Cell Phone Scam

[roejoe]

Oh, please....all the mysterious and unexplainable fees the cell phone companies sneak into your bill every month - fcc fees, government surcharges, usage charges, contract ins and outs, forced data plans, "other charges" and all the despicable skulldudgery done by ATT and Verizon...
If this isn't corporate thievery of the highest degree, I don't know what is...and you can rest assured your senators and congressman were paid under the table to pass the friendly legislation that allows these bandits to thrive.
By the way:
source:http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/030209-verizon-ceo-compensation.html
Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), took home roughly $20.2 million in compensation - including pay, vested stock and exercised option awards - in 2008, according to documents filed last week with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His compensation includes a $2.1 million salary, $3.7 million bonus, $13.1 million in stock and option awards, $946,754 in perks (including $143,489 for personal use of a company aircraft), and $322,862 in deferred compensation earnings.

Overall, Seidenberg’s $20.2 million compensation is down slightly from 2007, when he took home nearly $20.4 million. His $2.1 million salary is unchanged from 2007, and the value of stock and option awards is almost equal. His bonus fell 12% from $4.2 million.
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source:http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/031110-att-ceo-pay.html
AT&T chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson was awarded a compensation package valued at $20.3 million in 2009, according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

His total compensation increased 35% compared to 2008, when his pay package was valued at $15 million.
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Stephenson's 2009 salary was $1.45 million, which is up slightly from $1.42 million in 2008. He earned a $5.85 million performance-based cash bonus in 2009. The year before, Stephenson turned down a cash bonus -- which the board determined he had earned -- "in light of the economic environment and the workforce reductions," AT&T disclosed in last year's proxy statement.

The bulk of his 2009 pay package came in the form of performance-based stock awards, which were valued at $12.1 million at the time they were granted (down 8% from $13.2 million in 2008).

Stephenson also received $864,632 in perks and other compensation (up from $376,248 in 2008). His perks included $215,954 for club memberships, $86,045 for personal use of company aircraft, $76,253 for home security, $27,350 for communications, $26,591 for auto benefits and $14,000 for financial counseling.

As a company, AT&T reported revenue of $123 billion in 2009, a decline of less than 1% compared to $124 billion in 2008. Net income came in at $12.8 billion, a decline of 2% compared to $13.1 billion in 2008.

Stephenson's total pay is calculated using data supplied in a proxy statement filed with the SEC on March 11. The following figures are taken from the summary compensation table: salary, non-equity incentive plan compensation, nonqualified compensation earnings and all other compensation (perks). Added to those figures is the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year; that figure is taken from the table that summarizes grants of plan-based awards. The calculations don't include changes in the value of pension benefits or changes in retention plan value.

[dooley]

I agree 100%
These corporate crooks need to be imprisoned for treason or hung!