Barney Frank: “I was frankly waiting, and I was disappointed, but that happens a lot in life, for the gentleman to get to the part of…”

“I was frankly waiting, and I was disappointed, but that happens a lot in life, for the gentleman to get to the part of the article that he quoted selectively in which that article says what you really want to do is make the tax system more progressive. I suppose the gentleman didn't want to quote criticism of tax cuts that he voted for, but it did seem to me, if we are going to be quoting things, Mr. Reich said not that he was opposed to this as a bad idea, but that a much better way to do it would be to undo the tax cuts that the gentleman from Delaware supported at the upper brackets. Mr. Chairman, I would ask to insert in the Record the article by Robert B. Reich. [From The American Prospect, April, 2007] Don't Count on Shareholders (Robert B. Reich) An acquaintance of mine sits on the board of a major company that just agreed to pay its CEO close to $10 million this year, including deferred compensation and stock options. I asked him how he and his board colleagues could possibly justify that kind of money. ``No choice,'' he said. ``That's what our competition is paying. It's the going rate.'' As Congress struggles to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, the going rate of CEO pay is now $5,000 an hour. Polls show most Americans think this is obscene. But how to rein in CEO pay? A growing consensus believes the best way is to give shareholders more voice.…”