Not too long ago Barney Frank suggested that rules limiting pay for financial companies should be applied to all financial companies regardless of whether or not they received government funds. If this passes, Congress will greatly expand their control over corporate America. I also seriously question the Constitutionality of this.
How far is Congress going to take controlling salaries at private companies? First they will cut the executive pay, then they move to limit the pay of all employees of financial firms. Next, all of the talented employees leave to other sectors where they can obtain a salary worthy of their talents. Congress will then have to dictate the salaries for all companies so everyone is on equal standing. Talent will no longer be a factor because Congress will have enforce limits on promotions and changing jobs to prevent a lack of employees in each sector. Think of this in terms of raising the starting pay to get more people to work in a certain field like medicine.
Does all of this sound familiar? It sounds a lot like Communism to me where the government dictates which industries are viable and the ones that are not.
I am disregarding the comment below. I based it on a coversation with a co-worker and someone pointed out that it is inaccurate. My appologies.
China and the good, old Soviet Union comes to mind where the government dictates the career and field of study for every person. They mandate where you will work. It sounds to me like our country is moving towards Communism.
This scares the heck out of me. I work for a financial institution who did not take any of the bailout money. I fear Congress is going to tell me I am overpaid and have to take a pay cut. If I am forced to cut my salary, is Congress also going to bail me out when I can no longer pay my mortgage and other bills? Are they going to tell me that I cannot receive a bonus each year even when my company posts exceptional results year over year?
Congress is on a power trip that is going too far. The Constitution no longer has merit. They are rewriting our rights almost every week. Before you know it, we will all get our paychecks signed by Barney Frank.
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4 years ago
To be honest I'm not even sure if they DO mandate where you work in China. I could be wrong, but when I briefly lived there, I didn't observe any sign of anybody being "forced" into certain career paths - no more than they do in the West.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem quite fair that Congress may attempt to force your institution's employees to cut their salaries when your institution did not accept any of the bailout money. But could this simply be a move to appease the populace? And moreover, could it work? The government in the UK are attempting to force the employees of financial institutions who HAVE been bailed out to freeze pay and cut bonuses, and have failed spectacularly in doing so. The media are up in arms about. Finance workers, particularly in banks, aren't too popular with anyone right now and I can't help wondering how much of the attempt at enforced pay/bonus reductions has been done simply to curry favour with voters. But maybe I'm a cynic :-)
Thanks for the China clarification. I was going off a conversation with one of my friends from China. I will do a little more research and update the blog.
ReplyDelete