The oil industry's blogging, talk show and legislative apologentsia are out attacking Gov. Jim Doyle's budget plan to make Exxon and its corporate brethren kick in a fair share payment to help build more state highways.
These industry unofficial lobbyists aren't reminding us about Lee Raymond, the Exxon Mobil Corp. former chief executive, who left his post last year with a retirement package worth nearly $400 million.
Raymond, whose recent annual salary had exceeded $48 million (that's $4 million a month, or nearly a million weekly), gets the use of a company jet, a car, a driver, private club memberships, some security arrangements, and a $1 million consulting deal, too.
His pension was to be - - his option - - either $8 million a year, or a lump sum of $99 million.
Keep the numbers in mind as the rightist talkers and legislative off-note hand-clappers (take a bow, Rep. Bill Kramer, (R-Exxon), the only legislator...OK, he's really from Waukesha...to applaud Exxon during the Governor's budget speech) claim the company is just another American business enjoying a reasonable rate of return.
Shareholders of Exxon set salaries? I think not. Boards of Directors do - - but senior managers have a lot of input into that process - - and at that level, what those folks think is fair and reasonable puts them in a little world of their own.
ReplyDeleteI never said anything about caps on salaries, so don't go makin' stuff up.