https://www.dailykos.com/user/mygreekamphora/rss/index.xml News Community Action Copyright 2005 - Steal what you want Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:38:41 +0000 Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:38:41 +0000 Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Daily Kos rss@dailykos.com (Daily Kos) Things to share in Facebook discussions today https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/7/8/1546385/-Things-to-share-in-Facebook-discussions-today Such heartbreaking times. I am trying to engage in Facebook calmly this morning, which can be tricky when passions run high and sorrow runs deep. But I believe deeply that conversation is so powerful and important. I always figure that even if I’m not reaching the person doing the actual posting, I might say something that causes on of the other people reading to pause and think for a moment. Today one way I’m trying to shape conversations is to say that, “The guns used in Orlando and Dallas have no place in our society.” I feel like that’s a hard on to disagree with. (Yes, there are those that would disagree, but not among my circles). I also sometimes just leave a link sometimes. One that I’ve posted several times today is a heart-breaking write-up about the reaction of the school where Philando Castile worked: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2016/07/07/he-knew-the-kids-and-they-loved-him-minnesota-shooting-victim-was-an-adored-school-cafeteria-manager/" target="_blank" title="">www.washingtonpost.com/…</a> Likewise, a friend who also happens to also be my mayor has written two wonderful blog entries this week, one challenging those with power: <a href="http://www.candacehollingsworth.com/a-letter-to-my-fearful-self-and-colleagues-on-behalf-of-alton-sterling/" target="_blank" title="">www.candacehollingsworth.com/…</a> She did one yesterday that was something of an appeal to her white friends, and was important for me to read. <a href="http://www.candacehollingsworth.com/dear-friend-im-not-wrong-about-you-am-i/" target="_blank" title="">www.candacehollingsworth.com/…</a> These should get wider readership which is why I’m posting this today. Would love to see other suggestions below. There’s plenty of preaching to the choir all over the place. I’m looking for things that can help open the mind and heart just a little bit more. No matter where we are on the journey we can do that. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Conversation Facebook Peace _1546385 Fri, 08 Jul 2016 15:51:16 +0000 The personal is political: energy & airconditioning questions https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/27/1531705/-The-personal-is-political-energy-airconditioning-questions I had to put political in the title just to qualify my appeal for information to this knowledgable group. It is 92 degrees in my home office right now, and hard to do the work I do (see other diaries), when I am sweaty and miserable. We don’t have central air. We thought about putting it in when we bought this old house, but couldn’t afford it. I also tend to have a bias against it given the vast resources it uses. When I was a kid, as I am fond of telling my children, if I wanted to be somewhere cool I went to the library. We also hoped that if we put in excellent “green” insulation we would limit the need for it. Such insulation has made a tremendous difference, but not enough of one. We thought we’d get by on window units. This way we would only need to cool the area of the house we are in. Seems like the energy efficient thing to do. But window units seem to be getting worse. Less efficient rather than more, more expensive and less effective. Last year we had to throw one out because it turns out some of the energy star ones are prone to mold. The one failing us now is a “portable” one that we bought last year with a flexible tube to the outside. I’m pretty sure I’ll be buying window units this weekend, and would welcome any concrete advice, both on specifcs and whether I should take out loans to put in central. Especially welcome advice from people who are very knowledgable. Googling just leads me down rabbit holes of opinion. I’d also welcome an informed meta discussion, since this is what we do best at DailyKos. My main beat is income inequality and I see this through that lens and wonder if the market place has decided, essentially, if you don’t get central air you are not worth our business. By marketplace here I mean specific executives, men mostly, who can’t imagine not having central air. Why would they work on innovation for people who can’t afford central air, and just want a cool bedroom? Is this another way lower-middle-class people are screwed by the system? Or does it just feel like that to me at the moment? I’d also be curious to know if there is a website that lets us measure carbon footprints based on our energy use. I have a slight personal level of annoyance at environmentalist types that have disdain for plastic water bottles, but no personal hesitancy about jetting around the world. Am I correct in my assumption that flying is a much bigger use of energy? rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Energy IncomeInequality Innovation Summer _1531705 Fri, 27 May 2016 17:43:13 +0000 Company w most overpaid CEO in America announces layoffs https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/5/5/1523503/-Company-w-most-overpaid-CEO-in-America-announces-layoffs I blog on CEO pay at <a href="http://ceopay.asyousow.org/" target="_blank" title="">ceopay.asyousow.org</a>. I thought today’s post might be of broader interest, so am copying it below. I was not planning to write about Discovery Communications this morning. But yesterday, shortly after 4 o’clock, the company <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437107/000143710716000068/a8-k20160504.htm" title="">filed</a> with