Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday | Oct. 26 | Got news, or a question?
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26 comments:
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
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Hi, how's it going?
ReplyDeleteA lot of talk about 401(k) yesterday, thankfully at the end someone with real knowledge chimed in. Here's another story....
ReplyDeleteThe last two years I've paid less than $100 fed income tax on a gross of $60k. Much of that is due to the options I have with Gannett.
I'm not taxed on income I send to my 401(k), so at a 20% contribution, my income is down to $48k. (yea, 5% match!)
For medical reasons, I put $3,000 into a flex-spend account. Down to $45k.
Health insurance premium is another $3,000 pre tax. Gross taxable is now at $42,000. All the above is thanks to Gannett, (tongue firmly in cheek).
Every other year I itemize, but standard deduction for my family of 5 is $16,500. Taxable income is now at $25,500.
"Married filing jointly" puts me at $3,042 tax on that.
And because I met my love at work, daddy's 3 little tax credits are also due to Gannett. :) Subtract $1,000 a piece for the child tax credit, and my federal tax bill is now $42.
Thank god I live in a tax hell state, as the $2200 in state income tax and $2000 in property tax I pay assuages my guilt in not supporting the feds.
(If you care, my take home ends up being $600 a week. Better than some of you, I know. I'm not bragging. I can't imagine supporting a family on minimum wage.)
indystar wimps out & doesn't endorse anyone. first time i can remember them doing that. guess there trying to piss off as few as they can for a change.
ReplyDeletehaha -- verification word is cheni . . . pretty soon good bye cheni however you spell it!
ReplyDeletegot that p.o. box yet jim?
ReplyDeleteYou and Gannett paid payroll taxes. Those taxes end up as current revenue to Congress. Congress doesn't care whether its income taxes on the rich or Social Security taxes on everybody as long as the money keeps flowing in.
ReplyDeleteGannett, other companies, and the general public would be better off if we got rid of Social Security taxes and just recognized Social Security is the debt one generation owes the previous generation.
Government cannot invest the Social Security taxes for the long haul. All government can do is spend it now.
If anyone is interested in the UNFUNDED Social Security & Medicare/Medicad liabilities of the U.S. Government go to the Peter J. Peterson Foundation website.
ReplyDeleteCurrent estimate by the President of that organization, David M. Walker (former U.S. Comptroller General) is $53 Trillion. That's on top of all our other debts.
Good point, the example above doesn't include our other gifts to the feds, the health and soc security taxes.
ReplyDeleteYou call $2,000 in property taxes a tax hell state?? LOL, in Nj, land of King Corzine, i'm paying close to $7,000 for older 2-bedroom on a 50 X 150 lot, plus hefty state income tax and 7 percent sales tax. Rumor has it Obama eyeing Corzine for fed job...that's what we're all looking at after this election, paying out more taxes as we spread the wealth around....
ReplyDeleteJust read the entire Indy package, and was very impressed by all the information given---even though they didn't endorse McCain or Obama.
ReplyDeleteSo much for the Health care rumors:
ReplyDeleteHEALTH BENEFIT RE ENROLLMENT 2009
In the next few weeks, you will be receiving information regarding health benefit re-enrollment for plan year 2009. The re-enrollment period will be from Nov. 10-21. You will need your password to review or change your benefit choices. It is very important that you review the re-enrollment information because there have been some changes in the plan designs. You also need to review your smoking and spousal surcharge status to ensure you are being charged or not charged appropriately. If you have forgotten your password, please contact YBR immediately to obtain a new password. You can contact YBR by phone at 866-343-2333 or online at www.YBR.com/gannett.
As a member of ‘Gannett’s troubled UK division’ I’m interested in just how ‘troubled’ we are.
ReplyDeleteCan you provide some specifics and perceptions from your side of the pond please. We need as much info as possible to combat these money-grabbin’, asset-strippin’ b*******. I can provide specifics from here if requested.
what would keep GCI from suspending their 401K match?
ReplyDeleteFor our UK friends, the drop in revenues GCI just reported indicates the extent of the problem -- about a 30 percent drop in profits and revenues in spite of the cutbacks already made. Obviously there will be adjustments, but GCI remains a healthy company. It survived the last Depression, and it will survive this downturn.
ReplyDeleteThe UK properties pose an additonal problem for corporate because of the pound-dollar issue. When the pound was strong, it was good for corporate. Now the pound is weakening, it obviously is not good. Dubow and Martore said in the recent conference call they don't plan changes in their UK holdings.
From what we hear at this time, there will be further layoffs. I believe that many will come this time in management ranks, rather than further cuts in the rank and file. They seem to be rolling out some plan cutting publishers, if the failure to replace the publisher of the Leaf-Chron is an example. I think they are headed towards regional management structures, but we will see.
If you are over 50 and earning six-figures or close, you should be concerned about your future. In the UK, you have job protections American employees don't have.
I also believe, but do not know, that there will be very large cuts this time in USA Today, where there are big salaries and so big potential savings.
Thanks for the response. FYI, Newsquest made pre tax profits of £23.8million last year (for 52 weeks up to December 30, 2007), much the same as the previous year. Turnover went from £86.8 million, with previous year $88.3million. In July Newsquest unveiled pretax profits of £89million for the 2007 calendar year.
