Stimulus Package

I'm a news hound. Staying informed of current events is my obsession.

I'm not a political person. Until the 2004 election, I would have considered myself to be one of the most apolitical people you could ever encounter. I had never voted. However, I didn't like the way things were going with ol' W. in office so I registered to vote for the first time in my life and I still couldn't get off the fence - I registered independent. I didn't register so that I could vote FOR someone... I registered so I could vote AGAINST Bush. My logic was that if I didn't vote then I had effectively put my fate in the hands of millions of others and forfeited my voice. Basically, if I didn't vote, I couldn't bitch about the buffoon that was in office.

Maybe it was my age. Maybe I realized that after years of trying to stay as far away from politics and politicians as possible, I had a voice. Maybe it was my children - I want a better world for them when they reach my age than the one we're living in now. Whatever IT was - a light bulb went on in my head and I've been current on politics since.

I was reading this article on MSNBC's Web site this morning and I was furious.

I think the bailout/stimulus package is a necessary evil in our current economical situation. I think there have been some much needed stipulations added to this stimulus package. Corporate executives need caps on their pay until their company is solvent and profitable. I think this was a good move. The portion of the package that I have issue with is the bonuses given to corporate executives.

The current stimulus package that President Obama will most likely sign next week makes some concessions as far as bonuses are concerned. It limits bonuses to no more than one third of executives' annual compensation at institutions receiving government aid. The bonuses will be paid in company stock and cannot be redeemed until the government has been repaid. It's better than nothing, I suppose. In my humble opinion, it does not go far enough.

The taxpayers are bailing out these corporations because top executives performed poorly, made bad decisions and yet, still sat back collecting bonuses and large salaries. I make a decent living but with the price of everything going up, my pay doesn't go nearly as far as it once did. Who's going to bail me out?

I think that no bonuses should be awarded until the government has been repaid.

Lobbyists are whining about this particular caveat in the stimulus package. Scott Talbott, the chief lobbyist for the nation's largest financial services firm, stated that, "This is a big deal. This is a problem. It undermines the current incentive structure." (from the article) Maybe the current incentive structure is what undermined the financial institutions in the first place. Until you've repaid the government and the taxpayers - maybe doing your job and getting your company financially solvent should be incentive enough. Just a thought.

I realize some financial institutions will lose top execs because of these limits but truly, did they perform well enough to warrant this worry? Are you not receiving government funding to keep your business afloat? What are you really losing if you lose one of these people? Let's face it - their track records aren't exactly spotless.

President Obama has a tough road ahead of him. The Bush administration left quite a mess for someone else to clean up. I realize President Obama had to get something in place quickly and this was a good first step. I just wish it had gone further.