Executives at financial institutions receiving federal government assistance should not be making more in salary than government employees, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) said Friday.
“Why should you get paid more than Geithner if you’re working for Geithner?” Sherman asked during an appearance Friday morning on CNBC. “This is about ridiculously high compensation levels for people who think they’re very important, who work at companies who are bailed out.”
“I’m against bailing out Wall Street. Period,” Sherman added. “If they want capitalism, let them have capitalism.”
Sherman said there was a double standard between the government investing in companies like General Motors, where employees had to take make concessions to receive support, versus companies like AIG, where bonuses are routinely awarded.
“For you to assume that Wall Street is acting in the national interest flies in the face of recent reality,” Sherman said.
Watch a video of the interview below: