The idea that the President of the United States is calling
for a maximum wage of $500,000 for top executives in private
companies is a disturbing development for those of us who still
believe in a free market economy. At the same time, it's hard to
argue with the basic idea that any company living off of taxpayer
dollars should be more frugal when it comes to executive
compensation. This is how creeping socialism happens. Once the
government comes to the rescue of the private market under the
guise that it's merely an emergency, it opens the door for all
sorts of new and unprecedented intrusions into the free market. I
would argue (and in fact did
argue at the time) that the die was cast as soon as the Fed
decided to bailout Bear Stearns last March. Everything that
President Obama wants to do to socialize the market naturally
flows from actions taken by his Republican predecessor. And
honestly, given his campaign screeds against corporate greed, do
we really think that John McCain would have acted any differently
than President Obama has today?