the SEC an 8-k announcing that it would be making “personnel adjustments.” In other words, buyouts and layoffs, described in a <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437107/000143710716000068/exhibit991-20160504.htm" title="">letter</a> to employees as “cost-reduction efforts.” The company moved up my priority list. CEO David Zaslav of Discovery Communications was Number 1 in our list of overpaid CEOs in our <a href="http://www.asyousow.org/ays_report/the-100-most-overpaid-ceos-are-fund-managers-asleep-at-the-wheel/" title="">report</a> released in February. The headline practically writes itself, “Most overpaid CEO in America announces job cuts.” Zaslav’s total disclosed compensation of $156,077,912 for 2014 included estimated excess compensation $142 million based on the regression analysis. For 2015, his reported pay fell because the amount of stock options and awards fell. However, it remains over $32 million. Zaslav is tremendously overpaid, with a salary last year of over $3.1 million and a cash bonus of over $6.9 million. The CtW Investment Group,<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437107/000143710716000068/a8-k20160504.htm" target="_blank"> in a filing</a> advocating a vote against two directors, writes that, <blockquote> “According to compensation research firm, Equilar, the firm’s executive compensation tool ranks the pay-for-performance failure at Discovery worse than 92 percent of companies in the R3000: while three-year TSR is at the bottom of the peer group (9th percentile), three-year CEO target pay is at the 84th percentile. The compensation plan has the following negative attributes: a hefty annual salary of $3M that is guaranteed until 2019, largely subjective annual bonuses, outsized equity awards, risky pay-for-failure severance arrangements, and excessive perquisites including tax gross-ups on aircraft use by family members.” </blockquote> This letter, which also details the incestuous nature of the board is worth reading in its entirety. In addition to pay reported in the summary compensation table, Zaslav realized $24.6 million through the exercise of stock, and another $34 million through shares acquired on vesting. All of this while the stock price is down – over 30% since August 2014. Discovery Communications was such a stand out last year, that I was asked how the company could justify the excessive pay to the shareholders. My quick answer was that because of the vote structure and ownership the company doesn’t particularly have to. It has a complicated stock structure with Series A, B, & C common stock and series A & C preferred stock. Each share of Series B common stock – owned almost entirely by John Malone – gets ten votes. There are three tranches of directors elected by difference combinations of stock. Directors are extremely well paid, each earning more than $200,000. Board members are paid extra for serving on committees and even more for chairing them, and the company notes that expenses for attending meetings including airfare will be reimbursed “whether by commercial aircraft or private plane.” Given that these directors are in an industry that is going through tectonic changes, I was interested in noting that four of the five directors up for election this year were born in 1950 or earlier. Board members are insulated and entrenched. Millions of families – including mine – are debating cutting the cable cord. Cost cutting has begun. Zaslav’s letter to employees concludes, “Through this process, it will be more critical than ever to work together with the respect, encouragement and forward-looking approach.” Perhaps one way to Zaslav could exhibit respect and encouragement would be to revisit the absurdly high level of his own pay. <div></div> <div></div> <div>Share this post</div> rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay _1523503 Thu, 05 May 2016 15:52:49 +0000 Bonus increases for job-slashing oil services CEO https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/3/10/1499219/-Bonus-increases-for-job-slashing-oil-services-CEO I do a blog on CEO pay, so I read a lot of rationalizations for the high pay executives receive. Yesterday I spent hours and hours looking at the proxy statement of a CEO of Schlumberger, a company in a carbon-based line of business that contributes to the climate crisis. The company had a horrible year (as many oil companies did) and slashed many jobs but the CEO’s bonus went up. I wrote at length on the contortions that made that possible <a href="http://ceopay.asyousow.org/2016/03/schlumberger/" target="_blank">here</a>, but wanted to give a summary and reflect a bit here. Schlumberger is one of those S&P 500 companies that you may never have heard of. It describes itself as “the world’s largest oilfield services company” and specializes in oil and gas exploration technology. One reason the bonus went up is who they compare themselves to when looking at compensation. In one section of the proxy the company actually brags that “stock price declined only 40% between June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2015.” The word “only” is kind of astonishing, but it is used in the context of comparisons to the price of crude oil and the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector. However, when it comes to setting compensation the company does not limit it comparison self to oil industry peers but also uses a second peer group of “large companies with significant international operations,” a list which includes such companies as Caterpillar, Merck, and Microsoft. Wouldn’t we all like to pick comparisons? I’d personally like to be paid as someone of my experience would on Wall Street, but you know, since I work at a small non-profit there’s not much chance of that happening. I’m