Some sentences are so awkward, it is best to "throw the baby out with the bath water" and start all over again!

Here is a question that appeared recently in a USA Today Q&A column written by Edward Iwata:

Is the bailout plan's limits on executive pay for companies that receive money a wise or dumb move?

What was that again? After three read-throughs, I figured out what the writer was trying to say, but I should have been able to follow the point the first time through.

First problem: The SUBJECT of this question is the word "limits," which is PLURAL. Therefore, the VERB that goes with that subject should be "are," not "is."

Second problem: How can "limits" (PLURAL) be described as "a wise or dumb move" (SINGULAR)?

Third problem: This sentence does what I usually refer to as "going around your elbow" to say what you mean. The subjects and verbs are all out of balance in this statement. I would suggest fixing the subject/verb agreement issues but ALSO doing what I often refer to as "throwing the baby out with the bath water" and starting all over again.

Here is my suggestion:

Is it a wise or dumb move to limit executive pay for companies that receive money from the bailout plan?

That seems much clearer to me. If you have another suggestion, please send it along.