For the first time, the government appears to be set to take some meaningful action against business fat cats who a) run companies that exist only because of billions of dollars of taxpayer supports and b) still see fit to pay themselves obscene salaries.

The New York Times and other outlets report that Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg will require executives and top employees at the most bailed-out firms to cut back on salary by 50 percent. If these reports are true, Mr. Feinberg and the Obama administration deserve applause – with one big caveat.

Until now, there has been no systemic mechanism of accountability imposed on top-paid executives and employees at the bailed-out firms. They destroyed their own businesses, not to mention the national economy, but felt entitled nonetheless to hyper-compensation. And the government has done little to discipline them. Now, it appears Feinberg is prepared to do that – for a narrow category of bailout recipients.

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