Treasurer Swan

[Jovial Monk]

Those on the right I am sure take comfort from Swan's early days as Treasurer, but he is still there and growing in stature and assurance--2 weeks ago on Q&A he was there without notes for the hour and steadily enumerated all the policy options and actions, looking quite comfortable. A sober and steady performance which people I guess look for in a Treasurer, especially now in these troubled economic times.

Swan did study economics for his MBA and is in constant close consultation with Treasury, RBA unlike his unlamented (by all but a few deluded Fibs) predecessor.

I think we would have to go a long way to find a better Treasurer in this global meltdown.

[JW Frogen]

Look Swan, just give me my 900 stimulus swan eggs and shut your Wayne hole!

[mantra.]

You are right Monk - Swan is beginning to sound more like a Treasurer who knows what he's talking about, although he still has a long way to go. It was many years before you could take Costello seriously. Just by taking one look at the smirk on his face made you almost oblivious to whatever he was spruiking.

Rudd's the one who is annoying me. He seems to be very superficial at times and Turnbull's accusations of Rudd and his wife being hypocrites ring true. Rudd is running around exclaiming that executive salaries are obscene (I agree) - yet his own wife is one of those executives. He has also slammed Howard's outsourcing (I agree) - yet Therese has made her millions from the same outsourcing.

THERESE Rein, the wife of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, earned at least $1.4m last year, almost $1m of which came from share bonuses from her company, Ingeus.

The size of Ms Rein's salary and share payments could fuel the controversy over excessive executive salaries, which Mr Rudd has described as "greedy" and says should be curbed.

And Opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull has now targeted Ms Rein, accusing Mr Rudd of hypocrisy for attacking the free-market policies of the Howard Government - policies the Liberal leader says made Ms Rein rich.

In an increasingly personal debate, Mr Turnbull - a former merchant banker estimated to be worth $160m - says Ms Rein, who established and runs a global employment placement agency, directly benefited from the Howard Government's privatisation of such services.

The Ingeus annual report for last year said Ms Rein earned at least $1.4m in income - comprising salary and share dividend payments.

The salary component for each of the 11 board members and "other key management personnel" was almost $4.4m.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 41,00.html

[Jovial Monk]

Therese Rein was/is not a paid executive. . .she OWNS her company. Turnbull is an idiot for not grasping that distinction, not that I am surprised. Costello was an incompetent who never learned the first thing to do with economics.

The CEOs Rudd was talking about are clown like Sol Trujillo--does he own Telstra? No. Did he get paid too much in relation to the results he achieved? Yup. The other half of the CEO question is that they pay way too little tax thanks to the idiot Costello.

[JW Frogen]

Therese Rein was/is not a paid executive. . .she OWNS her company.

Yes, she was an owner who ran faster than Cathy Freeman to use Howard's IR laws to lower her labor costs.

[Jubial Priest]

It's 'Swan' and 'Rudd'. Not 'Treasurer Swan' and Prime Minister Rudd'

Sycophant much?

[Jovial Monk]

What are you on about, Jubial Dickhead?

[Jovial Monk]

That "$4.4m each" is not what is meant, but hey it is the Poison Dwarf writing. He meant "the 11 board members and senior management shared $4.4m"

[JW Frogen]

Wayne Swan is one of the few pollies who actually looks like his name, beady bird-like eyes, fawning feathers, sticking his neck out where it should not be, he looks like a Swan.

Same with Joe Hockey, Joe looks like he can fight for Australia’s puck, take it on the boards, a great goal keeper.

[Jubial Priest]

Where did he say "4.4M each"?

He clearly states that it is 4.4M between board members of which TRuddy is 1 and that TRuddy being a 97% shareholder would be entitled to around 1.4M.

Mantra is correct. The Rudds are hypocrites of course but that would suit Krudds dogma of 'there are some who are more equal than others'