With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on June 19th, 2011 4:35 am by HL
With executive pay, rich pull away from rest of America
It was the 1970s, and the chief executive of a leading U.S. dairy company, Kenneth J. Douglas, lived the good life. He earned the equivalent of about $1 million today. He and his family moved from a three-bedroom home to a four-bedroom home, about a half-mile away, in River Forest, Ill., an upscale Chicago suburb. He joined a country club. The company gave him a Cadillac. The money was good enough, in fact, that he sometimes turned down raises. He said making too much was bad for morale.
Forty years later, the trappings at the top of Dean Foods, as at most U.S. big companies, are more lavish. The current chief executive, Gregg L. Engles, averages 10 times as much in compensation as Douglas did, or about $10 million in a typical year. He owns a $6 million home in an elite suburb of Dallas and 64 acres near Vail, Colo., an area he frequently visits. He belongs to as many as four golf clubs at a time — two in Texas and two in Colorado. While Douglas’s office sat on the second floor of a milk distribution center, Engles’s stylish new headquarters occupies the top nine floors of a 41-story Dallas office tower. When Engles leaves town, he takes the company’s $10 million Challenger 604 jet, which is largely dedicated to his needs, both business and personal.
First lady’s African trip resurrects criticism of president on African issues
First lady Michelle Obama’s upcoming five-day goodwill tour to sub-Saharan Africa, designed to highlight HIV/AIDS projects and inspire young adults there, is billed by the White House as an important next step in the administration’s outreach to the continent.
But the trip also has resurrected criticism among a vocal subset of Africa advocates — including President Obama supporters — who say they are disappointed that the first American president with African roots has not personally focused more on the region.
U.S. in peace talks with Taliban, Karzai says
KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai confirmed Saturday for the first time that the Afghan and U.S. governments have begun peace discussions with Taliban insurgents, saying that the talks “have started already” and are “going well,” according to news accounts. He said foreign military forces, “especially the United States,” are “going ahead with these negotiations.”
At the same time, however, Karzai blasted the international governments and forces that have been assisting and defending his government over the past decade.
NEW ORLEANS — Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) won the straw poll Saturday at the Republican Leadership Conference, winning a contest in which many top presidential candidates did not actively participate.
Paul, who typically does well in straw polls thanks to an active, mobile and outspoken base of support, took 612 votes, finishing well ahead of the second-place finisher, former Utah governor Jon Huntsman, who won 382 votes.
Rep. Michele Bachmann, coming off a strong debate performance on Monday, finished in third with 191 votes.
