Posted on 02/01/2007 10:42:36 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
President Bush yesterday said there is a growing "income inequality" gap between rich and poor Americans, and told companies they should rethink the giant compensation packages they offer top executives.
The markedly populist message, a divergence from the past, in which Mr. Bush has accused critics of practicing class warfare, was all the more noteworthy given his venue -- a speech at Federal Hall in New York, in the middle of Wall Street, the capital of capitalism.
But the president called for conservative market-based answers, including demanding that Congress renew trade-promotion authority, which allows him to negotiate trade agreements then present them to Congress in a take-it-or-leave-it fashion.
Mr. Bush said he expects a bruising debate before his current trade-promotion authority expires July 1.
"Bashing trade can make for good sound bites on the evening news," Mr. Bush said. "But walling off America from world trade would be a disaster for our economy. Congress needs to reject protectionism."
In what was billed as his update on the state of the U.S. economy, Mr. Bush took credit for the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, promised to submit a budget next week that eliminates the deficit in 2012, and asked Congress to give him a version of line-item veto authority.
"When people across the world look at America's economy, what they see is low inflation, low unemployment and the fastest growth of any major industrialized nation," he said. "There is one undisputed leader in the world in terms of economy, and that's the United States of America."
But Democrats said Mr. Bush's rosy picture of the overall economy was out of focus.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Do you really believe that, or are you simply finding a (really strained) way to support the President?
Sorry, but nobody on the face of the planet will say (or feel, or believe), "Well, I was only going to put $30,000 into the market, but since Pres. Bush said there's an income gap, I'll go to $40,000, because I think that America's leaders are now being more honest about trends that any child could predict."
It has nothing to do with "hating". President Bush is making a poor decision by repeating the Left's hyperbole and thus giving it even more credence by running it through his office to the MSM.
That would get their attention, if nothing else!
"Some CEOs get paid waaaaay too much, even if they do bad work.
I agree. However, this is a problem for the companie's Board of Directors, not the Federal Government."
Not really true.
We live in a democracy.
Congress has the power to impose taxes, high taxes on high incomes, and it has shown itself more than willing to do so in the past.
If the top tier get too far out in front of everybody else and start looking like feudal lords - especially when lots of other people are not feeling very secure about their own futures, the pressure starts to well up from below to forcibly redistribute using the tax code.
There's no point bleeding out the eyes over the morality or immorality of that all - it's our system, and we've been through cycles of it.
Bush is REMINDING these top execs of that. Republicans no longer control Congress. They cannot PROTECT the upper end. So, the executive suite and the boardroom will either police themselves and self-impose limits on huge executive pay packages OR they won't, and people will get madder and madder, and Congress will impose high top-end taxes that deplete those high pay packages in a hurry. Congress doesn't even really need to DO anything - it can just let the current tax cuts expire (and the President can't veto THAT).
So, Bush is giving them a friendly warning. HE'S not going to raise their taxes, and raising taxes would probably not be good for the overall growth of the economy. BUT people are getting madder and madder, and Democrats have the majority. So, the CEO and Boards can either self-police and ratchet down the blowout pay packages, or they can expect the giraffes of government to start looking over the wall and messing around with their income streams, taking it in taxes, perhaps passing laws that grant new legal causes of action for "abusive" pay packages, etc.
Bush is doing these guys a favor. We still live in a Democracy, and the pro-business class Republicans are out of power. So, the business class can trim its sails a bit on its own, or it can continue under full sail and watch Congress - driven from the people - to hoist the Jolly Roger.
What isn't on the cards is CEO packages continuing to zoom out of sight and Congress doing nothing. So, self-regulation or the IRS, pick your poison.
I never got any raises- I was thinkin more of the bigger companies I guess- some do have fairly ok benifits packages and bonuses & perks-
CHINA: "We are cleaning the clock of the so-called undisputed leader in the world in terms of economy". Hence, We are Number One .
Who are you and what have you done with Dubya?
Maybe he ought to be paying attention to the trade deficits, the collapsing dollar, the growing depletion...and co-option... of U.S. intellectual capital, and the massive and dangerous mountain of federal debt.
"But walling off America from world trade would be a disaster for our economy. Congress needs to reject protectionism."
But everyone else's walls are okay. Nothing to see there. Move along. Let's pretend China is not in full Trade War mode...and laughing at the appeasing weakness...and shameful cowardice... of this Administration...and the RATs it willfully ushered into power.
...you're right! The Government has the right to tell Bob Nardelli how much is enough. ~sarc-...
You are creating a straw-man argument. No one is saying that the Government should be involved with wage setting (minimum wage or CEO wage) - nor did President Bush.
A simple statement was made: 'Some CEOs are overpaid an awful lot for poor performance.'
Do you disagree?
You then proceed to describe Bob Nardelli's wonderful performance. That does not square with this excerpt from the link I included in my original reply (79):
'That's an odd reward for a CEO, considering the company stock price declined 8 percent during his tenure, while the stock for its big, bad competitor, Lowe's, the Journal reported, rose by 188 percent'.
As a shareholder I should hold the CEO responsible for the return on my investment. By that metric Mr. Nardelli gets a failing grade and I cannot fathom how he was awarded a $210 Million golden parachute?
Does that make me a Stalinist?
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
The man states a simple fact...and the Bushbashers jump on him.
Sometimes you can't win.
Shhh. The truth doesn't really matter to the haters.
He said nothing about the Federal Government doing anything.
It sure looks like it!
It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS what a CEO gets paid, unless you are a stockholder of that company.
Hey, I can't help it if the Washington Times has an AP mole on its staff. :-)
Hell, I didn't do anything with him. Howlin would kill me if I did. :-)
Hey, Prez-
HOW ABOUT CLOSING THE FREAKING BORDERS!!!!!
Regards, Ivan
"It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS what a CEO gets paid, unless you are a stockholder of that company."
Oh, really?
What about the employees of the company that have been getting screwed with low or no raises, cut benefits and pensions and layoffs while the CEO gets millions and profits are at an all time high?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the President commenting on the greed that has become pervasive over the last decade.
He has the bully pulpit and I commend him on taking some of these whore CEO's to task.
As far as it ony being the business of the shareholders and board of directors, that's absurd.
Everyone know the "good old boys" in the board are part of the problem as well as the institutional shareholders who are also many times chummy with the CEO.
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