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Flying luxury private jets to beg for money?

Well, in all fairness I don't think those CEOs should be flying commercial, due to the security aspect. I do think a lot of money can be saved by leasing a jet or fractional ownership like through netjets rather than owning 3 or 4 private jets. Also they may need access to a jet to handle deals anywhere.
I do think it is funny that the CEO of Ford drives a Lexus and once stated that it is the best car in the whole world, or something similar to that. If anyone should be driving a Ford it is him, but then again I guess he wants to drive a reliable car.
 
Yes, stick to the same policies and procedures that got them in this whole mess to begin with. That's surely to bring about the kind of change needed/required in the industry.

We must, after all, stick to corporate policy when on the brink of supposed bankruptcy.

+1

Also I think that safety thing is just BS. Who ever said, "Look! It's the CEO of Wal-Mart! Let's jump him!" Not like anyone would recognize them anyways. They aren't exactly celebrities.
 
This is an important enough problem of large enough magnitude that I hope any of the decision makers involved don't waste a minute of thought on how the execs got to DC.
 
+1

Also I think that safety thing is just BS. Who ever said, "Look! It's the CEO of Wal-Mart! Let's jump him!" Not like anyone would recognize them anyways. They aren't exactly celebrities.

RIGHT!!! Old Sam Walton and all his money drove around in an average pick up. Why do the CEO's need security? Most people would not know who they were out in public!
 
Rob Gettlefinger (sp?) isn't rich. If I remember right, the UAW head makes just over $90,000/year. Nice, but not RICH territory. He did seem to wear a nice suit, though. I am guessing that he did fly on of the corporate private jets.
Weren't we talking about the CEO's from the auto industry? I don't recall talking about the head of the UAW. :confused:
 
RIGHT!!! Old Sam Walton and all his money drove around in an average pick up. Why do the CEO's need security? Most people would not know who they were out in public!

Sam did fly private planes. He used to fly his plane and monitor the parking lots of each walmart. In fact walmart has a bunch of private jets for their executives and managers, but since they are profitable now, its not an issue. Let's not forget how many people in the media use a private jet or a helicopters.
 
This is an important enough problem of large enough magnitude that I hope any of the decision makers involved don't waste a minute of thought on how the execs got to DC.

Because obviously the judgment and thought processes of the men who would be stewarding $25 billion taxpayer dollars doesn't have anything to do with this large problem, right?
 
I think too big a deal is being made about it. But I also think the market, and not congress, needs to decide the fate of businesses.
But seriously, it wouldn't make sense to drive from Detroit to DC. Time is money and sitting in a car for that long is a big waste of money. Not time mention they probably would have needed to stay the night in Washington if they drove. When I used to travel a lot with my job, if it was longer than a six hour drive, I automatically flew. There were times when it was a two hour drive and I would fly.
Private vs commercial airline? I'm sure it wasn't just one guy on the plane. If you are going to ask congress for money, you take a staff. And you have meetings on the plane. Difficult to do on commercial flights.
Back in the early 90s, I read an interview with Bill Gates. He said if he flys, he flys coach, except when going to Europe. Then he flys business class. I wounder if that's still the case.
 
My sister in Michigan said even the locals are embarrassed about it.

Dearborn resident, here, embarrassed as hell about it. Let them sink. They can't run their business, why should *I* have to foot the bill?

Hey, I have some credit card debt. Know what I did? I stopped using my credit card. Took it out of my wallet, stuck it in the bottom of my sock drawer, and there it stays until I pay that sucker off. I'm not calling up Uncle Sam and asking for a bailout.

"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
 
Sam did fly private planes. He used to fly his plane and monitor the parking lots of each walmart. In fact walmart has a bunch of private jets for their executives and managers, but since they are profitable now, its not an issue. Let's not forget how many people in the media use a private jet or a helicopters.

That may be true, I was only pointing out this man of money was quite simple.
 
This is an important enough problem of large enough magnitude that I hope any of the decision makers involved don't waste a minute of thought on how the execs got to DC.

It's symptomatic of the kind of tunnel vision that brought the 3 companies to the point they're at currently. The correlation is obvious.

Because obviously the judgment and thought processes of the men who would be stewarding $25 billion taxpayer dollars doesn't have anything to do with this large problem, right?

+1

Back in the early 90s, I read an interview with Bill Gates. He said if he flys, he flys coach, except when going to Europe. Then he flys business class. I wounder if that's still the case.

For any other meeting, it would make sense to take the corporate jet if that's your policy. For this one particular meeting (or set of meetings) just this once, I think public perception and appearances far outweigh the "norm," especially when you know the press is going to pick up on the meetings.

And while Gates hasn't flown commercial in years, the private plane he did purchase (and uses) was paid for with his own money (not Microsoft's). I guarantee you the big 3 CEOs didn't do that (probably because the jets were already company property when they took the lead at the helm for their respective companies).

