McCain: No golden parachutes for Fannie/Freddie CEOs

John McCain today threw himself into the fray over compensation for the ousted chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"CEOs that led us into this mess are walking away with over $20 million, and we're not going to let that happen as president," the Republican presidential nominee said at a rally in Fairfax, Va., Bloomberg News reports.

"They deserve nothing. They should be paying it back," he said.

Bloomberg noted that the Democratic nominee, Barack Obama, two days ago called on Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director James Lockhart to deny "inappropriate" exit payments to the CEOs, Daniel Mudd of Fannie and and Richard Syron of Freddie.

The two were fired on Sunday after the government seized the mortgage companies, saying that their financial health was in jeopardy.

McCain apparently took his pay figure from a letter that Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.) wrote on Tuesday to Lockhart and Paulson. They said the executives might be paid more than $24 million, in total, in golden-parachute payments.

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) today introduced a bill to bar former Fannie and Freddie executives and directors from getting severance payments.

Comments

[Maggie Knowles]

If only every year could be an election year, we could really clean house.

[Hugo]

What is ironic is that McCain has lately been attacking Obama over his supposed failure to "stand up to his own party." Yet, the letter which McCain took his cue from was written by two Democrats. Why would Obama fight his party, when his party gets it? Where's the Republican version of the same letter?

Perhaps Sen. McCain misunderstood what change means: you are supposed to stand up for what is right when things are wrong. 8 years of a Republican president, 5 years of uninterrupted Republican rule of the Senate & House, and McCain sat idly by either through his own ignorance of economics or disinterest, as these feckless CEOs ran two companies into the ground. Way to go McCain, you stood up for a no-brainer.

[Dean Corso]

They deserve golden parachutes - made from gold colored ripstop nylon perforated with 24 million small holes, carefully and professionally packed, brought aloft to an even higher stratosphere than the one they have been on for so long while doing nothing for anyone, then jump out fo the private jet on their way to a well-deserved retirement. They should be subject to the ups and downs like we are. I'm pretty sure all of the homeowners in the catastrophic grip of financial ruination and loss of their homes would be more than happy to provide the collective monies needed to make chutes for the few dozen exeuctives demanding a severence package. For those that insist and bring further litigation against us all, they get no parachute at all. They must just jump.

[martscan]

Let's face it...McCain is not magna cum laude material...in fact, he's never had an original, positive, thought in his life. If he had not been a POW, which I consider a detriment to having a normal, well adjusted personality, or been put into Congress by his less than moral father-in-law...who realized early on McCain didn't have what it takes to succeed in business...who knows what Dr. Strangelove would be doing now? I'd peg him for a RE guy that only lists property, 3 BR split levels mostly..like his flip-flop character...and who never actually sells anything.

[betsy]

Sarah Palin attended six colleges in six years? -- Chicago Tribune Sept. 4, 2008.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-cvn-palin-education,0,1503213.story

[Robert Neighbors]

These two bastards, were FIRED! Along with their boards. Why should they care? When they are thinking, it`s not so bad, hell we each are walking away with 12 million dollars. They should be crucified upside down, naked at 12:00 pm. noon in public. What they allowed to take place, on their watch is an inch short of an act of treason. Had the Fed /Treasury, not bailed these Company`s out, China alone would have foreclosed on them, to the tune of $360 billion plus. When adding up the other investors, all toll total, comes to $1.4 trillion US. dollars. They didn`t have it to pay out. So at the end of the day, the Fed, had to take over and refund their accounts payable, with all our tax money. It`s called white collar crime, but I doubt, any one will go to prison.

[NOMCCAIN]

McCain should had been fired from senate long time ago when this old crook and liar accepted $112,000.00 from Charles Keating.

[Dabears50]

People do your homework - OBAMA was the number 2 beneficiary from Fannie and Fred since 1998 - McCain tried to pass a bill to reform Fannie and Fred back in 2005 saying that this would happen and it has - Thinking Democrats are the only party looking out for Middle Class and the Poor and Republicans are only for the wealthy - is ignorance at its finest - Obama Taxing the RICH is a tax raise to everyone - everything we buy will just cost more - we all work for Rich People - unless you are Rich yourself and can afford to be a liberal - good for you -The bottom Line is there will always be Rich and there will always be Poor and I myself will always work for a Rich Person. Obama is a joke - who has no direction unless you call - everything will be free when I get in office a direction -

[Aggie Torres]

CEO compensation packages should be based on long-term performance, period. They don't feel the heat when they drive their companies to the ground because they can walk out with millions. It reminds me of any hollywood character who is seen without out of a burning building without a scratch. That should not happen in real life with these CEOs.

I think the chickens have come to hatch with the GOP "contract on America". The GOP likes to say ove and over again on how the markets are going to correct themselves. Face it: any where there is more than one person, you need rules. That is why we have traffic lights, standards for meat products, etc... Unmonitored business will ultimately eat its own spawn, just to have the extra vacations, boats, trips, etc.... Meanwhile, the rest of us pick-up the tab when the tax our paychecks. Us regular folks cannot set up offices outside the U.S. to avoid paying taxes; we can't get a tax attorney to look for loopholes in our payroll tax deductions, nor do we really have much control over our 401-k accounts. That leads me to another thing....throw our social security into wall street...........GIVE ME A BREAK....but that is a while other subject.