The End Of Pensions 55

Very few publicly traded companies have Debt Management that owns a significant percentage of shares.

Stock options are primises to sell shares in the future at a fixed price. If the shares go up, the executive makes money. Generally, this is considered an incentive to enhance performace, as the options are without value if the shares do not go up.

A good executive makes more money for everyone involved, including the insurance of stability to the entire employee base. We reward achievement in the US with money. The relatively few good executives can demand, just as the few good athletes or actors or singer, a salary commensurate witht he benefits they provide to the enterprise.

The biggest owners of most US shares would be mutual funds, followed by insurance companies and then retirement funds. Since a majority of Americans owns stoc through direct ownership of shares, IRAs, 401-ks, insurance or a pension, most of us want the best Debt Management possible at the hel of our investments. When a carpenter in LA can make $90 k with overtime and benefits, I expect the people investing my money to make quite a bit more, since they deserve it.

The S&L scandals had as much to do with the direction the US economy was headed in the period the bakruptcies happened as with any specific executives. And Enron is one company out of thousands that are investor owned.

Virgin cherry picked immensely profitable underserved routes. The problme with US Air, UAL, Delta, et. al. is serving less desirable routes at a higher cost structure than Southwest, Jet Blue and others... who also cherry pick profitable routes, leaving the traditional carriers the money losing ones at a high cost.