ALICE RIVLIN ON THE MOTU

Last October, Aline van Duyn wrote in the Financial Times that the Masters of the Universe didn't get that they bear a great deal of responsibility for our economic distress and now Alice Rivlin (bio) makes the same point.

Obama Blasts Wall Street Bonuses
The President calls payouts as firms seek bailouts "the height of irresponsibility"
By Phil Mintz and Theo Francis
January 29, 2009, 6:27PM EST
Business Week

Top Executives "Disconnected" from Real World
As Washington policymakers are struggling to come up with solutions to the financial crisis, the pay issue is moving to the forefront. Alice Rivlin, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office, told the National Economics Club in Washington that she was surprised by Citigroup's efforts to go ahead with the jet purchase and by Thain's "tin ear for the right thing to do in the circumstances."

Rivlin added: "We have created a culture of people at the top [of companies] who are disconnected from rest of world, people who don't talk to ordinary people. I know some of them, I'm on corporate boards with them. They've somehow got to get reconnected to the real world—and a lot of them will be, because they are losing their jobs."

Back in the early 70s, I read a short book by Rivlin about Federal spending and I was impressed by her clear-headed approach to the subject. My only take-away from the book is that instead of massive programs, we should try smaller ones with the same goals to see if the approach is effective.