As General Motors (NYSE: GM) brass flail around Washington desperately seeking to avoid bankruptcy, the company is taking some draconian cost-cutting steps (subscription required) at its Detroit offices and plants. The company has stopped replacing the batteries in wall clocks, changed the brand of wipe-up towelettes it buys, and eliminated voice mail at most of its plants.

The company is doing everything it can to conserve cash while it begs for a taxpayer-funded bailout but, unfortunately, CEO Richard Wagoner has been unwilling to take a step that would save the company cash and send a message of solidarity to the company's employees and the taxpayers who are being asked to foot the bill for a restructuring. Last week, Rep. Peter Roskam, R- Ill., asked Wagoner whether he would be willing to cut his salary down to $1 per year while the company navigate through the mess he has helped to navigate it into. He declined.

Here's what so ridiculous about this: In 2007, Mr. Wagoner was paid $14.4 million, on top of another $10.2 million in 2006. In retrospect, he deserved literally none of that. Not a nickel. So the fact is that Congress should be asking him to contribute a good chunk of that to the bailout effort, not merely asking him to take a larger salary cut for 2008 or 2009. But he won't even do that.

Before Congress spends another second even discussing a bailout, they should toss Mr. Wagoner out on the street.