US Lawmakers vote in 90% Tax levy on bonuses

[hornetrider]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7953869.stm

Firms bailed out by taxpayers who pay out bonuses will have them taxed at 90%, after a vote in the Senate.

Good stuff, although the bonuses are probably for low level workers who have feck all to do with the strategic failures that have put us in this position in the first place. Still, it's a start.

How about a 90% tax on pensions for retired bankers?

[AJS-]

Arbitary retrospective law making to attempt to minimise the inept way subsidies were handed out to private firms in the first place? Great.

It's not a start, it's another step on the road to ruin.

[Fittster]

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

[RobDickinson]

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

[Fittster]

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

[RobDickinson]

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

True but then the financial market is built on the governments rules, it was those rules that let everything down. Ultimatly if the government wont back up the financial system it wont work.

[Fittster]

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

True but then the financial market is built on the governments rules, it was those rules that let everything down. Ultimatly if the government wont back up the financial system it wont work.

Clearly you need laws to enforce property rules but a financial system doesn't have to be backed by the government. If all financial insitution has to be propped up by the taxpayer they will clearly take reckless risks.

[RobDickinson]

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

True but then the financial market is built on the governments rules, it was those rules that let everything down. Ultimatly if the government wont back up the financial system it wont work.

Clearly you need laws to enforce property rules but a financial system doesn't have to be backed by the government. If all financial insitution has to be propped up by the taxpayer they will clearly take reckless risks.

Not if you legislate the industry properly.

Allowing anyone to get mortgage and then walk away from the debt ultimatly leaving it on the governments books after all and sundry have had their slice is plain wrong.

[AJS-]

RobDickinson said:

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Then why not do it through their shareholder channels, rather than passing legislation?

[svm]

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

We moved away from capitalism to our current state a while ago.

[Fittster]

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

True but then the financial market is built on the governments rules, it was those rules that let everything down. Ultimatly if the government wont back up the financial system it wont work.

Clearly you need laws to enforce property rules but a financial system doesn't have to be backed by the government. If all financial insitution has to be propped up by the taxpayer they will clearly take reckless risks.

Not if you legislate the industry properly.

Allowing anyone to get mortgage and then walk away from the debt ultimatly leaving it on the governments books after all and sundry have had their slice is plain wrong.

Lenders should be able to lend what they like and if you can't repay they can reposses but if they have lent on an asset that is worth less than the loan that's there look out. I can't see why the government should control that type of transaction.

The problem is the government has now got involved and can't disengage.

[Iain328]

Alex said:

This clumsy attempt to prevent senior bankers receiving their "obscene" bonuses, will also prevent thousands of ordinary workers from receiving modest bonuses that they rely on to top up their salary. Mob rule is upon us.

Try reading what it says - it only applies to those on incomes over $250K. Seems to be quite well targetted to me.

[Police State]

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

Free Market.... but it's not a free market is it?, it's nothing more than a bunch of cabals, monopolies, syndicates, overly-powerful corporations, old-boys clubs, corrupt businesses, corrupt business leaders, and privatised government.

[fido]

Seems like a fairly sensible idea given the disproportionate payouts received by executives in recent weeks.

[hornetrider]

Iain328 said:

Alex said:

This clumsy attempt to prevent senior bankers receiving their "obscene" bonuses, will also prevent thousands of ordinary workers from receiving modest bonuses that they rely on to top up their salary. Mob rule is upon us.

Try reading what it says - it only applies to those on incomes over $250K. Seems to be quite well targetted to me.

Yeah I missed this point out in the original post. This only affects workers on a quarter of a mill plus, correct in principal but personally I'd have brought that threshold lower - to somewhere around 150k USD.

[telecat]

Bill Clinton brought in the "Sub Prime" market by forcing banks to lend to those who frankly had no chance of ever paying the mortgage off!!!! Typically the same Democrat party now blames the very institutions THEY ruined and puts another condition in the way of them doing fair business. Obama is not a "new" dawn. Merely the figurehead of a party that screwed everything up and wouldn't allow Bush Jr. to reverse the mistake they made.

[turbobloke]

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

RobDickinson said:

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

AFIK the US government is the major shareholder in these companies now isnt it? Shouldnt it be down to them who gets paid what.

Prehaps they should take some of these $trillions and pay someone with a decent legal and financial mind to sort it all out...

The government should never have been involved, a free market would quickly correct mistakes.

True but then the financial market is built on the governments rules, it was those rules that let everything down. Ultimatly if the government wont back up the financial system it wont work.

Clearly you need laws to enforce property rules but a financial system doesn't have to be backed by the government. If all financial insitution has to be propped up by the taxpayer they will clearly take reckless risks.

Not if you legislate the industry properly.

Allowing anyone to get mortgage and then walk away from the debt ultimatly leaving it on the governments books after all and sundry have had their slice is plain wrong.

Lenders should be able to lend what they like and if you can't repay they can reposses but if they have lent on an asset that is worth less than the loan that's there look out. I can't see why the government should control that type of transaction.

The problem is the government has now got involved and the government can't even work out which foot to put each shoe on without help.

EFA

[Jasandjules]

Retrospective legislation is never a good thing in a just society.

[turbobloke]

telecat said:

Bill Clinton brought in the "Sub Prime" market by forcing banks to lend to those who frankly had no chance of ever paying the mortgage off!!!! Typically the same Democrat party now blames the very institutions THEY ruined and puts another condition in the way of them doing fair business. Obama is not a "new" dawn. Merely the figurehead of a party that screwed everything up and wouldn't allow Bush Jr. to reverse the mistake they made.

Strange how the media, and particularly the scrupulously unbiased and totally honest BBC, never quite manage to string the facts together like that. Could it be that doing so might expose the leftist ideological bankruptcy that led nations towards the same destination? Or perhaps that saying something other than insults about Bush is too much for most of these upright paragons of virtue? Or perhaps these institutions are infested with people suffering from incurable egalitarian delusion like the idiot politicians they support all the way to the cliff edge, and probably beyond.

As to Obama, time will tell, his latest strategic gem is to go on a chat show and say that people he works with in Washington are like Simon Cowell. Never mind, give him more time. And more rope.

[anonymous-user]

Fittster said:

Companies should be able to pay their employees however much they please. They should be able to go broke too.

That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.

They shouldn't be able to go broke and then pay their employees however much they please though.