PFB - well this one needs some popcorn

[PepperElf]

http://www.planetfeedback.com/index....reply_expand=1


gonna have to pull out the good old for this one.


(edit: looks like the "fuck you" has already been removed. that was fast)

[BlaqueKatt]

yes because it's just sooooo easy to move to another country

[HYHYBT]

I don't understand the initial letter. Someone is selling a letter on eBay that says something about executives and taxes? Why does the letter-writer care? Do I even want to know?

[Rageaholic]

He's angry that Ebay pays more to their CEOs than they pay in taxes.

I think it's a valid complaint since CEOs do get a lot of tax breaks, but this is a very poorly written letter.

[Andara Bledin]

No. The initial item is a letter to eBay about how they're not going to do business with eBay any more because they don't pay enough corporate taxes as compared to what they pay their CEO.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

OK, I understand the letter now.... but my version makes at least as much sense

[PepperElf]

yeah it got heated

although i disagree. if a company is doing well and can afford to pay it's execs a lot of money why the fuck should it be anyone else's business?

in my opinion it's the latest battle cry of the class wars. the notion that anyone who is rich didn't really earn it, therefore they must be punished for having more money than other people.

[mikoyan29]

Not too long ago, we had Warren Buffet coming out and saying that pays effectively around 17% in taxes. A few years ago, when Kerry was running against Bush, it was said that his wife pays around 15% in taxes. I'm guessing that you can pick any number of well to do in this country and they pay around 15 to 20% in taxes. Now, when they are talking taxes, they are talking about all taxes and not just income tax. Every so often, people on the right like to trot out that table that talks about how 50% don't pay any taxes but they leave out that it only includes income tax. Everyone who draws a paycheck pays a payroll tax on the money up to 100 and some thousand. Everyone who uses gas pays a gasoline tax. Somewhere, they are also paying for Corporate taxes and tariffs.

The tax code treats capital gains and divedend income differently than tax derived by a paycheck, so why does the IRS punish people that work for a living? And then you have Hedge Fund managers that exploit this loophole and basically end up paying no taxes. So does the hedge fund manager work harder than the person who is working three part time jobs just to get by? who knows.

Somewhere in all that ranting, I saw someone complaining about the EIC. So maybe that person would prefer that a person who gets an EIC get all of their money from the government instead of possibly trying to get ahead by working a job somewhere. But hey, when you need to balance the government, why should you go after the people that subsidize your re-election campaigns when it is far easier to go after the people who are used to getting screwed over? I guess the Randian philosophy that it is all their fault makes it easier to sleep at night.

[Gravekeeper]

although i disagree. if a company is doing well and can afford to pay it's execs a lot of money why the fuck should it be anyone else's business?

I think the problem is more that CEOs and execs are getting huge bonuses despite their company having helped drive your whole country into the shitter and actively manipulating your political system. It may not apply to eBay specifically, but there is and was a hell of a lot of straight up financial masturbation amongst CEOs in the US. On top of that they get great tax breaks and certainly aren't doing much to help create jobs.

So I can understand why people would be pissed. Even if the target of this guy's spittle is misguided. -.-

in my opinion it's the latest battle cry of the class wars. the notion that anyone who is rich didn't really earn it, therefore they must be punished for having more money than other people.

The "class wars"? Seriously? You know, it's not the poor people slowly choking out the middle class and giving you the income disparity of a third world country. I also wouldn't qualify closing corporate tax loopholes and returning tax levels on the upper class to pre-Bush levels as "punishment" on them for being so amazing and successful.

And yes, there are a number of rich who didn't really earn it. Its not all of them obviously, but there's enough of them, and some of them are public enough figures, that it does piss people off. When you're absolutely dirt poor, uneducated, can't find a job, you have no health care and there are few social programs to help you out.....and then you see some asshole on TV that just paid himself a 4 million dollar bonus for how awesome he did in being the CEO of one of the companies that shit on your economy to begin with that quite rightfully would piss you off.

And he's probably writing a cheque to some twat in congress whose actively trying to strip away what little social assistance you do have and keep the economy in the shit tank on top of that...

Sorry, but the lower income brackets in the US have every right to be pissed right now and if I was CEO of a major corporation in the US I certainly wouldn't be writing myself cheques at the moment ( But then I have a social concious, go figure ). Hell, the greatest achievement of Fox News is that enough people in the lower brackets don't realise they should be pissed or are pissed off at the wrong people. So they don't get together and mobilize to burn down Wall Street.

