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Bailout bonuses: Does the public have a right to know?
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Is it anybody’s business how much money you make?
When it comes to Wall Street and the meltdown that whacked financial markets and emptied investors’ pockets, the normal rules of etiquette don’t seem to apply.
Wall Street salaries seem to be everybody’s business lately. Nevertheless, the Obama administration’s pay czar may try to keep a large portion of the compensation plans he is reviewing under wraps.
It’s Kenneth Feinberg‘s job to review salaries at the biggest corporate recipients of government bailout funds.
How much of his report will become public is the multimillion dollar question.
Privacy laws and fears that highly compensated executives will become targets for an angry public argue for limiting disclosure.
“One of my clients makes $25 million a year and drives a Honda,” said Steven Eckhaus, of Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP. “He tries to lead a fairly modest life and he would be horrified if what he makes appeared in the paper. Not only would his neighbors know, but his kids would know, and it would affect his ability to raise his kids. These are people, not a circus sideshow.”
Congressman Alan Grayson told Reuters he is unsympathetic to that argument.
“If this is the same top talent that caused their firms to be destroyed and put the entire U.S. economy at risk, I wish they would leave the firms and leave the country,” he said.
What’s your view?
Should top earners keep their privacy, or does the public have a right to know? Leave your opinion in the comment section below.
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If the people are working in a company that receives government bail out, it is fair to disclose their salary, since they are using the taxpayers’ money to rescue the company, and also their own job. If one doesn’t want the public to know how much he earns, he can simply quit his job and go to a company that doesn’t receive government bail out.
Once the Federal Government bailed them out and they accepted Taxpayer money, they become accountable to the taxpayers. I work for a county government and anyone can to a local newspaper and see what I make. Not what my job title makes, what I make, by name.
If they received a bail out – publish the salaries!!!
I agree with Congressman Grayson. If we had to pay, we have the right to know for what we paid.
ITS HARD FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND HOW THESE GUYS THAT RUN THE COMPANY INTO THE GROUND(broke) CAN BE GETTING A HUGE BOUNS OR ANY BOUNS AT ALL.NORMALY GOOD WORK IS REWARDED NOT ABSOLUTE FAILURE
There is absolutely no justification for keeping these salaries and bonuses secret. They took the People’s money in bailouts, so the People have every right to know how their money is being spent.
Oh, whoa is me… I make $25 million a year and I don’t want anyone to know I’m cheap.
When the pay czar comes into play it’ll be a simple process: the best will walk across the street and get another job, and all the money the fed pumped into these companies will go down the toilet because of the pay czar driving out the talent.A for profit business can occasionally incur losses, sometimes horrible losses. One should put money on a horse and then shoot it.
I do not feel it is the publics right to know anyones salary unless they have received bailout money or were a direct part of the economic collapse. That puts a whole new spin on things and then I would say yes, I feel they are accountable and we should know what heppens to the money we gave them.
If the government could re-assure me that the tax dollars have been spent wisely, i do not care. A suggestion would be to share the data after anonymising it and just mentioning their role.
They caused the problem, it is our money. We should know how much is given and to whom.If they can not stand the heat, then leave the country.
I’m sorry but if you got a bailout bonus of any amount, I deserve to know and maybe the reason you got it should be public as well. I don’t care how much they make only if they got a bonus. No excuse will do if you got a bonus from the taxpayers bailout.
YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!!!!!
my time energy blood sweet and tears are expended for income with which i must pay tax. yes i have aright to know how my life energy is being spent .
If the $25 million dollar man is so horrified that he makes so much maybe he should return it to the employees that don’t make enough.
Frankly I dont care what these clowns make, but because right now, NOBODY is worth 25 million a year in salary.(justify a person who builds roads that we all use, and some preppy that made a sale worth millions, whats really more valuable?) And these 1 percenters ar resposible for a much larger picture of failure, the salaries they make need to be watched and justified just like the rest of us. You make 25 million a year but want to be a “regular guy” then expect to be reviewed like us regular guys.
