tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8774131.post6554447838299811460..comments2023-06-24T11:57:48.459-04:00Comments on larrylivermore.com: My Kind Of Corporate ExecutiveLarry Livermorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11948659387575597910noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8774131.post-23564117411778178352009-02-09T14:53:00.000-05:002009-02-09T14:53:00.000-05:00The Oakland A's basically turned the world of base...The Oakland A's basically turned the world of baseball upside down by winning championships with its approach of dropping multi-million dollar superstar athletes in favor of undervalued fatsos. Of course the worlds of finance and major league baseball are quite different (and in fact I have about zero expertise in either), but I do not see why this same strategy could not be deployed in the banks. <BR/><BR/>The idea that the market value of a bank exec is somehow a natural law that cannot be broken seems like pure superstition. Find the undervalued fatsos who can't score an interview at the other firms. Show me evidence that these porkers cannot run a bank just as effectively as their A-rod multi-millionaire counterparts.<BR/><BR/>Well, maybe that's not fair to ask, since you are not a Wall St. pundit, Larry Livermore, but you do have experience in the music business. Do your experiences there really tell you that top management are worth every penny, and that equivalent or better performance can't be extracted from the minor leagues at much lower prices, simply because of competitive disadvantages?<BR/><BR/>I agree that no one worth their salt would work for poverty wages, but $500k is nothing to sneeze at.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8774131.post-27047449467782040972009-02-07T00:37:00.000-05:002009-02-07T00:37:00.000-05:00The competitive disadvantage would come from the f...The competitive disadvantage would come from the fact that companies not receiving bailout funds would be free to continue paying multimillion dollar salaries and bonuses to their executives while those being bailed out (who arguably would be even more in need of topflight management) would be limited to 500K. A competent bank executive might indeed be willing to work for that salary, but why should he when he could walk across the street to a bank paying ten times more?<BR/><BR/>This problem could be avoided if you limited salaries for all corporations, but that would be of dubious constitionality and almost impossible to enforce. Sharply raising the marginal tax rate on million dollar-plus incomes would accomplish the same end without wholly removing incentives or introducing competitive disadvantages among companies.Larry Livermorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11948659387575597910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8774131.post-31859350221645670942009-02-06T23:11:00.000-05:002009-02-06T23:11:00.000-05:00it's not exactly related, but i always think it's ...it's not exactly related, but i always think it's weird when people demand lower taxes instead of demanding more for their taxes. i will happily pay higher taxes to have healthcare and good education and all that crap we only get half assed versions of. hell, the way i pay for health insurance now, it might as well be taxes. i mean, it's taken straight from my paycheck.al oofhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02442681428793162645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8774131.post-11061359536478274982009-02-06T19:18:00.000-05:002009-02-06T19:18:00.000-05:00These fools are only at a competitive advantage if...These fools are only at a competitive advantage if you believe a competent bank exec can't be found for under $500k. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see millionaires taxed more, but I've never heard of any convincing argument that 7 figure salaries are necessary to pull in top talent (I mean this is the same talent that caused the mess in the first place, right?), though to be fair, $500k probably goes less far in NYC.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com