Finance Matters

Obama’s pay czar Kenneth Feinberg confirmed what everyone has long known today when he weighed in on the year-end bonus of Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs: Feinberg is irrelevant. 

The key points from today’s interview with Bloomberg:

• Feinberg “consulted” with Blankfein about the Goldman bonuses
• Goldman “followed [Feinberg's] prescriptions” about how bonuses should be paid
• Feinberg thinks Blankfein’s $9 million bonus is “too high”
• Feinberg has no authority over the Goldman bonuses

This begs several questions:

• Why did Feinberg consult with Blankfein about the Goldman bonuses if he has no authority over Goldman?  Does he have nothing better to do?

• Why is Blankfein’s $9 million bonus “too high” if Goldman followed Feinberg’s prescriptions about bonuses?  (Also, how can $9 million in stock in a record year be too high when Blankfein didn’t take a bonus at all last year?  What would have been appropriate?  Are the bonuses of hundreds of other Goldman bigshots also too high?)

• What, exactly, DOES Feinberg have authority over?

Bloomberg provides the answer to the last question:

Feinberg now oversees pay packages for executives of American International Group Inc., Chrysler Group LLC, Chrysler Financial Corp., General Motors Co. and GMAC Inc.

That’s a relief–at least he’s responsible for something.  But it prompts us to ask again, why is Feinberg wasting taxpayer time and money on Goldman Sachs?

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See Also:

• Feinberg: Even A $9 Million Bonus Is Excessive For Blankfein
• Ken Feinberg Caves On Pay Caps For AIG
• Did Erin Burnett Ask Gasparino About Kenneth Feinberg’s Hand Lotion Or Hand Motion?

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