Finally we agree

So we all know that the Fed is going to give Wall Street a huge bail out, somewhere in the range of $700B. I think that's correct. But anyways, in talking to those older and wiser this should be a good thing. It very well could help us avoid another Great Depression, which I'm sure we're all for. But here's where the title comes into play. The Dems are pushing hard for regulating CEO pay while the GOP is saying just push the legislation through.

The bailout is positioned to be a great economic stress relief. The Fed will take on almost every feeble and unsafe bet that Wall Street has. What that will do is guarantee that the market has a safe place to fall when and if it does and that all the money in it is backed and "guaranteed", so to speak. This is a great plan as it will boost consumer confidence and hopefully induce money to be spent/invested. Here's where it gets ugly.

The GOP wants congress to push this legislation through and just give the money out while assuming all that risk. The Dems want to give the money but want to have some control over how much these CEO's are making and walking with. These large CEO salaries and benefits packages are the main reason, I feel, that Wall Street is in this mess. Most of these CEO's have worked under a decade for these companies and have retired (OR BEEN FIRED) with benefits packages that would carry a small country. What the Dems want is assurance that if the Fed comes to the rescue that we won't keep seeing this pattern. And I fully agree. Also the Dems want the companies to set up a form of return payment to pay off these loans. While these companies are operating off of tax payer money, they shouldn't be allowed to give the exorbitant salaries and severance packages. Once these companies are stable enough to repay the loans and stand on their own then they can go back to their own practices of large salaries and such. But they should be forewarned that if they return to their frivolous ways, after we've bailed them out, and they should find themselves again in such dire straights that there will be no next time bail out.

My last question is: If these companies (and I think most are) are publicly traded then why aren't the stock holders going to the meetings and putting the kibosh on these frivolous salaries???