Maybe there is something to that Federal Reserve as super regulator proposal the Obama administration is talking about after all.

Imagine my surprise at this Wall Street Journal headline, Bankers Face Sweeping Curbs on Pay:

Policies that set the pay for tens of thousands of bank employees nationwide would require approval from the Federal Reserve as part of a far-reaching proposal to rein in risk-taking at financial institutions.

The Fed's plan would, for the first time, inject government regulators deep into compensation decisions traditionally reserved for the banks' corporate boards and executives.

Under the proposal, the Fed could reject any compensation policies it believes encourage bank employees -- from chief executives, to traders, to loan officers -- to take too much risk. Bureaucrats wouldn't set the pay of individuals, but would review and, if necessary, amend each bank's salary and bonus policies to make sure they don't create harmful incentives.

The proposal is in the works, requires Fed board approval, but get this one, the proposal does not require Congressional approval.

Considering our bought and paid for Congress where the good guys cannot get most reforms through, maybe this idea of the Federal Reserve as a systemic risk regulator isn't such a bad idea after all?

I hate to say it, but let's face it, our government is so overrun by corporate lobbyists, including financial lobbyists it's questionable Congress can get much needed reforms through. Damning Congressional testimony is dismissed, bills killed or blocked in one chamber, amendments to water down legislation to token gestures....we know the drill.

Just the other day, out of frustration, I wrote may the Cayman Islands be so overloaded with rats it sinks, due to multinational corporations and financial institutions doing end run arounds by incorporating in a tax haven nation.

All I know is executive compensation needs to be strongly restructured, as does corporate governance, and if the Federal Reserve can succeed where Governments have failed...

well, this peanut gallery blogger will become a Federal Reserve rah rah cheerleader.