Coffin... Meet Nail !!! - Can Somebody Here Please Defend THIS ???

[WillyT]

Cause I'd LOVE to hear the argument.

White House Flip Flops On Reining In CEO Pay

The White House is intervening at the last minute to come to the defense of multinational corporations in the unfolding conference committee negotiations over Wall Street reform.

A measure that had been generally agreed to by both the House and Senate, which would have affirmed the SEC's authority to allow investors to have proxy access to the corporate decision-making process, was stripped by the Senate in conference committee votes on Wednesday and Thursday. Five sources with knowledge of the situation said the White House pushed for the measure to be stripped at the behest of the Business Roundtable. The sources -- congressional aides as well as outside advocates -- requested anonymity for fear of White House reprisal.

The White House move pits the administration against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who told Barney Frank (D-Mass.) to stand strong against the effort.

"I met with the Speaker today and she said, 'Don't back down. I'll back you up,'" Frank, the lead House conferee, told HuffPost. "Maxine Waters is very upset, as are CalPERS and others."

Advocates said that the corporations fought the issue primarily over executive compensation concerns. Given proxy access, investors could rein in executive salaries. The Business Roundtable is a lobby of corporate CEOs.

Valerie Jarrett, a senior White House adviser and Obama confidante, is the administration liaison to the Business Roundtable.

An administration spokesperson said that the White House isn't flip-flopping because it has never made proxy access an explicit position it supports. "It was not part of our original financial reform proposals, and we have not taken a position explicitly. We have heard from and understand the various concerns on this critical corporate governance issue from multiple stakeholders including business, investors, labor and others. We are confident that the House and Senate conferees will come to a resolution and deliver a consensus view," said the spokesperson.
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But two top administration officials publicly supported proxy access, and the Senate version in particular, at the Council of Institutional Investors annual conference in April. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Neal Wolin addressed the provision. "The Senate bill will make clear that the SEC has unambiguous authority to issue rules permitting shareholder access to the proxy. We support that proposal. The SEC's rulemaking process will define the precise parameters of proxy access," he said. "But the principle is clear: long-term shareholders meeting reasonable ownership thresholds should have the ability to hold board members accountable by proposing alternatives and making their voices heard."

Valerie Jarrett followed Wolin. "The Senate bill will make it clear that the SEC has unambiguous authority to issue rules permitting shareholders access to the proxy -- essential, as I know you guys know," she said. "We agree that corporate governance means more transparency, more responsibility, more accountability, and once again -- I can't say it too often -- we stand firmly with you on that point."

The statements were heartening to the investors, who were blindsided by the reversal this week.

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/white-house-guts-reform-t_n_615952.html

Cenk's Take at TYT: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x476860

:wtf:

:banghead:

:puke:

:evilfrown: