GM seeks to deny public ability to track its corp. jets

[antimatter98]

Source: New York Times

General Motors, criticized by lawmakers for its use of corporate jets, has asked aviation regulators to block the public’s ability to track a plane it uses.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/28/business/28gm.html?ref=todayspaper

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Typical of what we'd expect from GM and corporations in general---don't address the
issue, but hide.

Remember: the Tahoe hybrid, a 2.5 ton SUV, is 'car of the year' and GM is proud of it.

[SpiralHawk]

1. Corporate occultism

They are taking their cues from the republicons -- the masters of darkside fear-and-greed based occultism.

What's good for GM, and republicons, is toxic for America and Americans.

[dkf]

2. Tone deaf...yet again.

No wonder they can't produce cars we want to buy. Clueless.

[DRoseDARs]

3. Well, it wasn't the public that called them out on their private jet use while begging for money...

...it was Congress.

[Snotcicles]

4. Do you knock all large corporation for having private jets?

I can't blame them for not wanting every asshole knowing where their flying to.

[GreenPartyVoter]

16. It won't hurt them if we know after the fact, though. Well, it might hurt their image some.

[JJ]

19. How about every "asshole" shareholder

[Snotcicles]

20. Shareholders have an investment. We are talking about a LOAN. nt

[madrchsod]

5. address what issue?

the "lawmakers" bullshit grand standing in front of the cameras is the real story.
i suppose the people who run corporations at this level should buy their ticket at the counter if they need to be
somewhere at a moments notice. conducting conference calls and discussing confidential business deals while in the air would be a bit difficult when they john q public sitting around them...


the motor trends car of the year is----oh no! a chevy malibu!

[Kolesar]

9. THANK YOU

Thank you for putting that to words.
I'm hope you don't mind the CAPs.

[PaulaFarrell]

13. oh please

you know as well as I do that these guys have secretaries to make their travel arrangements,so they won't be waiting at a counter. They rarely if ever travel at a moment's notice. And they do very little actual business when traveling.

They are overseeing their companies falling into bankruptcy yet are too precious to give up their private jets. It's not that hard to connect the dots. These guys arein it for themselves and always have been.

[Kolesar]

24. "They rarely if ever travel at a moment's notice." What do you know?

"These guys are in it for themselves" Apparently, everything.

[jaybeat]

18. The issue that corporations are not held accountable

When government bureaucrats, programs or elected officials spend money in ways that can be spun as extravagent, they are hoisted high over the public square and flogged. (Unless they work for the Military Industry--then they get a pass. We don't hear much about $200,000 toilets these days, do we?)

Every penny of "taxpayer" money is scrutinized whenever a (usually low-tax agenda, self-proclaimed) "watchdog" gets a whiff of it.

Well, what about corporations? How well are they spending/safeguarding their SHAREHOLDER'S money? Sorry, but that's none of your business. Even if you ARE a shareholder.

How about the fact that every time I buy toothpaste, or a refrigerator, or a car, part of MY money ("consumer" money) pays for lobbying I don't agree with, corporate practices, policies and tactics that I find morally objectionable (environment destruction, union busting, etc., etc., plus all the legal fees to defend such actions in court, should they be so egregious as to actually run afoul of our absurdly wimpy laws regulating such things), and of course all of those executive perks, compensation, etc., while said corporation lays off thousands of workers every couple of years, making the rest do the work of 3, then 5, then 10 workers, all the while telling them there's a salary freeze because of "business conditions" (despite the fact that the senior execs pay themselves more and more, no matter how poorly the "business" is doing).

Why not hold corporations just as accountable for how they spend "shareholder" money and "consumer" money as we hold government for how it spends "taxpayer" money?

And when corporations actually come, hat in hand, begging for "taxpayer" money, shouldn't we ask for a commensurate share of assurance that their actions will be in the public ("taxpayer") interest?

Why the fuck not?

[nradisic]

6. Tone deaf?

These guys are the biggest fucking morons. Tone deal does not even begin to describe their behavior.Unfreakinbelievable!

[Bette Noir]

7. Way to win hearts and minds.

We might email our congresscritters and tell them to make any bailout/bridge loan contingent on replacing upper management. Just saying...

[bemildred]

8. And that explains a lot about why they are bankrupt. nt

[Kolesar]

10. none of them are bankrupt ... eom

[bemildred]

14. "And that explains why they need a bailout"?

Or are you referring the the fact that the CEOs and their henchmen are doing fine despite bankrupting their companies?

[Kolesar]

23. No, I am referring to that you are spewing BS on the DU...eom

[jakefrep]

11. Good - This corporate jet stuff is a stupid red herring.

[bemildred]

15. Yeah, seemed like Congress posturing for the Rubes to me. nt

[sarah FAILIN]

12. Maybe they really don't want us to know where they go....on vacation..

I can see them taking a jet to some exotic location for a "seminar", lol!

[comtec]

17. If they want MY fucking money, I want FULL FUCKING TRANSPARENCY!

Assholes!

That said, how hard would it have been for them to just book a 1st class flight?
fucking pansy's.

and yes, I wanted congress to rape the SHIT out of the bank execs for ALLOWING/CAUSING this mess!

They didn't and heard about it, which is probably why they came down so hard on the GM execs.

[Acadia Blue]

21. The CEOs and executives are parasites and should be removed

if this company gets taxpayer funds. Not one of them should ever earn more than the president of the USA in salary and benefits.

[Skink]

22. They're afraid we'll find out about the AIG charter flights.