A Silver Lining in Part of the Stimulus Package

At the last minute, just prior to the Senate's approval of the Obama-Democrat stimulus bill, Senator Chris Dodd, D-CT, inserted a provision that places limits on executive bonuses for banks that receive bailout money from the government.

The Obama administration immediately took to the airwaves to state that it did not support that particular measure due to the fact that it may lead to a serious depletion of 'brain power' as bank executives bail out and migrate to other corporations that pay much better and where the bonus structure is not limited.

In actuality, however, the real issue is one of control. Obama and company fear that many banks simply will not ask for any government bailout money at all now that Senator Dodd has made sure they receive no bonuses. Their salaries have already been limited in the bill.

Without banks signing onto the Obama-Democrat program, the government will not be able to control either salaries or bonuses.

And this is precisely the silver lining in that part of the stimulus package.

With banks seeing no real incentive for requesting bailout funds, that is, unless they are in such dire straights that they are forced to do so, the financial sector of the country may actually be forced to see its own way out of the mess they have created for themselves.

The other alternative is bankruptcy.

And that's not necessarily bad. If execs make poor decisions and give bonuses to people who did not earn it by putting their banks on solid financial ground, then they deserve to go under.

Further, those banks that refuse to go under and determine to make it without government help may be doing themselves, their customers, and the country a big favor.

Personally, I hope hundreds of financial institutions will have the means and the guts to say, 'No thank-you, Mr. President.'