Executive compensation plans come under fire
November 12, 2008 by Personal Liberty News Desk
Taxpayers and lawmakers alike remain dismayed by large compensation packages for executives, particularly in light of last month’s unpopular $700 billion economic bailout bill.
Representative Henry Waxman recently asked nine major banks that are set to receive a combined $125 billion in federal aid for information about employee and executive compensation from 2006 to 2008.
"While I understand the need to pay the salaries of employees, I question the appropriateness of depleting the capital that taxpayers just injected into the banks," wrote Waxman in a letter to Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis.
This week, Bloomberg also spoke with a number of taxpayers who remain outraged at some of the executive salaries that have made news in recent months, especially now that their money is being used to prop these companies up. For example, the report noted that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein had received a $67.9 million bonus in 2007, before this year’s economic crisis set in.
"Even really sober people are saying this is the worst financial crisis since the Depression and they’re saying bonuses are just going to be reduced? You read that and your jaw drops," Seattle resident Patrick Amo told the news organization. 
You can opt-out at any time. We protect your information like a mother hen. We will not sell or rent your email address to anyone for any reason.
