Nathan Key

My opinion is that it is a great idea. At the same time these guys are looking at huge pay cuts with not a huge effect on their quality of life. If the CEO's of the 3 biggest auto companies in the country can work for a year for a penny, imagine how much money the CEO's of banks make. Its is going to hurt, yes going from anywhere around $50,000,000-$100,000,000 to around $500,000 is going to hurt their kids trust funds, they may have postpone the purchase of their 2010 Murcielago, but these guys' lives are not going to change. Its a good idea, but its simply a statement. Not to mention Salary caps in the US only apply to SALARIES. Bonuses and Commissions are not covered by that umbrella. Thats why baseball players ofter make more than the MLB salary cap.

These companies are not going anywhere. If these guys were to quit their jobs, they would look like greedy cowards. Not only are they going to take their pay cut, they will like it and they will flaunt it and once one of them does it, they will all do it.

In my opinion, the president has the right to do whatever he wants, it may not be correct, but hey we elected him and we take him out of office if we so choose.

I have mixed emotions on this. On the one hand, it does seem that failing companies who are getting bailed out by the taxpayers should have the responsibility to use those funds wisely, and limited executive pay would be a good move. On the other hand, once the government does that, where does it end? What about attorneys who are in private practice, but consult for these companies? Does the government have the right to tell them how much they can make, even though they're not employees? We all know that once government takes power, it never gives it up. How long will it be before some bureaucrat is deciding how much doctors should be paid? Or store owners? Or web designers? I'm concerned about the precedent this sets. I can just see some Democratic congressman deciding that pro football players should be limited to a certain amount, or musicians, or authors. From there it's a short step to telling a high school senior, "We need more auto mechanics, so that's what you're going to be."

As Cat Stevens said many years ago, "Will you tell us when to live? Will you tell us when to die?" How much freedom are we willing to give up?

The inherent problem with this plan is that it is just more government encroaching into private industry, thus continuing our steadfast march into fascism. As evidenced by some of your previous replies, this is a simple case of wealth envy, that in reality means absolutely nothing in the long run. These paycaps say nothing of stock options, corporate benefits or other compensations that will push executives salaries back into the 8 figure range.

Good for them. If they are failing as a CEO, let the boards of directors and the voting shareholders kick them out.

If one particular business is in good enough with government representatives to get a handout from them, congratulations, we've already been had as a nation, who cares how they spend it?