The House voted 237-185 in favor of passing HR3269: Corporate & Financial Inst Compensation Fairness Act. Nevada’s CD-2 Representative, Dean Heller, toed the Republican line and voted against the bill (Rep. Titus and Rep. Berkeley voted in favor of passage). It still needs to be voted on in the Senate where we’ll probably see the same negative response from Sen. John Ensign.

This bill would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to allow shareholders to express their pleasure, or displeasure, with executive compensation packages. These votes would not be considered binding on the corporation or the board of directors. (Though non-binding, it would most likely impact shareholder votes for board of director members at subsequent shareholder meetings.) It also requires bank regulating agencies to prescribe joint regulations that prohibit any compensation structure or incentive-based payment arrangement that encourages inappropriate risks by financial institutions or their officers or employees that could: (1) threaten the safety and soundness of covered financial institutions; or (2) present serious adverse effects on economic conditions or financial stability.

It’s too bad that I live in a Republican-dominated area of the state where two of our elected representatives strictly toe the Republican party’s neoliberalistic free market line. I guess they haven’t learned that unlike human beings, corporations have no souls, they’ve never heard of the ‘golden rule,’ and they will do what’s best for themselves at the expense of all others and continue to do so until stopped. I view these modifications of the SEC Act of 1934 as positive and necessary changes to curb the runamuck greed and outrageous risk-taking created by defective compensation schemes used not just in the banking sector, but in other large corporations throughout our country. And … I’ll continue writing and calling the offices of Heller and Ensign even though I’m sure my comments are falling on deaf ears.