You never hear any right wing talking head complaining the CEO of General Dynamics makes too much.

[A HERETIC I AM]

I've been thinking about this for quite a while, but one NEVER hears the likes of the Limbaugh's, O'Reilly's and Hannity's of the world complaining the CEO and upper management of General Dynamics makes too much money and has a too generous benefit package.

Why not?

With the exception of Gulfstream Aerospace, GD does not make ONE SINGLE CONSUMER PRODUCT. And of course, a Gulfstream V isn't exactly the kind of thing most people purchase.

The fact is, the overwhelming majority of the income GD receives is in the form of military contracts - tax payer dollars. It stands to reason that the salaries of the top management of that company is made up primarily of taxpayer paid money.

For that matter, the same is the case for all the union Shipwrights, Welders, Pipefitters, and all other Union personnel at Electric Boat, Bath Iron Works and NASSCO.

Heaven forbid those Union workers lose their collective bargaining rights. I mean hey.....they are Union members sucking from the public teat, aren't they?

[Hannah Bell]

1. +100. taxpayer subsidies = #1 way to build a fortune, time-honored way.

what's funny is that a lot of that money is fleeced from the upper-middle class & given to the super-rich but the upper middle keeps identifying with & voting for the people who are stealing their money

[A HERETIC I AM]

9. I also find it interesting that some of the most expensive areas to live in the country...

as far as home prices is concerned are a number of the counties surrounding Washington, DC, like Loudoun County, VA and Montgomery County, MD. Why is it that no one mentions the obvious connection between working for the government through a contractor - any contractor, and the fact that it apparently pays so damned well?

Let's screw over the teachers, firemen, police and all the rest but leave untouched those that work for GD, Raytheon and all the others.

Raytheon BTW, is another one of those firms that makes damned few if any products the general public can or will ever buy. Most of their income is from defense contracts. Shouldn't there be some call for the union workers at Raytheon to give up their collective bargaining rights?

[rucky]

2. +1 and a performance bonus!

courtesy of the taxpayers

[gratuitous]

3. Or the recently-cashiered CEO of Blue Cross

The outgoing CEO at Blue Cross Blue Shield, a non-profit, is getting a severance package in excess of $8 million. Nice work if you can get it. If you wonder why health care costs are so high, it's because there's someone tapped into the line, sucking billions out of the cash flow and doing nothing to enchance the system.

[tabatha]

4. I once visited GD, Fort Worth

on a business trip, and have never seen so many people sitting around drinking coffee and doing nothing - just gulping at the Defense Department's teat.

The parking lot was huge, and I wondered how many of those people were actually necessary.

(I also got the fright of my life when a B-52 took off over the hotel in which I was staying. Never heard such a noise and thought an airplane was about to crash over my head.)

[libodem]

5. Of course

Go figure.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Oh, but these CEOs deserve it. They work hard. They are

responsible for thousands of people who are working for them and millions (billions?) of dollars in sales. They have worked their way up because they are so motivated and driven. :sarcasm:

Actually, you make a very good point. Another case of hypocrisy, but what else is new.

[rucky]

7. kick

[fascisthunter]

8. because their issue with how much one makes is pure distraction

they are frauds, and the idiots swallowed it all.