okay with that because I made a choice. For me this indicates an attitude of “entitlement.” It is an ugly attitude when we see it displayed. The right claimed that term long ago — applying it to the wrong people --- but I guarantee you that any damage that may have been incurred by people on welfare who felt “entitled” to food, are nothing compared to the entitlement the pervades the 1%. These guys think they should have what the other guys have. Now there’s a lot of talk about “pay for performance” and Schlumberger had set up a very carefully formulated plan, and then completely departed from it. The company set significantly lower earnings per share (EPS) goals for this year than it had in the past, subsequently lowered them half way through the year, and then decided that even those goals should be based on a new accounting principle of “belief” rather than actual numbers. Management also got rewarded for “proactive efforts in mitigating the downturn.” My best guess for what “mitigated” the downturn were the massive layoff of workers. Many times people tell me that on the whole the amounts involved in executive compensation are “a rounding error” for the company. Technically, that is true at huge companies. But it sure isn’t a rounding error for the individual who was laid off. My dad worked in a factory and I remember the anxiety temporary layoffs caused in our family, and that was with a good union job in the 1970s. I won’t be posting too many of these on DK, but if you can subscribe to email updates at the <a href="http://ceopay.asyousow.org/2016/03/schlumberger/" target="_blank">blog</a>, or follow me on twitter @LandisWeaver. Anyway, I needed a break from the nerdy part of my job and a breath of remembering why I do this. Thanks for listening. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay IncomeInequality Oil Rescued _1499219 Thu, 10 Mar 2016 18:42:31 +0000 The most overpaid CEOs and who votes on their pay https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/16/1486386/-The-most-overpaid-CEOs-and-who-votes-on-their-pay Just a short diary to note that my organization is hosting a webinar tomorrow and you’re all invited: The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs 2016: Are Fund Managers Asleep at the Wheel? Webinar Date: 02/17/16 at 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET We did this report last year too and posted about it afterwards. I called the diary <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/2/13/1364352/-50-Shades-of-Pay-The-100-Most-Overpaid-CEOs" target="_blank" title="">50 Shades of Pay</a>. Don’t have a flashy title this year. Too late and too tired This year I’m posting ahead of time to give you the link so you could <a href="http://www.asyousow.org/webinar/ceopay/" target="_blank">join </a>us. Because I’m posting prior to the publishing of the report I can’t name names, but you can find them out tomorrow. When I was hired at As You Sow I was given the assignment of identifying the 100 Most Overpaid CEOs in the S&P 500. Now, like most of you, I pretty much think they are all overpaid. The system is broken. But to write a credible report I had to come up with a list and ranking. It wouldn’t be enough to simply list them by amount. I have some expertise on this and talked to lots of other knowledgeable folks and came up with a list of over 30 things that I thought were red flags, many of which I mentioned in last year’s diary. There are a few that are new this year. The reason for coming up with this list was to get a better understanding of proxy voting. We talk a lot about voting on this site but this form gets very little attention: the votes shareholders cast on directors, shareholder proposals and other matters at a company’s annual meeting. Since Dodd Frank shareholders can vote on an advisory basis on whether they think CEO pay is okay at a particular company. Part of the rational for creating our overpaid list was to come up with a framework to examine who voted yes and who voted no on some of the very worst packages. A survey came out of Stanford last week that showed how powerfully opposed to excessive CEO pay most people are. Here’s a quote from the <a href="http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/publications/americans-ceo-pay-2016-public-perception-survey-ceo-compensation?platform=hootsuite" target="_blank">release</a>: “74 percent of Americans believe that CEOs are not paid the correct amount relative to the average worker. Only 16 percent believe that they are. While responses vary across demographic groups (e.g., political affiliation and household income), overall sentiment regarding CEO pay remains highly negative.” The same survey showed that the negative attitudes were based on the wrong numbers. Most people surveyed had badly underestimated how much CEOs were paid. Why then do CEO pay packages get such high approval ratings when they come up for votes? Most of them get support of 90% or more. I’ve heard compensation consultants give speeches in crowded conference rooms showing that these votes mean investors are happy. But I’m an investor, and I’m sure not happy with this allocation of resources. Like most investors though I invest through my 401ks. I expect them to vote on my behalf and in my long-term interests. Do they? Well it depends on which fund you are invested in. There’s a pretty astonishing range actially. If you are interested join us Weds. afternoon. