WIP Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 The good thing about modern so called "free enterprize" is that if you've got enough money or you are well enough connected with the upper echalons of corporate power, you only fail upwards when you screw up! Exhibit A: Target's package for ex-CEO matches package for all 17,600 Canadian workers Target’s "employee trust" package for its Canadian workers, announced last week, amounts to $70 million ($56 million US). It’s designed to provide each worker with 16 weeks of pay. Target Canada's liquidation will begin in 2-3 weeks Target's launch into Canada 'a multifaceted failure' Depending on who’s doing the calculation, the golden handshake handed to ex-CEO Gregg Steinhafel last May is in roughly in the same ballpark. Fortune Magazine put the value of his total "walk-away" package, including stock options and other benefits, at $61 million US, including severance of $15.9 million. 60 million+ Now that ought to keep the lights on when he moves back home and ponders whatever executive opportunities await him....where he can fail next, and cost thousands their jobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Accountability Now Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Good for him. He negotiated a contract and was paid accordingly. This isn't taxpayers money being given out....its private funds. The only reason I would be upset is if any Target employee did not receive what they were entitled to for severance as per their provincial labor laws. In Alberta, the severance is 1 week per year for most employees and 1 month per year for managers. If Target gave them more than the required amount then that would be fine too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've got no problem with Target CEO's being paid millions upon millions of dollars, it's the fact their income tax rate isn't in the 90% + range that I have issues with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIP Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Good for him. He negotiated a contract and was paid accordingly. This isn't taxpayers money being given out....its private funds. The only reason I would be upset is if any Target employee did not receive what they were entitled to for severance as per their provincial labor laws. In Alberta, the severance is 1 week per year for most employees and 1 month per year for managers. If Target gave them more than the required amount then that would be fine too. Fine then! Tax his severance at 90%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIP Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've got no problem with Target CEO's being paid millions upon millions of dollars, it's the fact their income tax rate isn't in the 90% + range that I have issues with. 40 years ago, CEO's did not get paid anything near what they are walking away with today! How is it that only the upper income level, which consists of those who have the power to push the hands of politicians to write and rewrite the tax laws and business regulations in their favour, are the only ones who have had any substantial increase in income over the last 40 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Well, Maher Arar got $10 million plus legal fees for doing far less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 I've got no problem with Target CEO's being paid millions upon millions of dollars, it's the fact their income tax rate isn't in the 90% + range that I have issues with. Nobody's tax rate should be more than 50%. The government should never take more than half of your income. It's immoral. At more than 50%, you're working for the government, and not yourself or your family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Hardner Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 It's immoral. I can never argue with a "values" based argument, in that it's entirely subjective... but also heartfelt. Canadians argue with their hearts and their minds... but mostly their mouths. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Nobody's tax rate should be more than 50%. Yes it should, when their income is 17000 times that of everyone else's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted January 22, 2015 Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 40 years ago, CEO's did not get paid anything near what they are walking away with today! How is it that only the upper income level, which consists of those who have the power to push the hands of politicians to write and rewrite the tax laws and business regulations in their favour, are the only ones who have had any substantial increase in income over the last 40 years? A strong cultural social preference for ever widening income gaps and extremely powerful and wealthy people, apparently. I can't figure it out either. I feel like I'm in an insane asylum that's being run by the inmates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Target's ex-CEO was worth more than the employees at 130 failed Canadian locations. There are a lot more locations in the U.S. still making lots of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Target's ex-CEO was worth more than the employees at 130 failed Canadian locations. There are a lot more locations in the U.S. still making lots of money. What did he specifically do to be responsible for those profits? On the other hand, he was responsible for wasting billions on the failed Canadian expansion, and oversaw a massive security breach. His worth to Target was a large negative number, that's why he was fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 What did he specifically do to be responsible for those profits? On the other hand, he was responsible for wasting billions on the failed Canadian expansion, and oversaw a massive security breach. His worth to Target was a large negative number, that's why he was fired. He was still worth more than Canadian employees at the new locations, the OP contention. Hell, his pay was actually cut: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579571770060490520 We read this same