???In a move that seems designed to inject a little small business logic into Wall Street, President Barack Obama pledged Wednesday to limit the salaries that can be drawn by CEOs of companies receiving bailout money from the federal government.
???Under the new rules, CEOs will be unable to earn more than $500,000 a year in salary. In addition, they will be required to disclose executive compensation to shareholders, obtain board approval for non-essential purchases, and return their bonuses if they are found to have lied in their financial reports. In a satisfying turn the new rules also severely limit the size of the reviled "golden parachute."
???Every now and then it pays to recap events as they stand and take stock of certain facts. Whichever side one might have found themselves on in the past few months, the bailout was approved and Barack Obama won the presidency. History will judge these events one way or another; it is not time for that yet.
???In other words, however one feels about the bailout and the president, they are the tools that we have available. It is our responsibility to see them responsibly used.
???That being said, it is good to see some control being put in place over the companies that we are now all shareholders in. The Bush-era bailout is marred by AIG's mismanagement of billions of dollars, now so far gone we will probably never see that money again. It's important that Obama doesn't allow this to happen again.
???Obama's rules seem to speak to the average citizen's fears that the government will start writing checks to whomever asks. It's unlikely that a company will submit to the kind of controls that Obama is promising which, according to the White House, will be expanded on in a few days, unless they absolutely have to.
???Fears remain, of course, but this is a fearful time. There is no shame in admitting that, either. Our children will bear the yoke of this as much as we will. But we have also been handed an opportunity: it's easier to change the system when it's broken than it is when everything is running smoothly.
???Obama seems to be moving in a healthy direction, but we cannot take this for granted. We have been led astray in the past, and we have never had anyone to blame but ourselves.
???That much, at least, is still true.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
