Editor's Note: Thursday’s American Morning feedback was dominated by reaction to the Obama administration’s announcement cutting executive pay for the seven largest companies receiving bailout funds. Most angrily questioned the reasoning behind keeping or rewarding “incompetent” personnel who had created the financial chaos. Others were skeptical that the cuts were “real,” as any decreased compensation would be offset by increased stock, so executives would be simply be swapping forms of financial pay.
- Dan: Your guest this morning was talking about if you cut the salaries of the top personnel in these bailed out companies, then the top folks might leave, therefore, the company would go downhill. Is this guy an idiot or what? If the top personnel would have been doing their job in the first place, then we, as tax-payers, wouldn't have had to bail them out. So, I guess [their leaving] wouldn't hurt the company that much.
- Jerry: If the people getting large bonuses were as good as we're being told they are my question is: how did they lose or invest in products that lost billions of dollars while drawing large paydays? Time for them to suffer some; and since I'm a taxpayer, and I own part of the banks they work for, I don't see where they're earning their money.
- Bill: The worry that cutting exec salaries at the big banks will cause top execs to leave is not a bad thing. All the damage was done to the economy on their watch. They were either complicit or not watching the store. Either way, they were shown as being incompetent. How could getting rid of them be a bad thing?! In fact, they should be prosecuted for malfeasance. What should be regulated is someone else hiring them to possibly do it again somewhere else.
- Valerie: I think all this pay cut for Wall Street execs is mostly political smoke and mirrors. If the execs are going to get their cash portion of their pay cut, but receive additional stock, then their overall compensation is still the same. How is that a pay cut?
What do you think of the Obama administration’s proposed executive compensation pay cut plan?
i wrote American morning over a week ago about my plight with the VA in processing claims for disability and a letter sent my family stating that I had been diagnosed for HIV,etc., for over ten years! Im 63 years old and my wife is 67 with health problems and having to deal with the VA for benefits/compensation for all this time is DISHEARTNEING/SAD and a SHAME for a veteran of Vietnam/Iran, who spent over 23 years serving this government. I have written to just every organization, congressman and who supposed to inquire on the behalf of veterans with no results!! I have even written to American Morning and I have not received a response nor have I seen my comment addressed! Thank you! C-File #23-648-137!!!
SUBJECT: Government involvement with compensation of top executives of the Financial/ Banking, Health and Insurance market.
Are we at the mercy of wizards and sorcerers to save the United States of America?
Do you really think there is a monopoly on smart people or people with leadership skills? Do you want Americans to believe that it requires magical powers to successfully run businesses or organizations?
The News/journalism community’s comments and or flavor of coverage trends appears to believe it or at least want the American population to believe it. When the media’s comments lean towards or questions whether it is proper for the government to have a say in the compensation of these folks it is ludicrous.
Almost all of the News shows suggests that the very few gifted executives with the extraordinary magical ability to run these businesses would not even consider blessing the American people and this country by running these businesses if compensation had some type of cap or reasonable definition.
The News business asks, Is it fair to have some type of regulation or oversight on folks in these positions? In the decision making process of answering that question it may be a good idea to consider the effect that those businesses have on this country.
They ask, Is it fair? Take a look at the effect these Financial/ Banking and the Insurance markets have had globally.
This country has hundreds of thousands of people that are willing to sacrifice much more than money to provide to the people of this country and the world a secure and better way of life. I do not believe we cannot find leaders, executives, scholars with the ability and desire to fix these businesses. I do not believe the only motivation for these folks is monetary.
I do believe they should be compensated fairly. I do believe it requires extraordinary people to run these organizations and fix these complicated and huge issues. I also believe there are people with the ability to successfully correct this soup sandwich situation with moral values and other than solely monetary motivations.
Institutionalization may be the problem here, I would like to see the monopolies broken up and a new vision with regards to world finances in at least the few minds that this would bring about...