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Corporations IncomeInequality Investing _1486386 Wed, 17 Feb 2016 03:59:02 +0000 Shkreli testimony embodiment of entitlement/privilege https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/2/4/1479960/-Shkreli-testimony-embodiment-of-entitlement-privilege If you need to get your justice seek juices flowing (as opposed to your internal bickering juices) make sure you watch the Congressional testimony of Martin Shkreli or even just the excerpts. Mashable put out a summary video and<a href="http://mashable.com/2016/02/04/mr-shkreli-goes-to-washington-and-pisses-everyone-off/#ZxNYrKcTGaqX" target="_blank" title=""> highlights</a>. If a picture is worth a thousand words, this smirk speaks volumes. His sense of entitlement, his unmitigated sense of superiority is shameful. Though as one tweet I read said today, “You can’t shame someone who feels no shame.” I was reminded of this <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/06/14/why-some-psychopaths-make-great-ceos/#2715e4857a0b174da6d64fac" target="_blank" title="">study</a> about how some psychopaths make good CEOs. Brr. Chills like reading a Steven King novel. Alright, this isn’t much of a diary, but thought this needed to be said and didn’t see it in a search. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Corporations shrekli _1479960 Thu, 04 Feb 2016 19:15:58 +0000 Genetics, identity, adoption, parenting: my new book https://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/1/9/1467910/-Genetics-identity-adoption-parenting-my-new-book My book was published this week: “Weaving a Family: Genetics, Identity and Adoption.” My husband and I have three absolutely wonderful children each adopted internationally. Two of them are now in high school. Parenting has been quite the journey, big challenges and small. As I note in the ebook, it seems to me that the traditional adoption literature sometimes understates the role genetics can play in a person’s life, and I've watched that unfold in our family. One way it happened was around reading. One of my favorite places at DK, one where I’ve commented the most, is on book diaries. I recall Wednesday mornings where I would eagerly await the “What are you reading” diaries. I’ve always been a huge reader, and was probably almost addicted in my teen years to the escapism books gave me. When my children outgrew picture books they showed less appetite than I expected they would for chapter books. I sought out advice from websites that tell you how to raise readers. One thing pointed out is the correlation found between children who are great readers and the number of books in their homes. My husband is a scientist, and to understand his work (and also for some personal family history reasons) I had read some of the more accessible books on the science of genetics. And I found myself wondering, as I looked around my house with books toppling off shelves, did those studies consider whether these book-rich homes of children who loved to read actually considered biological parents that also liked to read? I’m really not sure, and would love insight if you know. But I began to suspect a faulty correlation/causation assumption here. The other reason I wrote this book is the pace of the change in science. When the first human genome was sequenced my husband and I went to the major gala celebration. It was an amazing achievement for the scientists gathered: listing all the letters in one person’s DNA had taken 13 years, and cost an estimated $3 billion dollars. Today a human genome can be sequenced in as little as one day and private companies offer that service for as low as $6,000. As a society we will be having more discussions that touch on issues related to genetics. I think adoptive parents have a special responsibility to have some grounding to have conversations in a factual and supportive way. Frankly, I think those of us on the liberal side of the political spectrum have a similar responsibility. I think there are two dangerous fallacies: that genes are all that matter, and that genes don’t matter at all. These issues can be highly charged. Even though I’m responsible for publicity on this book I was hesitant to write this diary, because I think there are some here who might see the word genetics and immediately jump to conclusions about what I believe. (And let’s face it, this hasn’t been the friendliest place lately). So let me say very explicitly genetics tells us nothing about groups of people. It has been misapplied when used that way. But, I think it can account more than we’d like about who we are. It is a very difficult thing to talk about, but let me try. As a society at this point in history I think we value verbal intelligence highly. That’s worked out well for me. But some skills I have don’t come as easily to some people as they did to me. Likewise I suck at spatial intelligence, but luckily for me I have a GPS. And I do mean lucky, because thank goodness I was born in a time and place where I’m able to use my gifts and adjust for my shortcomings in a way that builds a very satisfactory life. But a few generations ago or in another place where women were expected to be quiet and subservient or valued based on small, precise quilt stitching I wouldn’t have fared as well. One place I think this comes into current debates is that there’s been such a push on encouraging college, and even graduate school for almost everyone. I feel like students are pushed to take on loans that are not in their interest. And we value certain careers over others that may not be in the best interest of the students. At least in the hyper-educated community I’m part of kids aren’t really encouraged to explore different aspects of themselves. By third grade all the kids know who is in the “TAG” program. None of my children qualified as “talented and gifted,” under the rubric used, but they are all talented and gifted. What does that say to them that they know they are not TAG-identified? At the same time, the community list serve is always asking for recommendations for plumbers and electricians, never for people with high SAT scores. The book doesn’t go into the political ramifications for education or any of that stuff, but I’m happy to discuss it here. (Nervous, but happy.) The other reason I hesitated to do a diary on the book is that my true identity will now be revealed. If you go to Amazon and look up,<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Weaving-Family-Genetics-Identity-Adoption-ebook/dp/B01A2J3JWY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451778896&sr=8-2&keywords=weaving+a+family" target="_blank">Weaving a Family</a> (please do!) you’ll know who I am in the real world. You can piece together my diaries and my professional life and learn more about me. That would be a boring use of a Saturday night, but feel free. I have written as part of my job for many years, but this is my first book. Please be kind. