Open Letter to Rep. DeGette and any other member of Congress
Here is an email I just sent off to Rep. Diane DeGette, my Congresswoman: Dear Rep. DeGette, John Gaskell
I appreciate your taking time to write the letter back to all of the concerned constituents that I am sure contacted you regarding the Wall Street Bail Out. And by now, I think you are beginning to see why we are angry. We are angry because Congress has once again added trillions of dollars to our national debt to bail out organizations that will not survive regardless of what we do. The culture on Wall Street is corrupt and un-sustainable.
The entire premise of Adam Smith's creation of free market capitalism is that each entrepreneur, each business, indirectly helps themselves and their fellow man. The baker helps himself by making and selling bread and helps his fellow man by feeding him. The premise requires that greed, corruption are kept in check by the proprietor and moral behavior is followed. Without this proper moral compass, free market capitalism, in its purest form cannot function. Executives of many large corporations have lost their moral compass to the mandate of maximizing share holder profits in the short term and ensuring maximum bonuses for the corporate elite. Since they are incapable of moral behavior, we must then regulate them.
I believe one way to reduce the greed of Wall Street is to take away the temptation. I would suggest you author a bill NOW that would mandate a maximum executive compensation for all public companies. If this will not fly, make the law apply to those that make bids on government contracts or receive federal bail-out assistance; Basically, any company that receives federal dollars must agree to a maximum executive compensation agreement of no more than say, 20 times their lowest employee's salary. Want to increase your pay? Increase the salary of the workers below you.
Please let me know what your thoughts are on this proposal. I believe now is the time to make a change in the culture of business in America. This proposal will help the American workers, shareholders and help regain the public's trust in publicly traded companies.
Thank you,
