President Obama, pay caps, and responsibility

In the news this week we read of the plan of President Obama to force pay caps on CEOs of companies. While the libertarian in me does not like to see government intervention in the market, this situation is probably for the better. One of the problems I see in our country is that because everyone is looking out for themselves, and not looking out for others, it causes massive problems in our market. Trust is undermined, and we are not dealing honestly or ethically with other people or businesses.

As a business owner, I’m reminded that liberty and freedom is a treasure, and must certainly be embraced, but not at the expense of others. I need to make sure that in addition to protecting my property rights, that I am not infringing on the rights of others. For too long, greed has dominated our markets, and caused the situation we are in.

The lesson I see in all this is that if as business leaders we cannot police our own actions, someone else (the government in this case) will intervene and do it for us. As Americans, we need to start accepting responsibility for our actions, and stop living as if we are the only ones that are important. Our era of greed and irresponsibility has come to an end.
Again, I don’t like the government telling the private sector what to do, but this shakeup by the government and “we the people” will hopefully send a message to business owners and CEOs that this kind of reckless behavior that we have seen will not be allowed anymore. I don’t have a problem with a person making a lot of money as a CEO. I don’t agree with the stimulus package, but it looks like it will be passed. So if the taxpayers are going to bailout failed companies AGAIN, I just don’t see why a top executive should still keep their compensation considering their company would have failed.

So since I’m writing as a businessperson, and someone interested in theology, let’s consider putting others ahead of ourselves. Let’s remember those that we impact. Even if our company doesn’t have employees (mine does not), we still have an impact on people. Let’s curb any wasteful spending, and work towards equitable solutions that benefit not just ourselves, but our customers and the public. For the Christian, business I believe can be a calling, and it is up to us to have high moral standards and integrity in the transactions and dealings that we do on a day to day basis.

Philippians 2:3 “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (ESV)