I get a bailout? @#$% no! The bailout is just replacing what the rich lost. Let em feel what it is like to lose money and struggle to make a mortgage payment on a house that is worth less than what you paid for it!! Sorry for the rambling, I could go on and on!

If the cap on executive compensation is linked to the receipt of bailout dollars, then a company should opt not to receive the bailout money and search for another solution to their problems like practicing smart, responsible financial management. Then when an executive guides their company into profits, he/she could be properly rewarded w/o government interference.

I was just at a dinner party where everyone was so excited that Obama is taking on the compensation issue but had no idea about the other, much larger, issues relating to this financial meltdown. It's what the news reports, it makes people feel better but it is such a small part of the problem. I guess ignorance is bliss - but for how much longer? When people depend on the network news for their information, they are only going to know what they are told and, unfortunately, 99% of the people fall into this group. Everyone wants to complain about the compensation at these banks but I am yet to see one person move their accounts to other institutions.

I think it's a slippery slope to have the government determine compensation of any sort. On the other hand, it's also madness to have the taxpayers bailout a failed business and have the same executives rewarded for either their poor judgement or knowing misconduct.