freedom of press in europe

[Vandiablo]

I wonder if they care about USC's football coach who gets paid $4.4 million? He is one of the highest paid public employee's in the USA.

If the country's economy, and thus its security, depended on the solvency of the USC athletic department, then yes, we should all care. In reality, tho, SC's biggest exports are wingnuts, Congressional incivility, and South American mistresses. (Maybe that last one is "sexports"...)

Now looking at the bulk of your first link (bold mine):

The Fed said it would subject 28 unnamed "large, complex banking organizations" to a "horizontal review" of compensation policies and practices. The review is designed to better understand compensation trends in the industry and identify firms whose practices fall outside the norm.
The Fed and other banking regulators conducted a similar review of the 19 largest financial institutions earlier this year to determine which banks needed to raise more capital.

Regional and community banks will also come under scrutiny, but the Fed said supervisors will review pay practices at these firms as part of the regular examination process. The central bank said small banks' pay will not be compared against competitors, but the review could impact the supervisory rating assigned to a bank.

More broadly, the Fed is proposing guidance for banks to help them develop proper pay practices. The guidance says banks should consider three goals: provide incentives that discourage excessive risk taking, match "effective controls and risk management" and support strong corporate governance.
The Fed said its guidance is aimed at senior executives and individuals or groups who could expose the bank to risk.

"Compensation practices at some banking organizations have led to misaligned incentives and excessive risk-taking, contributing to bank losses and financial instability," Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a press release. "The Federal Reserve is working to ensure that compensation practices appropriately tie rewards to longer-term performance and do not create undue risk for the firm."

Once the guidance is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 30 days to comment. Though the Fed steered clear of specific caps in the proposal, it does seek comment on whether "formulaic limits" should be imposed on banks.

I believe it is the federal government who is insuring bank customers, so IMO they can define what conditions must be met to be considered a "bank" versus, say, a "pyramid scheme."

And before you get all Glennbeckian about the phrase "proper pay practices", and I know you will, ("who decides what's 'proper'? who benefits from it? it's a socialist attack on our bankers!") look at the phrase "proper accounting practices". I would not invest a dime into an organization that doesn't use proper accounting practices. One might argue that it's the IRS imposing its will, but p.a.p. really benefits most the owners of the business -- yes, the capitalists.

I wish Aahzmadius were here ... he is a CPA and last I saw him he was a libertarian. His POV would be interesting and most likely informative. (Note that he and I have different politics yet I consider him to be a friend of mine -- albeit an on-line friend I haven't heard from for a couple years.)

-V