Mandate that, Mark Clark!

Mark A. Clark of Weatherford, Texas, is amazed that people are upset with AIG bonuses only because they received a taxpayer bailout. Why else should I care what AIG spends its money on? I'm not an investor, I'm not a customer. If I don't like the way AIG spends its money, I take my business elsewhere. That's what the free market is all about.

But Mark thinks he should have the right to tell AIG how to run its business. I'll grant you, since we've bailed them out, we do have that right, but that's not what he's talking about. He's talking about telling businesses how to structure their payrolls when they're not taking taxpayer dollars. He says executives must have their pay limited to a factor relative to the lowest-paid person at the company. Well, Mark, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Let's mandate that you draw a salary limited to a factor relative to your IQ. That should put you a little less than minimum wage!

Paris News funny for the day: Mary Madewell wrote a column about breast cancer awareness month. She told us about her "lastest" mammogram. She also said that women are "proned" to check their breasts after an injury. I guess the lastest thing The Paris News will ever be proned to do is hire some good proofreaders.

"Salary excess never appropriate." The Dallas Morning News; March 12, 2009; p. 14A.