Happy Friday. I’ll have something shortly on the executive pay issue; in the meantime, here’s an interview with the man in charge of it, plus some other things to read:
An interview with special master for executive compensation, Ken Feinberg (PBS NewsHour)
JEFFREY BROWN: What’s the basic principle here? Is it — is it meant to be punitive, to say clearly that excessive pay helped cause the crisis, and someone should be held accountable?
KENNETH FEINBERG: Absolutely not.
This is not a punitive or a vindictive program. Under the statute, the primary obligation of this plan is to get these companies to repay to the taxpayer the money that was loaned.
Will the clampdown on bonuses work? (Marketplace)
House panel approves consumer financial protection agency (NPR)
These kinds of credit will face scrutiny: payday loans, paycheck cashing, debit cards, overdraft protection and mortgages.
Providers would have to register with the new agency, pay its fees and fines; and face its regulators.
Not included are: auto dealers, retail stores, doctors, lawyers and anyone else who’s not in the finance business but who might extend credit.
Enough’s enough with the big gov’t nanny state (Investors Business Daily)
The dollar will collapse unless we fix the deficit (Wall Street Journal)
The Obama administration chooses to blame outsize deficits on its predecessor. That’s a mistake, because it hides a structural flaw: We no longer have any way of imposing fiscal restraint and financial prudence. Federal, state and local governments understate future spending and run budget deficits in good times and bad. Budgets do not report these future obligations.
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