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Adoption BookLovers Education Genetics Parenting R&BLers Readers&BookLovers _1467910 Sat, 09 Jan 2016 22:37:26 +0000 Is twitter down for others? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/9/14/1421240/-Is-twitter-down-for-others Not much of a diary here, but checking in. Twitter is saying "something is technically wrong." Not sure if it is just me or the whole wide twitter world. Also, not sure about that use of the word technically. DK used to be my sight for instant news, but usage has shifted over time. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Twitter _1421240 Mon, 14 Sep 2015 18:49:12 +0000 CEO pay accelerates climate change https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/9/2/1417626/-CEO-pay-accelerates-climate-change Everything really is connected. The Institute for Policy Studies has just released an important report illustrating how CEO pay at oil companies is actually accelerating climate change. It is called “Money to Burn” and you can find it here: <a href="http://www.ips-dc.org/executive-excess-2015/">http://www.ips-dc.org/...</a>.  Upton Sinclair once wrote, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”   The human nature obtuse denial (and political funding of more such) is definitely real. But it is worse than that and IPS methodically goes through the corrupt cycle, and how it could affect all of us.   The report notes that energy stocks held by pension funds and 401k portfolios today could be the equivalent of the high-risk mortgage-based securities they held in 2007. Though this time, instead of a risk of a recession or housing crisis, the planet is in peril. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Climate Change ClimateChange IncomeInequality InstituteforPolicyStudies Rescued strandedassets _1417626 Wed, 02 Sep 2015 11:28:33 +0000 What's happening in the Chinese stock market https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6/25/1396699/-What-s-happening-in-the-Chinese-stock-market Anyone following this? I'm not qualified to opine, but it looks like trading is off to a pretty steep decline today. Wiser folks than I have suggested that China is a bubbling. This article is a good one: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/is-the-chinese-stock-market-bubble-about-to-burst-10346773.html">http://www.independent.co.uk/...</a> Like I said, I know little of China, but a bit on corporate governance (of which there is not enough of in that market). Also, I enough of human nature to have a fear of the interconnected financial markets and arrogance that's masquerades as intelligence. Would be interested to hear from others who may be following. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) China Wall Street WallStreet _1396699 Fri, 26 Jun 2015 03:44:58 +0000 One week ago https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6/24/1396317/-One-week-ago Last Wednesday night Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was at prayer service when her cell phone rang.  She took the call. Moms almost always take the call when they see the home number on their screen. This was one of those mundane calls – where’s the remote?   We know about that phone call because a few moments later this mother was shot for the color of her skin. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Charlestonmotherhood _1396317 Thu, 25 Jun 2015 01:51:56 +0000 How the 1% Retires: Boeing https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/6/23/1395998/-How-the-1-Retires-Boeing Today Boeing announced that CEO James McNerney will be retiring, and I spent some time digging into the retirement agreement. Prepare to have your jaw drop as I take you through how the company (and shareholders) are providing for his (literally) golden years. First of all, it is important to note that he’s not retiring immediately. He will step down as CEO in July but will remain an employee and Chairman of the board through next February. The company calls that “the transition period” and he will be paid salary at a rate of $1.5 million as well as being eligible for annual incentive.   But wait, there's more . . . rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Boeing CEOpay Inequality Retirement _1395998 Wed, 24 Jun 2015 01:49:01 +0000 Another CEO pay diary: entitlement at Dow https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/5/15/1385108/-Another-CEO-pay-diary-entitlement-at-Dow So, here's a question: if you were being paid 737 times what an average worker makes in a year, do you think you could foot the bill for your kid's birthday party? The CEO of Dow Chemical apparently didn’t and there’s a fascinating Reuters report I came across that tells the story I’m summarizing here. (<a href="http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/dow/">http://www.reuters.com/...</a>)   Most of the blatant acts of executive entitlement happen behind closed doors. But sometimes there’s a lawsuit that gives a glimpse of the innter workings, as this one does. The good news here is that there were people within the company trying to hold the CEO accountable. The bad news is that the ones we know of have all left. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Audit CEOpay Dow Greece _1385108 Fri, 15 May 2015 19:40:27 +0000 Why is CEO pay at Pharmaceutical Companies so High? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/4/24/1380105/-Why-is-CEO-pay-at-Pharmaceutical-Companies-so-High I’m really asking the question here, more than answering. If I knew all the reasons this diary would be titled, “The reason CEO pay is so high at pharmaceuticals.” I’ve published two detailed diaries here this spring after doing a great deal of research (to vastly different responses, might I add). This time I’m posting a diary closer to the beginning of the process.  I’ve been looking Regeneron’s proxy and CEO Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D. received total disclosed compensation of nearly $42 million, and he also realized over $96 million in cashing in options. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Economy Health Care HealthCare _1380105 Fri, 24 Apr 2015 21:16:59 +0000 A look at CEO pay at Exxon https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/4/21/1379170/-A-look-at-CEO-pay-at-Exxon The price of a barrel of oil is down and the price of stock is down, and yet pay for Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson is up: increasing from $28.1 million in 2013 to $33.1 million for 2014. The diary I did on Comcast CEO’s retirement (<a href="http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/04/15/1377867/-How-the-1-retire-CEO-package-at-Comcast">http://www.dailykos.com/...</a>) got great response (thanks guys!), so I thought I’d do another one of these. There are two elements of his pay I want to focus on – salary, which we all understand, and the concept of “realized pay” which is tricky, but important.  Basically, Exxon’s board spends a lot of time trying to convince shareholders that because of decline in stock price Tillerson’s pay package isn’t as big as it seems. They have a certain point – more on that later – but the fact that stock price is falling needs to be put in context. Follow below for more detail: rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Climate Change ClimateChange Economy Environment ExxonMobil IncomeInequality _1379170 Tue, 21 Apr 2015 12:57:52 +0000 How the 1% retire:CEO package at Comcast https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/4/15/1377867/-How-the-1-retire-CEO-package-at-Comcast So I’m reading company proxy statements every day, analyzing the more arcane details of compensation for a blog I’m doing for work (<a href="http://ceopay.asyousow.org">http://ceopay.asyousow.org</a>).  I’m getting numbed to high CEO pay figures (at least a bit), but every now and then there’s something that stands out, because it is not only representative of excesses but of the way the system is rigged.   At Comcast, as it turns out, this is in the “retirement” category.  Though of course the figures go well beyond retirement, what it really is is tax favored wealth accumulation. At Comcast company sets aside several millions of dollars a year for the CEO’s “deferred compensation account” and they guarantee a rate of return.  Keep reading for the dirty details. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Inequality Recommended Rescued RescuedtoRecommended Retirement _1377867 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 13:13:45 +0000 50 Shades of Pay: The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/2/13/1364352/-50-Shades-of-Pay-The-100-Most-Overpaid-CEOs Yesterday As You Sow, the organization I work with, released our report on the 100 Most Overpaid CEOs in the S&P 500.  I’ve been working on this for months, digging deep into the details.  Before the webinar, another a panel member – who is also a movie review – was talking about current films, and someone came up with the “50 shades of pay” phrase in the title here.  Started out as joke, but it might have made an appropriate title for the report.  My reasons – detailed below -- have nothing to do with how shareholders need to give CEOs a spanking.  And if you don’t want to  you can download the full report at: <a href="http://www.asyousow.org/ceopay">http://www.asyousow.org/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay IncomeInequality _1364352 Sat, 14 Feb 2015 00:22:52 +0000 Teachers' retirement money voted in support of high CEO pay https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/2/11/1363956/-Teachers-retirement-money-voted-in-support-of-high-CEO-pay The Wall Street Journal just posted a story on how funds vote on executive compensation.  Here's the link: <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/study-finds-trends-in-votes-about-say-on-pay-1423717262">http://www.wsj.com/...</a>? I worked on the report this story is based on, spent countless hours digging deep in data and the single fact that surprised me most was that TIAA CREF -- the leading retirement provider for teachers and college professors – is more likely to approve high executive pay packages than almost any other institution.  We identified 100 S&P 500 CEOs we believe to be most overpaid, and looked into how mutual funds and public pension funds voted. Some pension funds apparently did a reasonable job of analysis, voting against many of the outrageous CEO pay packages.  New York City Pension funds supported only 43% of them.  TIAA-CREF supported 94%. More than JP Morgan, more than Goldman Sachs, more than just about anyone. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Education Teachers _1363956 Thu, 12 Feb 2015 06:10:49 +0000 What entitlement looks like: CEO pay edition https://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/2/1/1361666/-What-entitlement-looks-like-CEO-pay-edition A recently published article has the title which really says it all, "How to protect executive compensation amid falling oil prices." A consultant offers helpful advice, as consultants do, about how to save the poor executives from pay packages shrinkage due to falling commodity prices.  (Here's a link: <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/money-makers/2015/01/how-to-protect-executive-compensation-amid-falling.html?page=all">http://www.bizjournals.com/...</a>) Of course it isn't the execs' fault that oil prices are falling. That's absolutely right. But I don't recall any CEO, or consultant, pointing out that it wasn't anything an executive did that made oil prices rise.  And as oil prices rose, compensation at those companies rose. And now those packages must be saved. That leads me to the word in the title of this diary: entitlement.  More below the orange thing . . . including what you can do.   rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) CEOpay Economy _1361666 Mon, 02 Feb 2015 04:42:11 +0000 This time will be different only if . . . https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/12/18/1171558/-This-time-will-be-different-only-if we do something different.  This diary is about what I did today. I want the gun manufacturers that fund the NRA and the NRA to understand that this time is different.  One route anyone can take is to look at the gun manufacturers, and people associated with them.  There's a wealth of information on public companies at the SEC, and I found out that the CFO of a company whose lacrosse sticks my son has used is on the board of Sturm, Ruger and Company, which my friend google showed me is a huge supporter of the NRA.  So I wrote the letter below.  It scares me a little bit, but I have to do something and this is something I could do.   I'm not encouraging others to do this, but I hope we each can think about what we can do. See the letter below the squiggle rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) boardofdirectors Governance Gun Control GunControl Rescued _1171558 Tue, 18 Dec 2012 17:40:59 +0000 So about this storm https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/25/1149874/-So-about-this-storm I logged in this morning thinking that Sandy would be high on the rec list.  This looks to be scary stuff, and scary timing -- and I'm not just talking about how it could ruin Halloween.   I think it also has the potential be very important for the election. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Sandy _1149874 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 11:34:10 +0000 James Murdoch leaving Sotheby's board https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/17/1075312/-James-Murdoch-leaving-Sotheby-s-board SEC watchers often say companies file the most interesting documents on Friday afternoon, with the assumption that what they’re trying to do is avoid notice.  Yesterday afternoon (at 5:01 no less) Sotheby’s quietly filed a form at the SEC announcing that James Murdoch would not be standing for reelection at the board this spring.   Yes, that James Murdoch, Rupert’s son, and yes, that Sotheby’s --- a company by, of and for the one percent if ever there was one. Follow me below the break for some cool links. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) FOTHOM Murdoch News Corp NewsCorp Sotheby _1075312 Sat, 17 Mar 2012 17:48:57 +0000 Using Facebook effectively https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/11/1073403/-Using-Facebook-effectively In the past moth, I’ve had two really interesting political debates on Facebook, reasoned, thoughtful discussions that I doubt I could have had in person.  I’m convinced that there’s real value for Democrats in using Facebook, and thought I’d share some of my thoughts. Who cares about FB? Well, I’d argue that we should.  The latest stats show Facebook with more than 845 million users.  While Facebook was around in 2008, many have joined since including – I bet -- the middle-aged moderate voters, the ones who voted for Obama in the last election but may not this time around.  Now almost everyone is on it.  My husband’s 85 year old great aunt is on it.   Note: There are plenty of Facebook haters and rejecters on this cite, but I’d rather you didn’t use this diary to say why you think Facebook is a complete waste of time.   So here are the pointers: rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Facebook Outreach _1073403 Sun, 11 Mar 2012 20:37:17 +0000 Biblically hostile president? https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/3/8/1072594/-Biblically-hostile-president I don't think so personally, but there's a list going around on Facebook.  I could use some help refuting the list below the squiggle.  It has had over 5,000 shares on facebook, and one of them was in my family. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) biblicallyhostile refute _1072594 Fri, 09 Mar 2012 01:36:01 +0000 We need an NPR watch https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/1/25/1058267/-We-need-an-NPR-watch Missed part of the speech last night because of family obligations and so I was looking forward to NPR this morning.  I’ve been a Morning Edition listener for more than 20 years and my recollection of coverage of past SOTU speeches is that they generally played excerpts with some narrative on the themes and high points  and then had a political panel respond.  Maybe they got to some of that eventually today, but the first few minutes of the report made me jump out of bed, with fury more powerful than multiple caffeine-laden beverages.  