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Nice work — if you can get fired from it. That’s just what one Alan H. Fishman might have thought when he woke up Friday morning.
Fishman was the new chief executive officer for Washingon Mutual — WaMu — the nation’s largest savings and loan, which was taken over Thursday night by federal bank regulators and quickly dumped in a fire sale to JPMorgan Chase for the Wal-Mart-like price of $1.9 billion.
But don’t cry for Fishman, who reportedly was sky-high — literally — last night, on a flight from New York to Seattle, when WaMu collapsed. Even though he’s only been on the job for less than three weeks, he’s bailing out with parachute worth close to $20 million, according to an executive compensation analysis conducted for the New York Times by James F. Reda Associates.
That’s right, $20 million for 17 days on the job … and his company failed.
Fishman, who formerly was chairman of Meridian Capital Group, apparently was much coveted by WaMu, which was counting on him to lead the failing thrift out of mortgage troubles that pushed the bank to a $3.3 billion second-quarter loss. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, WaMu threw a $7.5 million bonus at Fishman when it hired him on Sept. 8, and guaranteed him an immediate cash severence of $11.6 million — both of which he gets to keep.
He also was eligible for annual bonuses of up to 365 percent of his annual base pay — set at $1 million — to go with millions of shares of company stock.
Fishman does lose out on a big bonus that would have kicked in had he remained on the job through 2009.
Documents show WaMu was going to pay their new boss $8 million to simply not screw up and get fired — all negotiated as the Seattle-based banking giant’s loses climbed to an estimated $20 billion.
I think it’s time to get out the pitchforks and torches….I mean really.
32,
And you like over priced goods and services.
You buy NIKES for SRP..
YOU buy 0.99 Burgers at Jack in the box for $3.
Winco/shopco/sams club are NOT locations you have ever seen or visited.
St.Vincent dePaul/Deseret/… have NEVER seen your face. You havent even been in the SAME areas these stores are located.
You would rather Pay Jiffie Lube, to leave the PLUG out, then to Do the 10 minute job yourself.
You dont see WHY janitors arent paid min. wage..(you never see them working so WHY are they even being paid)
YOUR SHOES FIT!! And you didnt pay $20-50 for them.
You cant SEE, why a person working 1 day, making EQUAL or more, to 1 persons WORK YEAR pay…IS TO MUCH. Not to THINK, that a person working 1 day, making more then 100 YEARLY salary. And those a LIGHT numbers. I could go down to those making Min. wage($6, $12000 per year) and multiply these numbers by 10.
And I could add to this the Spouse, children, Dog, homes, Property TAXES, Goods and services these Poor people are buying, TENDS to OVEr shine ANYTHING he could spend in 1 day.
The problem boils down to an odd psychology of Americans.
They defend the wealthy. It makes no sense, because the wealthy don’t need your help. They have attorneys, tax accountants, lobbyists. Even so, there are huge numbers of Americans who defend the wealthy and their habits, claiming that ‘they create jobs’. No they don’t, most business is small business. The poor dream of being rich, and vote against their interests because they believe…heck someday I will be wealthy so I don’t want to pay taxes, lets get those laws in place NOW.
Crazy, but true. Americans love rich people, and enjoy it when the rich step on their heads, unzip their fly and pee on them.
#34 “And you like over priced goods and services.”
LOL!
Go look at what’s available in countries with command economies; Belarus, N.K, Cuba, etc.
After you really do that. Get back to me. Until then, get lost.
This is exactly the reason that not one cent should be given to any financial company for their ‘bailout’ without first attaching severe repercussions to all of those involved.
The CEO of Lehman Bros was paid $350 Million over 5 years, and they handed out $2.1 Billion in bonuses. What was accomplished? Nothing else than placing the national security of the United States in peril.
People like MikeN that support and justify payola like this should be called what they are right to their faces: “Traitors to the USA”. These people have bankrupted the country and should be held accountable for their intentional actions to destroy the American way of life.
Rule #1 of the bailout…. nobody, and I mean nobody in any company that receives ANY money from the bailout can be paid, either directly or indirectly, more than $100,000 per year. You don’t like it, get a different job.
