President Obama this afternoon commented on the decision by his “pay czar,” Ken Feinberg, to drastically cut executive pay at bailed out companies.
“I’ve always believed that our system of free enterprise works best when it rewards hard work. This is America. We don’t disparage wealth. We don’t begrudge anybody for doing well. We believe in success,” Obama said.
“But it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms that are struggling, pay themselves huge bonuses even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat,” he added.
Feinberg will order the seven biggest companies that received TARP money to cut the pay for their top 25 executives by an average of 50 percent.
Obama, speaking today before he signed a bill funding Veterans Affairs, said it was Feinberg’s “independent” decision on whether to cut executives’ pay.
“He was faced with the difficult task of striking the proper balance between standing up for taxpayers and returning a measure of stability to the financial system,” he said. “Under these competing interests, he’s taken an important step forward today in curbing the influence of executive pay on Wall Street.”
“More work needs to be done,” he added, saying he wants Congress to pass legislation to give shareholders a voice on executive compensation.
