Yeah, Let’s Cap Salaries. Start With Harvard!

Red State ^ | Feb 6, 2009 | Todd Huston

[SeekAndFind]

Since Barack “Giant Killer” Obama thinks it’s his business how much CEOs and captains of business should be paid predicated on receiving federal money one has to wonder why this principle is not being applied fairly across the board? If receipt of federal money is enough to constitute total government control over salaries, let’s apply it everywhere. We can start with the salaries of university presidents.

Back in 2005, Senator Charles Grassley (R, Iowa) wanted to launch an investigation of the president and board of trustees of American University in Washington because of a giant severance package of $1.3 million given outgoing President Benjamin Ladner who only had a base salary of $633,000 in 2003. The severance seemed excessive, to say the least.

In 2005 Bloomberg published a story investigating the salaries of a handful of the nation’s top paid university presidents. The numbers then all exceeded President Obama’s new $500,000 cap for the evil CEOs of 2009.

Here is the list of the highest paid public university presidents that Bloomberg reported in 2005:

1. Mary Sue Coleman-Univ. of Michigan: $724,604 2. David Roselle-Univ. of Delaware: $720,522 3. Mark Yudof -Univ. of Texas System: $693,677 4. Carl Patton-Georgia State U.: $688,406 5. John Casteen III-Univ. of Virginia: $659,670

The leaders of private universities were even more lavish:

1. Donald Ross-Lynn University: $5.04 Mln 2. Audrey Doberstein-Wilmington College: 1.37 Mln 3. E. Gordon Gee-Vanderbilt Univ.: 1.33 Mln 4. John Silbert-Boston Univ.: 1.25 Mln 5. John McCardell-Jr. Middlebury College:1.21 Mln

And don’t imagine for a minute that just because the university is supposedly a private one that it takes no federal handouts.

Certainly these sums have grown since 2005 — not to mention that some of those mentioned above may no longer be in those positions. But these numbers can be used as a frame of reference.

So, let’s be fair with Obama’s communist inspired meddling. Each and every one of these university heads should also take a pay cut to that $500,000 level. Why not? They DO receive federal money, don’t they? Don’t we want to be fair to everyone?

Now, I don’t want government telling anyone what they should be allowed to make, to be sure. But, my little exercise shows that Obama’s populist gobbeldegook has nothing at all to do with the right thing, here. It all has to do with giving Obama a soapbox upon which to stand so that he can vent his faux outrage and give the people that warm feeling that daddy is looking out for them. It’s class warfare, plain and simple.

Obama isn’t looking for fair and right. He’s only looking for a photo op and a chance to use hectoring to advance his image among the uninformed and uneducated.

[icwhatudo]

LOL, wow-great point! If “BIG EDUCATION” takes federal money, we need to limit the pay to 500,000 as well.

[FlyingEagle]

How about lawyers, government officials, professional sports players and Hollywood stars? They will want to get some of that maximum wage cap from the big 0.

[originalbuckeye]

Very good article. If 0bama wants to actually be ‘fair’ then he should cap the salaries of ALL those who are on the Government payroll.

[Da Coyote]

Howz about Harvard start paying taxes...BIG taxes? After all, it’s their grad loons coming up with ideas that could easily be debunked by any community college econ prof.

[stockstrader]

How about the football coaches at West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy?

[Earthdweller]

"Yeah, Let’s Cap Salaries. Start With Harvard!"

Why bother to go after the workers when you can snuff the hive.

[CarryingOn]

And why aren't these “angry”, “outraged”, self-rightous politicians clawing back the millions carried off by the thieves at Fanny and Freddy?

Rhetorically speaking.

[JimSEA]

If you are going to effectively cap peoples total annual earnings, you have to do it through the tax codes. We'll see just how many committed socialists this country has.

[stockstrader]

How about lawyers, government officials, professional sports players and Hollywood stars?

I guess that football coaches at the military academies would only get their salaries 'capped' if they have LOSING RECORDS!!...lol

[Sarajevo]

And why aren't these “angry”, “outraged”, self-rightous politicians clawing back the millions carried off by the thieves at Fanny and Freddy?

Now, that wouldn't be nice....... beating on the source of campaign funds, now would it?

/sarc

[highlander_UW]

Make sure they cap salaries and percentages for Hollywood as well...if none of the actors made over a million or so a picture the cost at the theaters would go down, more theaters would be built, more popcorn jockeys would be hired...job stimulus...bingo!

[Archie Bunker on steroids]

Lets cap the salary of a medical research technician too...especially those finding new drugs for cancer and other fatal ailments. Lets see how motivated they are to accomplish anything.

Might as well cap the innovative spirit in all of us. The Soviets thought entrepreneurship driven by love of the state would result in accomplishment. It did not work to well.

[ROCKLOBSTER]

Never mind any of that.

If the public knew of the outrageous six figure salaries paid to public officials, bureaucrats and other government union thugs, they would freak.

Why do you think there is huge growth every budget cycle, they get fat pay raises.

The largest component of any government budget is salaries and benefits for the unionized masses and their patronage bosses. Mostly components of the various departments of the executive branch, they are the most appropriate target when speaking derisively of "special interest groups".

[alrea]

If you cut the salary of everyone working for Harvard making over 100,000 per year how many poor kids could be awarded a scholarship?