From a google search, it says that Ford's reported 2010 earnings were 111.2B. 1% of 1B is 10M. Just for a little perspective.
At first glance, I thought it was (and still pretty much think it is) an absurd amount for a bonus, especially when it's 4-5 times more than their base salary (varies depedning upon search). ??? We just got bonuses at my company for the first time in 4 yrs. and it's 15% of our base salary and I thought that was outstanding, borderline too much, given the economic situation were supposedly coming out of.
The fact of the matter is...anyone who sits here and criticizes the business accumen of a Fortune500 CEO is gonna come across as a retard, or says it's too much is a simply a socialist, but I do have to think that giving out these types of bonuses can't be the best business strategy in the world. These corporations have $#itty business practices and that's not me...their historical data is there. In fact, I think it plays an underlying theme in our American society at the present.
I'm not the most business savvy person in the world, but it does appear as though there's some fiscal excess still occurring, and we're nowhere close to being out of the storm yet. If the company (or industry) I was involved with recently fell down an enormous $#!thole and somehow managed to regain its footing...you can be d@mn sure it wouldn't happen again and I'd be very wary of the previous practices that got us in that situation AND LEARN. I'd love to see the business model of a truly successful company that finds it necessary to give generational-impacting bonuses just a year or two removed from near collapse.
Something tells me those individuals that received those bonuses would have done just fine with a 1/3 of that amount, and that type of true conservatism would help to ensure the company's survival from decade to decade, not year to year. But it's that same type of attitude that some have posted in this thread that is if someone wants to give it to me, then I'll take it. I'd be willing to guarantee that these are the exact same people that would be the first ones to say something about liberal handouts or being given something that wasn't earned. Earned is the question at hand, and I simply don't think any employee (within an acceptable business model in a real world) can perform in a manner to receive a 300% bonus. Once again, if that's possible, their business models are $#!tty.
You have to pay attention to the message that these types of actions send. It's the same "Do as the front I put up, not as I message and actions that I actually do" mentality. I'd be willing to bet these guys are as fiscally conservative as the day is long, yet find a way to pass this example of excess off as Capitalism, therefore it doesn't apply to them.
These corporations have worked for so long and hard (successfully I might add) at manipulating budgetary rules, regulations, and concepts that at this point, I find it hard to believe that anyone truly knows what corporations like these are really making anymore. And that, is what I think is really looming over this country's head. I think the previous bailouts (even though Ford wasn't involved) were only a preview of what's to come for the American business sector.
It doesn't make matters any better that the average American is severely retarded when it comes to budgeting and financial matters. It makes me think of the times when I had just graduated from college and had no idea how to budget or prioritize my money. Everything would be great after payday or tax returns. There was money for beer, restaurants, and other luxuries in the beginning. As it got closer to the end of the month, or the cash flow, I'd find myself attempting to curb it by cutting out the stupid, unimpactful things like *****ing at my girl about getting name brands at the grocery store when I'd just went out and had dinner and drinks with friends at the bar.
I thank whomever for maturity. It just seems that many of these CEOs actions are more in line with those of a financially ignorant person (as described above) than the responsible, level-headedness you'd expect from someone of that stature.
