Why Wall Street execs want to silence their shareholders
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new “say on pay” policy that allows shareholders to vote on the pay package for a company’s top executives.
You wouldn’t think that would be a particularly controversial measure. For one thing, the vote isn’t even binding; it is advisory only. And shouldn’t shareholders — the people who actually own a company — be allowed to at least voice an opinion about how their own top employees are paid? Surely that is consistent with free-enterprise market principles, right?
Republicans, however, have fought the measure tooth and nail. It was approved by the SEC by a party-line 3-2 vote, with Republican appointees to the panel trying vainly to delay, weaken or kill it. They also fought it in Congress, voting against “say on pay” in party-line votes in 2009, back when Democrats still had enough votes to pass it.
As the Chicago Tribune reported back then:
“Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), in a comment echoed by fellow Republicans, assailed the (say-on-pay) measure as “unprecedented government intervention in the free enterprise system.”
“This bill is an invitation for political meddling at its worst in the private confines of companies that are trying to work hard to create jobs,” complained Rep. Peter J. Roskam (R-Ill.)
I find those complaints hard to fathom. It is government interference to give the owners of a company a voice — a non-binding voice! — in what its executives are paid?
This week, we got a chance to see the rule in action, and also to see why Republicans continue to fight it so hard. Shareholders at Citigroup, one of the 10 largest banks in the world, voted 55-45 percent on Tuesday to object to the pay packages granted to CEO Vikram Pandit, as well as to bonus and compensation packages for other top executives. By one count, Pandit collected as much as $49 million in pay, stock options, retention bonuses and other compensation last year, even though the company’s performance has lagged.
The Citigroup investor rebellion came after the nation’s largest corporate-governance experts, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co., both recommended against approval of the pay package on grounds that it was too generous and wasn’t linked to company performance.
Glass Lewis, for example, gave the company’s executive pay plan an “F”, explaining:
“Having repaid its TARP funds in 2010, the Company was not subject to restrictions governing the structure of compensation paid to its highest-paid executives during 2011. In turn, the Company has implemented incentive plans rampant with significant issues that, in our opinion, warrant shareholder attention. It is clear to us that the Company has squandered the opportunity to form well-designed, objective incentive plans at the lifting of TARP restrictions, opting instead for often discretionary awards that may qualify as a misuse of company capital.”
In other words, the executives were paying themselves more than they were worth and more than they had earned. (When Pandit became CEO in December 2007, Citigroup was selling at a little over $300 a share. Yesterday it closed at $35.08 a share.)
It’s going to be interesting to see what happens now. According to ISS, only 2 percent of executive pay packages were rejected by shareholders last year, so the action by Citigroup investors is pretty noteworthy, suggesting it’s an egregious case. On the other hand, because the Tuesday vote was non-binding, Pandit and Citigroup’s board of directors are under no legal obligation to honor it.
In addition, pay packages for other major Wall Street firms are also coming up for shareholder review, and those companies are also probably nervous about a shareholder revolt.
All of this strikes me as a very good thing. This is not government interference in free markets; this is stockholders regaining just the slightest bit of control over their own property. And it is almost inexplicable to me that Republicans view it as a bad thing.
I say “almost inexplicable,” because blind loyalty to the top 0.001 percent is the only explanation I can offer. If you have a better one, please, let’s hear it.
– Jay Bookman
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946 comments Add your comment
getalife
April 19th, 2012
10:50 am
Why do cons pretend to be doctors?
md, bruno and now kay.
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
10:51 am
I believe it was a quote from one of his books. No truth though that he said it tasted just like Chicken.
It was from a book he’d written and published in 1995.
People started giggling about Mitt’s dog-on-wagon story back in 2007.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/06/27/raising_sons_rising_expectations/?page=full
so for the record, it’s taken the Team Mittens Rapid-Response sub-committee five years to get around to read a political opponent’s memoirs, to see if there might be something in there worth using.
Steve - USA (I support "None Of The Above")
April 19th, 2012
10:51 am
Kayaker,
Still have a license? I could buy you a nice lunch in return for an Oxycodone Rx.
j/k
Mick
April 19th, 2012
10:52 am
Great caesars ghost! Yaker was a doc? Well, many thanks for putting people back together, there is no politics in the healing act…
They BOTH suck
April 19th, 2012
10:53 am
kayaker
How are you doing this morning?
I was just messing with you about the Spanish ads. I don’t think anyone who posts here on a regular basis hasn’t made an oversight before……..
