261–270 of 578 posts
Boeing spent $43B on stock buybacks between 2013 and 2019 while paying their CEO ~$30M/year. > To support its share price, the company under McNerney poured billions into stock buybacks instead of investing profits into the kind of research and development needed to stay competitive. McNerney decided not to spend billions of dollars building a new plane to replace the 737. Instead, Boeing tweaked and updated the exis…
I have said this and I'll say this again: executives should never have a disproportionate pay comparing to their most senior trench workers (think a very senior, lead engineer). 3-5x should be the maximum. The saying of "oh if you don't give big bucks then you won't hire good talents" is only true to certain extends. Einstein doesn't figure out GR because he wants the cash from Nobel's prize, actually none of the win…
If they aren't sufficiently excited by the mere idea of being in charge of the company's products, services, and future direction, doing a good job for customers, shareholders, and employees, then they should look for a different job.
Boeing spent $43B on stock buybacks between 2013 and 2019 while paying their CEO ~$30M/year. > To support its share price, the company under McNerney poured billions into stock buybacks instead of investing profits into the kind of research and development needed to stay competitive. McNerney decided not to spend billions of dollars building a new plane to replace the 737. Instead, Boeing tweaked and updated the exis…
Why is the CEO pay relevant? It is not even within an order of magnitude of the amounts needed to pay for even the contract Boeing proposed to the union, let alone the union’s demands. People complain about CEO pay as if paying them less would get them what they want. Frankly companies need CEOs, and people who are qualified for the job are very few in number. Whereas the line workers represented by the machinist uni…
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unlike with computers, there's some pretty obvious barriers that limit the efficiency of supersonic airplanes. your volume has a strict lower bound from the size of passengers and luggage, your engines have a lower bound since there's only so much air you can push against, and your drag has a lower bound of a perfectly smooth aerofoil that produces lift and can fit the people and luggage. Even if you take the most op…
What if you leave the atmosphere?
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I seriously wonder how long it would take for a team of engineers to produce a competitive commercial airplane, from planning to the first prototype, if they started right now. Also, is it viable to produce something like the A320 in low quantities when airlines need fleets in the hundreds?
Why? Have the government step in, nationalize Boeing, give the union a board seat, and keep shipping. The problem is Boeing management and their board enabling the train wreck; don't build from scratch, refactor.
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> There are very few good stories with unions but most of them are tragic especially long-term. Since unions helped to end practices like child labor and what amounted to indentured service, I’m not sure you know what “tragic” or “long term” means. If what you mean is more like “what have they done for us lately”, you should probably just say it and start that conversation instead
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Stock buybacks are mathematically identical to dividends if you work it out. And yes, people track that, and yes taking loans to pay dividends is a favorite trick of dying companies.
Aren’t they taxed differently, though? To my knowledge, dividends are taxed as ordinary income, whereas sales following a stock buyback may be taxed as capital gains (if they were held long enough before that point).
Ordinary people have to sell assets to take advantage of appreciation. So unless they can time sales to optimize taxes - really only an option for retirees - they might as well get regular dividends.
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Aren’t they taxed differently, though? To my knowledge, dividends are taxed as ordinary income, whereas sales following a stock buyback may be taxed as capital gains (if they were held long enough before that point).
"Qualified" dividends from long-term-held stocks are taxed in the same way as long-term capital gains.
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Once you start thinking of Boeing as a government agency with less oversight that poses as a for-profit corporation, a lot of things start to make more sense. Including what you wrote about.
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