CBS: The top execs for GM, Ford and Chrysler took private jets to their second hearing

[Turborama]

Run time: 02:04 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BKb8MI_tKU   Posted on YouTube: November 20, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: November 20, 2008 By DU Member: Turborama Views on DU: 1785

 

[HPD]

1. who cares

so we should cause a great recession because executives live the way they have always lived. their schedule is tight. this means nothing

[davidthegnome]

5. We should care

The way they have always lived is (and damn well should be) unacceptable in regards to these circumstances. On the contrary - this means everything, it's precisely because of these executive assholes that their companies are failing. We are facing a situation where millions of people could potentially lose their jobs. Precisely because these greedy, sniveling weasels failed to live up to their responsibilities.

Precisely because they are flying around on private jets, living the high life, while their companies crash and burn. Precisely because they are incompetent, and do not at all deserve the life-styles they are living.

We live in a Nation where such executives are making (I will not call what they do "earning") over 200 times what their average employees earn. Do you think that could possibly be a part of the problem? Perhaps the fact that the profit goes directly into their pockets and they fail to use it to invest in the future of their companies as they should? Perhaps their lack of basic human decency ought to piss us off, just a little. Perhaps we have a right to be pissed off.

Perhaps it's time for these "executives" to be denounced as the frauds they are, stripped of their assets, and forced to use their own wealth to assist their companies.

[Wapsie B]

6. Exactly. If they have run their companies into the ground strip their assets.

The golden parachutes and bonuses disappear. If they're successful reward them handsomely. Funny, that's how I thought it was supposed to work in America. Work hard and be rewarded for the sweat of your labors. But I guess that's all wrong. Play the promotions game to climb the ladder. Whether your jobs you've held really added any value to the companies you worked for is beside the point. Get to the top and feed off those below you. Make out like a bandit whether you succeed or fail. Pay for performance is so last week.

[davidthegnome]

7. I just can't believe...

that they're getting away with it. They need to held accountable.... like Bush should have been, like Cheney should have, like good old Joe Lieberman should have been. Ashcroft... Rummy, Rice... bah. That's the problem, these people don't believe in accountability, and we are for some reason incapable of holding them accountable.

[Wapsie B]

8. They believe in accountability, but only for the little guy.

Have some exec make major decisions that can hurt a company and many are not punished at all. But god help a poor janitor who forgets to empty the wrong wastebasket or leaves water spots on a faucet. It's made to look like the world is coming to an end for that poor slob. And that behavior is not unique to any one industry. I could tell you stories about hospital execs that would make you shake your head.

[kmac3]

15. A Chronic Belief Of Right . . .

CEO's and other top management positions of multiple companies have come to believe they deserve this pampering and pay . . . It's the general consensus of Big Business under Bush and company. A decisive plan for the rich to get richer . . . The Republican way. Time to get back to reality and learn that operating a good business with profit is a job and when you fail, you're fired.

[indep_kidd]

10. least of their problems HOWEVER they should have offered concessions

When asked about their flights they should have at least had the balls to say something like they are scheduling to take regular commercial flights and want to make concessions in their paychecks and their top executives pay checks to help ease the burden.

We all know these guys are making tens of millions of dollars a year and they have the equity and savings and possibly off-shore accounts to survive a pay cut. Them going around practically begging from their limo's is ludicrous.

[geckosfeet]

12. Ha ha. You just don't get it.

[emilyg]

2. Chutzpah.

[ksimons]

3. They don't walk the walk. They SHOULD be getting their walking papers soon.

They should be forced to mortgage all their homes, put their cars, boats, planes, etc all up as collateral for any loans. Period. They screw up? They lose ALL their shit.

How's that for believing in your mission?

[Turborama]

4. Cosign

Each flight is estimated to have cost $20,000. You'd think they'd have some humility if they're asking the country to bail-out their fucked up companies. Shoving their rock star lifestyle in everyone's face whilst their companies are going under doesn't elicit any sympathy from me.

They need to stop living the high life and start leading by example...


//Some lawmakers lashed out at the CEOs of the Big Three auto companies Wednesday for flying private jets to Washington to request taxpayer bailout money.

"There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, D.C., and people coming off of them with tin cups in their hand, saying that they're going to be trimming down and streamlining their businesses," Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-New York, told the chief executive officers of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee.

"It's almost like seeing a guy show up at the soup kitchen in high hat and tuxedo. It kind of makes you a little bit suspicious."

He added, "couldn't you all have downgraded to first class or jet-pooled or something to get here? It would have at least sent a message that you do get it."//
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/11/19/autos.ceo.jets/?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail#cnnSTCVideo

[bulloney]

9. If these execs would have come to Washington by means other than private jet,

it would have been window dressing. You know they would be using the private jets for other traveling.

That's a clear symbol of what's been wrong with corporate America. Its executives have lived so high on the hog for so long that even making an appearance of austerity doesn't enter their heads. Any time the income stream slows down, they put the burden on the backs of their employees. For too long, they've made their bottom lines look better by cutting instead of generating revenue. Now it's coming full circle. They've lived a life of entitlement. Minimum results, maximum compensation.

[Best_man23]

11. They're AUTO Company Executives

They should have done what many of us do for a long trip....DRIVE.

Three executives, one car.

[jwlashta]

13. I disagree with everybody (except the first guy to respond to this post: HPD)

These men are heroes, and they truly do get it. By flying private jets, they ensure that the jets' personal staffs are employed (attendants, pilots). What more, they need to employ workers to fuel their jets and to taxi their jets. So, you see, they really do care about the little guy. Hell, if they had flown business or first class, they would just simply be joining hundreds of other passengers (granted, most would be crammed into economy)--the crews would be there with or without these true-blue American heroes. You sniveling whiners make me sick.