It is those on both sides, who know all the facts, yet post a percentage of them as if it were the entire story that can get irritating at times.
TaxPayer
April 19th, 2012
10:53 am
Why do cons pretend to be doctors?
I hear some masseuses make good money.
kayaker 71
April 19th, 2012
10:53 am
Steve, 10:51,
No, gave it all up in 2003. Too many 3:00AM phone calls. But lunch would be nice.
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
10:53 am
Yet you respond via a dissertation?
I got this from Milton the other day.
Apparently 9 lines = “dissertation” at Winger U.
Mick
April 19th, 2012
10:55 am
getalife
Why would anyone lie on a blog? What would it prove?
carlosgvv
April 19th, 2012
10:55 am
kayaker 71
And who are these “numerous Black Republicans” you speak of?
JohnnyReb
April 19th, 2012
10:55 am
Favorite Barbie joke
Divorced Barbie – she got rid of Ken but kept all his things!
JamVet
April 19th, 2012
10:55 am
Paging Dr. Bruno, are we on for Greg Lake tonight?
They BOTH suck
April 19th, 2012
10:56 am
“I could buy you a nice lunch in return for an Oxycodone Rx.”
It would have to be a nice lunch……. Those can be pricey on the black market
TaxPayer
April 19th, 2012
10:56 am
Why would anyone lie on a blog?What would it prove?
Many of us wonder the same thing.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
10:57 am
“I hear some masseuses make good money.”
Yeah, I guess they are ashamed of their real jobs.
Mick
April 19th, 2012
10:57 am
jamvet
Think the crimson king will be on the set list?
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
10:58 am
“Divorced Barbie – she got rid of Ken but kept all his things!”
Doggone/GA
April 19th, 2012
10:58 am
“Another alternative would be to restructure worker pay packages to give them stock options, but not to the extent of execs, based on performance. You then give the worker even more incentive to be more productive as the better the company does, the better their pay could potentially become.”
The only problem with that is that the company could fail for reasons beyond the average workers control, but they would be the ones taking it on the chin…as they are now, but at least with a set rate of pay they’re getting properly compensated for the work they are doing now.
JamVet
April 19th, 2012
10:58 am
I’d be surprised, but really have no idea what to expect, Mick.
Saw the Ting Tings Monday night and had a great time…
Brosephus™
April 19th, 2012
10:59 am
“I retired after spending nearly 43 yrs putting people back together”
you worked at the Barbie factory?
Now.. Thasss funny!!!!
—————————–
It’s not a coincidence that employee loyalty began to subside when pensions were replaced with 401k’s and management training and OTJ programs were eliminated.
Never really thought about those things all being connected before, but I’d buy that…
—————————–
They BOTH
I can eliminate anything involving the Feds with that one.
RB from Gwinnett
April 19th, 2012
10:59 am
What has the pay package of the AJC’s CEO looked like over the past few years, Jay? As they have been diving at double the national average. I suspect you own stock, so why don’t you share with us how you would vote on that pay package.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
10:59 am
“Those can be pricey on the black market.”
How much do you pay?
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:01 am
“It’s not a coincidence that employee loyalty began to subside when pensions were replaced with 401k’s and management training and OTJ programs were eliminated.”
and, let’s not forget … sending jobs to Mexico / China / India …
Mick
April 19th, 2012
11:02 am
rb
That’s a great question but why should anyone share what they vote? Most consider voting a private personal matter…
Butch Cassidy
April 19th, 2012
11:03 am
US inUK – “and, let’s not forget … sending jobs to Mexico / China / India …”
That also falls into my analogy of looking at employees as liabilities to the P&L rather than assets to the organization.
They BOTH suck
April 19th, 2012
11:04 am
“How much do you pay?”
More than a #1 at chick-fila……… and that’s even if you get a large drink and fries
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
11:04 am
What has the pay package of the AJC’s CEO looked like
Dunno about the CEO, but I actually have a real good idea what a few Cox wage slaves like, oh, this radio guy whose name rhymes with “Squeal Snorts”, happen to pull down.
Let’s just say it’s a buttload more than 20x or even 40x the lowest salaried employee’s annual pay.
kayaker 71
April 19th, 2012
11:04 am
carlos, 10:55,
Start off with Herman. I think he would have made a good candidate and a good president. He just made too many mistakes in his private life. I wish that JC Watts had stayed in the public arena a bit longer. He is a very intelligent man, a good father and someone we could trust. Allen West is a big too inexperienced and probably needs a bit of maturity to run the country. Condi Rice would be my first choice…… NSA director, Sec of State with a lot of road miles…. respected throughout the world as an intelligent, honest diplomat. Colon Powell, a moderate Republican, would be high on my list, as well. Although not presidential candidates, I also have a great deal of respect for Juan Williams on Fox, Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, Bill Cosby, Larry Elder and John McWhorter, to name a few.
