ABC News- The CEOs of the big three automakers flew to the nation’s capital yesterday in private luxurious jets to make their case to Washington that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion in taxpayer money to avoid bankruptcy. The CEOs of GM, Ford and Chrysler may have told Congress that they will likely go out of business without a bailout yet that has not stopped them from traveling in style, not even First Class is good enough.
All three CEOs – Rick Wagoner of GM, Alan Mulally of Ford, and Robert Nardelli of Chrysler – exercised their perks Tuesday by flying in corporate jets to DC. Wagoner flew in GM’s $36 million luxury aircraft to tell members of Congress that the company is burning through cash, asking for $10-12 billion for GM alone. “We want to continue the vital role we’ve played for Americans for the past 100 years, but we can’t do it alone,” Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee.While Wagoner testified, his G4 private jet was parked at Dulles airport. It is just one of a fleet of luxury jets owned by GM that continues to ferry executives around the world despite the company’s dire financial straits. “This is a slap in the face of taxpayers,” said Tom Schatz, President of Citizens Against Government Waste. “To come to Washington on a corporate jet, and asking for a hand out is outrageous.”
Wagoner’s private jet trip to Washington cost his ailing company an estimated $20,000 roundtrip. In comparison, seats on Northwest Airlines flight 2364 from Detroit to Washington were going online for $288 coach and $837 first class.
After the hearing, Wagoner declined to answer questions about his travel.
Ford CEO Mulally’s corporate jet is a perk included for both he and his wife as part of his employment contract along with a $28 million salary last year. Mulally actually lives in Seattle, not Detroit. The company jet takes him home and back on weekends. Mulally made his case Tuesday before the committee saying he’s cut expenses, laid-off workers and closed 17 plants.
“We have also reduced our work force by 51,000 employees in the past three years,” Mulally said.
Yet Ford continues to operate a fleet of eight private jets for its executives. Just Tuesday, one jet was taking Ford brass to Los Angeles, another on a trip to Nebraska, and of course Mulally needed to fly to Washington to testify. He did not address questions following the hearing.
“Now’s not the time to do that sort of thing,” said John McElroy of the television program “Autoline Detroit.” “Now’s the time to be humble and show that you’re sharing equally in the sacrifice,” McElroy said.
GM and Ford say that it is a corporate decision to have their CEOs fly on private jets and that is non-negotiable, even as the companies say they are running out of cash.
I can hear the apologists already.
You want to help these companies? Tar and feather these VIPs and ride them out of town on a rail.
Joe Biden may have taken the train to work every day – but do you know that it would costs thousands of dollars a month to do that?
Fuck all 3 of them.
A ‘security’ issue, #1? What the fuck are you talking about. I can’t believe there’s anyone left defending these clowns. They’ve run their businesses into the ground, pumping out gas hog trucks, SUVs, and big horsepower cars, and we’re supposed to feel sorry for them?
It sucks for the workers, who are going to be the only ones to feel this pinch, but the big 3 need to bite the big bullet and go under.
NO CORPORATE WELFARE!
So we feed them $25 billion or so in taxpayer money, what happens next year when they’re broke again because they’ve refused to invest that money in fuel efficient and GOOD vehicles? Give em another round?
Fuck that. Let ‘em burn.
It’s not the actual cost of the trips to DC that is the real issue. It is appearances.
There are no security threats to them in the US. Especially in an airport. It is just an excuse to try and justify their extravagent life styles.
There is no need for them to bring an entourage with them to visit Congress. If Ford brings 3 lackeys, Chrysler brings 4, and GM brings 6. They are just trying to one up each other.
If they havn’t trained their staffs to keep the office running for a couple of days while they try to pick my pocket via Congress, then they are just plain stupid. They simply set things up so that nothing can get done without them being present so everyone has to suck up to them.
At least one of the much smaller 3 (GM?) is toast, with the remaining 2 getting sucked up by the Chinese. I can’t wait to see the UAW try and strike them. They will simply shut down production until the UAW dissolves.
This is scary shit. I wish the US automakers could go on being stupid forever. But their day of reconning has arrived. They are just to blind to see it.
Don
It’s not the actual cost of the trips to DC that is the real issue. It is appearances.
There are no security threats to them in the US. Especially in an airport. It is just an excuse to try and justify their extravagent life styles.
There is no need for them to bring an entourage with them to visit Congress. If Ford brings 3 lackeys, Chrysler brings 4, and GM brings 6. They are just trying to one up each other.
If they havn’t trained their staffs to keep the office running for a couple of days while they try to pick my pocket via Congress, then they are just plain stupid. They simply set things up so that nothing can get done without them being present so everyone has to suck up to them.
At least one of the much smaller 3 (GM?) is toast, with the remaining 2 getting sucked up by the Chinese. I can’t wait to see the UAW try and strike them. They will simply shut down production until the UAW dissolves.
This is scary shit. I wish the US automakers could go on being stupid forever. But their day of reconning has arrived. They are just to blind to see it.
Don
What pisses me off about this bail out of the US automakers is this. Some time ago there was a stink raised about how much of a domestic car’s parts, came from overseas manufacture? As far as I know, this situation did change. They still make a sizable percentage of the parts, outside of the US, and then assemble them as a vehicle in the states. So this bailout, isn’t saving as many jobs, the CEOs pretend. As they’ve already outsourced a great many of them overseas. Maybe they should only get a bailing out, if they revert to 100% US manufacturer of cars and trucks. Otherwise, we’ll end up bailing out the likes of Walmart next.
This guys are complete loons if they expected to be granted bail-outs flying private jets. There are a number of reasons why it was wrong.
Then again, they might have though “Hey, it worked for Al Gore and his fool-catching global warming thing. They still think he cares for the environment after flying his Lear. Why shouldn’t it work for us?”
#39, Thomas,
… based on the 700 Billion bailout (actually over 4 Trillion), and Dem controlled Congress, I wonder, how’s that workin out for ya!
I, and Congress, don’t know. You will have to ask Treasury Secretary Paulson. He is running the Bailout and won’t tell anyone. The last I checked, Paulson was appointed by the White House.
Congress authorized 700 billion with the caveat that Paulson would have to return to Congress after the first 350 B was loaned out if he wanted the second 350 B. I don’t think he will be getting the second 350 B at the rate he is going.
I live in Michigan and I hope there is no bailout. None of the big 3 get it. Never have. One of them needs to go under and close their doors and other two need to either merge or go bankrupt and reorganize and act like a modern automaker. And the UAW also doesn’t get it. They wonder why so many jobs go to Mexico they just need to look at themselves. But then again I highly doubt either will get it, ever.
This is probably why I own 2 Kia’s.
As a Detroit Lions fan I have to say this:
Lions – Owned by William Ford
Ford Motor – Run by William Ford
What else do these two groups have in common? 0 and 10 for the Lions, what’s Ford’s red ink look like?
-Carrie
Oh, yeah, I live in Metro Detroit and I say f-em. They let the country down badly fighting fuel standards and safety devices like seatbelts.
Let it all fall apart. Their arrogance reminds me of Cheney. Here are his comments. “There are weapons of mass destruction. Some people lie and get away with it. I never said there were weapons of mass destruction. Peas in a pod. They have nothing to offer, that is why they are failing. Give them a job fixing our roads and bridges.
You ask, I answer. What is the time of the big three top executives worth?
I think if the taxpayers paid them to stay home they would save money.
If they travel with all that staff and security plus require all the first-class seats for security is it any wonder that China is leading the world when Americans try to defend such nonsense?