Suburban Mom's Political Fix: CEO Salary Caps and Will Stimulus Package Stimulate?

CEO Salary Caps

The phrase "beggars can't be choosers" isn't a cliche for nothing. When I read that some folks are balking at the Obama administration's proposal to cap executive salaries at $500,000 for CEOs who went hat-in-hand to the federal government asking for federal bailout money -- taxpayer money, money taken from families who are hurting under tough economic times -- I grew very irritated.

In today's New York Times, a managing director of a "compensation consulting firm" said the proposal is "pretty draconian -- $500,000 is not a lot of money, particularly if there is no bonus." Addressing President Obama's public declaration that CEOs accepting multi-million dollar bonuses after receiving federal bailout money were "shameful," JP Morgan's CEO said the president was being unfair.

Seriously, you don't want the federal government to dictate your salary to you, then don't take federal money. Don't whine and tell people it's not fair. At least you still have a job.

Will Stimulus Package Stimulate?

After I read the Wall Street Journal's article detailing the House version of the massive federal stimulus package which will cost more than the Iraq War, I wanted to know how, exactly, $335 million for STD prevention programs, $75 million for smoking cessation programs and $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts would stimulate the economy. The societal value of those programs notwithstanding, how does cutting down on smoking help address the American financial mess and put people back to work?

Then I read another WSJ piece which analyzed some of the projects on the U.S. Conference of Mayors wish list for federal funding and how many jobs some of them would create:
-- $4.5 million for a Florida eco-park would create an estimated 50 jobs
-- $500,000 for a California dog park, seven jobs
-- $1.8 million for Virginia tennis courts, 38 jobs

An analysis from Forbes challenged whether and how instantly stimulating this package might be to the economy. USA Today said many of the Obama proposals "will take years to have full impact" and quoted the Congressional Budget Office as saying that 64 percent of the stimulus package will be put to use within two years.

Let's just say that taken together, these articles aren't instilling me with great confidence in this stimulus plan.