Who Rips Congress’ Retirement?

At least one member of Congress is a bit upset at the retirement package of Exxon CEO Lee Raymond. The 400 million dollar package has drawn the scorn of Senator Byron Dorgan who is a bit peeved that this guy got a great deal of money at a time when gas prices are going up.

Dorgan said he wants Exxon Mobil officials to appear at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing to explain how the corporation “justifies” giving its former boss, Lee Raymond, such a huge retirement package.

He also said the
Securities and Exchange Commission should investigate the deal that “appears to shortchange” shareholders.

“There can be no more compelling evidence that the price gouging and market manipulation which has produced record oil prices is out of control, and is working to serve the forces of individual greed and corporate gluttony at the painful expense of millions of American consumers,” Dorgan said.

Raymond worked for a private company that made money so now that company is supposed to bow down to Congress because they don’t like his retirement package. This is the same Congress, mind you, that votes itself pay raises (or does not vote against them so they become automatic) and is always looking for ways to sweeten its own retirement package. Perhaps the good Senators want to get the executives up on the hill to find out how they can get that same kind of sweet deal. In any event, it is none of Congress’ damned business.

Congress is always getting wrapped around the axle over things that do not concern it. If they want to point fingers they can start by pointing at the rules they made that requires new gasoline formulation this year. In case those idiots in Congress do not know it, that costs more money. Any time a business has increased costs it passes those costs on to the consumer. If Congress wants to do something about gas prices they can stop making it more difficult to refine gas. They can also get up off their duffs and vote to allow drilling in ANWR. They can also stop adding stifling taxes to the cost of a gallon of gas.

Congress is never worried about raking in donations for campaigns hand over fist. They build these “war chests” and then if they are defeated or do not run or have anything left over they keep it. These thieves take in obscene amounts of money and never worry about it. In fact they are always asking for more. They never ask for inquiries into how they are compensated for their work and they are never reluctant to vote themselves more entitlements. Perhaps the taxpayer should haul members of Congress up before a panel to get some answers about their compensation. It seems to me that they are always on recess and they will work fewer than 100 days this ENTIRE YEAR!.

I am willing to bet that Mr Raymond worked for more hours in one year at Exxon than most members of Congress have in their entire term. It is a far gone conclusion that he worked a hell of a lot more days in any given year. In addition, he made a profit for the company. Yes, prices went up in response to external influences. It was not price gouging. Real price gouging is spending billions of dollars of taxpayer money on pork projects and then demanding that taxes be raised to cover the costs. Every time we turn around some jackass in Congress is complaining about the tax cut and indicating that taxes need to be raised and that rich people should pay more and that they know how to spend our money better. That my friends, IS PURE PRICE GOUGING. To top it off our esteemed Senator wants to know if this retirement package came at the expense of company shareholders. Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? Every time Congress spends our money on pork or some other unwise thing it directly effects the US taxpayer and we ARE the shareholders in America.

Was the retirement package obscene? I have no idea because I do not know what he has done for Exxon but I do know that is a private company and if they want to give the man 400 million dollars for retirement that is their business. It is their money. I will say, to those who think it is obscene (complaining Senators included), that it is no more obscene than spending millions of taxpayer dollars on a bridge in Alaska that fewer than 100 people will use. It is no more obscene than George Soros spending millions of dollars to defeat George Bush. Before you tell me it was his money, remember that the retirement money came from Exxon’s money. It is no more obscene than spending $13,500,000 for the International Fund for Ireland, which helped finance the World Toilet Summit; $6,435,000 for wood utilization research; $1,000,000 for the Waterfree Urinal Conservation Initiative; and $500,000 for the Sparta Teapot Museum in Sparta, N.C. (CAGW). And it is certainly no more obscene than Bill Clinton and Al Gore receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars each and every time they fly somewhere to give a speech. If a company can pay Bill Clinton half a million dollars to talk then Exxon can pay a man who actually worked whatever they want.

This is the basic problem we have in America. The Congress has no one to over see it. They will clamor for oversight of the President but no one looks at what they are doing. Presidents have term limits but members of Congress get in and then die in office. They continually make new laws designed to keep incumbents in office and they often work without oversight. Why do you think there are so many influence peddling scandals? It is because no one looks over Congress. Without proper supervision those children will continue to get into mischief. The only way to make things right is to vote them out and replace them with new people. The old blood is no good and business as usual is beginning to grow very old. We need to get back to where Congress deals with the business of the nation and keeps its nose out of things in which it has no business. Congress does not belong checking into steroids in baseball and it does not belong dictating what a private company can charge for its products or pay its retiring employees.

Source: Yahoo News

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