Comments on: Twentysomething: Obama's salary caps should cap hours too

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:59:24 +0000

The most apt comment till now, something I was on the verge of saying. Would the 'wounded capitalist' stand for his co. going into liquidation then, putting paid to all his 62-hour weeks?!

By: Deb

Deb — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:54:56 +0000

But Angie, while shareholder voting maybe a good idea, IMHO it circulates back to the origin of the whole thing. That the companies concerned decided on incentive-based pay, which incentivised the concerned executives to take more and more risks to maximise their incentives, which landed everyone in the current soup. So while co. shareholders can of course vote on the compensation of their executives, it has to do with the wider risk of the same companies having to access public funds later to prop themselves up. It's not contained within the co. any more.

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:11:59 +0000

Absolutely. These kids make a choice to sacrifice their life for the chance to become Gordon Gekko.. Don't think for a minute that they are not entirely aware of what they are signing up for.

By: وظائف خالية

وظائف خالية — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:43:17 +0000

I'm with you, Dale

Why we don't figure out a way to work smarter, instead of asking someone to do it for us?

Great Point!

By: Eileen

Eileen — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 22:50:27 +0000

If a bank is getting government bailout money, then the government can set conditions for receiving that bailout money. What's the problem?

By: Steward

Steward — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 16:25:19 +0000

Maybe we should be looking at the paycaps for executives this way:

Another bank swoops in and saves another bank from utter destruction. The saving bank doesn't like how the bank is run so they fire some crappy employees and cut what they feel like are bloated salaries. The general public sits back and applauds the shrewd management of the saving bank. They picked up some good assets (presumably) and get rid of some corporate fat.

But if we make the government the saving bank we cry like puppies about socialism and the end of America dream.

Banks failed because their employees failed. Bank employees should pay for their failure, not tax payers who bailed them out.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:47:44 +0000

Brandeis did say a lot about money, finance, and labor relations that apply today. He's a giant. I wish he were not so overlooked. There are a few excellent biographies including one that is coming up by Melvin Urofsky.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 20:44:42 +0000

Why are most people assuming that he's serious? He sounds sarcastic to me. Look at his word choice: the outdated american dream, nip capitalism in the bud. He's using the ridiculous idea of being forced to work fewer hours to put down obama's pay cap.

By: Todd Rhoad

Todd Rhoad — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:46:44 +0000

Capping hours per week is a great idea but it certainly won't happen. Companies won't stand for it. Think back a little. How many times in American History has government passed a law regarding the work week? Give up. ONE. Only one time have they addressed the issue. It was the creation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) in 1938. The gov't attempted to increase employment by forcing the regular work week to 40 hours. Companies didn't won't to do it but they were convinced they would get their money back (from the increase in labor cost) by flooding the market with products people don't need and convincing them they do.

If you reduce hours, be prepared to reduce your pay.

By: mbl

mbl — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:32:51 +0000

Brilliant article, thanks for sharing.