Now that Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C) are out from the somewhat watchful eye of Mr. Feinberg, he has only American International Group (AIG), the car companies, and GMAC to meddle with at little benefit to anyone.
So what does he do to keep himself occupied? He chats on the phone with Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO Lloyd Blankfein about how that company can better align pay for its executives, even though he has no authority over -- or interest in -- that company's policies.
Feinberg told Bloomberg TV in an interview that they talked "about how Goldman as an institution should approach base salaries and compensation over time. To a large extent I think he has succeeded in adopting the prescriptions we laid out."
Here's an idea: maybe, just maybe, Mr. Blankfein should devote his energy toward discussing improved governance practices with shareholders who do have a legitimate interest in the company's pay practices.
Instead of private conversations with Mr. Feinberg, Blankfein should set up a two-hour conference call to take questions from analysts, reporters and institutional investors for the sole purpose of discussing the company's pay practices: no boilerplate, no legalese. Just a frank discussion of how the company is altering its pay practices to better align compensation with the interests of long-term shareholders.
If he has time to discuss pay with a government bureaucrat who has no real reason to care about how much Goldman pays it employees, he should have time for the company's shareholders.
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