Defenestrating Thoughts from the Bivouac

President Obama is very gifted at controlling the public’s and media’s perception of him. Though, as I’ve noted before, his real actions don’t match his rhetoric and it seems like the same cast of characters continues to have significant influence on what gets done.

Last week, we heard a lot about Obama’s plan to limit the salaries of any executives at companies that take taxpayer money. This plan got fantastic press coverage and reaction. People were very happy as this seemed to indicate a departure from “business as usual” and embody the “Change” we were promised.

The devil, however, is always in the details:

For companies getting massive assistance to prevent a wide collapse, the $500,000 cap on senior officer pay would be mandatory. So far the government has provided that kind of extraordinary aid to only a few companies, including American International Group, Citigroup and Bank of America.

Because the rules do not apply retroactively to any of the 359 banks that have received government aid, these three firms are not subject to the new restrictions. But administration officials said they expect the government will need to stage more such rescues as the financial system continues to deteriorate.

For the bulk of firms getting fresh government aid, the new limits would be voluntary. Companies could waive the restrictions by disclosing executive compensation publicly and, if requested, allow a shareholder resolution on the matter, though the results would not be binding. (Source)

The salary caps only apply to companies that receive “extraordinary” aid: AIG, Citigroup, and Bank of America. And all of them are exempt because they were grandfathered in! So the billions of taxpayer money given to these firms continues to have no terms or even oversight on where the money went.

Furthermore, for the 356 remaining banks, the new limits are voluntary and salary disclosure requirements can be waived at the company’s discretion.

One of Obama’s first major acts is all smoke and mirrors. He pretends to lead us with great reform, when in reality it accomplishes absolutely nothing. It’s par for the course in Washington; where’s the change?

So when I hear that the students of a local high school want to rename the school to Barack Obama High, it just makes me sad.

Let’s wait until he actually does something before we deify him. If this is really the “change” he’s going to deliver, I think you may want to hold off on renaming the high school.