Dear CEOs: Pay For Your Own Round of Golf

Now that everyone's talking about the meltdown on Wall Street, it's cold comfort that the problems on Main Street are getting air time too.

The American Dream is under attack. At a time when working families across the country are losing their homes, their jobs, and the very hope through adversity that sets this great nation apart from all others, it's not enough to talk about the markets. It's not enough to talk about foreclosures. It's not enough to acknowledge the impact on ordinary people without addressing the root cause of the crisis: basic inequality.

We can make this financial crisis a complicated discussion about CDOs and SIVs and any number of acronyms made up in the last few years to describe the trade in structured debt that is now being questioned by the very corporate types who created the system. We can debate the $85 billion set aside to shore up AIG, the $200 billion bailout provided to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the trillion dollar price tag that's been floated to cover all the major financial collapses so far.

But the real problem is simple. We've done far too little to ensure people in this country have good jobs with health care and the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty. At the same time, we've done far too much to ensure the wealthiest one percent of Americans have every opportunity to take big risks, pay less in taxes, and force the government to step in when their big gambles don't pay off. Now we're demanding ordinary Americans pony up $2,000 a piece to clean up the mess.

No one's arguing that the government shouldn't be stepping in now that there's a crisis. We've got to get on the ball for future crises now.

However, as lawmakers and regulators are scrambling to calculate the ultimate tab for the willful risks of banking and investment CEOs, ordinary Americans can and should make one request of our own: No golden parachutes for failed corporate executives. Taxpayers absolutely cannot be forced to foot the bill for the poor decisions and unnecessary risks taken by firms designed to rake in profits at any cost, while CEOs engage in reckless and damaging behavior without personal consequences.

After tanking our economy and leaving taxpayers to foot the bill, the least that Wall Street's corporate executives can do is finance their next round of golf--on their own dime.

Andy Stern is International President of the 2 million member Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Comments

[RicksRant]

Please tell me what, if anything, is wrong with the following sentiments...

Pretty interesting poker game going on here! You have foreign holders of several trillion dollars from persistent trade deficits ... mostly because they would not revalue their currencies and we did not devalue ours ... that have invested in and propped up the housing price bubble. Now that the bubble has burst, they will have to write off huge losses AND overvalued mortgages. The intermediaries (banks, mortgage lenders & investment banks) don't want to write down the face value of mortgages, which is the most sensible thing to do, so they have bribed our politicians to either buy these problematic "assets" or inflate the supply of dollars until the imaginary house prices of 4 years ago become 'real' again (due to monetary inflation alone).

Works for me. How about you? Swell bunch of clowns we've elected.

... Any vote to continue this monetary fiasco by providing taxpayer-backed guarantees for mostly foreign dollar holdings (due to ridiculous trade/exchange-rate policies) via 1.4 trillion in bailouts (and counting) will get me active in removing any legislators involved from office!!! Please do the right thing and say HELL NO to anymore bailouts of the sell-us-out crowd on Wall Street.

[noneIn2008]

"removing any legislators involved from office"
We could easily start with all those in the House and Senate who were "accountable" for oversight.
Senate:
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Information.Membership
House:
http://financialservices.house.gov/who.html

I especially like the lead point on the House Financial Service Committee site:
"The Committee oversees all components of the nation's housing and financial services sectors including banking, insurance, real estate, public and assisted housing, and securities. The Committee continually reviews the laws and programs relating to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, ......"

[gala1]

Since we really can't follow India's lead in efficient CEO disposition why not just make them wish they were dead instead.

Every time you sue someone it costs buckets of money.
I'd rather see a bunch of class-action lawyers induced into a fairer apportionment going after the assets of all these hogs than let them all loll away a sweet old-age in their mansions in Westport blowing off the retirement of the voiceless.

Wouldn't it be a grand idea if the future of every executive involved in this mess was one of unremitting time in court?
If they have to have a victory, why not make it definitively Pyrrhic for them.

It's not like there is a shortage of lawyers, or anything.

-gala1

[esquire07]

"It's not enough to acknowledge the impact on ordinary people without addressing the root cause of the crisis: basic inequality. "

Welcome to America. Ordinary people do not matter and inequality is the way of life.

You can bet the richest of the rich will profit handsomely from this so called "crisis." The cause of course endless American greed and lying Politicians bought by Corporate America.

The combined bailouts will still cost less than the illegal occupation and destruction of Iraq, so hell - what a bargain... and 4300 troops won't have to die for Oil and Arms profits.

America was sold down the river long ago. An ignorant electorate that believed the Bush/Cheney lies are also to blame not to mention a do nothing Democratic Congress with lower approval ratings than congress.

America dug its own grave - Bush/Cheney just handed them the shovel.

