Pay of Congress and CEOs

(March 6 2007: Washington (Reuters) In language seldom heard from his party on Capitol Hill, Alabama's Rep. Spencer Bachus said Americans are disturbed by chief executives "whose pay is not justified by their performance." The House Financial Services Committee, on which the Alabama lawmaker is the senior Republican, is set to hold a hearing Thursday on corporate executive pay.)

The shareholders of America are already changing how corporate CEOs are paid. Congress is grandstanding by holding hearings on CEO pay. Congress is authorized to pass laws that would make CEO pay more transparent. Some CEO pay borders on fraud. Congress has the authority to protect the public from harm. Fraud is harm.

Still I wish the shareholders of America would hold congress to the same standards they hold CEOs. Congress seems to run a loss, (deficit) more than a profit (surplus), yet the shareholders reelect 95% of those incumbents who run for reelection.

Besides loosing money each year, the congress borrows more and more money that unborn children will have to pay back.

Besides tolerating the financial irresponsibility of congress, the shareholders allow the congress to take away more of the shareholders freedoms with thousands of ridiculous laws, the most egregious being the U. S. Patriot Act. Congress can put you in jail. A CEO cannot.

Why do shareholders allow congress to continually operate at a loss without doing something about this incompetence? Why will the shareholders not fire the congress every two years?

Congress is community property. The citizens try to get more from the community than they put in. They care little about the debt as long as they think they are getting more than they are loosing. Corporations are not community property, thus their shareholders have different requirements. Both shareholders of congress and business have their own self interest at heart. Performance is in the eyes of the beholder.

I think the citizen shareholders act like ESOP shareholders of a business. Most ESOP shareholders can vote on a board of directors. As a result the ESOP owners usually look out for their pay and perks instead of the health of the corporation. I think the citizen shareholders vote like ESOP owners of a corporation. They vote for their self interest instead of the interest of the country.

Bilbo Baggins