Comments on: Larry Summers’s millions

By: James Street

James Street — Mon, 11 May 2009 16:29:38 +0000

Dan Zuckerman said it: No one’s listening (no one pays attention.)

The metaphor is apt.

People BUY attention and advertisers PAY (for)attention.

Attention goes to those who can buy best PR.

Then again, there are various centers of power that are independent of money such as the government, academia and the military.

Is anyone paying attention to (reading) this?

By: tyaresun

tyaresun — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 21:45:43 +0000

One must honor contracts. I did not realize delayed gratification ment get paid first and deliver the goods when you join the next admin.

By: Cerri

Cerri — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 19:10:05 +0000

Well, at least Larry has the first hand experience
needed to talk with his boss about executive
compensation and related issues of importance
to fix the global imbalances that have the economy
in a pickle.

By: maynardGkeynes

maynardGkeynes — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 16:31:37 +0000

Felix, thanks for the reassurance that we can have Larry in public service for as long as he chooses. Which “public” do you think he will now choose to serve? The one that is paying him an ES-1 salary of $186,600 or the one that paid him previously? As Herb Cohen has said, “it’s not the money, it’s THE MONEY.” Personally, I hope Larry goes back to THE MONEY sooner rather than later.

By: Felix Salmon

Felix Salmon — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:11:02 +0000

Actually, Brad, that’s a separate line item: he made a “gain on disposition” of his equity stake of somewhere between $15,001 and $50,000.

By: bsetser

bsetser — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 15:10:53 +0000

though the disclosure is pretty clear. advisory board compensation; guess i was wrong.

By: bsetser

bsetser — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:42:47 +0000

felix — I am pretty sure that Summers wasn’t paid for being on the RGE advisory board, but rather was an equity investor in RGE who sold his stake for a profit.

By: David Zukerman

David Zukerman — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 14:14:33 +0000

Big deal (pun not necessarily intended). Larry probably
got the money so he could afford tickets to games
in the new Yankee $$$tadium.

btw — have suggested on my website that we find out
what is being taught in B-schools today ( that Henry F. Potter is the hero of “It’s a Wonderful Life”?); that establishment of chapters of a new organization — Aggrandizers Anonymous –
would be helpful; and that we pay attention to the first half of Federalist 57 which, iin the opening sentence,
takes note of those who seek the “ambitious sacrifice of the many to the aggrandizement of the few,” and recommends that our leaders stay close to the people and serve the common good.

I guess I don’t have to (but will) acknowledge that no one pays attention. But, then, for all our technological inventiveness, we probably don’t have to worry that ours will be known to history as “The Age of Common Sense.”