Glitch? This is no glitch!

The sickness of a system that gives every advantage to the profiteers off of the unfortunate victims cannot be overemphasized. While all of us want to make a profit, only the psychosomatically disordered really want to make it by ruining investors, even to the global level they’ve reached now. We all have a very great interest in putting back into place the regulations that prevent the criminal element from the favoritism shown under existing law.

TRNN Senior Editor Paul Jay and University of Massachusetts-Amherst Professor Jame Crotty get to the the heart of the recent financial collapse by examining not just the data points of executive compensation, but far more importantly, the mythology that makes us believe that the prophets of everlasting profit are our proper masters of the universe.

Bailout pay czar Ken Feinberg raised a ruckus last week when he announced plans to slash cash payouts to executives at seven companies that have received massive levels of taxpayer support. While better oversight of the bailout barons is helpful, the best way to change Wall Street pay practices is to adopt a set of tough, comprehensive regulations that cover everything from the executive suite to the loan department. As is, many of the executives Feinberg cracked down on will still make millions this year from stocks and other perks, while the very banks that depend the most on bailout money are spending like mad to lobby against reform.

“ISOLATED and imperial chief executives who shun contact with the great unwashed — shareholders who actually own the companies — are a distressingly resilient breed. [...]“

This week’s Audit takes a look at the credit card legislation moving through Congress that will rein in abusive lenders. While the bank lobby has hampered progress in both the House and Senate, President Obama’s entrance into the debate last week could be a catalyst for the implementation of meaningful new consumer protections.

or years, AFSCME has been leading the fight to rein in the grotesque and excessive paychecks that unaccountable boards of directors have been giving too many of America’s CEOs. We’ve fought shareholder battles and taken our case to the media, arguing that directors who approve exorbitant salaries for executives cheat shareholders and workers. We created a network of institutional and individual investors that fights to get shareowners a voice on executive compensation packages and in the boardrooms of major corporations. But the CEOs want their sky-high pay guaranteed even when they fail, so they’ve fought us every step of the way, building thick walls of resistance to pay reform.

In the press conference I wish had happened, Pres. Obama smacks down tycoons who think $500k is a low salary.