Brosephus™
April 19th, 2012
11:05 am
Doggone @ 10:58
I wouldn’t do away with a set pay as a base. I’d give the workers the same type of package as the execs but just on a smaller scale. You start with a base and then add options based on whatever guidelines the company sets.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
11:05 am
Both,
Why do you think they call it dope?
Jay
April 19th, 2012
11:06 am
RB, Cox is a privately owned company whose stock is not publicly traded, so the salaries of its top executives are not public knowledge. I have no stock in it.
They BOTH suck
April 19th, 2012
11:07 am
Because it is for dopes……
And you are naive if you think I’m buying Oxy’s or any other drug on the black market
It was a joke
hahahaha
get it
RB from Gwinnett
April 19th, 2012
11:09 am
Mick, you think it’s ok for Jay to bash the CEO of other companies in a news forum of a major city, but not be asked about the same issue a little closer to home?
getalife
April 19th, 2012
11:10 am
“Because it is for dopes……”
Exactly and those suffering from chronic pain have to beg for opiates because of dopes abusing opiates.
Mick
April 19th, 2012
11:10 am
**Condi Rice would be my first choice…… NSA director, Sec of State with a lot of road miles…. respected throughout the world as an intelligent, honest diplomat**
Can let that one go by…she was not that well respected on the world stage. Even though she was fluent in russian, they really weren’t too impressed. She was not really that good at any of her positions in the previous administration. Who could’ve imagined using jets as weapons? Wow! Certainly the NSA director should…
TaxPayer
April 19th, 2012
11:11 am
Now might not be a good time to be joking about illicit drugs given that there was new just yesterday of an internet drug ring getting busted and one of the ring leaders was apparently a Milton Man. They thought they had a fool proof system to remain anonymous.
Mick
April 19th, 2012
11:12 am
rb
I just gave you my opinion about voting, I thought you raised a good question but apparently, it’s not relevant…
They BOTH suck
April 19th, 2012
11:12 am
Tax Payer
Maybe someone was posting from a cell this morning while they were waiting to post bail
TaxPayer
April 19th, 2012
11:12 am
I wonder if the owners of privately owned companies get to vote on executive compensation?
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:13 am
“That also falls into my analogy of looking at employees as liabilities to the P&L rather than assets to the organization.”
EXACTLY!!!
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
April 19th, 2012
11:13 am
Isn’t the dog story race at 2 for Mitt and 1 for President Obama?
Mitt
dog on car
money man Malek BBQ’d dog
Obama
at some dog at a meal in Indonesia as a little boy
(I remember dogs hanging in butcher shop windows all over China right next to the ducks and pigs and some stuff I didn’t recognize)
Butch Cassidy
April 19th, 2012
11:14 am
RB from Gwinnett – “you think it’s ok for Jay to bash the CEO of other companies in a news forum of a major city, but not be asked about the same issue a little closer to home?”
Well, since Cox is a privately held company,I would say it’s you who needs to learn the difference between apples and oranges.
kayaker 71
April 19th, 2012
11:16 am
Granny, 11:13,
When I lived in Hawaii, you had to watch your black Labs pretty close, especially if you lived near a Phillipino community.
Doggone/GA
April 19th, 2012
11:16 am
“I wouldn’t do away with a set pay as a base. I’d give the workers the same type of package as the execs but just on a smaller scale. You start with a base and then add options based on whatever guidelines the company sets.”
Yes, I understood that…but the problem is that it becomes a way for the company to pay their workers less for a given job. Take a line through the minimum wage for employees who get tips. It’s a LOT lower than the base minimum wage…but those workers are paid, essentially as you are saying, a base rate and then performance based “bonuses”
getalife
April 19th, 2012
11:18 am
Now kay was a doctor that lived in Hawaii.
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
April 19th, 2012
11:18 am
K71
LABS? Well my old Joe would be considered “well-marbled”….
HDB
April 19th, 2012
11:19 am
kayaker 71
April 19th, 2012
11:04 am
Lest you forget: Colin Powell got PILLORIED by Republicans for his support of Barack Obama, and his support of Affirmative Action and a woman’s right to choose! He got BOOED off the stage at the GOP Convention. Bill Cosby (Dr. William H. Cosby) is a staunch DEMOCRAT!! Allen West was FORCED to retire his commission in the Army for cruelty to a Iraqi prisoner. Herman Cain showed his level of lunacy….and the same as Alan Keyes!! You can do better!!!
