Interesting Articles from the WSJ

A few articles in the Wall Street Journal from the past week or so:

"Pro Stadiums, Public Money," by Eliot Brown 3/09/15 (behind paywall)
The president's proposed budget would bar the "use of tax-exempt bonds to finance professional sports facilities."  The Treasury Department noted that such bonds "shifted more of the costs and risks from the private owners to local residents and taxpayers in general."   Yeah, let's stop doing this.



"Executive Pensions Swell at Top Firms," by Theo Frances and Andrew Ackerman (3/25/15)
One of the examples discussed is that of Jeff Imhelt of GE. Compare these two quotes: "In all, Mr. Immelt’s pension is valued at about $4.8 million a year for life. The company puts its current value at about $70 million, up from around $52 million a year ago." and this "In 2011, GE stopped offering new employees traditional defined-benefit pensions and replaced them with 401(k) plans. At the time, Mr. Immelt cited recent market downturns and lower interest rates as being among the reasons for the shift."  Somehow that just doesn't seem fair.

"Wells CEO Sees Pay Stay at $19.3 Million," by Emily Glazer (3/18/15) (behind paywall)

"For Google CFO, a $70 Million Package," by Rolfe Winkler (3/27/15) (behind paywall)

These last two are self-explanatory from the headlines.