Rule #2 of the bailout. Anyone that earned, either directly or indirectly $1 Million or more during ANY of the last 5 years while employed by ANY company that receives money from the bailout will be placed in an emergency 90% tax bracket for earnings over $100,000 until the bailout is completely repaid to the American people. These people participated in the systematic dismantling of the American economy for personal greed, and do not deserve to keep their earnings. You don’t like it… live off your savings.
Rule #3 – No individual will be allowed to retain more than $10 Million of ANY earnings received during the last 5 years while employed by any company that receives money for a bailout.
This should apply not only to the financial mess, but the auto industry mess, and any other industries that receive money from the government in order to save the company.
Accountability… something that no longer exists in the US corporate boardrooms or the halls of US government.
—-
Isn’t it ironic that it is exactly crooks like this that the Republicans want to reward by making their juicy tax cuts permanent? Makes me think that somehow Satan is involved, because it is certainly not WWJD.
#35
The devil is in the details. How do you define rich? Someone that makes $20K a year? $50K? $200K? Where is the break point? $50K/yr in NYC is pauper but in Nebraska they are doing well. What about someone that makes $50K but has a net worth of $500 million? On what do you define “rich”?
Once upon a time, “rich” was defined as those whose net income was in the upper 1%. If taxes were confined to *only* those individuals, I bet most people would be on board for that; republican or democrat. The problem is that the government does not want to stop there. They want to define “rich” as people make $100K a year, $200K a year etc.
#34 ECA:
Please learn what a “normal profit” is.
Yes, the raw ingredients of a burger might cost a dollar, but then, to sell you that burger for a dollar would incur a loss. Why? Because the $3 you actually pay for it includes some of the money that pays for: rent, equipment, wages, taxes, etc.
#37:
Isn’t it ironic that this guy is a member of “Obama for Illinois?”
not really.
Something to keep in mind: WaMu had no idea they were going to be bought.
This was a government sanctioned bank takeover, with the bidding being done in private, without WaMu’s knowledge. As far as WaMu knew, this guy was going to be CEO for much longer than 17 days. No one at WaMu, including Fishman, would have known this was going to happen.
Hiring an employee, whether it’s the CEO or a janitor, is done by contract. If a severance package was in the contract, WaMu is obligated to pay it. What would the reaction be if this guy was an hourly employee, and the company didn’t give him his pension because say, he was laid off one day after it vested?
A contract is a contract, regardless of what you think a person needs or deserves.
#35:
It’s true that most business is small business, and that they generate between 60-80% of the jobs. However, just who do you think many of these small business count on as their best customers? Big corporations.
Do you think that the “small” manufacturer producing parts for locomotive engines peddles their wares from a corner market? No, they sell to someone like General Electric.
Americans defend the right to keep wealth because most of us believe that everyone is entitled to the fruits of their labor, rich or poor. Most of us understand that if the government is allowed to take a rich man’s money, they’re only a step away from being allowed to take a poor man’s money.
Besides, the bottom 50% of earners in this country only foot something like 3% of the tax bill anyways, so were already overtaxing the rich.
#36 – O’Furniture
>>Go look at what’s available in countries with
>>command economies; Belarus, N.K, Cuba, etc.
Or Sweden. Or Finland.
38,
Hmm, interesting…and you dont think that WAGES afect the prices of RENTING?? OF What McD charges?? Of how much a STORE is going to base prices on?? You prove my point.
39,
LEARN what COST is..
I can goto the store and get my OWN hamburger, about $2 per pound..
McD DONT PAY THAT MUCH, buy IT OFF THE hOOF and and save over 1/2 the price..then SELL A 1/4 BURGER FOR $3…Then farm it out to another nation, and drop the price again.
McD is selling you a $0.25 BURGER, for $3. AND dont go into the COST of rental and employees. At $0.50 they would cover that EASY. but, they serve it to you for $3. And the Lunch hour rush pays for the Day, everything ELSE is profit.
#41–brm==you say: “Most of us understand that if the government is allowed to take a rich man’s money, they’re only a step away from being allowed to take a poor man’s money.”
1. What do you mean “if?”
2. How do you take money from a poor man who by description has none?
You cut a really silly figure posing as protecting a poor mans money===for act 2 now, why don’t you review for us why the bottom 50% are so poor? And the divide growing deeper every year?
