The contrast is jarring. As thousands of Americans lose their jobs, headlines are focused on excessive executive compensation and lavish perks -- John Thain's $1.2 million redo of his executive suite at Merrill Lynch (since repaid), Citigroup's plan to buy a new corporate jet (since scrapped), and recent subpoenas to claw back bonuses handed out at Merrill Lynch.
"It is shameful," President Obama said in the end of January in reaction to a report that New York financial executives took in $18.4 billion in bonuses while the banking system was receiving billions in a taxpayer-funded bailout. The people on Wall Street "who are asking for help [need] to show some restraint, discipline and ... sense of responsibility," Obama stated. Separately, vice president Joseph Biden offered his take: "I'd like to throw these guys in the brig."
No one has been locked up, but on February 4, the president announced a set of executive compensation limits aimed mainly at firms that are the recipients of federal aid under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). The rules place a $500,000 cap on salaries. Any additional compensation will have to be in the form of restricted stock grants that will not vest until after taxpayers are repaid.
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