To pick on a dissabled child should NEVER be tollerated at any time exspecially when there is 4-5 professionals doing the picking
My name is stacy I have a 14 yr. old son that was abused at the middle school he attended in Great Falls, Mt. I just found out how bad things were for him as well as at least 9-12 other students. The one thing these children have in common is that they are all developmentaly dissabled!!! These teachers and paraprofessionals should be dissaplined for their actions and should be very very asshamed of the terrable things they did to these children. They were loocked in a storage/laundry room with the lights turned off and no way for them to get out. I am VERY disturbed at the information my husband and I were given yesterday. Lawyers have been working on this case for about 7 months now. Some arrests have been made and others are to follow. If you can't trust your children to be safe at school where in the hell can a parent trust them to be safe??? And to bully a child with a dissability is just right down NASTEY, CRUEL, and UNFAIR.to the children and their families. I couldn't sleep last night I wonder how the teachers and para's slept??? These kids were denied food, they were made to stand outside in the winter with no coats in the winter while the para stayed bundled up, one child had to endure waterboard like torture as well as having to eat his own vomet, my son was flicked in his ear and pushed around by an adult twice his size. All the parents involved are extremely upset and want punishment to these so called "professionals" They should NEVER be allowed to work in a school again exspecially in a special ed. class!!!
Re: John Robert's comment about "Quebecois" not "really French", American Morning, October 23, 2009
John, is that like the language spoken in the U.S. is not really English? Admit it. Americans have made a real mess out of the English language. (For a list of abominations, please refer to U.S. media.) How would you know what real French is anyway, being a former Torontonian?
For your information, the French spoken by the francophones of Canada (disregarding the slang and regional accents), is a purer French than that spoken in France.
If Ludachris doesn't think that the words and themes of his sonds and other rappers doesn't have any effect on our teens he is showing us that he is ridiculous. The current teens have been listening to music since they were young children that promotes the gangster mentality, uses the F word making them not realize that the sex act is something beautiful and about caring and sharing resulting in increased teen pregnancy rates, and using the N word which is degrading whether it is being used by Afro-Americans to another. It's cute that he wants kids to volunteer but I would prefer the rappers volunteer to start pulling back degrading lyrics. It is their right to use words such as these but they are a good part of this antisocial behavior of our young people.
I would like you to ask your guess wrapper ,how do you get a way to give back ,i have been trying for years ,i even had my son write a song to support the president ,called fix the place .The plan was to have this song downloaded and the proceeds use to help lowerclass american .i cant get no help to get the publicity to do this .Everyone seems not to care .It is easy to say and do when you are rich and famous otherwise its just a dream is he willing to help .
ok, listen up.yes i am mad as hell.
if a guy in the mail room,cost the company big money.he would be out of work.not keep him on and give him more money.
now, we have guys making money that americans will only see in a movie
lets replace the loserd at the time with our people.yes we will be runing that company,why not, alot of our money is keeping it running.
how crazy are we to let this happen.we would be crazy to let people who put a super size company into the toilet and keep the same bosses on any let them have big bucks.
I just dont get it you will never be able to get away from all germs but you can take precautions .I do not get people i have been living in this country for 23 years i am still amazed after 19 years in the restaurant bussiness .How people eat and how many times they eat out ,is there anyone that cooks the way food is prepared and the handling of the food people are eating is so unsanitary also the food they eat ,How can you have a soda for breakfast ,how about a cup of tea or cocoa ,a glass of juice and oatmeal .Instead a bagel with xtra cream cheese and butter and a coke .Kids their parents give them cereal for breakfast ,a bagel ,a grilled cheese .Come on how are you going to build up your system .If your body is not maintain properly it will breakdown .Why do you think we change the oil in our cars .
Next so you are eating bad ,then you come home you sit on the couch lay on the bed ,the kids bring their friends over they play ,they put their school bags on the bed .Before you do anything you should take a shower or change clothes .I do not worry about getting sick i do not eat food that is not prepared by me unless it came from an oven or fryer .I know they is enough heat to kills the bacteria .Even then i do not worry because my body is very strong .I make breakfast for my family seven days a week i hate vegatables but every meal has vegatables in it peppers,onions ,carrots ,tyme,cabbage ,spinach i cook them in the meals so i do not taste them ,By 730 AM 7 days a week dinner is also ready at this time .It is a very hard to keep up this routine but me and familys health is much more important especially since i do not trust doctors ,
People need to take more control over they health the same they do over education and fiances . look at the operations where you eat ,look at the cleanliness of the people handling your food .If a person does not take care of they own hygiene do you think they will serv you clean food .If an operation does not go the extra mile for cleanliness guess what ,you know the rest .As the economy gets worst bussiness are cutting back and putting your health on the line .This is my take it up to people to look out for their own safety .I put this info not to offend or pick on anyone but its what i believe and live my .I prepare all my meals it would not be a bad thing for cnn to have a peice everymorning on things they can do to build up their imune system rather that put the fear of god about this flue in people .
