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The New Wage Congrols (One more sign that the levelers are now in charge)
The Wall Street Journal ^ | June 12, 2009 | Editorial

Posted on 06/11/2009 8:53:30 PM PDT by St. Louis Conservative

The U.S. "market" economy took another hard-to-believe turn this week with the Obama Treasury appointing a "compensation czar" to dictate wage controls on private companies that take taxpayer money and offer guidelines for every other U.S. publicly traded company. Can wage and price controls for everyone be far behind?

The Treasury says that's not what it has in mind, but then much of what government has done in the past eight months would have been scoffed at even a year ago. Richard Nixon disavowed wage and price controls right up until the time he imposed them in 1971. The Obama Administration is hardly restrained as a matter of principle against such brute government force, and if prices start rising after our current Great Reflation, well, you read the warning here first.

What's amazing is how little stir the new maximum wage edicts have created. Part of this is because Washington has the business class intimidated, and part is because much of the public thinks bankers deserve the retribution. "The financial crisis had many significant causes," said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday, "but executive compensation practices were a contributing factor. Incentives for short-term gains overwhelmed the checks and balances meant to mitigate against the risk of excessive leverage."

Mr. Geithner has a point, but his analysis also neatly avoids Washington's own role in encouraging "the risk of excessive leverage." Wall Street's compensation model of big bonuses for big risks has been in place for decades. How do you think Robert Rubin and Jon Corzine made fortunes at Goldman Sachs in the 1980s and 1990s?

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: business; obama; payczar; wagecontrols

1 posted on 06/11/2009 8:53:30 PM PDT by St. Louis Conservative
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To: St. Louis Conservative

We’re screwed.


2 posted on 06/11/2009 9:05:41 PM PDT by DigitalVideoDude (It's amazing what you can accomplish when you don't care who gets the credit. -Ronald Reagan)
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To: St. Louis Conservative

Remember a few years ago when the crazyass, Commie Libtards thought President Bush was trying to take away all of their rights, freedoms and liberties with the Patriot Act? Weird how they aren’t whining and crying now. Their silence is deafening. I guess they figured out the really screwed up with their goofyass Obama gig and that there is NOTHING any of us can do about it now. We’re toast. Fascism is here to stay.


3 posted on 06/11/2009 9:06:51 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Barack Hussein Obama. Keeping the Communist dream alive.)
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To: St. Louis Conservative
The New Wage Congrols

Congress + control?

4 posted on 06/11/2009 9:08:08 PM PDT by ElectronVolt
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To: DigitalVideoDude

Under what authority does he do this?

Congress Critters are you asleep, are you still alive?


5 posted on 06/11/2009 9:10:47 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Once a Republic, Now a State, Still Texas)
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To: FlingWingFlyer
Commie Libtards thought President Bush was trying to take away all of their rights, freedoms and liberties with the Patriot Act?

I had a few people say that to me, and I shut them up by saying that my bank account, investment accounts, my expenses and my employer's records of me are all scrutinized by the IRS. No one has come at me with the Patriot Act yet. Funny how the liberals are OK with every form of government intrusion except those created by Republicans.

6 posted on 06/11/2009 9:11:30 PM PDT by ElectronVolt
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To: Texas Fossil

I’m hoping the Congress critters wake up REAL soon....but, I’m not REAL optimistic...


7 posted on 06/11/2009 9:42:55 PM PDT by goodnesswins
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To: goodnesswins

In Texas I see some signs of life.

We are being sold out.

Not just Obozo (Lying Kenyan Commie Traitor) but by others.

Texas will not be subjected, won’t happen.


8 posted on 06/11/2009 9:46:10 PM PDT by Texas Fossil (Once a Republic, Now a State, Still Texas)
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To: goodnesswins

I’m not really seeing a whole lot of life on Planet critter either. Do you see anything Chet? No, Chet doesn’t see any life either.

We’re screwed, is right. Wow. So screwed.


9 posted on 06/11/2009 9:49:21 PM PDT by 506Lake
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To: St. Louis Conservative

Tons of construction jobs use “Federal” money so does this mean Obama’s man can tell the construction companies what they can pay their office staff? They already force union scale to be paid to the field workers.

How about all sorts of other jobs where the feds have spread their tentacles. Quite the racquet - they take our money by force and then impose rules on us when they dole a little of it back to us.


10 posted on 06/11/2009 10:23:53 PM PDT by Aria ( "The US republic will endure until Congress discovers it can bribe the public with the people's $.")
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To: St. Louis Conservative

What about massive firings and wage reductions for overpaid, useless government employees?

Those payrolls could very easily be cut by 50% or more and nobody would notice a thing.

EVERYBODY is going to be getting a big wage cut once the Obama Hyperinflation kicks in.


11 posted on 06/12/2009 1:44:53 AM PDT by Bon mots
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