You can bet that just like 9/11 an just like the illegal occupation of Iraq - the same Bush/Cheney criminals will profit handsomely form this latest "crisis."

[changezz]

Not to place any credibility with the conspiracy crowd, but by bankrupting the economy, the Republicans are now able to accomplish covertly (downsize government, limit spending to essential programs) what they were unable to do overtly during the last several Republican administrations. It seems that they have allowed various issues to escalate to the point where an overwhelming ($$$) response was required, had other measures been taken preventatively, would have proved much less costly. This mess has been on the horizon for some time, however rather than dealing directly with the problem (and admitting that they were indeed responsible), they have relied on temporary solutions (and attempt to place the blame on someone else's administration).

[ofbbg]

Believe me, shipmate, while the Repubs had a chance to act from '96 to '06, the primary fault for this mess lies with two DEMOCRATIC administrations - Jimmy "The Incompetent" Carter, and Bill "The Philanderer" Clinton. for more facts, see:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=&sid=aSKSoiNbnQY0

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

ANTI-HISTORICAL! Clinton delivered the United States to BUSH-BOY with a budget surplus; Bush-boy--at the behest of his avatar, Grover Norquist (who should be hanged!) et al., just like his Republican precedessors, suckered the U.S. with more Reaganomics, and blew out the U.S. Federal budget MANY TIMES over.....

If you're going to LIE, at least, acknowledge events EVERYONE remembers and then spin your tale!

[rayofhope]

Don't believe the hype. It is propaganda. Jimmy hasen't been in office for years and Clinton has been out for the past eight years. Deregulation was and is the problem. We can sit around and try to justify why we vote and really believe it. But the bottom line is the republicans have raped this country down to it's last penny. So why not clean out the last little financial system that the american people have before leaving office. From the no bid contracts to the free wheeling pharmacutical companies to the big box stores desimating neighborhoods of the mom and pop stores. It has been a systamatic program designed implemented and carried out by the republican machine. So the next time you feel the need to dispence lies as the man said on dragnet (just the facts).

[oldfart1]

Re "The Post-Lehman World" (NY Times, Op-Ed, Sept 19): David Brooks is bewildered and needs help. Here it is: Bush's triumph:

Bush's endless wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan have been fought on borrowed money (and the borrowing goes on). Paul O'Neill, former US Treasury secretary, has said that in 2002 he tried to warn Dick Cheney that growing budget deficits posed a threat to the US economy. Mr Cheney cut him off: "Reagan proved deficits don't matter," he said. With Greenspan's support, subprime mortgages were launched in 2003 to stimulate the housing boom and help re-elect Bush.

The cost of the bailout is estimated at $1 trillion, or more, closely matching the cost of the war. Bush has done things his way - we haven't had to pay for his war while he was President, but in the future we will pay for it over and over and over... In other words, Bush has gotten not only his war, but also everything else he wanted: now America will no longer be able to afford health care, or any of the social programs he hates. Cheney and he must be savoring every moment of their triumph, and looking forward to what McCain and Palin have in store for us: McCain will fire any one who is left who has any competence, and Palin will replace them with her friends from Alaska.

[ivillage]

Seattle Times Endorses Barack Obama
http://www.sefermpost.com/sefermpost/2008/09/seattle-times-e.html

[LeonBNJ]

To me we need to make major changes in the tax laws to discourage excessive pay and benefits of business executives and to immediatly put in a 20% surtax on those with $250,000 gross taxable income. Make such persons pay 100% of their healthcare and pension/retirement benefits with no tax deductions. Caps on top pay lets say not more than 10 times the average employee excluding exempt employees. We should also require those that committed fraud in helping applicants and applicants themselves to pay large fines and even face jail for their crimes.

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Let's BEGIN even more simply: Treat CAPITAL GAINS as ordinary income--or at the very least with a small exclusion. "Murkans" forget that much of the income on Wall Street is taxed are relatively low rates. NO WONDER there is an incentive to generate BILLIONS in UNEARNED income!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dutt]

A perfect opportunity for some of the over compensated CEO's and former CEO's with their obscenely huge severances to start showing some patriotism. Let them pay for the mess they created.

[jcsophie]

Democrats want pay limits, loan aid in bailout

"loan aid in bailout" Okay, does this mean that I will get aid on my loan too? Instead of purchasing a home that I "technically" qualified for at $500,000.......my husband and I decided to purchase a home for $250,000. We knew that we could not afford the $500K house even though we could get a loan to buy it. What about accountability!???!! If you are stupid enough to not do the math on what you can and can't afford.....do you really deserve loan aid??? This whole thing stinks. I am so sick of bailing out this culture of entitlement we have created!

posted Sep 22, 2008 at 12:56:06

[BassMonk]

Nobody is suggesting that.