For any public company, or one that in the case of banks and lenders where they accept my deposit as an investment into the banks assets where they create loans and take risks based off the increased securities, Absolutely their salaries should be public knowledge. Checks and balances. If I’m getting charged outrageous fees for their services, just to find out their CEO makes more than the profit based off those fees, then they are going to have to tell me as an account/shareholder. They make as much as they can get away with, not how much they earn. And since they make the rules, how else are they to be judged then by a “pay czar” since the general public cares not, or does not understand the workings of the banks and institutions at hand.
They lost their privacy when they took government money.
The second they took tax payer money, was the second they lost all rights to privacy on how that money was spent, directly, or indirectly within those institutions.
How about the right to deny any bonuses for companies receiving stimulas monies! The corruption has gone way too far! Everyone should stop paying taxes until the PEOPLE regain the power. NOT THE BIG BUSINESSES!!!!!!
Anyone who makes $25 million a year IS a circus sideshow in comparison to most people. If it’s a publicly traded company, then full disclosure is required; if not, then it is private information. However, for those companies using taxpayer – OUR – bailout money, then the public has every right to know how much they are being compensated. We want to know how they are spending the bailout because Wall Street has already proven to be undeserving of public trust by completely failing any effort at self-governing themselves.
Emotionally, many people will want this info within the context of Wall St and bailout money. However, I am always concerned with that kind of power being yielded by the government over our personal lives. Once we are comfortable with having compensation made public we should expect that someday our financial life can be made public as well. I highly doubt people with low incomes want that made public either for their friends, family, and neighbors to know.
If you voted for McCain or Obama (which apparently represents a huge majority of Americans), you are a complete fool if you are outraged by executive pay. For these businesses, excessive compensation is business as usual, the exact thing that McCain and Obama said we had to preserve in the late fall of last year. They made it clear whose side they were on… if you voted for them, you also voted for these big paychecks. So please be quiet.
Yes they should have this made public. I was widowed an my husband took care of buying and selling of stocks and I lost GM,two more companies and one bank
hell it is our money that they used to rebuild with and not one of them paid for with prison terms. we need to know who is the making what and why
The pulblic has access to the pay levelof our servicemen from Private to President.If any private business receives public money,then the public should be given the total accountingrecords from custodian to CEO. When they took public dollars they should have been informed that their corporate pay records would be made public.The taxpayers have a right to know how our tax dollars are being spent. The circus is in the oversight and controls by our government. Who is in charge?
If American taxpayers bailed them out, making us collectively their employers, we have the right to know how much we’re paying them.
As a taxpayer and unwilling investor in the Wall Street bail-out,damned right I want to know. I agree with Congressman Grayson’s position; if these are the same people who put us in this position, I don’t want to see them get anything. And as far as the guy making $25 million being horrified – TOUGH! I fail to see what burden the publicity would place upon his ability to raise his children: if he sees his income as a corrupting influence, give it up. Sound more like he has something to hide.
I lost my job at the biggest Pharma company in the world so that they can spare some change (60 billion) to acquire another big pharma company. Without income I cannot pay taxes, and I’m not alone.Things have to change… my hope is with California so that the Pfizer acquisition of W. fails!
It was their Greed that caused Wall Street Melt down. Yes I certainly believe the public needs to be informed of their compensations and bonuses. I have no sympathy for them at all.
