The Financial Tsunami ( FT ) - The Way Forward ( 3 ) - And justice for ALL !

The US President has just condemned the exorbitant remuneration paid to the Wall Street financial gurus as SHAMEFUL. The collective amounts paid to high ranking executives of Wall Street financial institutions for their disastrous performance in 2008 came to an unbelievable total of 18.4 billion. This has highlighted the worst possible display of human greed. Human beings will line their own pockets to the total disregard of the dire consequences on the public well being. Now, everyone will suffer the painful fruits of their greed. It is about time that high ranking corporate executives are held accountable for their despicable callousness. This is not revenge but the right way forward with a view to recovering the huge portion of the overpayment for the purpose of mopping up the aftermath of the FT. Investigating each and every CEO and their buddies will send a strong message that such irresponsible behaviour is not longer tolerated by society. If they get huge bonuses for the fat years why should they not be held accountable for the mess they have created for all of us ? They must now publicly justify in a satisfactory manner the manifestly excessive remuneration they have paid themselves.

There is a legally set limit for the minimum wage in many countries. Why should there not be a maximum limit for corporate executives ? Better still, all high ranking corporate executives should be required by law to publicly justify the remuneration they have received as part of the annual auditing process. You see there is some folly in the traditional belief that the " sky is the limit " concept to attract the best candidate for the CEO of public corporations. The possibility of endless remuneration will simply motivate endless greed not endless efforts as expected. This is the dark side of human nature which has been sadly overlooked in the naive form of capitalism. Furthermore, the grand argument ( no doubt put forward by the cunning corporate executives themselves ) that the management's first duty is to maximize shareholders' profits is no longer tenable because the black sheep of the corporate hierarchy are those who have benefited most under the disguise of this seemingly selfless goal. While the hierarchy lay off their employees at the slightest sign of economic recession they continue to draw their excessive remuneration regardless and have the cheek to order new 40 million dollar corporate jets like the Citi Group. Luckily, the watchful Obama and his new team call a stop to it.

I am not advocating a return to the socialist or welfare system. I am simply asking for a more enlightened form of capitalism supported by a democratic system. If I were the CEO of a public corporation employing some 4 million people worldwide I would have been more motivated by a sense of mission to society and my fellow global citizens in keeping up their welfare than any amount of money over and above say, US$ 5,000,000. Yes, I am as greedy as everyone else but as a human being who is supposed to be the cream of all creations I can and must control the dark side of my human nature. It is pathetic to be motivated solely by money or its misplaced symbolic indication of success. There are numerous higher goals to be achieved. Don't diminish your own importance. Nor should you overlook your potential to do good. So, I am proposing a revolutionary measure. Impose a maximum limit on the amount of remuneration that can be paid to corporate executives. This will not only reduce the temptation to let our greed run wild. It will also attract the right type of more enlightened corporate executives to hold those important and influential positions in society. The most fundamental way to overhaul our present flawed economic system is, of course, to educate everyone especially the younger generation to steer away from the materially inclined social values to a more balanced value system.

To the black sheep of the corporate world - your day of reckoning is at hand !

JKHC.