Promises to Keep: Candidate Obama vs. President Obama

FoxNews.com reviewed some of Barack Obama’s biggest campaign promises, and how his actions have measured up.

FOXNews.com  – November 01, 2009

Barack Obama made a lot of promises during his two-year campaign for change.

He pledged to reform the health care system, wind down the war in Iraq, ramp up the war in Afghanistan, change the way the international community views the United States … all while keeping a sharp eye on spending and shielding the middle class from tax increases.

With the president coming up on the one-year mark since his election, now’s a good time to take a look at his track record.

U.S. executive pensions rose in ’08 even as stocks fell: report

By Bob L : NEWS AS I SEE IT!

In the face of the American worker as usual.

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:  Mon Nov 2

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Pensions for top U.S. executive rose by an average of 19 percent last year, and more than 200 officers saw their retirement savings surge by as much as 50 percent, even as their companies stock prices fell, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.

Pensions rose as a result of generous formulas and some little-scrutinized techniques, such as changes in age or interest rates used in calculations, the paper said, citing an analysis of filings from 340 Standard & Poor’s 500 companies.

And with the public outraged over lavish pay and big bonuses, the Journal on its website said pensions rose even as stock prices dropped by an average of 37 percent last year. Yet supplemental executive retirement plans, or SERPs, are mostly overlooked.

The chief executive of Merck & Co (MRK.N) saw his pension benefit rise by nearly $10 million to $21.7 million last year. Certain incentive payments for ConocoPhillips (COP.N) CEO Jim Mulva boosted bis pension by $9.5 million to $68.2 million, the paper said.

The top executives at General Electric (GE.N) saw the amounts they were due from pensions rise by 13 percent to $140.7 million, the Journal said.

(Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone; Editing by Anshuman Daga)