On Wednesday, President Barack Obama and Treasury Secretary Timothy “My Bad” Geithner will announce on behalf of Sen. Claire “They’re Idiots” McCaskill and a fed-up Main Street, U.S.A., that going forward, financial institutions receiving federal funds via the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) will be required to limit employee salaries to $500K.
The Buzz would have no problem pocketing the half-a-milli and keeping it moving—after all, it’s a 25% bump from Obama’s $400K annual salary, and he’s only the most powerful man in the world. But to hear Wall Street executives tell it, they’ll be feeling the pinch as a recession-weary America demands that they go easy on taking family vacations in taxpayer-subsidized corporate jets and brunches by the pool at Wynn comped by you and me. As B-Rad from Malibu might say, it’s like “when the public be all up on your private beach.”
Rep. Barney Frank had it right on Monday when he told MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann that banking executives need to tighten it up just like the rest of us, asking, “I mean, would they stop working Wednesdays if they didn’t get a bonus?” Amen.