How can the CEO of G.E. say something like this...
General Electric's CEO Jeff Immelt said Monday he empathizes with the grievances of the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
"Unemployment is 9.1% and underemployment is much higher than that, particularly among young people that don't have a college degree," he said. "It is natural to assume people are angry, and so I think we have to be empathetic and understand that people are not feeling great."
Speaking at a ThomsonReuters event in New York, Immelt went on to discuss the gap between CEO pay and average wages, one of the main sources of discontent among the Occupy Wall Street activists.
"I think the discrepancy is certainly one of the problems today in terms of why people feel the system is unfair," he said. "So let's be honest about that. It is part of the problem."
When you know this about Immelt?
As CEO of General Electric in 2007, Immelt earned a total compensation of $14,209,267, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, a cash bonus of $5,800,000, stocks granted of $4,713,000, and options granted of $0. In 2008, he earned a total compensation of $5,717,469, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, stocks granted of $2,044,650, and other compensation of $372,819. He waived his bonus in 2008. In 2009, Immelt earned a total compensation of $5,487,155, which included a base salary of $3,300,000, a cash bonus of $0, stocks granted of $1,791,000, and options granted of $0
Watch out for Wall Street trickery when those who are part of the problem pretend to be part of the solution.
Hypocrisy:
1. The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
2. An act or instance of such falseness.