I'm angry that I have to write this note.
I'm angry that when we have people dying left and right in this country, when there is an urgent need for ALL of us to spend ALL of our time helping our families, helping our neighbors, helping our emergency responders and healthcare workers and social service providers to DO THEIR JOBS ... that I have to write a note about the airline industry and how to structure the bail-out of United, Delta, American and Southwest. And Boeing.
But I do have to write this note, because of course the raccoons and the high-functioning sociopaths are out in force on this, looking to get their private losses socialized and their private gains locked in. Looking to get their 30 pieces of silver.
So I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this. I'm just going to give all of you the facts and let you all take it from here. Because if this goes down anywhere near where I think it's going to go down ... well, one day when we've passed through this valley there's going to be a reckoning, and we will visit our righteous anger on those who abused the public trust.
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Claw it the F back. Make these whores (actually whores serve an important purpose and exchange tangible benefits for often dangerous work–maybe they’re just raccoons as you say) disgorge their ill gotten gains and sell the stock and let that go the company FIRST. Sure it may tank the share value but they sure as heck don’t deserve it. Muilenberg too. Rommetty too. You don’t get to keep it. Mr. McConnell, you up for that? Ha, didn’t think so.
Consider this. The US gov’t lost $11 billion on the GM bailout. No surprise, the company had $100 billion of losses in the decade leading up to the crisis. The US airlines industry has contributed over $64 million in political “contributions” split evenly between dems and repubs, since 1990. Who do you think the industry was seeking to gain an advantage over. The decision is already made. This explains the whimsical attitude toward risk.
Permission to share with my Delta pilot buddies on a private bulletin board?
What started in the housing industry, has spread throughout ‘institutional’ or large asset corporate America. And we’re suppose to be the leaders of the ‘free’ world. These trees of greed need shaken. And fruits of power redistributed. Clawing back stock based compensation, of say over $5m a year, is a start. Regardless, financial engineering has ‘de’-choiced Americans - mortgaging decisions (power), savings (capital) and stewardship (property) for a super elite ‘managerial class’. Enough. That thinking is worse than magical, it’s become predatory and dangerous. Do the right thing, indeed.
Permission granted!
My only caveat is that in the current regime, we will end up with Don Jr. and Eric as COB of two major airlines.
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So I’m admittedly a novice at all this, but isn’t there a remedy called bankruptcy? The airlines have done this repeatedly over the years (and dumped their pension obligations on the PBGC btw) and they kept flying and had few cancellations that I can remember. Shareholders wiped out as they should be. Creditors get company. New stock issued. Reset button hit. Other than the fact that it’ll never happen because the players that stand to lose under that scenario are too well connected, please tell me what’s wrong with that process in this situation?
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There’s an enormous amount of collateral damage if you go the BK route, and it throws everything into court, where anything can happen and everything happens slowly. All the same, I think that’s the right course for airlines that can’t raise new equity, like (I suspect) American.