Out of all of them, Colin Powell and Condi Rice are the best in the party…but the base of the GOP won’t even consider the possibility!!!
kayaker 71
April 19th, 2012
11:19 am
Outta here….. off to the wood shop. Been trying to learn a little blues on my new electric guitar. Fingers on the left hand are a little sore. Save the Tatas ….. certainly two of God’s wonderful creations.
Brosephus™
April 19th, 2012
11:23 am
Doggone
Ok, I see your point, and that would be a serious issue to deal with.
In other news
April 19th, 2012
11:24 am
” I have no stock in it.”
Like I stated, Jay has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to economics.
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:25 am
“certainly two of God’s wonderful creations”
one of my favorite George Carlinisms … “ever wonder why you have a PAIR of panties, but only one bra???”
Dirty Dawg
April 19th, 2012
11:26 am
Recall some 25-30 years back, stories were circulating that groups like The Conference Board and the national Chamber of Commerce, came to realize that big-name entertainers, rock-stars, actors and sports stars once they discovered collective bargaining, we’re making many-times more than they, the leaders of America’s economy, were…and decided that they would remedy that. Over time, and with shared agreement among Boards of Directors’ Compensation Committees, they were going to see to it. As a result, CEOs and other top-tier management went from making 20-30 times the lowest-paid of their workers to hundreds of times as much. Hell, they even pay each others Board Members $250-$500 thousand a year just to serve, aka attend four or five meetings.
The result is an out of control compensation system that has seen to it that ‘top’ management gets theirs while the rest of us are left to scramble for the scraps. Frankly, I’m not surprised that these guys would fight this shareholder oversight, cause they know what they’re gonna find and they won’t like it…then the retribution won’t be pleasant.
In other news
April 19th, 2012
11:26 am
“Out of all of them, Colin Powell and Condi Rice are the best in the party…but the base of the GOP won’t even consider the possibility!!!”
I’d take the ones you mentioned over the following Democrats
Cynthia McKinney
Al Sharpton
Jesse Jackson
Sheila Jackson
William Jefferson
Maxine Waters
Libertarian
April 19th, 2012
11:29 am
If its not binding, who cares. Sounds like another gimmick like the Buffett Rule. Aren’t there more important things congress could be doing?
In other news
April 19th, 2012
11:31 am
“Aren’t there more important things congress could be doing?”
Cowboy poetry.
Bruno
April 19th, 2012
11:32 am
Paging Dr. Bruno, are we on for Greg Lake tonight?
No, unless you’re willing to fly to wherever he is tonight. Concert in Atlanta is next Thursday. Be there or be square.
ragnar danneskjold
April 19th, 2012
11:35 am
Dear Paul @ 10:17, ha. Best quote of the day, David Burge: “If you can’t come up with 100 instant jokes about the President of the US eating a dog, you have no business calling yourself a comedian.”
Fred ™
April 19th, 2012
11:36 am
Bruno
April 19th, 2012
11:32 am
Paging Dr. Bruno, are we on for Greg Lake tonight?
No, unless you’re willing to fly to wherever he is tonight. Concert in Atlanta is next Thursday. Be there or be square.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
LOL
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
11:36 am
Mitt’s doing the commencement address at Winger U. nice.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57416387-503544/romney-to-give-commencement-at-liberty-university/
barking frog
April 19th, 2012
11:38 am
getalife
does our president eat
frog?
Butch Cassidy
April 19th, 2012
11:42 am
in other words – “Like I stated, Jay has no idea what he’s talking about when it comes to economics.”
This from the person who apparently doesn’t know the difference between a publicly traded company and a privately held one.
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
11:42 am
in other religious extremism news (h/t Rude Pundit), apparently God’s punishing those Secret Service dudes for decades of our imposition of homoseckshul practice…
Government Funded Moral Breakdown – Is it any wonder that young White House Secret Servicemen and military servicemen have been caught consorting with prostitutes abroad; that GSA managers partied extravagantly in Las Vegas at taxpayer expense? For decades our government has engaged in profligate borrowing and spending, stubbornly funded Planned Parenthood (against the protest of parents) to teach children that “anything goes”; that mistakes can be “covered up” without parents ever knowing; to help teenage sex rings ply their trade right here in America, etc. The administration in power has imposed homosexual practice upon our military and has mandated that religious schools provide contraception, sterilization and abortifacient drugs to all students and staff – at taxpayer expense! What can we expect to come if things are not reversed?
