No Golden Parachutes
With less than thirty percent of America approving of the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street’s financial giants, Democrats took the opportunity yesterday to rail on the most controversial aspect of the plan … executive payouts … which in all honesty was pretty damn smart of them.
Now if only they’d been this smart back when they were mandating the approval of all these ridonkulously shitty loans, maybe we wouldn’t find ourselves in such a quagmire.
Anyway, these so-called “golden parachutes” are as incomprehensible as they are indefensible. After all, the last time we checked the whole idea behind capitalism was that successful people made money and unsuccessful people lost it.
Maybe we shouldn’t base our financial world view on the movie Trading Places, but since when did “the American way” include awarding multi-million dollar severance packages to executives who did nothing but run their companies into the ground and force taxpayers to pick up the tab?
We see enough of that watching South Carolina’s public education system, Billy Ray.
Thankfully, federal regulators blocked $24 million worth of severance payments which were scheduled to go to former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEO’s Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer, which is frankly the least they could do considering it’s going to cost us upwards of $300 billion to bail out these two quasi-government agencies.
And there’s no telling whether or not the bailout proposal will even work.
Sure, it spurred a short-lived stock market rally when it was first announced last week, but yesterday the market lost 373 points while the dollar continued to slide and oil jumped by more than $16 a barrel.
Basically, investors are as suspicious of this thing as we are, and we’re crazy suspicious.
America needs some new rules, people, and we should probably start by agreeing that a mortgage - like college, credit cards or even basic cable - just isn’t for everybody.
We should probably also agree that if your company is going belly up, that’s your tough Shinola.
But at the very least, if your company goes belly up and taxpayers have to pick up the pieces, you don’t get to keep the friggin’ yacht and Lamborghini.
Comments
By Tired on September 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Will,
Don’t you think this strikes a particularly similar reflection to that of the big government economic development “bailout” that Bobby Harrell and his playmates proposed last month or so here in South Carolina?
When children run scared they run to their parents…..when grownups run scared they turn to the government for protection….There is nothing that makes Bobby feel more secure than a blanket of bureaucracy…..Who’s your daddy Bobby?
By just me on September 23rd, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Correct punctuation (and an attempt at fixing grammar)is as follows:
With less than thirty percent of America approving of the Bush administration’s proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street’s financial giants, Democrats took the opportunity yesterday to attack the most controversial aspect of the plan - executive payouts - which, in all honesty, was pretty damn smart of them.
Now, if only they’d been this smart when they were mandating the approval of all these ridonkulously shitty loans, we wouldn’t find ourselves in such a quagmire.
Anyway, these so-called “golden parachutes” are as incomprehensible as they are indefensible. After all, the last time we checked the whole idea behind capitalism was that successful people made money and unsuccessful people lost it.
Maybe we shouldn’t base our financial world view on the movie “Trading Places”, but since when did “the American Way” include awarding multi-million dollar severance packages to executives who did nothing but run their companies into the ground and force taxpayers to pick up the tab?We see enough of that watching South Carolina’s public education system (Billy Ray?).
Thankfully, federal regulators blocked $24 million worth of severance payments scheduled for former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac CEO’s Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dummer, which is, frankly, the least they could do considering it’s going to cost us upwards of $300 billion to bail out these two quasi-government agencies.Not that anyone can say whether the bailout proposal will work.
Sure, it spurred a short-lived stock market rally when it was first announced last week, but yesterday the market lost 373 points while the dollar continued to slide and oil jumped by more than $16 a barrel.
Basically, investors are as suspicious of this thing as we are, and we’re crazy suspicious. {Note - leaving Will’s language alone because it makes a point.]
America needs some new rules, people, and we should probably start by agreeing that a mortgage - like college, credit cards, or even basic cable - just isn’t for everybody. [Note - this seems incongruos.]
We should probably also agree that if your company is going belly up, that’s your tough Shinola [What the heck is "Shinola" - not a word in general usage - replace - preferably not with profanity].
But at the very least, if your company goes belly up and taxpayers have to pick up the pieces, you don’t get to keep the friggin’ yacht and Lamborghini [use a more updated vehicle].
By rick on September 24th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Just by me….good answer, although(theres always an although or a but)severence packages are negotiated at the start of employment. While I fail to see the value in rewarding someone several millions of dollars for failing, I fail to see why a success clause is not part of the pkg. Since Freddie/Fannie are a joint venture and Uncle is withholding the bonus/salary we can look forward to the federal government spending millions in court only to lose. Government has a dreadful habit of losing. Business as we know it today is all about the now. While I have the opportunity to watch companies project where they want to be 5, 50 100 years out, they fail in understanding that the now is less important than the tomorrow. Greed always plays a role. Toyota was a cheap piece of crap when the muscle car era was in full swing….they focused on the tomorrow, built systems for the tomorrow and now are continuing the tradition started while we slept. Look at Carly Fiorina, CEO HP, tossed out because the board didn’t see her vision, today they are living the vision she instituted. And you’re right, the boys at the top in these companies should be walking out without a belt to hold up their pants. Just don’t believe they will…CEO of either Freddie or Fanny is economic advisor for Barack…and Barack was #2 in campaign contibutions from Freddie/Fannie.