The fleecing continues…

Bloomberg has reported on compensation figures for the executive team over at the bailed-out, loss-making lender GMAC, Inc. The company hasn’t seen profitability since 2008, yet former CEO Alvaro de Molina received $3.7 million last year. The new guy, former Citigroup executive Michael Carpenter, made an annualized $9.5 million for the month and a half he was on the job. Four other c-suite executives at GMAC made a combined $22 million in 2009, despite losing money every quarter.

Because GMAC received taxpayer assistance, Obama administration “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg had to sign off on these compensation figures, in effect, giving the administration’s imprimatur to the comp, just as it did with last month’s banker bonuses.

To illustrate how our mindset about such things is miles away from where it needs to be, Mr. Carpenter sat on the GMAC board of directors (albeit just for six month or so) prior to being named CEO. As I discussed yesterday, it is the board of directors who are chiefly responsible for runaway compensation. Why even consider a current board member to run the company when, often, they’re part of the problem?

As more and more ordinary people learn how corporations work, the outrage over compensation will continue to grow. Corporate governance – long the preserve of academics and specialized lawyers – is about to become the next big thing, and yet, neither major political party seems very interested in it. That should tell you something about how the bread gets buttered.