[jcsophie]

Bill Clinton and Whoopie Goldberg suggested this very thing on "The View" this morning.

[applebutter]

There probably are foolish homeowners. But there are also many who are losing their homes to predators like Indymac, major illness and lack of/not enough health insurance, loss of jobs, and now post-bubble decreasing property values.

Do people deserve the aid? There but for the grace of God go you, and may you find an end to your arrogant ignorance and compassion for your situation when you fall on difficult times.

[jcsophie]

I love how people on the left always assume people are arrogant and ignorant just because they don't agree with them. Aren't you supposed to be the party that touts itself as open-minded and accepting of all people? Oh yes, only if they're like you. My husband and I could both find ourselves out of jobs tomorrow, but at least we wouldn't be struggling to pay for a house that we couldn't even afford when we were working. That was my point. Sorry you missed it.

[AlisonChaynz]

It's the currency, stupid.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered." -- Thomas Jefferson

End the Fed. Stop printing money!

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

The FEDERAL RESERVE is NOT a private bank. "Private banks" haven't issued currency for OVER one HUNDRED YEARS! The ignorance of "Murkans" is at the basis of this crisis--deliberate, stubborn, IGNORANCE!!!

[dadw5boys]

The local Country Club and Golf Course sent me a Membership Application with all the TAX WRITE OFF INFO included.

Nine (9) different tax write off's including the $225,000 Membership Fee.

[ADVOCATE4ZPG]

Deductions, exclusions, offsets? What provision of the tax code? Do the "write off's" apply to individuals or to one or more of the classes of corporations?

[HWBII]

It seems obvious that under this bailout plan the same pigs will be lining up at a new trough. Curious to see what Phil Gramm/UBS manages to siphon off... hope it doesn't leave them whining.

[sherrigood]

Geez, the lipstick is finally off the pigs (ie. Republican conservatives), now that their 'trickle down economics' has begun trickling down on them to the tune of 700 billion, or 1 trillion, or is it 1.5 trillion+ trickles! If you listen carefully you can hear the squeals.

[Snwbnny9]

The only things failed CEO's should receive is an appointment at the unemployment office. I have never understood why they can run a company into the ground and still receive millions in severance. Severance? The stockholders should get severance. What happened to greater responsibility with greater reward?

[RobinLandseadel]

No, what we need is final unemployement---nothing---for these thieves.

Jail time's too good, exile runs the risk of these pirates re-organizing.

These CEOs need to spend a good, long time sleeping beside railroad tracks and under bridges.

[kiddub]

The corporate interests do mompolize the blame on this issue and the plan proposed by the administration is only a bail out for inept leadership by the financial giants, however I believe some of the blame can be placed on the American Dream and average Americans as well. Personal fiscal accountability and responsibility used to mean something to the generations that came before me, but now the culture of greed and consumerism is so pervasive and so powerful that average americans are attempting to live beyond their means and sewing the seeds of their own destruction.

Spend sensibly, live within your means. If you give the corporate giants the power to bully you into spending money you don't have, you deserve to face the consequences of your actions.

[NMdonkey]

I agree up to a point here, but in previous generations it was possible to work for the same company for your entire career, with decent wages and benefits, including retirement. Wages have been stagnant and declining with the cost of living- I don't know about you, but my pay hasn't gone up to compensate the rising costs in gas and food. My diet isn't as healthy as it was a couple of years ago; I can't afford to buy as much fresh produce as I used to. Many people I know have no health insurance or they have very high deductibles and co-pays, so we don't bother going to doctors. A lot of us can't afford regular checkups at the dentist and eye doctor, either. Some people are buying essentials on credit; when your pay doesn't increase, but the cost of gas and groceries do, what do you do? Stop eating and start walking everywhere? The people I know who are hurting aren't in bad shape because they bought plasma TVs or new cars.

[Ani]

They broke it ... we'll fix it.

Obama/Biden '08

[LiberalDemIda]

Isn't that always the case, Ani? Repubs with their trickle-down economics, CEOs deserving every million they get and zero "evil" government (that's US folks) insight over what fat cats do because it's none of our business (aka deregulation) has amounted to this mess!

Repubs CANNOT govern for shiite! Why do Americans slam their collective heads against the wall, over and over again before they realize the repub party is not a party that should be at the helm of anything?

Obama/Biden '08/'12 = the SMART People's Choice!

[kiddub]

How? This isn't the case of simply an ideological change, this is an institutionalized cancer and a product of the American dream that first reared its ugly head during the Great Depression and has continued to occur, in an evolutionary manner, ever since. The economy is now based on investment and consumption of mostly foreign produced goods. The US is a gluttonous animal, with intestinal cancer. These flare-ups are a symptom of a flawed physiology that is terminal.