Go, Claire McCaskill: Cap the pay of Wall Street’s ‘idiots’
Claire McCaskillBy Yael T. Abouhalkah, Kansas City Star Editorial Page columnist
Go, Claire, go.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill today got national attention for ripping into Wall Street executives and their excessive bonuses.
“We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer. They don’t get it… You can’t use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses.”
Then she backed up her tough talk with a proposed law.
She wants to limit compensation given out by any companies that accept U.S. bailout funds.
The limit would be the president’s current salary; Barack Obama makes $400,000 a year.
Sen McCaskill has certainly hit a nerve with her rant about ceos pocketing tax payer money for their own personal gain, while millions of workers are fired from their jobs. She is right to seek limits on their compensation, tying their pay to that of the president. What about here in massachusetts? Big humnan service vendors from massachusetts will be up at the state house this week asking for a share of the federal stimulus package. As you can see from there current pay:
Behavioral Health Network: Katherine B. Wilson, $173,102
Vinfen: Gary Lamson, $375,103
Riverside Community: Scott Bock, $194,400
Advocates: Wm. J. Taylor, $243,926
Justice Resource Institute: Andrew Pond, $243,866
Bay Cove: Stan Connors, $201,539
American Training: Thomas Connors, $143,472
North Shore ARC: Gerard McCarthy, $155,657
These ceos already make more then the gov. of massachusetts. Should we insist that if they get any of the federal bailout money, they should limit their pay to that of the gov?
While these CEOs you cite aren’t exactly living in poverty neither are they making anywhere near the obscene amounts that the Wall Street executives are. I hope they don’t get a raise anytime soon, but neither am I going to insist that they take a cut (though I suppose it would be a nice gesture).
Those salaries are on par with your corporate vice president. The real bandits are making three to four times that plus bonus. Look at United Health Care’s Bill McGuire for example.
MA is one of only four states to not have a governor’s mansion. Why not drop a little scratch on a Beacon Hill condo? You might say that money’s tight now, and you’d be right — but real estate prices are low and so are interest rates.
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p>How bout it? A few mil for a Beacon Hill condo? Maybe right next to JFKerry’s digs?
…I believe MA does technically have a Governor’s Mansion, though it has not been used. I seem to recall this coming up when Jane Swift was acting Governor since she lived in North Adams. There’s a property in Milton bequeathed to the Commonwealth for that purpose, but the General Court would have to authorize its usage and otherwise get it set up.
Sell that and get something that doesn’t require the Red Line extension…
even if that’s true, it doesn’t really qualify as a “mansion.” More like a “Governor’s tract of land.”
It would probably be big enough, and has a nice view:
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p>After the current tenant gets evicted by an enraged Congress.
but she’s got
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There is a mansion on the property.
I’m going to need a link. If we do have a house in Milton, I don’t think it can be used as a Governor’s mansion without legislation authorizing it. I almost think you could be a little confused, because the current governor has a home in Milton. However, that home is his, not the state’s.
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p>On the topic of a Governor’s estate: I don’t like the idea of a mansion, but a Governor’s condo sounds about right (I’m thinking 2 baths/3 bedrooms). The fact is that while our state is small in size, it’s too large to expect any prospective governor from Western Mass or the South Coast to travel to the state house every day. I’d rather a governor with an hour+ commute to live closer and spend that hour on issues that are important to Massachusetts, instead of trapped in a car (and, yes, I get that they can use a phone in the car, especially since they have a driver, but there’s only so much you can do with a phone).
This was a single newspaper article a few years ago, so I have no link to it, just something I remember. I realize Deval Patrick happens to live in Milton, but that is just coincidence. The article was definitely written in the context of Jane Swift coming from the Berkshires, and I’m pretty sure Milton was identified as the location of this property. I believe you are correct about the legislature needing to authorize it and since they haven’t we don’t use it.
Deval’s family wouldn’t have to move that far.
I saw that speech on TV and it was great. She showed she’s got more gonads than her colleagues. I don’t know about Mass. non-profits but as far as the Wall Street and banking greedheads are concerned, she’s got it pegged.
Let’s have the General Court set the pay of ALL folks working for any MA organization receiving tax dollars in their budget. That means you, humanservicer (unless you work for the state in which case you already dance to Beacon Hill’s tune.)
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p>If you make $35,000, well, that’s too much. How about $28,000?
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p>As a matter of fact, why not have the government set wages for everyone? We could save many taxpayer dollars.
for execs of companies who are getting multi-million (or billion!) dollar bailouts.
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p>If the Feds want to hand stomv Inc. $40 bil, they’re welcome to set my salary any way they like.
… called WWII. Of course the side effect was our crazy health care system, but it also created a very strong middle class that drove post-war prosperity for 30 years.
Wy should the VinFen head earn as much as 15-25 actual line providers of services?
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p>ALL of the pay of these Human Services CEOs comes from either tax dollars, or donations.
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p>When I make a donation, it is so that someone gets therapy, or housing; not so a CEO can earn six times as much as I do, or 15-20 times what an agency social worker does! Means I won’t be donating to any group where such a hefty share of funds goes to Execs. I don’t have money to flush like that.