ReplyDeleteWe in Glasgow (Herald, Sunday Herald, Evening Times) accounted for 26.7% of that profit. Where did the profit go? … it was certainly not reinvested in Newsquest.
I was watching one of my favorite movies yesterday - Wall Street - and realized what the problem is with Gannett's Management structure.
ReplyDeleteGordon Gekko, was explaining to Charlie Sheen's character that...."most of these Havard M.B.A. types aren't worth dog-shit, give me guys that are POOR, SMART & HUNGRY, and no feelings...you win a few, you lose a few, but you keep on fighting." Upon hearing that line, I realized that senior management and the board of directors are: NOT POOR, NOT that SMART, and DEFINITELY NOT HUNGRY......they have nothing to LOSE. GANNETT goes up they win BIG, GANNETT goes down THEY STILL WIN BIG, GANNETT stays stable THEY WIN BIG.
The incestuous nature of the board members, who make $300,000 a year for a few days a year of work, voting for compensation of the executives, who determine the board members compensation breds excess; add to that the cross membership on the boards of other companies and you get a real Soprano's style Compensation to Performance (or I should lack of/non-performance) System.
Put these people on a real commission like system......you get a base of $400,000 Per Year (8,000 Per Week) and if you do great....Get $10 Million Bonus & pension credits.....If you do lousy....walk away with you little $400 Grand.
Understand, I am not a communist, a socialist....I don't think I'm a democrat or republican anymore....I think I'm a Libertarian (in the Catallaxy-Friedrich von Hayek/Ludwig von Mises sense).
I am an Entrepreneurial Capitalist. I have no problem with the CREATOR of a company making billions of dollars (from stock appreciation) from his/her company. I do have a problem with non creator Lawyer/Accountant Feudalist Executive Leeches sucking the life out of companies and SERF, I mean employees for their own personal benefit...with no real concern to the LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE of the companies they run.
Any thoughts or comments fellow peasants??
Hey 9:46 --- that's cheap. My 55 by 150 is close to $9,000. After I get TERMINATED. I hope to go to rural Georgia and relax, while I contemplate my future career/AVOCATION.
ReplyDelete12:05 PM
ReplyDeleteThanks for specifics. Didn't I read something that gave a breakdown of how much money each employee in your group "made" for Gannett in 2007?
Does anyone have that figure calculated for the US sites or groups?
Someone yesterday was looking for layoff information. Corp has asked the publishers for 5,10, and 15% cut plans. These are going to be put into play by the end of the year. I would guess (similiar to the last round,) what will be taken will vary from paper to paper.
ReplyDeleteIf you sign up for the 401K , how do you dump the Gannett stock each pay period. Can you do that through the ybr site? How does that work?
ReplyDeleteDEAR 3:08 Yes you can dump the GANNETT stock every pay period; I've been doing just that since November-2003.
ReplyDeleteOnce you establish your USER-NAME & PASSWORD. Ckick on the manage your investments "button." You will see TRANSFER MONEY on that page. Click on that and you will be asked which fund do you want to TAKE MONEY OUT of (GANNETT STOCK); then it will ask for Dollar Amount or Percentage. Put in 100%. Then it will ask you which fund do you want to tranfer the MONEY INTO. You pick the fund......I can't give you investment advise. Sorry. If you just want to "Park" you money until you decide....put it in the MONEY MARKET FUND.
Gannett Inc. is the U.S.S.R. of the news industry, a patchwork agglomeration of republics that would prefer to go it on their own. It's time to TAKE DOWN THIS WALL, Mr. Dubow, and grant your republics independence and your citizens freedom. Only then will they flourish.
ReplyDeleteFinally mustered the nerve to look at the 401K today - sort of had to since I needed to dump some GCI. It was hideous, HIDEOUS. Down about 35 percent, perhaps a bit more, and to make myself more miserable I realized it was down almost 50 percent from where it was on track to be by year's end. Having said all that, it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be. With all these record breaking nosebleed Wall Street days, part of me was afraid it would just say "TILT.''
ReplyDeleteGannett isn't preparing for the future. They're conceding it. When you look at the newsroom reductions, 2adpro, and constant cost cutting, they'll say that this is vital for the future of the company.
ReplyDeleteBut what kind of future are they heading towards? The economy will get better someday. Not all of the advertisers will come back, of course, but a lot of them will. Retail is a sector being decimated by bankruptcies and closures, but eventually new companies will take their place. Real estate will bounce back when the market straightens out. And when the economy comes back, there's going to be a lot of jobs to fill, and the recruitment listings in classified sections will start growing again.
But Gannett will not be able to respond. They will have alienated a lot of customers and wrecked their ability to provide good customer service to advertisers by offshoring ad production. They are already demonstrating a mindset that quality doesn't matter, and that will be noticed by advertisers and readers. Content is being cut further and further back, which will give a lot of readers reason to not even bother picking up the paper any longer. And the big drive is to consolidate, consolidate, and consolidate some more, which is going to lead to worse customer service.
In short, the company is planning for the future by eliminating its ability to respond to it.
My favorite Gannett change is forcing us to send 40% of all ads to India to be built. Wonder if Gannett owns the company in India we are forced to outsource to?
ReplyDeleteThink like a New Jerseyan. GANNETT probably doesn't own the Indian Company. Some is getting a Kick-Back from them though...Watch the Sopranos...LOL.
ReplyDelete