Splain that to us from the perspective of the rich keeping a disproportionate amount of the countries wealth by protecting the rights of the poor man. I think #35 has it right.
If you squint your eyes just right, and if you have an upwards view around that boot on your neck, when the rich man and his politcal cronies are pissing on you, you might even catch a smiley face. ((Bad joke my kiddie told me.))
41,
“It’s true that most business is small business, and that they generate between 60-80% of the jobs. However, just who do you think many of these small business count on as their best customers? Big corporations.””
THE NEIBHORHOOD they reside in..
“Do you think that the “small” manufacturer producing parts for locomotive engines peddles their wares from a corner market? No, they sell to someone like General Electric.”
YES they do..ITS CALLED BIDDING a Project..
That, or the corp runs to another country, and builds THERE OWN, and pays 1/10 the cost for labor, SHIPS it to the USA and charges US/WE as if it were made in GERMANY by SWISS watch makers.
“Besides, the bottom 50% of earners in this country only foot something like 3% of the tax bill anyways, so were already overtaxing the rich.”
I like this one…REALLy I do..BUT the BOTTOM 50% OUT NUMBER the TOP 50% of earners. If you read the STATS, from BLS..over 60% of the USA makes about min wage. If you Base this on Earning, and the ABOVE…80-90% of the USA would be the breaking point for SPLITTING Earning average. So, i THINk we out number YOU.
“Americans defend the right to keep wealth because most of us believe that everyone is entitled to the fruits of their labor, rich or poor.”
I can agree with that…EXCEPT.
I believe in FAIR PRICING.
I believe that If I have to TOLERATE being in PUBLIC and doing customer service 8-10 hours per day 7-10 days in a row..THE MONEY I take home should STAY in my POCKET. NOt FUEL, NOT TAXes, NOT for the OVER priced GOODS.
It used to be you had enough to GIVE to others, to charity..Corps have figured that IF’ you had extra money…THEY WANTED IT..
Also, Income should be Based on a SINGLE income family. AS IT USED TO BE, BEFORE the 80’s. After WWII, the men came back and found that women had made money. SOME figured out that 2 incomes COULD help alot. AND BOTH WORKED, got HOMES, HAD KIDS, and STILL had MONEY.
Corps figured this out, and Started raising prices…AND IT HASNT STOPPED.
Ok,
Lets do it this way…
There are 2 tings STOPPING me from agreeing..
1. LET ANY company that wishes to, COME to the USA, and sell their OWn products.
2. those companies that DO…FORCE the USA corps to live by the SAME regulations.
the USA market is CLOSED, and any other company that COMES HERE, has MUCH more rules and regulations/restrictions, then we impose on our HOME based companies.
#30, Cow-Paddy,
#28 “What part of regulating wages is unconstitutional?”
Start with Article VII. That’ll keep ya busy for a while.
Does this come natural or do you have to work at being stupid. Why not try reading Article VII
#47 “the USA market is CLOSED, and any other company that COMES HERE, has MUCH more rules and regulations/restrictions, then we impose on our HOME based companies.”
Wrong. I opened a subsidiary of a EU company here in the US. Same rules as US based companies. I just formed the Corp and started doing business. The city I chose didn’t even require a business license.
Why are you lying?
#33, Thomas,
Since the IRS hasn’t been able to get around it, I doubt Congress would.
Why does the IRS care? As long as all taxes are being submitted, it doesn’t matter. The IRS isn’t concerned about social policy.
#49, Cow-Paddy,
Why are you lying?
YOU ??? Asking someone else why THEY are lying??? Geeze, if that doesn’t make me laugh hard enough to bust a stitch I don’t know what will.
Foreign owned companies do have extra regulations they must adhere to in order to do business in the US. They are usually minimal though and have very little impact on their set-up or daily operations.
#51 “Foreign owned companies do have extra regulations they must adhere to in order to do business in the US.”
Wrong. Like I said, been there and there were NO additional regs.
#50
> Why does the IRS care?
