Obama is preparing to set a salary cap of $500k for execs at companies that accept TARP funds (retroactive? if not, why not?) There is a lot of screaming (I'm looking at you, Joe Kernan!) that this will drive 'good' people out of the businesses.
My question is this: if they were so damned good, how did they get into this predicament? And exactly where will they go when they leave? There's not a huge boom in the financial services/investment/funds/banking biz these days.
If they want to make it work, they should (and probably won't) put in incentives, so that if the execs stick around for $500k, turn things around, and save the day, there's some payoff down the road (for rescuing the companies AND saving the taxpayers some money.
But, if they don't want to stick around whatever the setup, here's a suggestion for their exit package. A final check and a certificate that says 'Don't let the door hit ya!'
(cross posted at
Dragynsbreath)
