fool on the hill,

In 100% full disclosure-I have no personal or professional relationship with MHS or SSM.

I am well prepared because I have a strong background in economics and business management-in otherwords I understand how business works. Stories like this one are often printed in newspapers to "afflict the comforted"- I take the position I take-particularily in this story becuase I understand there is market clearing price for labor-even for CEOs. Whether Bea is worth his salary is really a discussion between Bea and his Board of Directors. I will admit-compared to other hospital system CEOs he is paid more. I dont begrudge anyone for earning a living-at what ever their chosen field is.

I will call out petty jealousy and envy when I see it and with this story-Stevie Wonder can see its nothing more than "exposing" a CEO and a feeble attempt to shame him into defending a salary his employers give to him. The BOD is free to separate Bea from MHC-if they choose to do so. But this is purely a matter of very basic finance and economics.

Any other questions-please feel free to ask....

Happy holidays!

Mooshoo,

Thats it? You respond by calling me names? Pathetic. Face it- you are jealous a man name Javon earns what he earns.....

Of the 2400 Not for profit hospitals in the united states-which is your favorite? Which is your least favorite?

News flash for KIOWA----SSM Health Care-the owners of Janesville's St. Marys Hospital is a Catholic- not for profit healthcare company....and they pay their top executives 7 figure salaries.....I guess they dont deserve it either....but SSM St Marys Janesville looks forward to taking your money when you are sick....

TCB: Your defense of Mercy Health Systems and Javon Bea seems remarkably well-prepared and enthusiastic for that of a purely disinterested observer. In the interest of full disclosure, what is your relationship to them? Thank you.

A couple more points for the Totally Challenged Brick. TCB says "the Mercy healthcare system shows that its profitable and you are outraged. The Janesville school district is hemorraghing money and prodces a gigantic deficit and you are applauding its success?"
*
Reread my comments TC Brick and let me know where I said "I am outraged".
*
Reread my comments TC Brick and let me know where I even mentioned the school district. FYI - the School Board passed a balanced budget - there is no deficit at this time.

I said gross profiteer, and only a goofy tool would equate that to gross profit. Everything in your last rant is diarrhea of the keyboard. What part of not-for-profit don't you understand? TCB = Totally Confused Brick.

Mooshoo,

Mercy has gross profits of 1 Billion? WOW-If true Bea deserves a huge raise! SO you are saying that Mercy Health's gross profits are 23 times larger than the entire City of Janesville budget? (The Janesville city budget is about 42 Million per year) Or in otherwords, the gross profit of Mercy Health system is almost 10 time greater than the enitre JSD budget of 113 Million? The gross profit alone? Interesting thing to note is that salaries and benefits comprise 91 of the 113 Million...What is Mercy's net profit-if gross is a billion?

Yes, Mooshoo, you are free to chose were you would like to purchase your healthcare. Yet, one more thing that is great about America.

The line that benefits Bea and the community does not need to be visible nor does it need to be approved by jealous healthcare consumers.

Just think, the Mercy healthcare system shows that its profitable and you are outraged. The Janesville school district is hemorraghing money and prodces a gigantic deficit and you are applauding its success?

TCB Said "In exchange for tax exemption, not-for-profit hospitals are subject to non-distribution constraints that demand that they invest all surplus revenue into operations that benefit the community."
*
Mercy builds facades and doc in box emergency services because competition arrived on the scene. The line between benefit to the community and benefit to Javon is lost. Rampant building and expansion runs up cost to the consumer and results in a billion dollar gross profiteer.
*
Thank goodness for the competition. Many of us will vote with our feet now that there is an alternative to the local health care ponzi scheme.

Kiowa,

In exchange for tax exemption, not-for-profit hospitals are subject to non-distribution constraints that demand that they invest all surplus revenue into operations that benefit the community. Would you prefer that Mercy not reinvest in the communities in which they serve?

The IRS intentionally made the exempt requirements vague so as to allow not-for-profit hospitals to meet the demands of not only their local communities but also of a changing healthcare system. It is this very attribute of ultimate local accountability--to be nimble without the involvement of Washington or or state bureaucrats-which only add to the cost of delivering healthcare.

As for business being in bed with govt-the govt accounts for 50% of the healthcare spend in the US-currently. The govt is the biggest customer-since they are the largest payor. As for the toxic asset problem that nearly took down our economy-more regulation is required-particulary over the ability for firms to get over leveraged-through debt swaps, repos, and CDOs etc. -but this is a different issue. Former Democratic Senator and Governor John Corrizine just might the first to do the perp walk....

