The Corker Doctrine --- In Action!

Even Barack Obama has been influenced by the Corker Doctrine.  The Corker Doctrine is the doctrine named after Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) which mandates a pay ceiling to workers at troubled companies.  It is not just for autoworkers.

The Corker Doctine is catching on!

Headline of the Day: U.S. Plans $500,000 Cap on Executive Pay in Bailouts:

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.

[...]

The banks that have received bailout funds already are subject to limits on compensation, but the Bush administration intentionally left them lax. The top five executives at banks that get an equity infusion from the government are restricted from offering golden parachutes, as rich severance packages are called, and any compensation above $500,000 is not tax deductible to the company.

Companies that received emergency money, like Citigroup, faced somewhat tougher restrictions, including a requirement to reduce the bonus pool for the top 50 executives by 40 percent. But even those restrictions come nowhere near the $500,000 cap.

In a letter to Congress last month, Lawrence H. Summers, director of Mr. Obama’s National Economic Council, suggested that the new pay restrictions would apply to all companies that get Federal help.

I would have thought it would have been Senator Bob Corker to lead the charge to protect the Peoples’ Pocket books by capping pay. Instead he has been strangely silent.  Speak softly but carry a big stick, I guess is the motto when you have the Corker Doctrine at your side.  

Senator Corker still has time to steer the McCaskill sponsored $400,000 executive comp cap through the Senate banking committee and can there be any doubt that he will?