Power Line last night posted a very good article on the pay cuts being put in place by the Pay Czar. Aside from the basic question, "Where is the pay czar in the Constitution?", there are some interesting repercussions on this legislation.
The pay cuts, expected to be significant, only apply to certain companies. Some executives are expected to receive cuts of as much as 90 per cent (For many of the executives, the cash they would have received will be replaced by stock that they will be restricted from selling immediately). As a taxpayer who helped bail out these companies, you may agree with that, but stop and think a minute about the law of unintended consequences. These executives are not stupid people. In most cases, the problems these companies encountered had more to do with government policies on sub-prime mortgages than they did with executive decisions. I am sure the majority of these executives have impressive resumes.
The salaries of the executive positions were cut--there is nothing written anywhere that says that the people currently in those positions have to stay there--I am sure they are updating their resumes as I write this.
The article at Power Line lists many of the aspects of the move to control executive salaries that have been overlooked thus far in the discussion. Please read it for more information on the consequences of this action.
I think the first step the unconstitution "Pay Czar" must take is to reduce Congress' salary. They caused the failures, they engineered the deficite spending, they caused most of the crisis.
Start by cutting their staff and their healthcare.