Las Vegas Sun

November 22, 2009

Currently: 61° | Complete forecast | Log in

Sun editorial:

Fat cat bonuses

Garbage hauler Republic Services has more than enough money to seal Sunrise Landfill

Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008 | 2:06 a.m.

The public is fed up with corporate fat cats who get outrageous multimillion-dollar bonuses or golden parachutes even though their businesses have performed poorly. Financial institutions on Wall Street and automakers in Detroit come to mind.

It is equally despicable for a company to hand out lucrative bonuses to top executives when it is shrugging off its responsibility to be a good corporate citizen. On that score Republic Services, which holds Clark County’s garbage hauling monopoly, fails the test.

Republic should be spending the estimated $30 million it will take to properly seal the shuttered Sunrise Landfill to prevent any more runoff from polluting Lake Mead, which is where the valley draws its drinking water. But the company refuses to fulfill its obligation to seal the landfill — which it agreed to do in 1999 when its county contract was extended an additional 15 years — and instead is trying to pass that cost on to its ratepayers.

Is Republic doing this because it doesn’t have the money? You have got to be kidding.

As reported by Joe Schoenmann and Michael J. Mishak in the Las Vegas Sun on Wednesday, Republic has the money all right. As part of a proposed merger with Allied Waste Industries, Republic executives and key employees and their counterparts in the other company stand to receive $71 million to $152 million in compensation, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Four Republic executives alone — James E. O’Connor, Michael J. Cordesman, Tod C. Holmes and David A. Barclay — are in line for $21 million.

The Clark County Commission, which has been dragging its feet on Republic’s proposal, has more than enough ammunition now to tell the garbage company what it can do with its request to foist its responsibility on ratepayers.

The county should see to it that Republic seals the landfill immediately on its own dime. Republic has run out of excuses — and the people of Southern Nevada are running out of patience.

Discussion: 6 comments so far…

  1. By uddeboda
    11/20/08 at 2:16 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Ive said it before, but I will say it again.

    Take these wasters, ie the top exes at Republic to the landfill site, and landfill them in with the rest of the rubbish

  2. By lvsundog
    11/20/08 at 2:42 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Executive compensation is one of the primary problems of the US economy, and should be completely restructured. The common bromide is that such compensation is needed to attract the best leaders. That is dishonest nonsense. Rewarding CEOs and their ilk for driving a company into the ground is ethically wrong. Laying off thousands of workers and closing plants (as the automakers did) is nothing to boast about. But boast they did.

  3. By johnevegas
    11/20/08 at 5:28 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    "The common bromide is that such compensation is needed to attract the best leaders."

    Not working too well, is it?

  4. By DonKeyPunCh
    11/20/08 at 6:14 p.m.
    Suggest removal

    credit markets, fuel prices, labor costs, and recession have put these companies in this situation. more companies will be facing the same dilemma.
    nbc, abc, cbs and others are witchhunting and taking focus off the real issues.
    If government is going to oversee these companies after a loan then the industry is toast. can you imagine barney frank running a
    car company? government is outlining specifically how a car company should be run when they have never run one?
    last night michael moore was on Larry King explaining all of the things the car companies need to do to be successful and Larry King applauded him. why did'nt gm, chrysler or ford
    find this magic pill sooner? yep, we all need more michael moore philosophy in our life.
    If the CEO's start flying commercially to save money on corporate jets that will help, standing in line at a commercial airport waiting to board while your company is going under?
    Our government is so out of touch with what the problems are i am convinced their is no hope.
    here are the bubbles chronologically;

    dot com bubble big
    mortgage bubble bigger
    government bubble biggest

  5. By uddeboda
    11/21/08 at 3:05 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    Just think if these CEOs had arrived in their own cars, a long drive, but the scenery is nice.

  6. By lvsundog
    11/21/08 at 6:22 a.m.
    Suggest removal

    DonKeyPunCh says "If the CEO's start flying commercially to save money on corporate jets that will help, standing in line at a commercial airport waiting to board while your company is going under?"

    The hypocrisy of the execs is buying corporate jets in combination with unconscionable compensation while at the same time laying off thousands of workers and closing plants. Standing in line at a commercial airport *because* there are no expensive corporate jets may help.

    "The economy" doesn't just happen, like the weather. It is a result of consequences of the actions of the big and small players. The credit crunch, let us recall, and the ensuing bank bailouts, originated from unmitigated greed.

Post a comment

Commenting requires registration.

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Full comments policy.

Username:
Password: (Forgotten your password?)

OR Create an account (It's free)

  • Most Read
  • Discussed
  • Most E-mailed

Complete Listing

Calendar »

  • 22 Sun
  • 23 Mon
  • 24 Tue
  • 25 Wed
  • 26 Thu

All events on Sunday »