Say goodnight Al (not that Al) [P&R]

[Fuzzy]

http://www.startribune.co...onal/senate/18377884.html

DFL U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken, front-runner in the race to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, owes $70,000 in back taxes in 17 states where he earned income going back to 2003.

Franken on Tuesday told the Associated Press that he never intended to avoid paying taxes and that on the advice of his accountant, had paid taxes to the city and state where he lived.

From an earlier story:

http://www.startribune.co...onal/senate/18221874.html

in the wake of earlier disclosures that Franken failed to pay workers' compensation and disability premiums in New York and botched the dissolution of his California corporation.

Since then, Franken has paid more than $25,000 in fines to New York and still owes more than $4,700 in corporate taxes and fines to California.

[Clive]

Without staking out any position on Franken ...

I realize the whole "CEO takes the fall" thing, but does anyone -- ANYONE -- honestly think that Al Franken personally did the heavy lifting in the dissolution of his corporation?  Or calculated the workers comp/insurance amounts and cut the checks himself?  Geez, you pay someone to do that for you and get it right.

SO is he trying to correct matters, or has this debt been known about for years and willfully ignored?

[Fuzzy]

Without staking out any position on Franken ...

I realize the whole "CEO takes the fall" thing, but does anyone -- ANYONE -- honestly think that Al Franken personally did the heavy lifting in the dissolution of his corporation?  Or calculated the workers comp/insurance amounts and cut the checks himself?  Geez, you pay someone to do that for you and get it right.

SO is he trying to correct matters, or has this debt been known about for years and willfully ignored?

Well.....that's why Sarbanes-Oxley came about. The CEO pays someone to figure it out and signs his name. But he takes the fall, right? Fair, unfair?? Up for debate.

Look, I'm not saying he did this willfully. But if you are running for senate, or running a corporation, we all know how this works. The perception is you evaded taxes. And perception is reality. He owes back taxes to 2003 so he either 1)knew or 2) hired incompetent accountants or 3) unscrupulous accountants.

It just doesn't look good for him, that's all.

[stroh]

#1 Run Defense!!

[Clive]

Oh, I'm not bickering about it.  I just hate the tone of such attacks, as if the person was the one who personally perpetrated the evil deeds.

I just wish people could distinguish between the CEO taking the blame for misdeeds and the CEO being personally culpable for those misdeeds.  The two are not always hand in glove.

[Fuzzy]

Oh, I'm not bickering about it.  I just hate the tone of such attacks, as if the person was the one who personally perpetrated the evil deeds.

I just wish people could distinguish between the CEO taking the blame for misdeeds and the CEO being personally culpable for those misdeeds.  The two are not always hand in glove.

I agree with you Clive. It's one reason I don't always join the korprit hate! bandwagon but.........

Here's yet another reason CEO's take a lot of heat when things go wrong. Their upside is just a little higher than the rest of us:

Congrats Doug. Take down an airline and win the lottery.

http://www.startribune.com/business/18380179.html

Douglas Steenland, who is likely to be the last CEO of Northwest Airlines, will receive an $18.3 million payout if the merger with Delta Air Lines is completed by the end of 2008, according to documents filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The severance package includes a $3.3 million cash payment if Steenland loses his job through the combination of executive ranks by Jan. 1, 2009; $6.2 million in pension benefits; $8.1 million in restricted stock; $340,000 in medical and dental coverage continuation; and $398,947 in airline travel benefits. It's been no secret that Steenland will leave the airline once the deal is completed, although he will become a member of Delta's board of directors.