[davidthegnome]

18. Hahaha

Heroes huh? Explain that to the millions of people who are going to suffer from this regardless of how it turns out. The suffering, ultimately, will be a result of the neverending greed and careless disregard for the average person of which these so called executives are guilty.

Sniveling whiners indeed. This is a classic right wing argument "These people create so many jobs... blah blah blah", they aren't creating them now. They lack certain key ingredients in the makeup of a decent human being. Integrity, accountability, empathy, compassion.... I could go on.

Heroes... heh, gag me with a spoon.

[jwlashta]

22. Integrity, accountability, empathy, compassion...

...you also forget to mention that you lack a sense of humor or are completely unaware of sarcasm (or, perhaps, a combination of the two).

Honestly, IF (big IF) I were to give these men a bail out package, I would ensure a couple of things. For one, they would have to produce a wider array of 'green' automobiles at affordable prices and now (why is GM waiting until 2012 to unveil this electric car, when one must assume that they have a working prototype?). They would also have to use much of this money to invest in better, cleaner technologies. The CEOs, CFOs, and other corporate brass would have to take major pay cuts. They would have to guarantee that if they are going to close down plants and layoff thousands of workers, then domestic plants would have protections and the hazardous production plants abroad with their embarrassingly low wages for workers would be the first to go (better yet, the workers in developing countries should be paid much, much more than what they are being paid now, the benefits being: there is less incentive to ship jobs overseas, and the living standards of those workers would increase significantly--and probably create a ripple effect in those countries).

By the way, it is wrong to say that it is a classic right-wing argument: these men were being criticized from left, right, and center, as well they should be. They represent everything that is morally wrong with the west, which just happens to be a complete lack of morals. They lacked the foresight to see that flying in on corporate jets would be wrong because their idea of ethics is corporate (viz., shareholder) responsibility. Something is acceptable until the shares take a hit, and that is the cue to change an action.

Finally, the truth is, I don't blame them. I think they are despicable and I think they don't care, but again I don't blame them. I'd like to think that I would be the better person in their position, but I just don't know. Money is a funny thing, and it brings out the worst in people (to use a cliche). For every good CEO, there are probably 100 CEO's who are completely selfish and self-involved. It's the American way, where low taxes are more important to the average person than the environment or ultimately education, public health care, and infrastructure (because how else can you pay for these things without taxes?)

Hmmm... I'm not sure how I got from point A to point B, but... that's my two cents. Please try to lighten up; no serious person would reply to corporate greed with my original post.

[whathappened]

14. my take on congress

looks like congress is trying to make a big ado for nothing on this jet shit , i did'nt see them rakeing the corperate monters from the oil pack when they come to dc , they did'nt have there tin cups , but they sure as hell had a bag full of money and sat there and laught at congress for trying to hold there feet to the fire over there greed , and another thing that makes this all look foolish , the one barking about the jets are the same 1's we pay all the perks to well there in dc , what don't they have there in washington that these rich ceo have , i think all these congress critters need to cut a few corners also , what they needed to do was to not worry about the jets and try to come to some sollution to keep the auto industry alive , if it go'es down we will all go down , it is the heart beat of america

[IsItJustMe]

16. In this media driven, appearance is more important than substance, society of ours, where Kerry can

be views as a war coward and Bush a war hero, that is very unfortunate.

But I think the important point here is to listen to the message and not the messengers.

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[davidthegnome]

19. Who's blaming the unions?

I don't see any of that going on in this thread. As you're a real progressive and we are but "PINOs" perhaps you could explain to us what the big picture is, rather than throwing around insults.

[bluecollarcharlie]

20. Maybe not on this thread...

....but certainly elsewhere on this site. I do however expect it to happen here as well. It's only a matter of time.
As for the big picture, how's this:

1 in 10 jobs are connected to this industry. The concentric circles of throwing everyone into the lake ie; " let 'em fail" will ripple through the economy like nothing this generation has ever seen.

If you think that it's just the midwest you are either naive or willfully blind. So many industries across what was once a great nation will disappear and NOBODY will be able to pick up the slack. Not Toyota, not Honda, NO ONE.
Think that it's bad now? Watch what happens when 4% GDP vanishes.

The power of unions, once a backbone of the Democratic party now just a convienient place to shove knives into, will completely die
and all this stuff we've been working on for decades- universal, a fair living wage, access to education- either all gone or hobbled so badly as to be ineffective. And when those people- my people- discover how their so-called friends betrayed them, they will go out and vote for those damn republicans and we will be right back where we were in 1994.

That will be the effect of blindly going after "Big Auto" and not caring about the collateral damage.

Sounds very republican to me.

[davidthegnome]

21. I don't think anyone is saying

that the death of the Unions would be a good thing, at least not anyone that I've seen.

What we are concerned about, is that the 25 billion dollars would be poorly managed. We are concerned that these executives who ran their companies into the ground in the first place would continue to screw up, in which case we'd be right back where we started.

Any suggested bail out really needs to have certain conditions along with it. Particularly, the removal of these inept corporate executives. It's a shame that we can't hold them accountable for being the ones that put the big three into this position to begin with. It's a shame that they're living the high life while millions of people are wondering how they'll pay their mortgage or rent, or whether they'll have a job next month.

I'd love to help out the workers, but unless what we do actually WILL help the workers and not simply fatten the purses of these corporate assholes, I won't get on board. Frankly, I don't think that sounds very republican. Changes need to be made to help these companies to become profitable again, they would benefit immensely from new management. New management, is in fact, a key step towards making any change at all.

[Jack Rabbit]

23. Let's think of some real punishment to fit the crime

Next time they go to DC, they have to drive one of their own cars and pay for the gas out of their own pockets.