Who greased this slimy incline of government intrusion by begging for handouts? They did. Yet the slippery slope argument is difficult to deny when The Wall Street Journal already reports that New York Democrat Chuck Schumer plans to press for legislation extending the pay czar's governance to all publicly traded companies.
Let's not forget that the compensation of many of these CEOs would have ended up at absolute zero had the market dictated their terms rather than Washington. Today many CEOs no doubt feel comfortable taking outsize bonuses and compensation exactly because they know full well that failure is not an option. Washington won't allow it, artificially propping up incompetence.
"If the administration actually follows through," writes Alex Tabarrok, an economist at George Mason University and blogger at the popular "Marginal Revolution," "most of these executives will quit and get higher paying jobs elsewhere. Executives not directly affected by the pay cuts will also quit when they see their prospects for future salary gains have been cut. Chaos will be created at these firms as top people leave in droves. Will the administration then order people back to work?"
Hey, why not?
Despite this undercurrent, the administration continues to expand needless intervention and "investments" into the economy that offer only the illusion of safety and a reality of stagnation.
And that's exactly what empty words, unlimited taxpayer funding and uninhibited regulatory power can buy you.