Byron York has posted an article at the Washington Examiner today about the House Financial Services Committee, led by chairman Barney Frank, approving a measure called the “Pay for Performance Act of 2009”.  This bill would impose government salary controls on alll employees of any company receiving financial help from the government.  The government will determine what compensation is reasonable and “prohibit unreasonable and excessive compensation and compensation not based on performance standards”.  The government will be setting performance standards for any company they have given money to (in any industry involved).  What are the chances of the government knowing enough about every company it deals with to do this right?

According to the article:

“The legislation is expected to come before the full House for a vote this week, and, just like the AIG bill, its scope and retroactivity trouble a number of Republicans. “It’s just a bad reaction to what has been going on with AIG,” Rep. Scott Garrett of New Jersey, a committee member, told me. Garrett is particularly concerned with the new powers that would be given to the Treasury Secretary, who just last week proposed giving the government extensive new regulatory authority. “This is a growing concern, that the powers of the Treasury in this area, along with what Geithner was looking for last week, are mind boggling,” Garrett said.”

This bill is retroactive, meaning it will override prior contracts.  This is not the way the government in a Democracy (or a representative republic) should act.  This is not healthy for our country.