If you are referring to contract vs. employee status, the tax difference is huge. In the case of an employee, the IRS taxes the employer on the full amount they are paying the employee. If you are a contractor, the employer can write off their payments to the contractor as an expense and lower their tax liability.
#37, under your rules, only the weakest companies will sign up for a bailout. I’d rather see those guys go bankrupt.
There is no oversight, All board directors belong to the board directors club, and choose one another to reward. No one can vote them out as large portions of company stock is held by other directors and mutual fund managers. In the fifty years I have held stock in large Dow companies, I have yet to see a stock holder proposal that wasn’t agreeable to the board pass. The CEO club is a subset of the directors club. Private investors don’t stand a chance.
ECA:
Why don’t YOU take econ 101 so THAT YOU can PARTICIPATE an informed DISCUSSION about PRICE and cost OKAY?
#44:
Where are you getting this idea that poor people have absolutely no money? They have money, but not much. And the government still takes 15% of their wages for “Social Security.” But that money is placed into the General Fund and used to pay for things like the Iraq War.
Allowing government to disproportionately tax sets a precedent for them to take money from whoever they decide has “too much.” Eventually it gets to the point where you have a bunch of people thinking $250k/yr is “too much.”
I’m just using the slippery slope argument that everyone here uses whenever the gov’t does things like wiretapping and sending people to gitmo – because it applies to government.
Your argument that the rich get a disproportionate amount of the wealth ignores the fact that there isn’t a fixed amount of wealth. You’re acting like some day the rich people will have all the money, and the poor people will have none, which is ridiculous.
The poor people of today have it much better than my poor ancestors did. “Poor” Americans today have cellphones, video games, vaccines, sanitation, televisions, free education up to grade 12, and most importantly, equal access to government loans for college. Find me even a lower middle-class family forty years ago who had all that stuff.
There will always be poor people, by definition, but you’re ignoring the rising standards of living.
#56 “There will always be poor people, by definition, but you’re ignoring the rising standards of living.”
If you ignore it you can’t create a victim class and pander to them to get elected.
Come on brm, you’re smarter than that.
#57:
Yeah, but I can’t figure out if the victim class is the middle-class or the dirt-poor. They keep switching it on me!
AS WELL AS…
In econ 101..
WHICH would you rather have..
10% of the people buying your goods..
OR 60-70% of the people buying ALL the goods.
WHICH would force prices down more..A rich person buying 1 item or 100 people buying the stuff, and the HIGH end(high markup) stuff sitting on the Shelf?
#56–brm==thanks. We disagree but you are being rational.
You have to push your argument to make it though. Do “the poor” have absolutely no money===no. Does a rising tide raise all boats?===yes.
So, more importantly how far apart can the top 5% of the population get from the bottom 50% before the society really is (as in really) divided? That divide has been increasing and we are now back to or approaching pre-depression disparity on this measurement.
No good can come from it.
ECA: you’re nuts. I imagine you dribbling foam all over your keyboard in a room hidden behind stacks of Worker’s World.
#61 bobbo:
I’m not sure if disparity in income is really a problem if everyone enjoys some, historically, higher baseline standard of living, which I’d argue is the situation now.
You mention pre-Depression disparity of income. Was the standard of living for most people immediately before the Depression low? As far as I understand, the standard of living at that time was greater for most people that it was say, a hundred years earlier. Certainly during the Depression the standard of living dropped, but I don’t think it was because of the rich-poor gap.
Perhaps something we’d both be interested in finding out is how some of the rich have become so rich. My belief is that if they became wealthy through business, there’s no problem with it. However, if that wealth was in part obtained by being the first in line to use the dollars the the Fed prints up, that would at least warrant some investigation.
Past that I just don’t see how a disparity in wealth, especially if it was earned lawfully, is inherently more evil than forced redistribution.
#61
Are you suggesting that we punish someone that becomes “too rich”?
#62–Thomas==am I suggesting that we punish someone that becomes “too rich”? No. I am suggesting that one legitimate and necessary function of society is to arrange itself so that its assets and rewards do not get disproportionately distributed so as to cause resentment and ultimately societal revolt and collapse. Think of the French Revolution.
#63–brm==yes, that is the issue. Absolute wealth is irrelevant, relative worth and perceptions of it is what makes societies work or fail.