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September 17, 2008

Human Suffering

Thain Merrill

Cox Galveston

In a telling bit of photo editing, I was drawn to two images presented back-to-back in Monday’s NYT Pictures of the Day slide show.

Slide one shows John Thain, Merrill Lynch’s chairman and CEO walking off the stage after a joint news conference with Kenneth Lewis, chairman of Bank of America.  After falling on his sword in seeing Merrill sold off to B of A in a $50 billion deal, Thain will most likely be canned.  In the second shot, Galveston resident Christopher Cox walks to where his trailer used to stand before Hurricane Ike devastated the city.

Update 1: Rumor has it Thain might be headed to the McCain campaign to replace Carley Fiorina. (NY Mag)

Update 2:  "Fiorina: I Received Only A $21 Million Severance Package — Not $42 Million" (Think Progress)

(image 1: Keith Bedford for The New York Times. September 15, 2008. New York.  image 2: Carlos Barria/Reuters. September 2008. Galveston, Texas)

  • Jacques

    Note that Fiorina also got 21 million worth of stock and options when she left, so the 42 million is fairly accurate.

  • kate

    Mr. Thain will be just fine regardless of whether he’s kept or not, unlike millions of workers who’ve been laid off, let go, turned out and replaced. Replaced because factories have turned to overseas production, ceased production altogether or been absorbed by joint venture companies to become pawns in paper shuffling among the wealthy and powerful. Unlike Thain, those workers didn’t have a hand in making a golden parachute for themselves, a handsome severence package nor did they make a yearly salary that could feed a third world country.
    My heart bleeds black tar for him.