Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Obama finally gets two points on the board

It's the equivalent of what Wall Street used to call a poison pill. When an unwelcome suitor came calling, directors of the takeover target would quickly, and with great fanfare, stick into the corporation's bylaws a trigger that, upon receipt of a hostile bid, instantly made the company less valuable, and therefore less attractive.

After two weeks of stumbles, President Obama is showing some moxy.

His poison pill is a $500,000 annual salary cap for executives of any enterprise that seeks or accepts a bailout. Only the desperate will now apply. For many business executives in what used to be private enterprise, $500,000 is a good weekend, not a salary.

Yes, the salary cap is still another government intrusion in private commerce, but this one is justified. Who wants to see more tax revenue shoveled into the pockets of executives who have failed, but have suffered no consequences for failure?

Give Obama two points for stuffing the ungrateful big-shots in their own end zone.

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