"Pay czar" Ken Feinberg talks oil compensation fund

Ken Feinberg has become the go-to specialist in Washington for mediating between business and the public interest. There's his work acting as "pay czar" overseeing compensation of top executives at the firms that received the most assistance from the Troubled Assets Relief Program. And now he's running the BP victim compensation fund.

On Monday morning at the Economic Club of Washington, Feinberg talked about what the two roles have in common, though he'll be stepping down from his Treasury role to focus on BP later this summer.

"There are certain tragedies in American life where public policy seeks a creative alternative to conventional thinking," said Feinberg, who also administered the September 11 victims' fund. "And that's what pay is about, and that's what BP is about."

Of the BP fund, Feinberg said that some victims may be naturally suspicious but they're better off dealing with him than with the courts.

"Any fisherman, any businessman, any real estate owner, any motel owner, any crabber, oyster harvester, food processor, anybody can decide, 'I want nothing to do with this. I'd rather go to court or implement my other legal rights,' " said Feinberg. "Go ahead! You're cray to do so, though."

To watch his talk, plus a Q&A that followed, click here.

Photo credit: AP Photo/Susan Walsh