CNBC Graphic: Capping Salaries VS Keeping Talent.

[HughBeaumont]

Ken Lewis (B of A's CEO, one that's currently bathing in our tax dollahs) being interviewed, espousing the whole "TALENT like what we have doesn't come cheap" canard.

Uh, bwhuuuuh, WHUH?

In case no one's informed you brain surgeons, your "TALENT" is the reason your COMPANIES and their EMPLOYEES that aren't making 400,000+ a year are SCREWN. You call NO shots. You get NO rewards.

In case you WEREN'T aware, your president isn't a drunken fratboy fascist named BUSH anymore. NEW world. NEW rules. Play by them, or it's gonna be a LONG year.

[notadmblnd]

1. Having the ability to run a company into the ground = talent?

Cap the damn salaries

[W_HAMILTON]

8. Fucking idiots.

It angers me. I have a professor that spewed this same bullshit. "Oh, if they cap the pay, we will lose out on that top talent." Bullshit. What top talent? The talent that has been running century-old companies into the ground? They are morons. Let them go elsewhere. No one else would be fucking dumb enough to pay them insane salaries to do such a poor job.

[AnnieBW]

2. They are just as talented as many people on the

unemployment rolls.

[Ilsa]

3. Ken Lewis had a reputation as a wild man years ago.

I was living in D when the NCNB crowd came in and bought our failed bank from the FDIC. KL had was an early corporate version of Hot-tub-Tommy DeLay back then. He seems pretty nice now, from what I've heard. NCNB became NationsBank which became BofA.

Am I afraid his talent would be "lost"? Oh brother. I think these jobs are more about power and reputation than money after a certain point. If they aren't willing to play ball, they can let the door hit them in the ass on the way out, as far as I'm concerned.

[DearAbby]

4. What talent does it take to lose

billions of dollars??? Why are we discussing this, if it were you or I, they would be holding the door open.

[Retrograde]

7. I can do it for a fraction of what they're getting paid!

I think a lot of people in financial institutions rode a bubble on the way up and convinced themselves it was all due to their genius, rather than to a combination of good timing and luck.

[oldnslo]

5. What talent? These guys are fucking THIEVES!

[DBoon]

6. I'm sure many German or Japanese excs would take these jobs

They are just (if not more) talented than US execs, and are already paid what are deemed "unacceptably low" salaries.

I'd love to see some US execs lose their jobs to cheaper, better qualified foreign competition.

It would serve them right

[W_HAMILTON]

9. Yep.

And I would gladly allow those foreign execs to take over our companies. But of course, you know what they will do then, right? These "entitled" executives will just bitch about how we shouldn't be turning over our companies to the hands of foreign leadership. Yet they have no problem giving away our jobs to foreign workers in other countries.

Fuck these idiots. The show is over. It's past time people recognize the bullshit they have been pulling.

[mitchum]

10. I want to see to see how talented they are at dancing...at the end of a rope

[HughBeaumont]

11. Human Pinatas.

Worked for the Italians, works for us.

One gets dragged, 300 others get the message . . .