Originally posted on The Economic Populist
Earlier this week, the House Finance Committee supposedly wanted mark up on an executive compensation bill. Instead it was passed, pretty much intact. (See Say on Pay voted out of House Financial Services Committee).
The measure gives shareholders an annual vote on salary and bonuses for top executives at all public U.S. companies. The votes are non-binding, meaning companies can ignore them.
While the MSM cheered, Amitai Etzioni calls it what it is:
The bill does not limit any one's pay by one penny. It merely allows shareholders to vote on the matter. If and when they do -- the vote is not binding! That is, the corporations are free to pay their executives all they want, anyhow.
Meanwhile TARP recipients Citigroup gave $5.33 billion in executive bonuses and BoA gave $3.3 billion, respectively.
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