kinda crap from ex-employees at EMD London, who claimed that they deserved to stay on with higher pay because CAT had such huge world-wide profits outside of Canada. Seriously ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 He was still worth more than Canadian employees at the new locations, the OP contention. His worth to Target was a negative several billion. A stray cart had more value to the company than he did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 His worth to Target was a negative several billion. A stray cart had more value to the company than he did. Nonsense.....the CEO doesn't get all the credit or all the blame. Bring back Zellers ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Nonsense.....the CEO doesn't get all the credit or all the blame. He got the blame all right. He got fired for it. And his incompetence cost another 17,000 people their jobs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 He got the blame all right. He got fired for it. And his incompetence cost another 17,000 people their jobs as well. No, he got fired more for the data breach and much larger risk than losing 130 Zellers stores resurrected from death. Those 17,000 people did not own the jobs or the circumstances that created them. American corps do not owe jobs to Canadians (or Americans for that matter). http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericbasu/2014/06/15/target-ceo-fired-can-you-be-fired-if-your-company-is-hacked/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Well hopefully we managed to tax the pants off him before he fled the scene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shady Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yes it should, when their income is 17000 times that of everyone else's. Nope. Regardless, you don't care so much about inequality so long as the government gets it's cut. Kind of like the mafia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socialist Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 It's nice to see people here waking up to the neo-liberal menace. I've been trying to discuss it but too many people have no clue what neoliberalism is. Most haven't even heard of neoliberalism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remiel Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 All of society is getting messed up. Look at Jupiter Ascending and its ridiculous message of being "born better" . If that is where we are at these days then society is definitely going down hill... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eyeball Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Nope. Regardless, you don't care so much about inequality so long as the government gets it's cut. Kind of like the mafia.Yes, I just love the government.Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIP Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Well, Maher Arar got $10 million plus legal fees for doing far less. Seems you are really stretching to derail the topic today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bush_cheney2004 Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 Seems you are really stretching to derail the topic today! The topic is money...deserved and undeserved. Why just pick on an ex-Target CEO ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WIP Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 A strong cultural social preference for ever widening income gaps and extremely powerful and wealthy people, apparently. I can't figure it out either. I feel like I'm in an insane asylum that's being run by the inmates. There is some circumstantial evidence that we were blindsided by the promises and claims advanced when so called free trade became the bipartisan issue of liberals and conservatives back in the 80's....supposedly...in theory at least, only the undesirable low-paying jobs would be outsourced to poor, undeveloped nations. And we'd be doing them a favour too! Because they would have the opportunity to modernize their societies and become like us. At first, a lot of the arguments about free trade and globalization were about which countries were going to win through free trade and which nations would end up losing. In actual fact what happened was that nearly everybody lost....in Canada, U.S., Mexico, wherever....most people haven't won a damn thing through globalization! BUT, a small controlling elite have won and won big, and are still winning today, taking a greater and greater share of the wealth that's produced. So, today every first world nation has its own growing third world of grinding poverty, while the third world nations have their isolated pockets of extreme wealth. Now it's just a matter of percentages that distinguish first world and third world nations, because income and wealth inequality has steadily advanced. It was through globalization of trade and the less covered banking and finance liberalization like creating the WTO, that the corporate class was able to supercede the power of the voting majority. Not only did they rewrite tax rules and change tax rates on investment income for their benefit, but the middle class has tried to hold their place by working longer hours....especially all the women who had to go out into the workforce fulltime beginning in the 70's. And more people started taking on more and more debt as credit became more easily available. So, it wasn't until housing bubbles burst in the U.S. that a lot of people started waking up and noticing how they have fallen, while the small minority of wealthy interests are the only ones still increasing their incomes today. Here in Canada...at least most of Canada, we didn't have the insane runup in real estate prices, so there isn't as far to fall, but a lot of people that used to have good paying jobs and now struggle to hold on to their homes and pay the bills with two or three crappy part time jobs sure as hell notice stories like this one about Target's CEO's compensation for failure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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