The president has a huge job in front of him in cleaning up the economic mess.  I’m not sure I agree with the government establishing salary caps for CEOs of private corporations, but I do think that corporations receiving welfare cannot continue business as usual.

Companies that are on the dole are no longer responsible just unto themselves, but also to the American taxpayers.  I think that a cap of $500,000 is quite fair for welfare recipients.  Once they pay back the bailout, then they can once again rake in lavish salaries.

http://wonkette.com/404602/aig-using-taxpayers-150-billion-to-annoy-comedy-blog

I say No, No, NO to bailing them out. By them I mean the CEOs and other top executives. Unfortunately, any failure of GM, Ford or Chrysler will NOT have much effect on the company execs making millions of dollars a year, but will devastate the men and women who actually do the work. I think I would be OK if I ost my job went this year If I brought in 28 million dollars last year.

In fact, they will probably lay off thousands of workers and garner a bonus for themselves. Even if they get ‘fired’, they still leave with huge severence packages. That’s the gig to have. Be a CEO for a major company and screw up. You still walk away with more than most people make in a lifetime.

So, in order for about 3 million people to remain employed, my bailout plan would stipulate the companies adhere to strict policies before getting any help:

1. Reducing the salaries of the CEO and Executives to no more than twice the highest salary of any non-executive employee.  Including stock options and any other benefits.

2. Require the liquidation of any assets not directly used in the manufacturing and shipping of the product.  This means selling off the fleet of airplanes and any other extra perk.  Even flying first class would have saved about $19,000 on the round trip to Washington.

3. Require a top-level restructuring plan be approved by Congress.  Cut redundant executive positions first.

4. Require a detailed accounting of how any bailout money would be spent.

5. Require a payback term of no more than 10 years.

There are a lot of sanctions we could and should put upon any company requesting public funds to save their ass.  It was mis-management that got them into this in the first place.  I don’t hear American-based foreign automakers whining.

Post your ideas to comments.

Middle-class Americans are having financial problems, too, but there is no bailout for us. We are being told to tighten our purse strings, eliminate extras, review our budgets, etc. If a family has 4 cars, well sell two. If we have satellite or cable TV, well maybe we should cancel those for a while. Cut back on cell phone plans. If you want government assistance, you must first liquidate any extras you have.

We need to hold the corporations who are coming to Congress with their hands out to the same standards. Companies should be forced to liquidate all non-essential perks, like a fleet of jet airplanes, cut administrative salaries and do all they can to trim up the top fat before coming with their hands out. Start cutting at the top. Ford CEO’s salary of $28 million can be cut drastically and he would still live better than most of us. Sell off the fleet of airplanes. That will recoup a couple hundred million dollars, as well as losing the insurance, maintenance, etc. that goes along with owning airplanes.

The foreign automakers in America are not asking for money. If they can do it, then why can’t we Americans do it better?

The time for corporate greed and waste is over. If your corporation is going to come begging for money, you better damn well have used up what you have and trimmed where you can.

I, for one, am tired of them taking my hard-earned money and then telling me that they will do what they damn well please with it.  Company officials say that they will recoup much of the cost from product sponsors, so they apparently have a solid revenue stream.  If they can afford to waste $343,000 on a conference, they can afford to pick themselves up out of debt without any help from the taxpayers.  Wanton spending is one way they got themselves into this mess, they need to do what other Americans are doing and cutting back on everything.

The execs say that things like this are necessary for their business, maybe so.  But in hard economic times, we have to change some things around.  A meeting can be held anywhere there is a room large enough, and I’m thinking there are plenty of conference rooms at AIG’s headquarters.  And, they should require that all the attendees actually attend the meeting, not work out at the spa while others attend meetings, as Art Tambaro, president of AIG’s Royal Alliance Associates allegedly did.

There are plenty of Americans who have over-extended themselves that would love a bailout of their own.  I wouldn’t mind an extra $100k to pay off all of my debt.  American families are having to do without new cars, new clothes, vacations, electronics, etc.  We are having to cut our budgets, change our lifestyles, and do without.  We are watching our retirement accounts driven into the ground.  We should ask no less of the companies coming to us with their hands out, begging.

It is time for the feds to cut AIG off – now.  No more bailout for AIG, or any other entity who is behaving as irresponsibly.  Cut them off and demand immediate restitution.  Cut them off and demand the resignation of their CEO and other top managers, without golden parachutes and bonus packages.  Bailing out this company is offensive to me and to Americans.  They are spitting in the faces of those they are begging from.

Cut them off, break them up, and sell them off.

Needless to say, I’ll be watching this one.

For more information, see the ABC news article.

Days after AIG received $85 billion from the Federal Reserve, AIG spent $440,000 entertaining executives. Now, they’ve paid $86,000 for a hunting trip in England just after they recieved another $37.8 billion in taxpayer funded loans. According to AIG execs, though, these trips were already planned months before any bailout or loans and therefore were necessary and allowable.

Big Deal. How many families have had to put their vacations on hold just to make the mortgage payment, put gas in the car and food on the table? How many of these families have seen the main breadwinner suddenly unemployed. I’m sure the mortgage company didn’t say “Go ahead and take your vacation. By the way, here’s a loan to help you fuel your car and buy groceries, use it in Hawaii. Pay it back when and if you can.”

This is just another example of how these huge companies are laughing at Main Street America.

Maybe a different kind of retreat is in order. I’m thinking a bit of time as guests of the federal or New York penal systems may help out. I understand they have an excellent fitness program as well as massages (if you find the right roommate).

An interesting Fox News article can be read at Fox News.