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I have to disagree with just about everyone here. The companies getting substantial taxpayer money have a choice. Take taxpayer money with strings attached or go chapter 7 and out of existence.

The CEO’s in charge of these upside down companies were at the helm when these companies went down the tubes, why compensate them with millions and bonuses? For performance?

The first group of companies took a net loss of 23 billion in 2008 and handed out 26 billion in TAXPAYER funded bonues...this is complete insanity.

So what we have is privatized profits and socialized losses...at OUR expense. And people here are bitching about compensation caps? If we are going to socialize Wall Street losses with taxpayer money then by God we will temporarily socialize the gains and compensation so long as taxpayer funds are holding major stakes in these corporations. Quasi-socialization of the gains and restrictions and strings attached is how we get OUR tax dollars back!

Once they become solvent and profitable again, they can go back to privatizing gains and compensation. The alternative is to go belly up and let the whole corporation crumble in to nothing. These companies aren’t being forced to do a damn thing, they have a choice, they can go belly up into bankruptcy court anytime they choose or work with us and our conditions.

The cap is absolutely appropriate since they are temporarily government entities and should take caps in pay like government managers, directors and politicians have. Let them earn their way out of needing bailout money and thus earn the right to have the cap removed when they pay back the government funds or divest government investments.

Lastly, the slippery slope paranoia is simply alarmist and ignorant. These are quasi-governmental institutions we are talking about here and thus it is appropriate for the taxpayer investments to be protected by handing out money with serious conditions, this is OUR money!

Why bitch about protection of OUR money? This is what made Paulson such a flop, just doled out our cash to Wall Street with zero conditions and they spent it on themselves, not to get the credit markets moving again, but on themselves.

I agree with you except I'd go even further. I would demand the resignation of all management that created the need for the bailout, they proved they are incompetent managers. Venture capitalists often put all kinds of conditions on companies they are investing in, especially the more risky ones. The companies needing the bailout are beyond risky, they are bankrupt. Those who save these companies by huge influxes of cash should have their own management team in place and should call the shots. I'm personally against all of these bailouts but if I am required to have mine, my children's and grandchildren's future “mortgaged” to bailout these poorly run companies, I want a say in how they're run.

I agree....

Since they are getting OUR TAX DOLLARS....the CEOs should be held accountable.

The Business Socialist mentality of letting these guys get overpaid for failure is total nutso. Their overpayment to begin with is one reason why these companies are tanking

Even if they remained in the private sector....executive overcompensation is bad....it means stockholders (who truly own a public company) are getting less of a dividend.

And...never buy the “we need to pay for top talent” argument. There are fewer plum executive positions than the number of talented people able to fill those.

Funny how people go nutso over a welfare queen getting a government check....but give a failed CEO a pass when he/she receives, basicallly, a government check

Take taxpayer money with strings attached or go chapter 7 and out of existence. Does that include the Banks that were locked in a room and forced to take the original bailout money when they did not want it?

First, I am against bailouts period but this is s slippery slope we do not want to go down. What we have here is the 2nd stage of the commies in charge nationalizing business. The first stage was the bailout.

Soon they will want to cap the salaries of private company execs because the company is in a particular tax bracket or simply because the government demands it, because, after all, government allows a business to exist as a corporation.

This salary BS is a Red Herring to keep us sheep occupied while they stick it in our a$$e$.

Don't fall for it. The Federal Government IS the problem, not the solution.