It’s wrong on multiple levels. Congressman Grayson assumes that just because people make good money means they are personally responsible for the economy tanking. By that logic, Bill Gates should be thrown under the bus.I would submit that it would be more relevant to post the salaries of government officials and their staff. And not just current salary, but their revenue over the past 10-years. There are MANY in government (either elected, or appointed, or staff, or FAMILY) who have questionable ties to private industry. These are the people who shape public policy (or have direct influence). We’ve seen over the years that spouses have ties to companies that seem to benefit from legislation/regulation. Axelrod is owed 2 million from a company that just received about 11 million to produce adds for the Obama Administration. We all have questions about Cheney and Haliburton.It’s the people’s responsibility to monitor those who have been elected. And we can’t be so foolish as to think that it’s just the ‘other party’. We need to be hawks on our own parties as well.As for wall street, I’d like to see their compensation package subject to a larger body of their shareholders. Let those who have their own money invested in a company have at least a bit of say in what the execs make. That would be far more compelling and would likely keep them a bit more honest.PEACE
What a joke. Hey, I would have no problem paying a few million in fines when I got caught if I had already received billions. Wake up people.
These people ARE a circus sideshow. If you can wreak havoc on the US economy,like politicians, then you should be under the same scrutiny. If you are trusted withthe funds of American citizens, then you should be held accountable for the safety and security of those funds. Physicians are responsible for the health of American citizens,and if they violate standard protocol, they can face jail time and the loss of their license to practice.Same, same for these thieves.
while i think how much a person earns should be commensurate with his/her quality and justified by the amount of time and effort they put into their work, it is not wrong if the public have a knowledge of it especially in the world we live in now. so much scrutiny and even possible investigation should be directed to those who make so much while the institution they work for is experiencing a decline in fortune. in fact i consider it a moral obligation for someone to declare such things as how much he earns if he’s not a fraudster.
The public has a right to know. I do not believe these high salaries are based on the talent of the individual. I think these high salaries are given as incentive to promote an investment industry that works against most investors. I will not invest on Wall Street until regulations are put back in place that protect the average investor.
If govt can’t get these companies to open their books they’re not worthy of getting our hard earned tax dollars that they dole out to these high paid ‘experts’!
Once those companies accepted public help, they surrendered their privacy. The public has a right to know how the money is used, and that absolutely includes the obscene salaries. Of course they want to conceal the fact that they make a hundred times more dollars annually than the average taxpayer who was forced to help them.
When these companies are laying off the people who showed up, suited up and did their jobs, but continuing to pay millions of dollars to those at the top who didn’t do anything right – there is a public right to know. When these companies became national resources which serve our common good or have no purpose at all, the right to know shifted into the public domain. And, when they sold stocks to the public and into pension funds that are funded by the public – their right to privacy dissolved. It is the right of the public to know how much these executives are being paid and the sneaky ways they are getting money, perks, bonuses, pensions, paid insurance, cars, airplanes, homes, stocks, stock dividends, golf club memberships, favorable terms on loans and margin calls, etc., etc., etc.- cricketdiane, 08-24-09It is also the public’s right to know the stupid, short-sighted and greed-based unconscionable decisions they made which drove these companies into the ground, endangered the public and altered the future for all of us.
Absolutely, the compensation of every single employee of any company that received tax payer money should be made public!
ABSOLUTELY! The position and salary should be published for any company receiving public money. If there are bonuses paid the name of the individual and the amount received should be a matter of public record and published. They have become public employees and their salaries should become part of the public record.
