Comments on: Ex-GM CEO Rick Wagoner Gets $8.2m Pay-Off

By: ra_pro

ra_pro — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:38:05 +0000

The new Ubermensh, CEOs of America.

Shoot them on sight, improve the economy.

By: werewolf34

werewolf34 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:02:26 +0000

The real lesson here is that US CEOs are grossly overpaid. Period

By: JWilly48519

JWilly48519 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:50:32 +0000

It was John Smale and Ron Zarella that fiddled while GM’s downward path gained so much speed. Mr. Wagoner did a great deal to fix prior mistakes, but the mis-marketing inertia and corporate-cultural dysfunctionality of the former world’s largest corporation was more than he could immediately reverse. Business historians, I think, will treat him well, but his predecessors badly.

By: CamaroKid

CamaroKid — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:25:20 +0000

Lets review,

Bernie lies, cheats and steals, loses over $65 Billion in investor wealth and gets 150 years in prison.

Rick dithers, bumbles, and F’s up, loses over $85 Billion in investor wealth and gets a $8.2 million pension.

So the lesson here is if you are an incompetent idiot the world is your oyster.

By: newfdawg

newfdawg — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:09:29 +0000

This really ticks me off, his actions help run the company into the ground and he walks away with 8.2 million. Only in America…..

By: indi500fan

indi500fan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:05:13 +0000

To quote Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels (he was referring to incumbent opponent Joe Kernan):

“We weren’t led by bad people, but we were badly led”

I think the same applies to “The Rick”.

Roger Smith WAS bad people.

By: tedj101

tedj101 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:47:36 +0000

>>He should be in a cell with Bernie<<

That wouldn’t be fair – to Bernie!

By: CamaroKid

CamaroKid — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:59:36 +0000

He should be in a cell with Bernie

By: Autojunkie

Autojunkie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:56:16 +0000

The problem isn’t a free market, but rather that his pension wasn’t tossed out with the others in a chapter 7 without government involvement or that it wasn’t thrown into the bad GM portfolio to die. I wonder who and why it was decided that his payout should be kept with new GM?

That’s an easy answer! The same one who decided that Mr. Wagoner would have to be the sacrificial lamb of the auto industry.

By: Facebook User

Facebook User — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:44:05 +0000

obbop :
July 15th, 2009 at 1:00 am

Well, of course it is some proverbial “free market” that ensures the guy obtains that amount of wealth.

By: jaje

jaje — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:43:45 +0000

This really upsets me. There are a lot of people who’ve dedicated their lives to a company and did their best job to help it grow, but b/c of poor leadership and management – they were let go and given very little compensation for their efforts. Whereas Rabid Rick and his cronies screwed this company, now sucks on the Federal tit and he gets even more send off money while his carbon copy plots the exact same course.

By: gslippy

gslippy — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:09:00 +0000

Well, the class envy has started….

His payoff could be compared to Mr. Robert Nardelli’s, who was given $210 million upon leaving Home Depot after only 6 years, although he was considered ’successful’ there.

$8.2 million for Rick amounts to about 2-3 hours’ worth of losses for the old GM. No big deal.

“We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.”
Aesop 620-560 BC

By: akear

akear — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:07:24 +0000

I wonder what Nardelli is doing now. He is probably driving around in a golf cart all day complaining about geese dropping on the coarse.

By: Ralph SS

Ralph SS — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:02:41 +0000

My Hero.

By: Billy Bobb 2

Billy Bobb 2 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:39:30 +0000

Fuck up.

Cash in.

DC Lobbyist next?

By: superbadd75

superbadd75 — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:17:20 +0000

Rick needs to open his own casino. He can call it, “Heads, I win. Tails, you lose.” He can get her started with some stimulus money. I’m sure the rubes will pack the place.

Hell yeah, and he could open it in the RenCen when GM’s forced to sell it because they can no longer afford the utilities.

I won’t go as far as Autojunkie and say he deserves it, but I’d rather they pay him to leave than pay him to stay, I guess. The pension and life insurance policy is a rather big load of crap.

By: Autojunkie

Autojunkie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:48:30 +0000

VerbalKint :

“And Ricky didn’t even give the Taxpayers a kiss before he did us.”

Rick “did” the taxpayers? Really? Rick was F’d over by the Rattner clan buddy!

By: Autojunkie

Autojunkie — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:45:24 +0000

I’m probably the only one here that would say he deserves it!

Like the old divorce-related joke… “It’s cheaper to keep her!”

Rock on Rick! You deserve every penny!

By: PeteMoran

PeteMoran — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:43:03 +0000

Farce!

By: Davekaybsc

Davekaybsc — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:33:54 +0000

“The new law of evolution in corporate America seems to be survival of the unfittest.” – Gordon Gekko

By: obbop

obbop — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 05:00:54 +0000

Well, of course it is some proverbial “free market” that ensures the guy obtains that amount of wealth.

By: lw

lw — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:09:36 +0000

akear:

Your being too hard on Ricky. He started with a turd and polished it.

What do you get when you polish a turd?

A smaller turd

By: akear

akear — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:07:12 +0000

In hindsight I think Roger Smith will come off better than Wagoner. This man turned GM into a pile of excrement!

By: VerbalKint

VerbalKint — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 04:00:21 +0000

And Ricky didn’t even give the Taxpayers a kiss before he did us.

By: King Bojack

King Bojack — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 03:56:15 +0000

TTAC wasn’t a voice in the wilderness with GM ch 11. GM’s shitty bond rating indicates the credit agencies thought they had a huge chance of falling apart. So did many analysts.

At any rate, a more plausible scenario about Mr. Lutz coming back is that he left before he was ousted. Then he had a chance to come back after all the bankruptcy hassle was done to help run shit. Granted all we can really do is speculate but it seems more likely Lutz just read some tea leaves or something. He got to game the system and keep his job and escape the ire of being thrown out by King Obama et al. He’s probably invested in tons of different companies all taking it in the shitter so him having to sell a jet (which can’t possibly be cheap to keep or run) doesn’t mean he’s bellying up to a soup kitchen.