Doesn't matter - my 401K is losing an average of $3K

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where I live or where you live. A republican who tries to suppress voter turnout by declaring that registrations on a certain weight of paper are invalid is not a good guy. Notice he was voted out of office? All youse defending Joe the Plumber and condemning a corrupt public official have your head screwed on backwards. The dems are in control now, so bleat on as you wish. we will defend your right to opinion as well as own. We're just that kinda folk.

Now can you quit calling us racists, because from what I can tell from posts nobody here is...

no one in the upper echelon would listen anyway. Look how many people HAVE complained to the government and they went and did what they wanted to anyway.

First, home mortages/foreclosures should have been taken care of by way of being able to re-finance through banks (which probably will not happen), but in reality, should have been taken care of in the bank bailout. There should have been a lot of stipulations in the bank bailout that were not put in place but both dems and pubs voted for it. There should not have been government jobs/waste in the new stimulus plan; i.e., parks, high speed rail between Disneyland and Las Vegas, STD/sex stuff, and whoopdedo a $13 a week in our paycheck, but you know all that.

BTW, heard O state today that the $13 a week equals $65 a month. Do the math. He's going by a 5-week month, not 4. There are a couple months that have 5 weeks, but not many, so he's slightly wrong there.

There is so much wrong with this stimulus package. FYI, I'm not whining. I'm complaining but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

no one in the upper echelon would listen anyway. Look how many people HAVE complained to the government and they went and did what they wanted to anyway.

There is so much wrong with this stimulus package. FYI, I'm not whining. I'm complaining but it seems to fall on deaf ears.

Nah, terrorists are not nice guys who need a hug..but, yes Bush's two daughters are ugly alcoholic freaks who need to go to daddy's war.. As far as Laura?? The one who killed a childhood friend, yeah, she is a Stepford wife, a dumming down wife..and also a murderer who killed a friend years ago..If we will not forgive and forget Ted Kennedy, we most certainly cannot forgive or forget what dumn arse Laura did who rides the coat tails of the Bush family. May Bush, Laura and the two alcoholic ugly daughters burn in Hell for eternity..

Most states cover a family of 4 making around $40,000 per year. I know in Montana you have to make even less than that to qualify for S-CHIP, so although the $80,000 obviously upsets you greatly, it is not the norm, but the exception.

The only reason I bring up the abortion issue (which I have mixed feelings about myself and will not get into in this topic) is because I think if that baby is born that baby deserves healthcare. Simple as that. I don't see any hypocrisy in that statement, but I'm sure you will since you seem to find something wrong with every one of my arguments.

Commentary: Larger-Than-Life Corporate Salaries are Unfair to Average American Workers

Despite slower-than-anticipated growth and lower-than-expected profits, many corporations have generously rewarded their leaders, while simultaneously reducing lower-level staff salaries and benefits in an attempt to control costs. This disturbing practice only serves to further widen the gap between America�s wealthy few and its working class and clearly demonstrates just how little this country values its workforce.

At a time when most American workers are struggling to make basic ends meet and worrying how they�ll manage to save enough for retirement, many of this country�s corporate chief executives are stuffing their pockets with larger-than-life compensation packages that include high base salaries, stock options and ample pension plans. In 2004, the average chief executive�s salary at a large company was more than 170 times that of the average worker�s pay. Last year, executive salaries grew 25 percent, while that of the average American worker grew only 3.1 percent.

Even when a company struggles, their CEOs are still rewarded. For example, the current CEO of a global manufacturing firm received over $11 million in compensation last year, despite the company�s $3.4 billion revenue loss, an 11-percent drop in stock value and a staff reduction of 17,000 workers. There are similar stories at corporations across the country. While worker pensions are frozen and many are asked to do without raises, CEOs manage to earn their multi-million dollar bonuses.

It�s no surprise that CEOs are cleaning up. Consider this: Corporations often use compensation committees to set their executive salaries. Many of these committees use outside consultants to help guide the process. These consultants are often already contracted to do other work for the company. The conflict of interest here is obvious: The consultant won�t upset the CEO -- and risk losing other contracts -- by setting a more realistic, performance based pay model.

Many corporate CEOs are, in short, getting over, and it is a slap in the face of every American worker. While it is understood that executive salaries would greatly exceed that of the average worker�s, there is no logical argument to explain why the growth rate between the two is so dramatically different. To protect its workforce, corporate America must ensure worker�s salaries grow at rates that keep pace with the cost of living, while slowing the rate of growth of CEO salaries. Corporate boards must stop rewarding CEOs with multi-million dollar bonuses. It is unacceptable for a company to lay off thousands of workers and then turn around and pay an executive for a job well done.

As a country, we often ask our government to think about the needs of the average American, and rightly so. However, if America is to truly prosper, the corporations that feed our local economy must also consider and respect the well-being of average worker.

---

Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

You can't "take" your pension and 401K out of the stock market if you are not retirement age. We are stuck with whatever the companies we work for invest in. my husband and I have some choices about where we invest our 401K but they all involve mutual funds, stocks, bonds, etc.