Normal, Plain and Simple
April 19th, 2012
11:43 am
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/04/beards_in_politics_there_hasn_t_been_a_bearded_major_party_presidential_nominee_in_almost_100_years_why_.html
stands for decibels
April 19th, 2012
11:43 am
Will Mitt submit his VP short list to the religious extremists during his visit to Liberty, so they can veto the ones determined to be insufficiently Godly? Stay tuned.
barking frog
April 19th, 2012
11:45 am
Jay,
can you break the boldface
thing on the word press?
barking frog
April 19th, 2012
11:51 am
let them use CAPS..
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:51 am
“Will Mitt submit his VP short list to the religious extremists during his visit to Liberty, so they can veto the ones determined to be insufficiently Godly?”
I dunno … could it be THAT much worse than Caribou Barbie???
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:52 am
planned parenthood made the secret service buy hookers???
wow.
they ARE powerful.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
11:53 am
“does our president eat
frog?”
No but the Cajuns love to eat your legs.
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:55 am
“No but the Cajuns love to eat your legs”
speaking of … finally got around to watching the Princess and the Frog … Ray is one of the best Cajun characters in ages “women like a man with a BIG. BACK. PORCH.” classic.
sheepdawg
April 19th, 2012
11:56 am
republicans once again exposed and have to create lies to explain why. way to go Jay!!! keep it up
Gator Joe
April 19th, 2012
11:57 am
Jay:
This “gentleman” Pandit, and his board of directors won’t be starving to death anytime soon. These greedy, arrogant people oppose any regulation that may, may affect their exhorbitant profits. Whether it’s clean air and water, worker health and safety, or their out-of-line compensation, nothing is acceptable to them. It’s not enough they buy and pay for our legislators, or fashion their own laws (see ALEC), high time to rein them in.
barking frog
April 19th, 2012
11:57 am
getalife
yeh they suck crawfish too.
weetamoe
April 19th, 2012
11:58 am
I have been sending in my proxy votes for the last couple of weeks. I’m pretty well satisfied with most companies.
How many ways are they going to cook the dogs served on the Warren Buffet table? Will there be barbecue sauce?
USinUK - ex-pat thug
April 19th, 2012
11:59 am
meet Ray http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moajABK-kg4
getalife
April 19th, 2012
12:01 pm
Watch “Swamp People” to see the Cajuns living off the swamp.
The two brothers are hilarious.
Paul
April 19th, 2012
12:07 pm
sfd
I suppose Mitt could begin by talking about the Christian virtue of complete, not misleading, honesty.
“Liberty University, founded by the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, is the largest Christian university in the world, according to its website.”
Enrollment
Residential enrollment: 12,500
Online enrollment: over 70,000
Total enrollment: exceeds 82,500
Or, he could say, “it depends on what your definition of largest is…”
I suppose it’s good to get the obligatory appearance and speech out to that part of the constituency early on. Over and, hopefully, forgotten. It needs to be boilerplate vanilla.
UNCLE SAMANTHA
April 19th, 2012
12:08 pm
JAY
let me get this right….. you think the stockholders should be involved in what the pay is for the executives………
did you think the stockholders should have had a say with GM and Chrysler about the BAILOUT decision when the bondholders and stockholders got hosed with the arrangements that did not follow a normal bankruptcy?
Boris Badnoff
April 19th, 2012
12:10 pm
This is certainly an issue that impacts me. Back when that yahoo cowboy Dubya was in office, the only stock I owned had a dividend payment of 26 cents per share. Now, due to the brilliant economic policies and masterful leadership of Our Beloved Messiah, my dividend is one penny per share. Should I send the money to the campaign to give us four more years of The Light That Illuminates the Universe or save it for a possible rendezvous with Colombian massage therapists?
Jack
April 19th, 2012
12:10 pm
If I ‘m not satified with the way a company is being operated, I sell the stock and move on.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
12:11 pm
Liberty students should ask willard about planet kolob.
Doggone/GA
April 19th, 2012
12:12 pm
“Liberty University, founded by the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, is the largest Christian university in the world, according to its website.”
See, here’s how it’s not a lie: all those “other so-called Christian Universities aren’t really run by TRUE Christians”
UNCLE SAMANTHA
April 19th, 2012
12:12 pm
Boris
is that stock in SKANK of AMERICA?
barking frog
April 19th, 2012
12:13 pm
getalife
does willard have kolob
kool aid?
getalife
April 19th, 2012
12:14 pm
Bank of America lost 633 million so you cons need to make sure they get their bonuses.
