No More Private Jets? CEO's might have to fly economy class?

White House has been talking on bailouts for weeks now. With Ford, GM, and Chrysler all struggling the government is drafting bills to come to their aid. Senator Dodd, who is the Chairman of the Banking Committee is also proposing that GM CEO be removed as part of the deal. The deal would also eliminate all chartered or private aircraft, no bonuses for executives, not "golden parachutes", and no stockholder dividends.

As much as this article makes it seem like Chris Dodd and democrats are really attacking the CEO's and big executives within the auto industry we all know that these people will still be living the same life style they always have. Funded by the taxpayers this time. AIG executives have been seen flying private jets, staying in fancy spas, and renting out large banquets for parties.

Do these CEO's feel any guilt in having the hard working American tax payer, pay for luxuries most have never even experienced? Our politicians should force all three CEO's to step down. American car companies have not been investing in the future for a long time. They have been concerned with their SUV's, Trucks, and high margin vehicles. Forget about the hybrids, electric, and solar powered ideas of the future.

What kind of example does this give to companies in other industries? The banking industry had millions of peoples life savings, retirements, college savings, and mortgages. But do we really need to save the Ford Explorer? Companies have failed before because of poor decisions, and new and better ones have risen up. Whats to say someone else won't step up?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/09auto.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

First One Hundred Days

The article I chose is about Obama wanting to make a speech in an Islamic country within his first one hundred days as president. Obama's goal in doing this is to get on better terms with the large Muslim population of the world. I think this is definitely a good idea, especially since the US is definitely not known for its excellent foreign relations. One of Obama's many goals for his term is to better relations with other countries, and this would definitely be a step in the right direction as long as his speech goes over well and is accepted by the Muslims and does not further alienate them from America. The major debate in the article is where his speech should be made, since there are a variety of countries where Islam is very popular. The article mentions Cairo in Egypt as the prime spot for this great speech to bring the world closer together. I think going to the middle east would be better than Egypt though. We clearly have more problems getting along over there and it would seem like we were really trying to make an effort with our direct former enemies if we went the middle east. Egypt seems like we are trying to get as close as we can to the problem spot without actually going in it. Although I think it is a good idea to better our relations with the rest of the world, and certainly starting that within the first one hundred days sets it as a priority, Obama should choose his location wisely in order to have the most positive impact.

article found at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/us/politics/04web-cooper.html

James Jones Jr. James Jones: Obama's National Security Surprise

Barack Obama has recently made a shocking decision by choosing James Jones as his national security adviser. Jones led the marines from 1999 into the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003. Many are saying this is more of the same old policy from the Bush and Clinton years. But I think this is a good move because he needs experience on his staff. It is important that he doesn't get get new faces in Washington but people with experience at handling these issues. Jones is a capable adviser and was on of the men who oversaw the beginning of the Iraqi invasion. Jones has a deep understanding of the military and military operations. He is a war veteran, with many medals of honor, but most importantly he doesn't have any political affiliation. So he will be more likely to worry about bureaucracy and worry more about what is best for the country. Jones also has a great relationship with Clinton and many other new members of Obama's new cabinet. So overall I think this is a good decision for Obama because he chose a man who knows what he is doing from experience in the job and is still up to the task of handling Washington politics. This is an important decision because of the volatile situation not only in Iraq but also in Iran. Jones will have to deal with ending the war in Iraq and rising conflict with the Irani government. His advisement on how we handle the situation could decide wether we move into another foreign war or not.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1862911,00.html?cnn=yes