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00EFD61631F934A15753C1A961958260
 
I agree that this has somewhat distracted attention from the big issues but it sure doesn't look good.

I once saw Mr. Fred Rogers in the airport--if its secure enough for him--them its secure enough for the big three CEOs so I also think the security and coroporate policy issues are beyond silly.

As far as wasted time--who should assume that their time is more valuable than others?

Truth is 20K x 3 is 60 K should support at least one "normal" persons salary for one year with benefits (actually should be more like 1.5). By "normal" I mean a factory worker--who really needs the job more than the CEOs do and who knows how may jobs could have been saved if the excesses in perks and unwieldly bonuses had been trimmed earlier (also unreasonable UAW demands).

So I think (1) it looked bad and hopefully this will serve as a lesson and (2) a little too much attention than it probably deserves.
 
Weren't we talking about the CEO's from the auto industry? I don't recall talking about the head of the UAW. :confused:

He was there in the picture of the group that flew on the private jets, according to the headline I saw associated with that picture. He was on the far left end of the group. As I mentioned, I am assuming he flew on someone's corporate jet if the headline I read was correct. The story I am associating the picture with could have had it wrong. Damn yellow journalists.

He, or to be more precise, his union, is certainly of part of the reason why the US automakers are in the predicament they are in and why the transplants have a decided cost advantage over the domestic makers. They share a good part of the blame for whistling loudly while walking past the grave yard of once heavily unionized industries that do not or barely exist anymore or are in a danger of collapse.

Before anyone goes off saying that I am just anti-union I was once in the UAW and I respect them as bargainers and they do run a clean organization. They do respect the members dues. But they have to face it that their time has come and their in now gone.

He is also the one who will get them the money after Congress has fun beating up the industry. He and UAW do have a lot of pull with Democrats. The UAW will be useful for something, if only for one more time.
 
Before anyone goes off saying that I am just anti-union I was once in the UAW and I respect them as bargainers and they do run a clean organization. They do respect the members dues. But they have to face it that their time has come and their in now gone.

I don't know. It's hard to understand why you need protections when they've been so effective for so long. Watch what's going to be happening to the Family Medical Leave Act by way of Executive Order this week, and then figure out how readily you think we should give up collective bargaining.
 
He was there in the picture of the group that flew on the private jets, according to the headline I saw associated with that picture. He was on the far left end of the group. As I mentioned, I am assuming he flew on someone's corporate jet if the headline I read was correct.
I see your point - we can also safely assume that some pilots, stewards/stewardesses and secretaries were also on those jets, and they certainly aren't rich either.

Just to avoid any confusion, in my previous post, the RICH people I was referring to were the CEOs.
 
I think the idea of the CEOs driving to DC is good, using a bicycle would have been better and walking there would have been best. They would do far less damage walking to Washington than staying at their company doing their job of running the facility into the ground.

I don't blame them a bit for using security as a reason to fly on a private, non peon jet. i know many people who would push them in front of a train, bus, or whatever IF they knew what they looked like. I wouldn't push but I wouldn't tell either. Who should we be mad at, the CEOs or the people who allow it to continue? Oh... that would be US. Until we are ready to kick the worthless bags of human flesh out of their present situation, the :9898: wont change.

Edit :
I was and am referring to ALL CEOs / companies that want us to ' save ' them.
 

ouch

Stjynnkii membörd dummpsjterd
It reminds me of the scene from Steve Martin's movie, The Jerk, when a rich Texan comes crying to him for a handout to reupholster the seats on his Lear Jet.

A private jet to ask for 25 gig? If they asked me for 25 dollars they'd better be prepared to crawl over broken glass.

Warning- spoken profanity:
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsyS0oHLNFA[/YOUTUBE]
 
There is talk now of the possibility that the big 3 is seriously considering selling their jointly owned aircraft carrier. What in the name of Slim Pickens are they thinking of?

update:

Reuters
GM says to return two leased corporate jets
Friday November 21, 10:20 am ET

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp (NYSE:GM - News) said on Friday it will return two leased corporate jets.
* Says already returned two leased corporate jets in September

* Says started year with seven leased jets

* Says leases all its corporate jets

* Says has not decided how CEO would travel to Washington if necessary next

time, but sensitive to issue-spokesman

* Says returning leased corporate jets due to travel cutbacks
 
I read about this in the papers down here. I can see the politicians just wanted to make the CEOs sweat a little, asking for public money but not making any personal sacrifices.
Public opinion is going to come hard down on the politians giving any money away after the AIG bailout and their spending so much of it living the high life.

But for good news, Ford of Australia gets to keep their 4L I6 for another 5 years. :D
Long live the I6 and RWD!
 
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