What President Obama is proposing is to maintain the failed policies of his first term, which produced the worst recovery from a recession since the Great Depression, except to add this panoply of tax rate increases on the very job creators, investors and successful small businesses the economy most needs to create jobs and the long overdue real recovery.

FORBES: The Fiscal Cliff and America's Coming Recession

But there has been little visible impact so far on its pay policy, except that Sir Peter Job is stepping down as chairman of the group's remuneration committee on October 1st (he will remain a member).

ECONOMIST: Executive pay: Maligned, or misaligned? | The

Unwilling to discuss the failure of the stimulus and health-care reform bills, which he sold as job creation measures, the president seemed unable to offer any news ideas except raising taxes on higher-income earners.

FORBES: A Debate That Could Not Live Up To Expectations

Indeed, except for a few tv loudmouths and self-help salesmen, there's nobody on the list whose day job is to interpret real events. (We dropped a category for public speakers this year--that's why you don't see Bill Clinton--because it's such a static roster.) No matter: Click here to enjoy the names and faces as useful data points of a personality-obsessed era.

FORBES: Sidelines

On the other hand, we did not subtract hypothetical income taxes from the salaries. (In case the school forgot to tell you, tuition is not deductible on your tax return except in the rare case where you are compelled to get the degree to maintain your present job.) Again, the goal is to show relative performance of the schools, not to predict any one individual's dollar payback.

FORBES: The Bottom Line on B-Schools