Hogs at the corporate trough

I know that Arianna Huffington wrote a book with a similar title (Pigs at the Trough), but this is a local example of what she was getting at.

But first some context:

• The median household income in Oregon is about $43,000.  That means that nearly half  of Oregon households bring in less than that amount.

• PGE hasn't paid any state corporate income tax for the past three years.

So when we read that top PGE executives all received performance bonuses on top of their already hefty annual salaries, maybe a little indignation is called for. 

Here are the numbers according to the Oregonian's business section:

• CEO Peggy Fowler-- a bonus of  $376,744
• Jim Piro --                              $138,857;
• Douglas Nichols--                     $124,730;
• Stephen Quennoz --                 $115,815
• Stephen Hawke --                    $115,042

That adds up to a tidy little sum of $871, 118, just in bonuses alone, which may or may not be counted against PGE's corporate income, all of which, by the way, comes from utility ratepayers, despite the disclaimer from PGE flacks that "... executive bonuses are absorbed by shareholders and not included in rate calculations."  The salaries of the flacks are also paid by ratepayers.  And what does "absorbed by shareholders" mean, anyway?

In 2003, Peggy Fowler was paid a grand total of $990,000 in salary, bonus, and a retention fee from Enron.  This last year, she made at least $726,000, assuming her annual salary was as much as it was the year before.  Is she worth it?  Not in my world.

Compare her remuneration to that of another local CEO, albeit a public one:  Superintendent of Portland Public Schools, Vicki Phillips.  With housing allowance, she makes something in the range of $250 -- $300,000  per year.   Who do you think has the tougher job? 

Having been a teacher, I can say with some certainty that there's no way that running a private utility can be as demanding as running a large school district.  No possible way.

It's long past time for the public, either the city or the state, to take control of PGE.  And reign in exorbitant and unjustifiable management salaries.

Comments

[Craig]

Income disparities in the USA are not bad compared to many other countries. In the USA a beginning professional federal government salary is roughly $40,000/year. A Congress person make $158,000/year, roughly quadruple. In Kenya, a first year magistrate (judge) makes about $4000/year while a Member of Parliament (i.e., Congressperson) makes $80,000/year, 20 times more.

Let's count our blessings.