'Is this a great country (for the rich) or what? Part 249'

by: Carnacki

Fri Dec 10, 2010 at 02:25:34 AM EST

As Don Blankenship prepares to give up control of Massey Energy after the nation's worst mining disaster in four decades, angry shareholders who have been agitating for the coal executive's ouster aren't sure whether to celebrate or lament.

That's because corporate filings are revealing the staggering cost of his departure -- a golden parachute that will provide Blankenship with $2.7 million upon retirement, a free house for life, millions more in deferred compensation, and a "salary continuation retirement benefit" of $18,241-a-month that will continue for 10 years after his departure at the end of the year.

"The fact of the matter is, the company absolutely needs him to leave. You want to say, anything's worth it because the company has no future with him," said Per W. Olstad, a lawyer with CtW Investment Group, a shareholder group that has pushed for Blankenship to step down. "But it's an egregious payout. It's way beyond what he's earned. Given how destructive his mismanagement has been, he simply does not deserve it."

But the important thing to remember was coal paid the bills, not safety measures.