tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294108638447177970.post1182233974249953744..comments2024-02-12T05:54:03.955-05:00Comments on The Syd Blog: Why GM's Rick Wagoner, and not Ken Lewis at Bank of America or Vikram Pandit at Citi?Sydney Finkelsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18315270313261439877noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294108638447177970.post-83530516547224240892009-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:002009-04-05T12:11:00.000-04:00Ken Lewis is right. It’s popular right now to beat...Ken Lewis is right. It’s popular right now to beat up on executive pay. And it is true many unethical, unfair bonuses were paid, BUT some select few people are deserving of very high pay. A good analogy can be found by looking at the entertainment industry. TOM HANKS for instance. When Tom Hanks is in a movie he gets paid millions. The movie studios pay Hanks because he has the unique ability to get the public to plunk down money to see him act. I think most people would agree half the successful and profitable movies he was in would have been flops if a different actor had played Hanks role. The financial industry has stars too. I'm talking about the 1 in 100,000 who’s financial minds and work ethic are special. I knew a guy at a Wall Street firm who regularly worked 18 hour days. He generated tens of millions for the firm year after year. A huge earner. A tremendous cash cow for the firm and its shareholders. These select few individuals, if they are heavily taxed, WILL get paid the same huge saleries by foreign banks here in the US. Just for the record, I am not one of these special people. I am simply a patriotic American who sees a big mistake about to be made. -Daniel Long Beach, NyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14193496506240459283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4294108638447177970.post-15489113194416999312009-04-05T12:06:00.000-04:002009-04-05T12:06:00.000-04:00Ken Lewis is being treated unfairly. He has had a...Ken Lewis is being treated unfairly. He has had a reputation for being wise and frugal. It is irresposible to attack him. Ken Lewis made one great mistake. He allowed himself to be bullied by the Federal gov't into buying Merrill Lynch. Lewis was said to have "went ballistic" when he heard of the bonuses Thain planned to pay. <BR/><BR/>Ken Lewis is a great American. He will prove his worth to this country. It is foolish, unfair and harmful for the pundits to keep bashing him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com