I think they should all go back to Business 101.

__________________
"I don't think we should be governing ourselves. What need is a king, and every now and then if the king’s not doing a good job, we kill him." - George Carlin

Did you know that Delta's CEO, Richard Anderson, gets paid $489,560 a year. That is a far cry from $50 million.


So if he cut back his pay way down, it would save the company about $450,000 a year, which wouldn't do a thing.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

I can always count on you to find some outlier exception, OE.

Considering Delta goes into bankruptcy every other week, are you implying he's underpaid?

From a Bill Moyers excerpt I found after 5 seconds on Google:

On top of Steenland's salary [Northwest Airlines' CEO], reported at half a million dollars or more last year, he will get a total compensation package of $26.6 million in stock.

That's $5.8 million in stock options and $20.8 million worth of restricted stock that will vest over the next four years. And his official next-of-kin — the company's four Executive Vice Presidents - were offered more than 10 million dollars each, on top of their salaries, if they stay on for four years.
Oh, yes, Gary Wilson, the outgoing chairman — who already has $21 million dollars from stock he cashed in just before the bankruptcy — will get a two million-dollar good-bye gift plus medical and dental insurance for life — that's right — for life. As for the folks who merely fly the planes, fix the engines, and serve those meals — I mean, snacks — well, they took pay cuts of 20 to 40 percent, as well as curtailed medical benefits, fewer days off and frozen pensions. (snip)

With a bit of time, I could likely turn up hundreds of articles about bankrupted, destroyed, mismanaged companies awarding millions to their top execs.

I don't want to turn this into a screed against CEOs, but don't you think that it's a little odd that we reward people for spectacular failure? I see factoids like this, and then hear them bleat about expenses, and get bailed out time and again. Please tell me you're not defending this mind-blowingly bizarre system we've allowed to blossom?

There's no sugar-coating the treatment the airlines have given us all, for years, and for them to whine for US to help THEM out is outrageously arrogant.

__________________
"I don't think we should be governing ourselves. What need is a king, and every now and then if the king’s not doing a good job, we kill him." - George Carlin

Delta is still the third largest Airliner in the nation, it has a lot of money going in and out (just net out), so it would still be expected to be one of the highest payers.

Anyway, for your example, it actually says, "That's $5.8 million in stock options and $20.8 million worth of restricted stock that will vest over the next four years." that means that he won't have access to all of it until four years, putting him way short of the 50 mil a year.

I'm not saying anyone is under or over paid. I merely challenged your claim that the CEO's are making 50 million a year, Oil CEOs don't even make that kind of money (they top at about 20-25 million a year with stock options).

Of course they pay a lot of money to their Execs, what do you think would happen if they didn't pay them along with the market standard for that position? The execs would leave (retire until high paying jobs would come back, they have the money to live most comfortibly for a long time) and the company would have to settle with execs with less skill and less experience and the company (which is already facing hard times with the high oil prices) would likely go under even harder and faster. Then all those workers that took a 20 - 40 % pay cut now get a 100% pay cut.

You're right, they shouldn't whine, they should just raise their prices as their costs go up. But instead they ask for help so that they can keep prices somewhat low for us.

__________________
Set your destination with your heart, get there with your mind.

"The wisest men follow their own direction." - Euripides

Its a damn shame Skerlnik is missing the finer points of running a business. Airlines have never been "technically" profitable. They run debts all the time. They had debts before rising oil prices and they are running on debt now.

It comes down to Airlines decided they could fly everywhere. So their budgets bloated because instead of having a hundred flights a day.. they have a few hundred. You don't need to fly into places like Dayton when Columbus or Cincy are less then an hour away. You also don't have to fly in to places like Hagerstown, Md when DC and Baltimore are a hour a way.

You don't need to have 3 routes for the same Airline at 3 different airports flying to the same city.. when the airports are in a 30 mile radius. I.E. BWI, Dulles and Ronald Reagan International (this also works for NYC).

US Airways has 2 Hubs just on the East Coast..(Charlotte, Philly), it use to be 4 ( those 2,Boston and Pittsburgh).. They learned their lesson.. too many Hubs leaves you with greater debts as having a Hub is a lot of overhead.

Another thing is the Unions. They love to bitch and moan about not being paid enough, They'll cry to the courts about its being a contract. But at the end of the day they also cause a drain with Operating costs. You want to cut costs.. cut everywhere. That means salaries and wages. The Judge presiding over the Bankruptcy of US Airways told the Unions this. There was a 6 to 30% pay cuts to wages and salaries and it saved US Airways 300 million dollars.

The irony is you'd think Unions would take a cut if it means saving their jobs, but its rarely the case.

Saving 300 million is better then saving the "supposed" salary of 50 million Sherlnik put out there. Having Stocks doesn't mean jack as its not a salary.

__________________
Pioneers are walking all around singing songs about Lenin and they should be shot for it.

Handlebars

"If you are looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror"- V

It is inaccurate to say that I hate everything. I am strongly in favor of common sense, common honesty, and common decency. This makes me forever ineligible for public office.
H. L. Mencken

Beagán agus a rá go maith.

Economic Left/Right: 3.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.87

(sigh)

Never mind, then. All is well. You've convinced me. CEOs of failing businesses deserve what they are awarded, and cutting the pay of the thousands of worker drones by 30-50% is fine. Those bastards should be grateful.

Silly me for thinking they're asking us for help for a situation largely of their own making.

__________________
"I don't think we should be governing ourselves. What need is a king, and every now and then if the king’s not doing a good job, we kill him." - George Carlin

i have to say that while $400k is a lot (delta) to be honest, for that job its probably not that unreasonable with all the crap he is probably dealing with and doing these days

however, those with the options, bonuses etc. that are topping $5 million (and especially double digit millions) are way over paid. of course that amount is probably a drop in the bucket to the airlines with the price of fuel these days

Ha, that is what I was going to say. That idea is hilarious and awesome.

__________________
Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. ... I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask no one to live for me, nor do I live for others. I covet no mans soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet.

Ayn Rand, Anthem.