So Rick Wagoner, ex CEO of GM will walk away with a $20.2 million retirement package, not including the usual perks (e.g., free air travel, secretarial services, cars for life, etc.). Also standard: Wagoner’s pension is insured.
It has been reported that this guy has banked $60 million in salary all ready. So he is rich beyond belief, never needs to work again. We do feel the cost here in Canada.
As the auto worker's in the USA get government money Canada is expected to follow suite and help finance GM & Chrysler here as well. Now it isn't the guy who works on the assembly line getting rich, it is obviously the guys at the top who are simply getting paid more than they are worth. No doubt these companies will get government money and then promptly default and file for chapter 11, leaving us on the hook for a good portion as tax payers. I can only hope this is a lesson learnt by our government and put the proper conditions on any more bail out money before the cheque is written.
But the thing that bugs me is when did we as a society start rewarding people for bad behavior? (Well that is a stupid question... I mean just look around) However, think about a guy at the top running a business, a public traded corporation or city and still gets away with greasing himself heavy then rewarded for bad decisions and bad financial risks on the way out.
(Actually I would pay to see our Mayor get the heave ho ho, and he did vote himself a $40k raise two years ago.) Some one needs to revolt, and as history repeats it's self it will take a patriotic American to do it.
I can only pretend to feel the pain of some poor guy who has lost his $40k a year job due to a Wall Street executive who sunk it all, prior to retiring on easy street. While this guy decides what bills he can ignore and counts the days until the bank changes the locks he quietly, with purpose cleans his gun......
Years ago I recall a young man boasting about his college professor lecturing the class on how to find the loop holes to take away a man's pension. This guy was being groomed to take over his dad's business. I thought to myself that if I was a guy turning 65 and some snot nose punk ass prep with a commerce degree and attitude screwed me out of my pension I would simply open fire. After all what do you have to loose at that point in your life, and the bigger question would be what do you have to look forward to? ( I quit that job)
You can no longer lease a GM car or truck, so what happens when the lease is up???
Does this ass hole look like a target or what?
For his sake he better hope that the savings and pension benefits from the GM employee plan are solid!
My prediction is that some one who gets the golden parachute some where is going to get hurt from some who is used to break the fall.
Here is a final thought.... Ford and all the import companies, who manufacture vehicles in Canada are NOT asking for money. Is it better management? Why can they stay afloat (so far) longer than these other clowns? Better vehicles? Better pricing? Better warranty? Better dealership service? Can all this be summed up as better management all around? hm....
My next vehicle will NOT be a GM, and I am having a hard time viewing Chrysler in a better light.
(Plus Vaughn Wyant has some of the hottest looking girls in town working at his dealership)
The expedition started out like so many others on a cold Saturday morning on the 21st of February at the Saskatoon International Airport, where the outside winds howled and the Saskatchewan winter air slapped and stung at exposed skin with the ferocity of a polar bear. “This time will be different” I thought as I made my way through security with my trusty side kick Nottonight. “This time I might get lucky” I said to myself as we boarded the plane.
Nottonight managed to get a seat by the window. With her limited command of English this would offer her some comfort as she could stare out the window as the drifts and fields of snow turned into lush tropical jungle. I first met Nottonight many years ago and after all these years she only speaks her name over and over again, except for the when she gets mad. I suspected a harsh childhood growing up on the west side as a little Hungarian girl with a fierce disposition.
The five and a half hour flight gave me time to reflect on my mission. I thought I was prepared for the heat, the jungle and the language barrier, but one never knows what lies ahead on new adventures. El Chupacabra was out there, and some how I felt he knew I was coming.
El Chupacabra is most commonly reported to be a reptile-like creature with pea-green skin, and sharp spines or quills running down along its back. The chupacabra is a two-legged animal, three to four feet tall. Many reports mention a strong, sulfuric odor that stings the air when the creature approaches, unlike other canines, the chupacabra is said to suck their prey's blood through one or two holes made by fangs, sharp claws, or even their sharp, barbed tongues.
Kind of like the band agent Rob Hodgins.
We landed late afternoon and quickly determined that the best plan of action would be to find lodging and a few cerveza.
All the planning in the world could not prepare me for what came next. Much has been written about El Chupacabra, but no where was there any mention of telepathy mind control.
It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, right in the middle of happy hour when I hired a local guide and asked “have you ever seen El Chupacabra?” He smiled, blushed then chuckled. I say again "you see Chupalita?" See, See he replies with a laugh, pointing off into the direction of the west.
I ask, can you take me there? Graciously he declines. I think to myself Yes! I am on to something! So I ask, where should I go? He replies "en la ciudad usted puede encontrar prostitutas, o ir a la playa nudista de Zipolite." It was at this point the I thought maybe something is wrong, or maybe this taxie driver has been drinking, or Maybe I was drinking...
Back at the hotel, I try to explain my quest to the bar tender. After all these guys know everything. Bar tenders around the world are the smartest people you can ever talk to, that's a fact. So I ask " La Chupa elzipolita, you ever see?" He replies "No Senoir, I have family". I think to my self, yes better to be safe as a family man than to hunt El Chupacabra. So I resign myself to a few cocktails prior to dinner with Nottonight. The strange thing was that the more I consumed the better the clarity of my Spanish became. It was at that point I knew the evil that El Chupacabra was capable of!!
The shifty little bastard was controlling my mind. You see in Huatulco there are nine different bays, all with lush beaches. One of these is a NUDE beach named Zipolite (sounds like Chupalita) and Chupa means suck. The EVIL El Chupacabra had me asking cabbies to take me to the nude beach where I can get a blow job.
I immediately instructed Nottonight to continue drinking, I reasoned that if I could keep my mind in a state of flux then El Chump couldn't mess with me.
I resigned myself to defeat against my game and it was decided to spend the rest of the time blending in with the tourists. This blood sucking little bastard has more tricks up his spiny hairless back bone than what we will ever know. Kind of like our old agent Rob Hodgins.
We hung around the resort for a few days enjoying the view
Safe above the village we were able to keep a watchful eye out for any signs of an attack. The locals tried not to talk about the beast that watches there every move, but the clues were every where. Here was a warning not to bend over or El Chupacabra will try to mate with you.
It was either that or "do not throw your old man into the pool" sign. You be the judge.
The temperature rose to excess of 45c for over 12 days in a row. I would joke with Nottonight that it was as hot out as she is tall.
It's hard to believe that in such a tranquil place the evil El Chup was always lurking. I realized his spy's were everywhere.
Again the last laugh was on him, as a parting gift my hairless Nemesis left a token of his appreciation, or maybe a warning to never return.
As I stepped out of the shower I was greeted with a Scorpion, poised for battle.
My instincts took over as I shouted a warning to Nottonight in order for her to take cover, I quickly grabbed a garbage can and trapped the venomous reptile of death to arrest any further movements and thus won the day.
Alas another great adventure came to an end as we returned to -34c weather, the place that El Chupacabra could never survive!
