Kline And Steenland Flying High On NWA

Who would not support the idea of the owners of a corporation being able to publicly express their position on executive pay and severance packages? Hmm, let’s see, ‘only those who have an interest in keeping executive pay and severance packages hushed up’ like Rep. John Kline?

Kline failed to support or vote for H.R. 1257. This bill would simply permit shareholders in a public corporation -- aka the owners -- to cast an advisory, non-binding vote approving or disapproving of executive pay packages, golden parachutes, and gigantic pay packages corporate executives often give themselves as a condition of being fired for poor performance.

Why is Representative Kline interested in hushing up executive pay and severance packages? Perhaps Kline wants to protect his good friend NWA CEO Steenland who was award $26 million in stock options, a total of almost $27 with equity. The recent fury over Steenland's outrageous pay after running NWA for six years without showing a profit and into and through a bankruptcy, 40% employee pay cuts, increased out-sourcing and reduced benefits!

I’ve posted on this before in depth including that fact the Kline wouldn’t even sign a petition regarding out-sourcing of NWA jobs but he votes to protect and keep private CEO pay packages! Time and again Kline sides with the corporation over Minnesotans. This is the same Bush credo we hear everyday: everyone needs to sacrifice but it never applies to the top 2%ers.

Both Kline and CEO Steenland are flying high on NWA.