February 4, 2009
U.S. Plans to Curb Executive Pay for Bailout Recipients
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS and VIKAS BAJAJ
NY Times


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is expected to impose a cap of
$500,000 for top executives at companies that receive large amounts of
bailout money, according to people familiar with the plan.

Executives would also be prohibited from receiving any bonuses above
their base pay, except for normal stock dividends.

President Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plan to
announce the executive compensation plan on Wednesday morning at the
White House.

The new rules would be far tougher than any restrictions imposed during
the Bush administration, and they could force executives to accept deep
reductions in their current pay. They come amid rising public fury about
huge pay packages for executives at financial companies being propped up
by federal tax dollars.

Executives at companies that have already received money from the
Treasury Department would not have to make any changes. But analysts and
administration officials are bracing for a huge wave of new losses,
largely because of the deepening recession, and many companies that have
already received federal money may well be coming back.

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$500,000 a year is more than the assholes running failed companies deserve.