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Sentences to ponder
Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee voted Thursday to encourage limits on the compensation of insurance executives, responding to charges that expanding health insurance coverage would enrich insurance companies.
Here is more and I thank Yana for the pointer.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on October 2, 2009 at 08:00 AM in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
Great! This way the extra profits will go right into the pockets of the shareholders, not the workers, at the insurance companies. Democracy is awesome.
Posted by: Bob Murphy at Oct 2, 2009 8:57:28 AM
So they will figure out how to pay the executives in ways other than salary & bonuses. Stock options came about through similar legislation. It is ironic that congress feels their legislation will end up enriching the insurance companies. What a great signal they are confident in the likely savings from their plans.
Posted by: bastiat at Oct 2, 2009 9:05:54 AM
Lame. Our Congress doesn't have the guts to pass real reform and institute a public health insurance option, so they fall back on this stupid, unfair, and unproductive tactic.
Posted by: Dirk at Oct 2, 2009 9:17:01 AM
Executives in that, and many other, industries similarly have it in their power to stem the flow of cash towards Congressmen.
Posted by: dearieme at Oct 2, 2009 9:22:10 AM
If I read this correctly the only change is that they're going to cap tax deduction at $500k instead of $1m. Given the size of the executive compensation packages people might actually want to limit, this will have little effect on them. Instead, it will mean that companies will try to get by with fewer executives, and they will face marginally higher tax rates.
Posted by: Zvi Mowshowitz at Oct 2, 2009 9:23:28 AM
Tyler, what can you expect from Democrats? Since you're willing to take all challenges, I hope you read Charles Krauthammer's colum
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100104208.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
and ponder on the many sentences that CK quotes.
Posted by: E. Barandiaran at Oct 2, 2009 9:23:38 AM
Our country is going crazy. Wage and price controls but call it a banana split.
Looks like some in Congress were angry that they lost the public option so they went and kicked the insurance executives.
Or look at this article, where the Obama administration will step into the patient doctor relationship with all kinds of federal oversight. So we will save on health care because the Federal government will create an even larger bureaucracy then the existing insurance companies to interfere with the patient doctor relationship?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125444082517257805.html
Or this, where the increased regulatory hurdles will just force insurance companies out of sectors of the market.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125443003194657369.html?mod=WSJ_hps_sections_news
Folks this is socialism by regulatory fiat.
Posted by: DanC at Oct 2, 2009 9:37:17 AM
Anyone know the net worth of the people on the Senate Finance Committee?
Posted by: Jim at Oct 2, 2009 9:55:44 AM
How about requiring that insurance company executives receive heatlh insurance via the policies they write for the rest of their lives (rather than Medicare)?
I know and share the deep suspicion of government setting compensation caps. But, let's get real - can anyone tell me what value added they believe insurers actually provide? I'm talking about the value added of private insurers, not the value of having insurance.
Posted by: dale at Oct 2, 2009 11:33:02 AM
I think Congress critters, federal bureaucrats, and the President need to put some skin in the game; like linking their compensation to annual changes in GDP. :)
Posted by: Seward at Oct 2, 2009 12:51:31 PM
Wage and price controls here we come. Wheeeeee!!! This has worked so well in the past.
Seriously though, how can any honest economist in the Obama administration choose to continue to work for these fools, and thus endorse by implication, if this comes to pass?
Also, with wage and price controls in the pipeline, how can anyone expect that we will continue to get the positive externalities from private medical innovation that have enriched all of us over the past generation?
Posted by: happyjuggler0 at Oct 2, 2009 2:58:19 PM
Tyler, what can you expect from Democrats? Since you're willing to take all challenges, I hope you read Charles Krauthammer's colum
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/01/AR2009100104208.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
and ponder on the many sentences that CK quotes.
AS if you can expect better from republicans...Democrats my stat in front...but republicans will definitely back stab.
Posted by: Bead at Oct 2, 2009 3:05:20 PM
So, you really didn't expect this kind of stuff from Obama?
This is not a rhetorical question. I actually want to know. You really didn't think this kind of destructive government power grab was going to happen?
Why not?
Posted by: holmegm at Oct 2, 2009 3:51:33 PM
Actually. Tyler, I second holmegm's question... I am curious why you didn't expect this sort of thing. especially when a lot of your readers posted that they did.
If you could post your reasons, I'd really love to see them. Its always interesting to get a peek into your mind.
Posted by: Doc Merlin at Oct 2, 2009 5:10:01 PM
There is a real brain trust at work in Washington. Why don't they just abolish shareholders and be done with it?
Posted by: jorod at Oct 2, 2009 7:29:07 PM
"Why don't they just abolish shareholders and be done with it?"
Then they'd save nothing to do for next year.
Posted by: Tom at Oct 2, 2009 10:58:38 PM
