Lawdy, Lawdy, I’ll Be A Good CEO
– ‘Special Master’ Appointed To Control CEO Pay –
I don’t know about you but the last time a bunch of guys in big white houses appointed a special master to control a group of people, I remember it being kind of a big deal.
It was wrong then and it’s wrong now.
Trumpeted as a “tempered” approach that “rejected direct intervention in corporate pay decisions,” the Administration “..named Kenneth Feinberg .. as a ’special master’ with power to reject pay plans he deems excessive at the seven companies with the biggest injections of public money. Feinberg also would have authority to review compensation for the top 100 salaried employees at those firms.”
I’m not sure where the befuddled reporter who was able to put “rejected direct intervention” and “named ’special master’ with power to reject pay plans” in the same article went to journalism school, but he obviously didn’t take The Meaning of Words 101 as one of his electives.
Presumably, someone in the Administration thought the title “economic czar” smacked too much of socialism so they decided to go with the kinder, gentler “special master” moniker.
For an Administration that prides itself on a nuanced and subtle approach to problems, naming a ’special master’ to treat businessmen as if they are pets who need to be leashed and restrained is remarkably blunt.
When you name a master to oversee a particular segment of the population, it’s pretty clear you intend to exert control over that group.
Businessmen are expected to sit, heel and, ultimately, beg politicians for their existence. This is pretty much the same position Michael Vick’s puppies got caught up in.
But at least the pups had some animal cruelty laws to protect them.
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Aaron Downey (in white) illustrates Administration’s ‘indirect approach’ to Jessie Boulerice
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31193268/
