Saturday, April 15, 2006
Vodka-Pissing Fat Cats
Remember the Tyco scandal? One of the more salacious details of the spending was that Dennis Kozlowski had spent stockbroker money on a party for his wife that contained, among other things, an ice sculpture of Michaelangelo's David that pissed vodka. It showed such a fundamental disconnect between not only good taste and bad, but also between what Tyco's employees deserved and his Kozlowski thought he did.
We're seeing it again in the oil business. Gas prices are climbing; while not as bad as the $5 per gallon they were predicted to hit right after Katrina, there's a good chance people will be paying at least $3 per gallon this summer. And what is Exxon Mobil doing about this price hike?
Why, fucking celebrating, of course. They've given executive Lee Raymond a retirement package totalling nearly $400 million in cash and prizes. I believe in honoring those who have accomplished big things, but for people to say, "We're all in this together," then give their friends exorbitant benefits packages while the middle classes pay almost $60 for a full tank of gas speaks to a true divorce of values.
I hope big oil either gets its act together quickly, or Congress makes them get their act together. And if not, well, then I can only express the wish that a poster on a message board long ago whose husband lost her job at Tyco made concering the fate of Kozlowski: "May your own penis forever produce vodka. Chunky, jalapeno-flavored vodka."
We're seeing it again in the oil business. Gas prices are climbing; while not as bad as the $5 per gallon they were predicted to hit right after Katrina, there's a good chance people will be paying at least $3 per gallon this summer. And what is Exxon Mobil doing about this price hike?
Why, fucking celebrating, of course. They've given executive Lee Raymond a retirement package totalling nearly $400 million in cash and prizes. I believe in honoring those who have accomplished big things, but for people to say, "We're all in this together," then give their friends exorbitant benefits packages while the middle classes pay almost $60 for a full tank of gas speaks to a true divorce of values.
I hope big oil either gets its act together quickly, or Congress makes them get their act together. And if not, well, then I can only express the wish that a poster on a message board long ago whose husband lost her job at Tyco made concering the fate of Kozlowski: "May your own penis forever produce vodka. Chunky, jalapeno-flavored vodka."