I just dont get it you will never be able to get away from all germs but you can take precautions .I get people i have been living in this country i am still amazed after 19 years in the restaurant bussiness .How people eat and how many times they eat out ,is there anyone that cooks the way food is prepared and the handling of the food people are eating is so unsanitary ,then food they eat ,How can you have a soda for breakfast ,how about a cup of tea or cocoa ,a glass of juice and oatmeal .Instead a bagel with xtra cream cheese and butter and a coke .Kids their parents give them cereal for breakfast ,a bagel ,a grilled cheese .Come on how are you going to build up your system .If your body is maintain properly it will breakdown .Why do you think wechange the oil in our cars .
Next so you are eating bad ,then you come home you sit on the couch lay on the bed ,the kids bring their friends over they play ,they put their school bags on the bed .Before you do anything you should take a shower or change clothes .I do not worry about getting sick i do not eat food that is not prepared by me unless it came from an oven or fryer .I know they is enough heat to kills the bacteria .Even then i do not worry because my body is very strong .I make breakfast for my family seven days a week i hate vegatables but every meal has vegatables in it peppers,onions ,carrots ,tyme,cabbage ,spinach i cook them in the meals so i do not taste them ,By 730 AM 7 days a week dinner is also ready at this time .It is a very hard to keep up this routine but me and familys health is much more important especially since i do not trust doctors ,
People need to take more control over they health the same they do over education and fiances . look at the operations where you eat ,look at the cleanliness of the people handling your food .If a person does not take care of they own hygiene do you think they will serv you clean food .If an operation does not go the extra mile foe cleanliness guess what ,you know the rest .As the economy gets worst bussiness are cutting back and putting your health on the line .This is my take it up to people to look out for their own safety .I put this info not to offend or pick on anyone but its what i believe and live my .I prepare all my meals it would not be a bad thing for cnn to have a peice everymorning on things they can do to build up their imune system rather that put the fear of god about this flue in people .
Please don't expect us to believe these are the ONLY people in America qualified to hold top posts at these 7 companies.
With nearly 10 percent unemployment, surely there others eager to take their place at the new salary rate.
If folks at the top SO qualified that headhunters want them for other companies, then it's a matter of time before they'll go anyway.
Am I hearing this right? The bank and Wall Street want to keep the people who got them in such deep doo doo that they had to ask the taxpayers to bail them out???? What. They should have fired them first thing. If I did my job that badly, I would be at the unemployment office before I knew what happened to me.
Does anyone remember immediately after the "bail-out' there was a a large sum of the money missing and these exec's had to testify on capitol hill ???? No wonder the banks are making record profits and the exec's are getting bonus money – and the all people involved think we're to stupid to remember !!! Sad you don't remind the american public and investigate that side of the story.
respectfully.
Your show is one of the few that I still watch on CNN so I was very disappointed when rick sanchez appeared a couple of times to shill his radio show. Yes, he is a fellow employee but I was still disappointed.
I am also surprised that he still has his cajones after one of his remarks about his wife. He called her a gringo. Whenever I have heard this term used in the past it was always used as a term of disrespect. Is she white, black or just an American? Anything else would have been better than gringo!!!
Also, he seemed proud that his parents couldn't speak English. Are they citizens and if not do they have green cards? Is sanchez a citizen or does HE have his green card? Or, could he be one of the anchor babies that are getting in the back door to citizenship?
Keep up the good work but try to be a little more selective in your "guests".
Why worry about bank CEOs leaving if their salaries are cut. Where will they go? Because of them, the economy is in a shambles so there are no jobs! Let them go and look like the rest of the unemployed. These are the same people that after taking billions of dollars from the American people to help stop foreclosures, they have refused to use the money for that and instead, have used it to invest and make themselves bigger, and richer at the expense of the American tax payer.
As for Obama, he now is playing the blame game because he doesn't have a plan. Instead of making sure these bailed out banks were regulated before giving money to them, he and his advisers are blaming the Bush Administration for the bailouts. He did the same thing after telling us he would do things differently. Remember he had the experience and a plan. That was why he was better than Hilary, remember? Not.
Too bad the children banned from the park weren't from a minority group. If they were, we the public would have been treated to an immediate and iron clad explanation for their expulsion.