Comments on: Exec salaries: Rudd opens fire on the business community

By: Frank Said

Frank Said — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Simple solution.
Limit wages/salary packages to 20 times the minimum wage.
Only greed dictates that you need more to live comfortably.

By: David Sanderson

David Sanderson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Only a tabloid-style journalist would think that calling for CEO pay cuts and sitting down to talk with those CEOs was hypocritical. It is like saying that it is hypocritical to tell your child to clean up their room but then sitting down to have dinner with them even though they haven’t cleaned it up yet.

Most people would think that kind of ‘hypocrisy’ is just normal behaviour.

By: Kevin Charles Herbert

Kevin Charles Herbert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

David Sanderson: there you go giving oxygen to you know who….

By: David Sanderson

David Sanderson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

I’d prefer to pity the angry,disorientated little child in you JamesK.

By: Petert

Petert — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Excellent article!

We need journalists who will ask questions like:
1. 'How much money are the banks actually making?',
2. 'Is it true that Lehrman has walked out with a $60 million bonus?'
3. 'When are politicians' retirement payments going to be brought in line with every one else's pensions, and also be means tested?'

We need politicians with the balls to say, 'Let's seize the assets of the corporate cowboys- and their wives - who got us into this mess, and put them in state houses, and force them to use public transport. And let's spend the money on hospitals and schools,'

By: Peter t

Peter t — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Jillian, don’t be so nit-picky serious! Consider my last comment a verbal cartoon.
How about my forst 3 points?

By: AndrewW

AndrewW — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

This is long overdue. I noted the CEO of Lehman’s blamed everyone else for his woes and accepted no responsibility for the collapse.
We are constantly fed the absurdity that these salaries are justified based on the responsibility of the job yet, if the Lehman example is any guide, they don’t take any?
Whichever way this is cut ,it still boils down to basic greed; greed of a generation who cannot delay gratification and want it all now; greed of shareholders, greed of Directors and greed of CEOs. Go get ‘em Kevin

By: Dr Harvey M Tarvydas #2

Dr Harvey M Tarvydas #2 — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Jillian, you may be more right than most can know.
The reason why our friend below can smell the roses is ‘cause he’s still suckling at his Mothers breast. Current modern ‘smart’ western man has been suckling on the great breast of words from all the experts for so long he can’t tell when the milk is off. The sustenance makes you believe in the breast. What we’ve missed is that the US (WhiteHouse) Govt has clearly been a bit like some Nazis and also a bit like some Commies I had learned to be weary of in my youth. Of course it dresses its ugly bits in dazzling coats that blind us very successfully.

By: Jillian

Jillian — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Peter, The idea of seizing people’s assets is ridiculous. Thousands of investors would leave the country taking their assets with them.
It’s not the corporate executives who caused the current financial crisis. It began with subprime loans that the US government put enormous pressure on US banks to grant.

By: Bernard Keane

Bernard Keane — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Or, like Mr T, you can pity the fool.

Heaven help us in Frank “brother of Edward” Said’s world. My idea of comfort won’t be reached for a few million yet.

By: Dr Harvey M Tarvydas

Dr Harvey M Tarvydas — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Stephen Mayne you are as usual well worth reading and thinking with.
Thanks & congrats.
Except -
"The Kevin Rudd narrative is a strange affair. One day he’s blasting extreme capitalism and bank pay packets and the next he’s sitting down with 150 business leaders as commander in chief during a rolling economic security crisis" -- I think its cool, it may be more of an experiment than a 'pre-ordained' usual political thingy. All the greats in the ‘world’ today are saying stuff like ‘humans will have to innovate their way out of all the shit that’s pouring down on them now’.
Thanks for pointing out that excruciating ‘disclosure failure’. There are bats hiding in every hidden dark place hanging by a claw. I do have a weakness for the name Elizabeth though.

By: Wake up and smell the roses

Wake up and smell the roses — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

There is no simple solution, however, Rudd & Co keep pushing the problem offshore. When Rudd & Swan were elected the first thing they said was the credit crunch would not hurt Australia. Our Banks were well run, arms length from the problems facing the USA. Well not quite accurate. Next the economy was overheated and spending cuts had to be put into place. Ttwo months later it’s spend, spend, spend !
Next we are told our Banks never lent money like those fools in the USA. Well excuse me, what are low doc loans, balance transfers on credit cards if they are not subprime. Capacity to repay debt was based on the premise that if the ability to repay fell away then the house or property would simply be sold and monies recovered. This was predicated on exactly the same fundamental premise used by the US lenders. Property would keep rising in value. Strange Rudd is yet to mention this yet has moved to guarantee deposits.
In a slowing economy jobs are shed, loans are not repaid and delinquincy rates explode. Banks are required for the first time to support their doubtful debt provisions with hard cash, before it was simply a book entry. Mr Rudd has no comment.
Then we have the holy grail of greed, the Banks found a new revenue stream credit defaults swaps, effectively insuring bad debt for USA and offshore consumer lenders. Great for revenue. The Age the other day suggested our Banks are holding markers for $40 billion. Rudd & Swan are silent. Its off balance sheet and undisclosed. Will anybody claim this? Maybe Rudd and Co. should look back in history see how the members of Lloyds of London fared all those years ago in the 1990’s when they greedily thought they were untouchable, family fortunes were lost…the sure do claim it..perhaps Mr Rudd has a magic wand. We exported most jobs to China so there is little to export. Look at each person in your street ,who buys what they produce at work?
It will not matter what executives are paid there will be so few.

By: JamesK

JamesK — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Just cheap populism from Rudd and rather unhelpful politics in this crisis.

That is not to say that the salaries are not ludricous but that has much to do with the lack of influence has on corporate boards and policy of the average shareholder. That is a regulation problem.
Besides the banks here are well run as Rudd is oft wont to inform us.

Pity the child in David Sanderson's household.

By: Sandy Clarkson

Sandy Clarkson — Thu, 01 Jan 1970 10:00:00 +0000

Your statement about the Australian Banks being the most expensive in the world is interesting. It is obvious that the other Banks in the world are and were too cheap. They provided a service which is a false economy to their taxpayers not just their clients.. We and you can not have it both ways. The cost of security in banking is expensive.

ciao Sandy Clarkson