Government, Politics and the Economy Securities Industry: Leave Executive Comp to Boards, Not Lawmakers The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association released guidelines for how financial services firms should tie compensation to long-term performance and risk management, saying that executive pay should be decided by company boards, not by legislators or regulators. Workforce.com Fixing the Economy: Is Obama Flubbing the Fix? With the administration backtracking on major regulatory reform, some critics saying that Obama is squandering a rare opportunity. BusinessWeek.com [Read Full Article]

There is a variant on the Golden Rule that goes like this: He who has the gold, makes the rules. That seems to be the position of President Obama and his congressional allies. They are preparing legislation, part of their plans to spend the remainder of the $700 billion TARP monies, to cap executive compensation for companies that have taken taxpayer money. That one is hard to argue with since these companies now have a duty not only to their shareholders, but also to the people of the United States. On the other hand, there are other provisions aimed at companies that have not accepted bailout money. To quote Hamlet, “Aye, there is the rub.” Take the Money, Accept the Rules Imagine you give a nice, crisp $50 to a homeless man, thinking that by giving him so large a sum of money you are helping him to get back on his feet. Then, as you watch, your homeless man as he picks up a streetwalke... [Read Full Article]