Keep the peasants fighting amongst themselves. -.-

[PepperElf]

Except that you hit the nail on the head. ebay wasn't part of that scandal
so if they want to pay their execs a lot that's their fucking business

yes people who have less will be offended but that doesn't mean they're entitled to a portion of that money.

[Gravekeeper]

Except that you hit the nail on the head. ebay wasn't part of that scandal
so if they want to pay their execs a lot that's their fucking business

yes people who have less will be offended but that doesn't mean they're entitled to a portion of that money.

They're not part of that scandal no, but they are enjoying the tax breaks and loopholes, putting resources towards maximuming said loopholes, and shoveling a fuck ton of money onto their CEO's as "performance incentives". The reason this guy fired off his spittle filled letter is due to a recent study on corporate income tax vs CEO compensation which included eBay in the study. eBay's CEO in specific recieved:

"John Donahoe received a salary of $920,673 in 2010, a bonus of $736,538 and a performance incentive of $1.2 million. The CEO was awarded stock worth $5.6 million and options worth $3.7 million when they were granted. Donahoe's other compensation totaled $245,655. This was mainly for personal use of a company plane."

So his actual salary is near a million a year, but than he gets around 12 million just in compensations and bonuses. Which is a 22% increase from the previous year's bonuses.

People are not entitled to a portion of that money, no. But when your economy is in the shitter, you've got jack for social programs and no health care, and you hear that corporations pay a lower effective tax then you do. Then you see said corporate kick back 12 million to a CEO just in bonuses. Its quite logical for the plebs to assume some of that money would have otherwise gone to pay taxes. Which could have in turn improved the economy or social programs which may have helped you. It's a somewhat "Let them eat cake" sort of situation.

When you're enjoying billions in profits during a time of great economic upheaval ( During which many of your compariots, if not you as well, are doing their part to keep it going for your own profits ), its not really a great idea to roll down the window on your Rolls Royce, whip out your junk and butter it with caviar in front of the line outside a welfare office.

[mikoyan29]

Except that you hit the nail on the head. ebay wasn't part of that scandal
so if they want to pay their execs a lot that's their fucking business

yes people who have less will be offended but that doesn't mean they're entitled to a portion of that money.

You do realize that taxes go to more than just poor people don't you? I wonder how well eBay would have done if it weren't for a little known project by a little known group called DARPA? And then factor in many of the Universities that were in on the early days of the Internet. Hell, most of the corporations that are making a shit ton of money off the Internet are late comers to the whole thing. Then factor in the subsidized highways, airports and railroads. How would eBay ship all that stuff to their customers? But hey, it's all about "my money" isn't it?

[Mytical]

It's not really about EBay, however. Corporations cut jobs left and right, the economy is in the toilet, but because some CEO cut costs (by cutting jobs, and putting a lot more stress on the people that continue to work for them) they get some ungodly bonus? True, I think EBay is getting a somewhat raw deal here, more of the aftereffects then anything they did.

Because of companies like the ones bailed out by the government giving executives millions of tax payer money..for trashing the economy (or rather helping trash the economy) people are pissed. So many jobs could have been had/saved had that money went to employing people, instead of giving bonuses to people who basically dropped the ball.

[Gravekeeper]

eBay's not directly guilty of anything in the clusterfuck, but they do have an army of lobbysts that go around pushing for or against regulations that would affect their bottom line. So they're not exactly saints. Regardless, like I said, its kind of a "Let them eat cake" situation. When people are angry and roving around looking for things that look like a duck and sound like a duck, you don't stand across the street and quack.

[bara]

It's not really about EBay, however. Corporations cut jobs left and right, the economy is in the toilet, but because some CEO cut costs (by cutting jobs, and putting a lot more stress on the people that continue to work for them) they get some ungodly bonus? True, I think EBay is getting a somewhat raw deal here, more of the aftereffects then anything they did.

Because of companies like the ones bailed out by the government giving executives millions of tax payer money..for trashing the economy (or rather helping trash the economy) people are pissed. So many jobs could have been had/saved had that money went to employing people, instead of giving bonuses to people who basically dropped the ball.

Agreed 100%.

By cutting all these jobs to 'save money' they are only making things worse. How many salaries could be paid to lower level employees for what this guy gets in kick backs for a month?

Im going to guess a lot.

In the end I could care less about peoples bonuses. But when companies are making record profits and still cutting employees I think it might be time to get the torch and pitchforks out.