Editorial: Renewing public trust

Monday, Feb. 5, 2007 | 7:14 a.m.

Last week, as Congress debated ways to address the ever-increasing American wage gap, President Bush stood in the nation's financial center and called on corporations to rein in excessive pay packages and bonuses for their chief executives so that compensation would be better tied to performance.

Speaking in New York on Wednesday, Bush also acknowledged that the wage gap between the wealthy and the poor is twice as wide as it was in 1980. But conservatives shouldn't fret that Bush has suddenly become a liberal. The president, who boasted of a strong economy characterized by low unemployment, low interest rates and industrial growth, also urged Congress to protect his precious tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans.

Bush also called for renewal of the so-called "fast track" on international trade agreements, which forces Congress to approve or reject international deals without attaching any caveats. Democrats say such deals allow businesses to more quickly move American jobs to foreign countries, where labor and environmental standards are more lax.

Tax breaks for the rich and streamlining the process of outsourcing Americans' jobs is how the president purports to improve the lot of the middle class? It is as ludicrous as the health care reform package that the president unveiled two weeks ago, which could result in middle class workers paying more for insurance or losing employer-based coverage completely.

In delivering his remarks at Federal Hall - across the street from the New York Stock Exchange - Bush also said that corporations need to renew the public's faith in U.S. industry and "show the world that American businesses are a model of transparency and good corporate governance."

Too bad the same is not being asked of the president. From his contradictory economic proposals to his lopsided health care reforms that favor the health insurance industry to his incredibly inept war policy, Bush would have a lot of explaining to do at his annual performance review, if he were running a U.S. corporation rather than the United States. If Congress sought to justify the president's paycheck and perks, he would end up owing money to the American taxpayers.