Good grief, the Wall Street Journal is now printing class warfare stories on the front page. In the 19 June 2009 daily edition, below the fold, there is a story titled, "CEOs of Bailed-Out Banks Flew to Resorts on Firms' Jets."My first response is "who cares?" I sure don't. Corporate jets are whipping boys in the current game of nationalizing industries and taking the country down the road to socialism. There I said it. The current administration and Congress are turning this country into Venezuela! Special Sign Up Bonus: FREE rollover minutes. Order Today!
From the article:
"Disclosure of the flights comes at a t time when the Obama administration is setting limits on how banks that receive federal money may compensate their executives... Aid recipients' use of corporate jets, even for business, has been a sensitive matter since last fall."
Did you get all of that? The Executive Branch is setting limits on the compensation of publicly-traded companies. What? Who is "sensitive" to the matter? President Teleprompter who takes a $27,000 dollar flight to go one a date with his wife? But wait, you say, he is the President, he has to be protected. I agree, he does. But what about the President of a company that employs 250,000 people and generates over $97 billion in revenue? Web Conferencing Made Easy - Signup for Dimdim Web Conferencing for less than $20 per month!
That person would be Ivan G. Seidenberg, CEO of Verizon Communications. According to their most recent proxy statement:"The Company provides certain aircraft and ground transportation benefits to enhance the safety and security of certain of the named executive officers."
For Bank of America's Ken Lewis, he too is entitled to use the corporate jet for "...primarily for business travel." If you read the proxy statement of any major corporation, they will say roughly the same thing, as well as noting it as an element of compensation. If you were paying an executive $1500 an hour, would you want them standing in the security line at JFK for 45 minutes? I sure wouldn't! Cheap? No. 100% Free. Trade stocks for free on Zecco.com. The Free Trading Community. www.zecco.com
The fact of the matter is that most people won't ever fly in a corporate jet or earn what a CEO earns. While it is nice to dream those dreams and work hard to try to fulfill them, it probably won't happen. If you begrudge them, then don't invest in their companies. If you feel locked in because your tax dollars went in the form of a bailout, then vote the bums out! Frankly, I am sick of the whining.
Well said, sir!
ReplyDeleteHaving a corporate jet is simply part of the job. That is what you receive as a part of working 100+ hour weeks.
If your company does not provide this perk, the best CEOs will simply move to other companies.
The government shouldn't even be involved in these companies. How is it right to complain about what they are doing with the money.