Category Archives: Journal Sentinel

Kudos to the JS

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Kathleen Gallagher’s outstanding story yesterday on the state’s pending $250 million corporate giveaway really brought home the almost unbelievable disregard for taxpayers, common sense and good government with which this political payback is being pursued. Gov. Scott Walker and legislators are proposing to Hand a “$250 million fund to out-of-state financial management companies that would not have to pay back the fund’s principal and would keep up to 80% of its profits.” Wow. What a great deal. For somebody.

The cherry on top of the scoop of outrage was the layout of the story’s jump. It was next to a jump of a story about 21 Milwaukee Public Schools nurses losing their jobs because Walker is proposing to cut a $1.5 million grant that helps pay for them.

A $250 million giveaway for big business vs. $1.5 million for nursing services for mostly impoverished children. Not a tough choice for the gov, apparently.

Nice package, JS.

M&I’s absolute outrage

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What a joke, travesty, injustice and outrage. What a screw job for share holders.

Mark Furlong, the M&I chief executive who piloted the bank to a shotgun wedding with BMO Financial Group, got a raise last year! The JS reports:

In a separate report with regulators Friday, M&I disclosed that Furlong received total compensation in 2010 of about $5 million, up more than 200% from almost $1.7 million in 2009. According to the company’s proxy statement, Furlong received a salary of $875,000, stock salary awards and restricted stock awards totaling $3,624,997, a change in the value of retirement benefits of $569,607 and other compensation of $24,432, for total compensation of $5,094,036. The biggest change from 2009 was in the stock awards.

BMO also is going to pay Furlong $18 million in a very big, wet, sloppy, full-tongue goodbye kiss.

The JS reported the story without a hint of irony although it really, to do the situation justice, should have dripped with sarcasm as it recounted the stellar results M&I achieved under Furlong’s leadership:

In its report Friday, M&I noted that nonperforming loans decreased 19% from the first quarter of 2010, and early-stage delinquencies fell 17% from the same quarter last year.

But the bank said write-offs of bad loans rose $8.9 million, or 2%, from last year’s first quarter – an increase M&I said was driven by the sale of a small-business portfolio. Net interest income was $352.1 million, down $57 million, or 14%.

M&I is the largest bank based in Wisconsin, with assets of $49.6 billion. However, it’s about 12% smaller than a year ago at the same time, when its assets were $56.7 billion.

Someone, quick, explain to your kids how thsis fits in with the concept of justice and consequences.