Oh yeah, "the others"... I am one of them. Realize "perks" are nice. But let's get real about them. If the money was there it would not be spent on a car from Detroit.

no less stupid than having to offer union members a car in order for them to quit just so they can cut back on excess jobs. there's unnecessary waste all up and down the chain.

LOL so am I - thankfully, my best friend's husband & brother are both mechanics, so I get car repairs cheap. I just have to buy the parts and a case of beer, and things get fixed. So, I can afford to own an older car and just maintain it.

It's odd, the sense of entitlement that grows on some people. As if their title at work makes them royalty or guarantees them a certain standard of living. What they don't seem to realize is that companies will eventually get wise and eliminate their top heavy executives, freeing up more money to continue to pay the people who actually DO the work.

My sister works for Chrysler (exec) and one of her perks was a fully loaded car of her choice every year, she had to pay some for it but her lease was far less than what anyone else would pay, and she got unlimited mileage. She had to pay gas, taxes, insurance, etc. She had other perks such as they were paying for her masters degree, etc. When Chrysler first started having financial difficulties, these things were among the first to be cut, along with bonuses and raises. Chrysler at least did the right thing, to some extent, by starting at the top and moving down (well, the top of middle management anyway, I'm sure the real high up execs didn't lose out). She got to keep her car if she wanted but had to pay the then blue book value for it.

That is the fair way to go about it - at least they seemed to have priorities in order. I understand that some execs work VERY hard and earn what they get, but there are many others that make the hard working ones look bad.

Hopefully they're still assisting with schooling costs?

No, that was the first thing my sister lost. She's about 4 classes short of her masters but can't afford it on her own. Like all of us, she's hoping the economy gets better soon in the hopes she can finish.

I will say, my sister does work very hard, she's in the systems dept (IT) and is on call 24/7/365. It's rare she has to put in those hours but she does have to be available just in case.

I feel for her - I am in the same field, at about the same level, and I'm oncall the same amount of time. I used to work for some very big companies, and there were weeks that my cell or pager would go off every 15 minutes, and then other weeks that I wouldn't get a call at all. Now I work for a smaller company, but our after hours support line rolls over to my cell phone so I have to keep it on and charged at all times - wheee! It's fun to explain that to potential dates, too, lol. "Don't be offended if I have to leave in the middle of the movie, but if the servers go down, I don't have a choice".

So far, my industry is stable, and my company has added 3 new clients in the last month, so we're not getting hit AS hard. However, we've been watching everything we spend, and every action we make, so that the staff doesn't have to worry yet. I'm hoping they never do, but I'm also realistic, and don't feel that we're exempt from what everyone else is dealing with.

I'm blessed too, the law firm I work for is pretty well-positioned in the market but, I worry every day that things will tank even further. My firm has really tightened up a lot of things, which is great, some positions have gone unfilled and we're all working a little harder but we still have jobs for the foreseeable future and none of our benefits or anything have been cut yet.

Yes, that's where we are. We're a non-profit, so we're under different pressure - any money we make is paid back to the cooperative that owns us, so that we maintain a non-profit status. We are maintaining staff levels as well, and not adding on despite the new clients (which has my team freaking a little, but I cover the overflow for now).

I think that GM needs to look at what other companies are doing - you trim the fat first, THEN you go after the other stuff like layoffs, etc. I'm fairly certain that 5 managers to every 2 workers is not necessary (I'm guessing at those numbers, based on my experience at Allison Transmission), and that it's more important to get rid of the ridiculous perks at the top than to remove critical benefits from the workers who are the lifeblood of the company.

Then again, that could just be my overly cynical nature :)

What does it matter who authorized what...

GM exec's have the choice of right action or not...

Just as did AIG...

Not will probally have consequences that they may not like.

It happened because Yo'bama said ti get passed, we need it yesterday and he signed the thing without reading it through, knowing full well there were no restrictions or guidelines on how it was to be used.
Ya' Boi Fkd us. The supposed Economics genius, Fkd us Royal.

Yo'bama? Your true colors are showing there.

Wiki-

TARP - The monies The may be released to the Treasury upon a written report to Congress from the Treasury with details of its plan for the money. Congress then has 15 days to vote to disapprove the increase before the money will be automatically released.
15 days!

Timeline of Changes to the Initial Program

On November 12, 2008, Secretary of the Treasury Henry Paulson indicated that reviving the securitization market for consumer credit would be a new priority in the second allotment[11][12]

On December 19, 2008, President Bush used his executive authority to declare that TARP funds may be spent on any program he personally deems necessary to avert the financial crisis, and declared Section 102 to be nonbinding. This has allowed President Bush to extend the use of TARP funds to support the auto industry, a move supported by the United Auto Workers.

On January 15, 2009, the Treasury issued interim final rules for reporting and record keeping requirements under the executive compensation standards of the CPP. [13]

On January 21, 2009, the Treasury announced new regulations regarding disclosure and mitigation of conflicts of interest in its TARP contracting [14]

On February 5, 2009, the Senate approved changes to the TARP which prohibit firms receiving TARP funds from paying bonuses to their 25 highest-paid employees. The amendment was proposed by Christopher Dodd of Connecticut as an amendment to the $900 billion economic stimulus act yet to be passed. [15]


It appears that there is a rush to get it passed - it's 15 days.

Bush extended TARP to include United Auto Workers. Obama wants new regulations put forth. He felt that Bush did not have enough regulations in the first tier of payments.

And, we should all note that 90% of this was done before Obama became president.

hopefully the next time the give GM money....they will close up the loopholes. Better?

Psst...this is about GM.

fixed

If I can.

I hate when I do that

Alittle edgey are we? Again I dont see anyone denying you that right. I think someone point out a simple mistake and you take it wrong

nope...not at all