Danaher Tool: Is Greed Really Good?

The point is, ladies and gentleman, is that greed---for lack of a better word---is good.

---Gordon Gecco, in the film "Wall Street"

Danaher's President and CEO: H. Lawrence Culp, Jr.
Total Compensation for last year: $57,533,344.00
Source: Washington Post

Average hourly wage of a worker at Danaher Tool in Springfield: $14.00

The likely closing of the Danaher plant in Springfield is yet another bright and vivid "Wrong Way" sign on the road to a prosperous economic future for America. There is something gravely wrong about an American corporation---with a total revenue last year of $5.29 billion, a profit of over $500 million and who has a CEO that makes in one year what would take a production worker nearly 2000 years to earn---that is willing to rip apart the lives of thousands of people in our community to save a lousy $7 million per year.

No other motivation except greed can explain this behavior. American workers expect and deserve to be rewarded if they help make their company successful. Instead, again and again, what they get is a kick in the teeth.

When it comes to corporations distributing the enourmous wealth they generate, no, greed is not good. Greed robs people of hard earned money, greed ruins communities and families, greed destroys good jobs and leaves a scorched earth. This week, while we watched American Bosch burn to the ground, a painful reminder of Springfield's great past, Danaher announced its needless plant closing, foreshadowing a grim future for 300 workers and their families just in time for the holidays.

Merry Christmas to the CEO of Danaher. Apparently $57 million in his pocket couldn't get him through the New Year. Our sympathy goes out to the Danaher employees who just got scrooged.