Let’s make ‘em pay! 

Finally, someone in Congress may be getting it. Michelle Leder in the Footnoted blog says a hotter ticket than the Superbowl will be for the  House Committee on Oversight meeting on February 28, 2008. Congressman Henry Waxman has invited Angelo Mozilo of Countrywide, Stan O’Neal formerly of Merrill Lynch, and former Citigroup head, Chuck Prince to a meet and greet in the halls of Congress.  Henry Waxman wants to know why these heads of financial institutions are raking in the money, even as they are “let go” and/or their companies and the country are foundering. It’s about time somebody noticed! The only article I could find when we first heard about Stan O’Neal deploring his golden parachutewas by at USA Today writer,  Rich Unger. The kings of the mortgage/credit mess are raking in big bucks.  There’s something very wrong with this picture.   Angelo Mozilo will be giving up his golden parachute of $37 million.  He’s starting to get it, but a little too little and a little too late. We will not shed any tears for his “loss”.

Back in October I started writing an article about Stan O’Nealand his  golden parachute.  (Keep in mind when reading this, Stan O’Neal is easily interchangeable with Angelo Mozilo or Chuck Prince.)  Stan ONeal /Chuck Prince/Angelo Mozilo “retired” from his many posts and titles at Merrill /Citi/Country.  He was given the option to retire, rather than be fired.  Merrill/Citi/Country was unhappy with his performance as he failed to see the danger coming in the subprime market, putting the company earnings and stock price at risk.  Here’s a man who had been incredibly successful, made a lot of money, made a lot of mistakes, and the board chose not to fire him, but allowed him to retire, collecting a huge sum of money, give or take $160 million.

Let’s see, what could that money do?  What if Mr. O’Neal only took $10 million and gave away a $151 million?  Maybe he could pick one of his favorite charities and donate the money to the organization, a la Bill Gates.  Just think of the impact this gift could have for many people.  Maybe Mr. O’Neal/Prince/Mozilo could fund college scholarships or donate to The Nature Conservancy or The American Cancer Society.   Or maybe he could start a fund that could be distributed to people in danger of losing their homes.  Standards would have to be met, people would need to qualify. Obviously, a strong program with strong implementation would be needed. Maybe people who have been laid off from their job and can no longer afford their monthly payments could apply to get some of this money.  Maybe money is given to some of the people who lost their homes in New Orleans or in the California fires.   The money Stan /Angelo/Chuck  will retire with could have such a positive effect on the world.   Just think of the great publicity Stan/Chuck/Angelo would get, rather than all the negative press.  Sounds like a win-win situation to me.  Imagine the possibilities….
So, Mr. Waxman, since you invited these men over to your “House” for a visit, see what you can do.  At the very least, see what you can do about executive compensation, so the rich don’t become richer and the poor become poorer.