Donald Trump and the Socialists Versus the CEOs
By John Nichols
The Nation (link)

There has been a good deal of grumbling from Wall Street about President Obama's proposal to cap CEO pay at companies that accept federal bailout money.

The line of complaint generally comes around to the question: "How can you get good help for $500,000?"

Donald Trump--who knows a thing or two about attracting executive talent, or at least plays someone who does on TV -- thinks that's silly.

The other night, CNN's Larry King asked the Trump Organization CEO what he thought about the president's plan to set some executive pay limits:

KING: Is Obama right or wrong to go after these executives with salary caps?

TRUMP: Well, I think he's absolutely right. Billions of dollars is being given to banks and others. You know, once you start using taxpayer money, it's a whole new game. So I absolutely think he's right.

The Socialists agree.

Here's a statement from Brian Moore, who was the Socialist Party candidate for president last year--and who made the very good point that, despite what Sarah Palin said, Barack Obama was neither a capital "S" nor a small "s" socialist:

SPRING HILL, FLORIDA, February 5, 2009 -- President Barack Obama, who on Wednesday imposed $500,000 caps on senior executive pay for the most distressed financial institutions receiving federal bailout money, saying Americans are upset with "executives being rewarded for failure," has joined his 2008 minor party opponent who called for executive caps throughout the presidential election campaign.

Brian Moore, the Socialist Party USA presidential candidate in the 2008 presidential elections, stated on the "Issues" page of his presidential website (www.votebrianmoore.com) to "Cap and reduce corporate profits and excessive executive salary levels while fostering the transfer of corporate ownership and control to workers."

Moore continually advocated in his radio and television interviews, and in debates and presidential forums throughout the 2008 presidential campaign, that there should be a "worker/CEO ratio of no more than 5 to 1."

The Socialist Party platform also states in its "Economics" section that "We call for...a maximum income [for executives] of no more than ten times the minimum."

Moore does embrace Mr. Obama's criticism of corporate executives when the President was recently quoted that such exorbitant pay is "exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their [corporate and capitalistic] actions that brought about this crisis--a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else."

Moore further added in point 32 of his website's "Issues" page that "During transition to full worker control, [we should] require the private sector to implement a fairer economic system of consumer costs, profit-margins and regulation of services and products."

The former Socialist candidate said that he disagrees with the President's quote, as reported today in the New York Times (Thurs., Feb. 5, 2009) that "We don't disparage wealth. We don't begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded...but what upsets people are executives being rewarded for failure..."

Moore disagrees with President Obama's mindset, arguing that that is the trouble with capitalism, it focuses on profit and individual success and wealth instead of focusing "on production for the needs of the community instead." Moore contends that "success can also be rewarded under socialism, but not exorbitantly, or at the expense of the common good." "That is where we differ from Mr. Obama and his capitalistic mindset, his capitalistic political party and the faltering capitalistic economic system which our country is presently burdened by," the former socialist candidate stated.

Moore says that Socialism stands for "a fundamental transformation of the economy," and that only a "global" transformation from capitalism to democratic socialism will provide the conditions for international peace, justice and economic cooperation.

Moore argues that Socialism is seeking a "classless society," one that is fairer and more egalitarian, and where the majority of citizens can benefit from a more democratic economic system, instead of rewarding only the select few at the top. "An executive salary cap, as a bailout condition, is a good start, in our direction toward socialism," Moore happily stated.

So there you have it.

Obama may be struggling to get Republicans and Democrats together. He may even be struggling to get mainstream Democrats and Blue Dog fifth columnists on the same page.

But the president has united Donald Trump and the Socialists.

Just the extremes? Perhaps. But the American people are with Trump and the Socialists. Polls consistently show that roughly two-thirds of Americans (63 percent in a USA Today survey) say it is "very important" to limit the pay of executives whose firms benefit from the plan.

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