Living Richly 1. The compensation of the CEOs and other top managers did have an impact on the problem that they created for themselves. At the time though they did not care I don’t think. All they cared about was how big of a bonus and pay they could receive. Again it all came down the almighty dollar and how much they could make. I think it all as to do with greed. I don’t think they really cared about what was happening with their businesses they were running. They saw how much money they were given for giving out money to bad financial risks. In the end I don’t think they cared how it was going to affect their business in the long run. All they care about was the short run and how much money they could make.
Instead of giving out compensation based on booking profits, they should have just given them a flat salary. That way any extra profits that were made could have been used to get Citi out of trouble instead of the government having to kick in taxpayer dollars to bail them out so they wouldn’t go under. 2. Of course the board of directors actions had a major effect on how everything played out at the company. They had the power to stop what was going on and they did nothing about it. Maybe at the time they didn’t think anything was wrong, but as the article stated some thought that they did not have enough time to handle the situation. If this was the case I think if you can’t handle or have enough time to do the job as a board of director you should resign. I believe for a lot of people being a member on the board of directors is a status or power thing and are not doing the job that is required of them. 3. I don’t feel that institutional shareholders protected their interests at first. It was some time before they realized there was a problem with how they were doing business. Eventually they came to the realization that the company was in way over their head and something had to be done. Eventually they had the director removed for not doing his job. Personally I think everyone from the board of directors should have been removed and replaced with new people because none of them did their job I don’t think. I believe if the board of directors were doing their job this could have been prevented or stopped before it got out of hand like it did and the government having to bail them out. 4. There needs to be a good balance of how much government gets involved in businesses. Some say there is too much government involvement and some say there is too little. I think once a company becomes so big that CEOs are making millions upon millions of dollars, the government needs to become more involved. If a company can afford to pay a CEO that much there needs to be someone else watching over them especially if there is a possibility of government having to bail them out if they come into financial hardship. It just seems recently that some companies cannot be trusted and are only out to make a few individuals rich and the rest have to try and fend for themselves if the company collapse.

Big Fat Liability 1. The argument is that food companies should try and make their products healthier for the public. It’s their lack of making healthier products that is causing the public to become obese. But on the flipside consumers ultimately have a choice on what they put into their body and have the choice to look at the labels to see how bad or good a product is for you. The government required companies to start putting nutrition labels on food products. They are easy to read and understand I think and should help consumers decide if they want to eat it or not. Everyone has a choice and for some they would rather make bad choices and blame someone else for their actions. 2. I think the blame for this should be 50/50. 50% on the food industry and 50% on consumers. I think the best solution to this problem starts at the source. The source is the companies that produce food for the public. I think that companies can try a little harder to make their products healthier. Granted healthier does not always taste better, but I think people will accept the fact that companies are trying to look out for people. Another category that companies should try and eliminate is convenience foods. I was looking at a burrito in a store one time and it’s pretty sad that it contained at least 50% or more of your daily intake of calories, fat, and sodium. How can something so simple be so bad for you?
I think everybody can help play a role in helping lower obesity. One way is through education. Education on how to look for healthier options and giving the public healthier options when shopping or going to restaurants. I know most places have healthier options available, but most people ignore them and choose to go the not so healthy route. One way around this is to make everything healthier that way the consumer doesn’t have to choose between the two options. I think regulations can be put in place to help also. Limit the amount of sugar that can be put in products for example along with anything else that is bad for you in large quanties.