Our fearless leader was not the only one who finds fault with the fact that GM CEO Rick Wagoner raked-in over $14.4m during a year when his employer lost some $38.7b. Automotive News [sub] reports that shareholders at yesterday's annual meeting attempted to inject a measure of sanity into GM's executive compensation. And failed. A proposal to give shareholders an annual "advisory vote" on executive pay and bennies received only 32 percent approval. Another proposal would have tied 75 percent of future stock options and restricted executive stock awards to GM's share price, market share and credit rating. Nope. That one received only 16 percent approval. A measure giving shareholder cumulative voting passed. Again. The same proposal passed in 2006… This time 'round, CEO Rick Wagoner passed the proposal to the board's corporate governance committee for review. But then, when the board has your back, why should you care about the stockholders? “And since we’re asking rhetorical questions, are there any remaining reasons to hold GM stock?”
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Captain: “Aim for the largest iceberg you can see.”
1. Officer: “Aye, aye. Aim for the largest iceberg.”
Captain: “Full speed ahead!”
1. Officer: “Full speed ahead, as ordered.”
Captain: “While you brace for impact, I’ll go study my compensation package. It’s a damned good thing it’s not performance related.”
“And since we’re asking rhetorical questions, are there any remaining reasons to hold GM stock?”
Shoot, not only hold but to buy, buy, buy! Do you not remember that on June 2 Mr. Farago reported on Barron’s recommendation to “Buy GM”? Blue sky, coming their way; nothing but blue sky, do they see.
Stein: great metaphor. And funny.
(back at the shipping company…)
Investor: “The Captain has been costing us billions in hull damage and sunken ships and even so, our company pays him millions. How about tying his pay to his performance?”
Board Member: “No, we heart the Captain. He knows best, and surely his iceberg collisions serve a purpose.”
Investor: “… Can we at least have a measure of accountability for his pay?”
Board Member: “No, we can’t let you know exactly how much we pay our captains, as it would be embarrassing to disclose the millions this company pays for this lack of performance.”
Instead of $14.4m, they should give him 10 gross (1440) Aveos.
“And since we’re asking rhetorical questions, are there any remaining reasons to hold GM stock?”
Yes, totally. If one day you wake up and think “I’ve got too much money and I need to get rid of some!”, then GM stock is a great reason! Or a Chevy Aveo or a Cadillac STS or a Chevy Cobalt.
If you’re, whoever, someone who isn’t clinically insane (for instance, a GM shareholder who wanted to put a proposal through to monitor GM executives’ pay), then you should avoid GM stock like it’s got bird flu!
More financial advice from the Puckster, next week!
eggsalad,
No, no… 10 gross Aveos is 10 vehicles.
Has anyone taken a close look at your 401(k) holdings to see what stocks they hold?
I did and found that 3 of my five losers were holding GM and other underperforming companies like Dell. bleh!
If I have a fundamental disagreement with how a company is managed why would I let some Wall Street pimp talk me into throwing good money into bad ideas?
Throwing money into companies that do it over and over is just bad policy.
We’ll see if I do any better on my own.
Time for one one of the WSJ’s great studies on who owns GM stock. And why (the hell). Somebody who should be paying attention just isn’t. According the the WSJ article, there were all of 80 stock holders in attendance at the GM meeting.
The article has a nice picture of Jim Dollinger, aka Buickman, pointing an (I assume) accusing finger at Ricky while making some point. Love to have heard that.
cynder :
Has anyone taken a close look at your 401(k) holdings to see what stocks they hold?
I did and found that 3 of my five losers were holding GM and other underperforming companies like Dell. bleh!
I’ve been meaning to do this, should have 2yrs ago. Afraid of what I might find now. I wonder how things might change if all those billions we have in our 401k’s were watched more closely. How much different would the GM stock price be today if half the people had moved their 401k dollars out of all funds holding gm stock.
http://s.wsj.net/article/SB121248991309341065.html?mod=fpa_whatsnews
to talk to Board of Bystanders, we’ll see…
accused Red Ink Rick of economic terrorism, he’s done more damage to USA than anyone from the mid-east
The question is not how much an Exec is paid, its how much money and what moves are needed to run the business. Who gives a fuck how much an exec makes. If every one was an exec than one can argue. I think people are jealous, and don’t even know are in denial about it.
i love how the Nun called out GM in the WSJ article. a NUN! awesome.
What if Rick is getting the big bucks because he IS getting “the job” done?
What if the job is not fixing but finishing GMNA?
What if the big financial wheels have determined it is a better deal to go C11 than to recover and have told Waggoner to “sink her and make it look like an accident”?
I’m not saying I currently hold this theory but it feels alarmingly plausible.
Bunter