More Resources on the Bailout--from IPS

by Dollars and Sense

This is from Chuck Collins, of the Institute for Policy Studies, and a D&S Associate:

Handing Wall Street speculators an unconditional check for a $1 trillion should not happen. Any assistance should be tied to placing conditions on runaway CEO pay and on a bailout for Main Street communities. The messed up CEO pay incentive system is one major factor that contributed to the casino economy in the first place.

The Institute for Policy Studies and leaders in the Working Group on Extreme Inequality have been pressing for caps on CEO pay for companies receiving assistance. However, we have strong concerns that Congress may give Treasury Secretary Paulson, a former Wall Street executive, too much power to judge whether executive pay packages at the bailed-out firms are "excessive. See our Talking Points on this subject.

ACTION: STOP THE $700 BILLION BLANK CHECK
Send an Email and Letter to Members of Congress.
Emphasize these points:
1. No deal without clean caps on excessive CEO pay. We cannot leave it up to the Treasury Secretary to decide what is "excessive." Congress needs backbone to stand-up for what is right.
2. "Pay as You Go Bailout" -The speculators who caused the problem should pay the costs, not our children and grandchildren.
Write to your members through Campaign for America's Future email and letter campaign.

For more information, read:

The Bailout and CEO Pay: What's 'Excessive'?
by Sarah Anderson and Sam Pizzigati
Tax the Speculators: A Fair Plan to Pay for Bailout

Chuck Collins suggests that speculators should pay for the bailout, not the next generation. From The Nation.
REPORT: "Executive Excess 2008: How Average Taxpayers Subsidize Executive Pay"
This IPS report describes the five ways that taxpayers subsidize excessive CEO pay to the tune of $20 billion a year.

Progressive Conditions for the Bailout
By Dean Baker.

What Wall Street Should Do To Get Its Blank Check
Robert Reich proposes five key components.

For commentary, analysis and data about extreme inequality, visit www.extremeinequality.org.
To learn more about the Program on Inequality and the Common Good, visit the Institute for Policy Studies.

Labels: bailout, Chuck Collins, financial crisis, Institute for Policy Studies

 

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9/25/2008 08:40:00 AM