Follow me over the fold for a rant rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) NPR SOTU _1058267 Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:57:32 +0000 A weak pathetic half-step by the SEC https://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/1/8/1052710/-A-weak-pathetic-half-step-by-the-SEC I saw something buried on the business pages yesterday that gave me a sliver of hope. Some companies settling cases with the SEC may no longer use that weasel phrase “neither admit nor deny” any wrongdoing in their settlements. “Hurrah,” I thought, “perhaps an era of true enforcement instead of silly legal language has begun.”  My heart soared.  "Perhaps change is really finally happening," I thought. Would my heart be broken again? Oh, you know it would be, you read the title of the diary, but follow me over the fold for details. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Enforcement FinancialMeltdown SEC _1052710 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 13:50:07 +0000 For cyber Monday consider signing the no Amazon Pledge https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/28/1040376/-For-cyber-Monday-consider-signing-the-no-Amazon-Pledge America Rights At Work has a simple on-line pledge this year: "Until Amazon gets the message to stop the exploitation, and start respecting workers -- I pledge not to shop at Amazon.com this holiday." Here’s the link to the pledge, which also gives the rationale for the pledge:  <a href="http://act.americanrightsatwork.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=3127&track=20111109_adv_amazon_pledge_blog">http://act.americanrightsatwork.org/...</a> rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Amazon Christmas sweatshop _1040376 Mon, 28 Nov 2011 11:42:04 +0000 Why I won't do Christmas shopping on Amazon this year https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/25/1039818/-Why-I-won-t-do-Christmas-shopping-on-Amazon-this-year Over the past few years I’ve been doing more and more Christmas shopping on Amazon. In so many ways it is a great site and has saved me time and money (neither of which I have enough of). But I’m done.  This year I became aware of the ways the company’s business strategy hurts workers and the way the company participates in a political contribution system that is corrupting our democracy. So no more. Follow me over the fold for more. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) ALEC Amazon AmericanLegislativeExchangeCouncil Christmas _1039818 Fri, 25 Nov 2011 15:22:12 +0000 Suspecting, but not wanting to know: bankers did it too https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/11/12/1035761/-Suspecting-but-not-wanting-to-know-bankers-did-it-too I’ve spent too much time the past few days reading about the horrible crimes committed at Penn State, both by the perpetrator and those who shielded them.  Horrible, horrible stuff, and agree with the sentiment here that there’s plenty of blame to go around. What I’ve been pondering most though is the failure of so many supposedly decent people to take action, and then yesterday reading I came across a quote in a completely different context that made me see a bit of a parallel. Follow me below the fold for more. rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Bankers Paterno Penn State PennState _1035761 Sat, 12 Nov 2011 12:58:58 +0000 How WS can restore trust, an open letter to Citigroup CEO Pandit https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/15/1026642/-How-WS-can-restore-trust-an-open-letter-to-Citigroup-CEO-Pandit These thoughts have been rolling around in my head since I saw Pandit's quote this week. Here's an open letter. Sir, May I call you sir? Hope that isn’t too informal. I don’t speak your language well and I don’t know the protocols.  Every now and then though you speak English, though.  For example this week you said: “Trust has been broken between financial institutions and the citizens of the U.S., and that is Wall Street’s job, to reach out to Main Street and rebuild that trust,” Well put!  And as a Main Street person I’m here to offer three simple suggestions: rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) #OWS Chamber of Commerce ChamberofCommerce CitiGroup Rescued Wall Street WallStreet _1026642 Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:48:12 +0000 Rupert Murdoch's $66 million pension https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/9/2/1013065/-Rupert-Murdoch-s-66-million-pension As noted elsewhere on the site, Newscorp’s proxy came out today.  I wanted to focus on one particular compensation element because I think it is outrageous, and because I think that understanding how it happens can be a useful exercise. Today’s proxy statement calculates that Rupert Murdoch’s pension is worth an astonishing $66 million dollars. That’s not just astonishing by the standards of mere mortals, it is astonishing by the standards of executive pay.  So how do you get a pension like that?  Below are three easy steps: rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) Murdoch _1013065 Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:22:00 +0000 Introducing myself: To Be Of Use https://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/7/1/990555/-Introducing-myself-To-Be-Of-Use I have been here for years, but you wouldn’t know it, and the longer I lurked the harder it was for me to settle on a screen name. I puzzled, and meditated, and joined twice, once with a name I rejected three hours later, but I never posted so much as a comment.  Then I thought a favorite poem of mine, Marge Piercy’s “To Be of Use.” Towards the end of the poem Piercy writes, “The work of the world is common as mud. Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust. But the thing worth doing well done has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.” Then she lists such items, things that are made to be used, but now in museums, such as a Hopi vase or a Greek amphora. . . . rss@dailykos.com (mygreekamphora) executivecompensation IncomeInequality Introduction Poetry _990555 Fri, 01 Jul 2011 19:06:37 +0000