Excessive Spending - I Got Mine 2

Laura Berman of The Detroit News said it well:

We CEOs are often misunderstood: We work tirelessly for success. When we fail, we believe ourselves to be entitled to extra benefits because we know you don't want us to go.

This CEO expects to see bonuses paid and a full severance package -- the Delphi team gets 18 months -- even if we fail.

Sure, bankruptcy once carried a stigma. But Chapter 11 right now is more like a not-too-extreme corporate makeover: It hurts until the bandages come off, but then you're transformed.

Those pesky pension obligations? Those expensive people you agreed to pay too much?

Gone.

Well, yes, gone from the company. But now additional weight for the house of cards to bear. Henry Ford understood that for his company to be successful, the people who built the products had to be able to afford those products. Apparently, U.S. companies have a long-term strategy to sell to those that build their products... the Chinese. The rest of us can buy the hamburgers we are flipping.