Robert Reich: The Significance of Citigroup’s Shareholder Revolt

Robert Reich: The Significance of Citigroup’s Shareholder Revolt

robertreich:

The shareholders of Wall Street giant Citigroup are out to prove that corporate democracy isn’t an oxymoron. They’ve said no to the exorbitant $15 million pay package of Citi’s CEO Vikram Pandit, as well as to the giant pay packages of Citi’s four other top executives.

The vote, at Citigroup’s annual meeting in Dallas Tuesday, isn’t binding on Citigroup. But it’s a warning shot across the bow of every corporate boardroom in America.

Shareholders aren’t happy about executive pay.

Untitled

Europe has had several years of experience with harsh austerity programs, and the results are exactly what students of history told you would happen: such programs push depressed economies even deeper into depression. And because investors look at the state of a nation’s economy when assessing its ability to repay debt, austerity programs haven’t even… Continue reading Untitled

Untitled

Ferdinand A. Porsche, who designed the original Porsche 911, the snazzy, powerful sports car that became the lasting signature of the German automobile company founded by his grandfather and later run by his father, died on Thursday in Salzburg, Austria. He was 76. (via Ferdinand A. Porsche, 76, Dies – Designed Celebrated 911 – NYTimes.com)… Continue reading Untitled

Untitled

District 12 is a quintessential extractive economy. It’s oriented around a coal mine, the kind of facility where unskilled labor can be highly productive in light of the value of the underlying commodity. In a free society, market competition for labor and union organizing would drive wages up. But instead the Capitol imposes a single… Continue reading Untitled

Untitled

ilovecharts: In 2001, the CBO projected a cumulative surplus of $6 trillion. This graph shows how that surplus turned into $6 Trillion deficit. via languageofbrands

Untitled

The Spanish government, fearful of the bond markets, enacted tough austerity budget measures that decreased Spanish people’s incomes and therefore demand for the products of Spanish firms. This has pushed the country deeper into recession, so it should come as little surprise that their bond sales are now going poorly. That’s counterproductive austerity at work.… Continue reading Untitled