Frederick Greenawalt says “If any private business receives public money, then the public should be given the total accounting records from custodian to CEO.”So… anyone who has received a personal bailout (unemployment, food stamps…) should also be made public, right?If they have been charged with a crime, I’m all for it. But if not, it should be private. But again, I would submit that their should be compensation boards within larger companies that consist of investors and staff reps. Some of these compensations packages are totally insane and should be regulated (from within).Most people work for companies that receive public funding (directly or indirectly)… so be careful what you wish for. Defense contractors? Hospitals? University? Researchers? Any company that has accepted stimulus money? Make all of their employee’s salaries public?Baseball receives special anti-trust exemptions. Should we have a say in how much they make? Mariano Rivera makes about $100k for each out (about $300/inning). Maybe we should get some of that back?Where does it end. Can’t be reactionary. There are idiots for sure. But maybe they are just extremely good at what they do (e.g. Bill Gates).Lizzy Bulman says “Yes they should have this made public. I was widowed an my husband took care of buying and selling of stocks and I lost GM,two more companies and one bank”Well, actually you lost GM because the President decided that the government could FORCE you to see your stock for pennies on the dollar. You got screwed for sure and I feel bad about that. It was wrong.We need to be smart folks. We can find a way to solve these problems without being vigilantes.PEACE
I agree with the comment about first posting the accumulative/current salaries of all public officials first: from the inefficient, rude woman at the DMV to the President and in particular those so called “representatives” in Congress and the Senate. Keep it public and keep it straightforward and simple.Then, it should be disclosed to affiliated owners and shareholders what the corporate executives make. Don’t blame the executives if you participated in a mortgage loan, Wall Street investment or are a shareholder. The owners of those corps – including stockholders – let it happen. We as a country buried ourselves in debt and caused this mess. The accountability should come at the corporate level only and to the owners of those companies.This information can then be made public record if those companies receive any bail out funds or tax dollars of any sort. Until then, buyer-beware, and it’s none of the tax payers’ business who makes what in this country. Politicians are just as guilty of perpetuating this mess because they are the ones that got duped into falling for the bail-out requests and are siphoning our tax dollars around. If I’m going to ax an exec for mismanaging a company, why the hell would i NOT ax a politician for mismanaging their damn budgets and decision making..????
Definitely yes. Public companies as the name suggests belong to public. Every share-holder is entitled not only to know, but have a say in CEO’s salaries and compensations. I believe that their pay is currently determined only by who they know not what they do or even can do. I am really fed-up by not seeing any reform on this. The index number (average CEO pay divided by the lowest paid worker) has risen by thousands since 25 years ago. And then we are wondering why the moral of the workforce is going down the …
If these firms recieved bail-out money, it is in the public interest to know what bonuses are being paid out. These firms caused the crisis and the sharp eyes of scrutiny should be upon them.
Yes. Full disclosure of pay must be available to the public for companies receiving bailout money and who owe that money back to the public. Bailouts amount to partial nationalization, like it or not, so the Freedom of Information Act should be made to apply. Let’s keep ‘em on a short leash at least until all their bailout monies have been repaid.
All income should be public. The highest paid to the lowest. Along with how much income tax was paid and charitable donations. And while we’re at it, what their credit limit and debt load is. Seriously though, without knowing what people did, how can you judge what they are worth?
Absolutely not. The salaries of the top earners should remain private because they are the leading lights in our system of democratic capitalism. It is the system upon which the US is founded upon, and what we uphold to the rest of the world as the ideal economic and political system. The financial institutions that received government aid have been at the vanguard of perpetuating our capitalist values, and all the government did was to support them in their time of need. It is their right under our cherished system to earn huge profits and distribute the wealth to its top executives and shareholders in any way that they see fit.It is to safeguard this right that our children, largely from inner-city neighborhoods and middle-income families, are sacrificing their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. To ask that the salaries of the beacons of the capitalist system be revealed to the public would be to undermine our values and belief in our economic system. Worst of all, it would be the greatest disservice to our troops who are valiantly waging a war to defend it.
If people really want them to release the info, simply boycott their companies until they do release it. There is no need for some government official to step in and use unconstitutional force in the matter.
If public funds were used to pay them then the public should already know. I hope everyone remembers these things when it comes time to vote. Hopefully we’ll have an American or two in office soon.
Some basic math to consider……..No disclosure = no accountability.No accountability = more pay.Company mismanaged to near bankruptcy = more pay.Company well managed = more pay.More pay = no incentive to improve the company.More pay = Directors not working for investors.No accountability to investors = more pay.Oh, and lets not forget more pay for the government incompetents mismanaging the mismanagement…. what a mess. BETTER STILL – publish executive management agreements on-line for the world to see. Accountability is LONG overdue.