Quick, save the billionaires cons.
Fred ™
April 19th, 2012
12:14 pm
LOL Get. I like Troy. “It’s a tree shaker, it’s a tree shaker.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCRbDQefxIg
UNCLE SAMANTHA
April 19th, 2012
12:14 pm
Jack
How dare you attempt to use the mechanisms of market forces and choice………. you and other stockholders cannot be trusted to make a right decision……. you must be relieved of that burden to a more educated group
Next you are going to say if you don’t like the taste of burgers at McDonalds then you won’t go there and buy any? How absurd
Becky
April 19th, 2012
12:15 pm
The term messiah has been used several times yesterday and today. Please advise which talking radio head said it first.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
12:15 pm
“does willard have kolob
kool aid?”
Not sure where planet kolob is located.
Nobody will ask willard.
Paul
April 19th, 2012
12:17 pm
getalife
I’da thought you’d be more of a Swamp Think kinda guy –
http://tinyurl.com/7qp4yl6
Joe Hussein Mama
April 19th, 2012
12:18 pm
I heard a news story the other day that claimed that Google planned a stock split, since its share price has now gone so high. I wasn’t clear on whether or not new, additional shares would be issued in addition to the newly split shares.
However, there was a catch. The newly split shares aren’t going to get voting rights. The voting shares that are already extant will split, but no one’s getting any *new* or *additional* voting rights as a consequence of the split. End result? Sergei Brin and the rest of Google’s founders will still own about 70 percent of Google’s voting shares — just like they do now.
F. Sinkwich
April 19th, 2012
12:18 pm
I’m not nearly as concerned about CEOs as I am about Bo.
Anyone seen him lately?
Paul
April 19th, 2012
12:20 pm
Boris
“This is certainly an issue that impacts me. Back when that yahoo cowboy Dubya was in office, the only stock I owned had a dividend payment of 26 cents per share. Now, due to the brilliant economic policies and masterful leadership of Our Beloved Messiah, my dividend is one penny per share.”
You may want to do a little, what’s that word? Oh yeah… ‘research’….
and see who was president for 8 years when the crash occurred.
and see who put thru TARP to keep the financial system from crashing.
then try to figure out which president was tasked with putting Humpty Dumpty together again -
Joe Hussein Mama
April 19th, 2012
12:21 pm
USinUK — “planned parenthood made the secret service buy hookers??? wow. they ARE powerful.”
To borrow from Chris Rock, no one ever had to SELL a hooker. Hookers pretty much sell themselves.
Rock’s original observation was about drugs, but I trust you all get the connection.
Paul
April 19th, 2012
12:21 pm
Jack
“If I ‘m not satified with the way a company is being operated, I sell the stock and move on.”
Great leadership advice for owners, there -
Fred ™
April 19th, 2012
12:22 pm
The complete and utter stupidity shown by people defending the CEO’s is mind boggling. One forgets how dense and mind numbingly insipid these neocon sheep really are until something like this comes along.
Then they start parroting their favorite right wing talk show host and tossing out phrases that have so little bearing on the situation that it’s scary to see how anyone could think they do.
“Let the market work”
“Communism”
“Damn Socialists”
Just damn. And THESE are the folks who want to run the Country……..
F. Sinkwich
April 19th, 2012
12:22 pm
I guess Joe H. doesn’t do math well.
If for example you own 10% of a company’s shares before a split, you’ll still own 10% afterwards.
Duh.
Joe Hussein Mama
April 19th, 2012
12:23 pm
B. Badnoff — “Should I send the money to the campaign to give us four more years of The Light That Illuminates the Universe or save it for a possible rendezvous with Colombian massage therapists?”
Neither. Sell the stock, write the capital loss off against this year’s capital gains and then invest the proceeds in a subscription to Barron’s, the Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Do something productive with your assets instead of griping about how the old gray dividend ain’t what she used to be.
getalife
April 19th, 2012
12:24 pm
Paul,
There are many things that crawl out of the swamp.
Swamp People eats all of them.
RP
April 19th, 2012
12:26 pm
Citigroup shares have gone from $300 a share to $35 dollar a share….but that actually includes a reverse stock split last year, so really shares have gone from $300 a share to $3.50 a share. As a stockholder who voted against this raise I am pretty perturbed that the executives of this company think they are doing a good job.