Maybe this is why the care at Mercy is lacking?
-
Professor Pressman relates those results to economic behavior in corporate America. "If a C.E.O.'s salary is going through the roof and workers are getting pay cuts, what will happen?" he said. "Workers can't outright reject the offer — they need to work — but they can reject it by working less hard and not caring about the quality of what they are producing. Then the whole efficiency of the firm is affected."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/25/busine...

TCB:
Poobah detailed the balance sheet of Mercy..Approx 417 million in revenues, and 400 million in expenditures. So 17 million gets "reinvested" (obviously you can't pay dividends out, if you are tax free)..All fine and dandy, but that is all tax free $$ being reinvested. What a great gig. I'm sure Prent, and other big companies in Janesville, would LOVE the same treatment, by this non profit sham.
.
As far as the CEO pay, I agree with you to some extent in that if you want top notch people, you often need to pay top level salaries. Only problem we now have is this Oligarchy type system, that is hardly driven by free and fair market principal. Where many of your fortune 500 companies are right in bed with the governmnet with the mega access they have obtained with the govenment through lobbying, governmnet contracts, ext (esp banks, and defense industries). So the CEO will get huge pay regardless of performance, or any basic market principal..While if they do bankrupt the company, not only do they walk away with millions, but the governmnet will step in to backstop-bail out the company they bankrupted. Keep in mind with all the shenanigans you had in 2008 with AIG, Fannie, Freddie, WAMU, Citi......Not one, seriously NOT ONE person has been charged with anything for their obvious role in the financial meltdown (60 minutes had a very good piece on that a few weeks ago). If this does not stink to high heaven of OLIGARCHY (where huge business and governmnet are simply the SAME entity) I don't know what does.

"The amount of compensation you get is obscene."
-
You lost any argument when you make this comment.

Keith61,

What authority gives you the right to determine if Beas contribution to society is valid or not? How are you calculating this contribution? While you're at it-how does your contribution compare to Bea's?

You are simply another jealous poster who thinks that you could do Bea's job.

Your free to share your opinion but you dont speak for society at large.

I think that a person's measure has to do with what impact their loss will have on society. When you die, Mr. Bea, Mercy hospital will continue to function and make money, the city of Janesville will still be on the map as will the state of Wisconsin, the U.S.of A, and the planet Earth. Everything will go on without missing a beat. I dare say there will probably be few that even know you well enough to mourn your loss. Just as it will be with most of the rest of us residing on earth. You are human not a God. Consider this, most people that find themselves in a Mercy health facility fighting for their lives are going to want a good nurse in that fight with them. Not you, Mr. Bea, who would be of no use to that dying person at all. In fact, you would be ushered out of the room since all space is at a premium in these types of situations and you would be useless to the cause. You need to be more objective about your personal worth to society, Mr. Bea. The amount of compensation you get is obscene. There are few people on this earth whos contribution to society is worth so much and you and I are not one of them.

Ok then...take yur check book out and start writing checks......

I'm typically not a double poster, but I have to say ,"Keep on topic!"...GREED by Bea and the Mercy Board who allowed this level of compensation to occurr; it is outrageous.

The "haves" have to CUT THE GREED and practice a bit more ALTRUISM (definition: unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others). If not, some day the "have nots" will have had enough and will mutiny.

"Let the layoffs begin....chop chop...... "" that was Hilarious!! Cho chop, so funny "

Funny fear that the union will demonize people either way....

If there are layoffs or if they have to compromise........never happy unless they get their way........

A

"While life is characterized by growth in a structured functional manner, the necrophilous person loves all that does not grow, all that is mechanical. The necrophilous person is driven by the desire to transform the organic into the inorganic, to approach life mechanically, as if all living persons were things. . . . Memory, rather than experience; having, rather than being, is what counts' The necrophilous person can relate to an object -- a flower or a person -- only if he possesses it; hence a threat to his possession is a threat to himself, if he loses possession he loses contact with the world. . . . He loves control, and in the act of controlling he kills life. (4)"

Fear

Imagine this thought/quote above in many teacher brains. Enjoy.

"Progress is everywhere "

Low math, science, and reading scores compared to other countries.

Many teachers are not interested in new teaching practices, they want to hold on to antiquated methods of teaching by serving as the supreme being in the classroom.

Kiowa,

The IRS designates tax exempt status-not the city. The city council does not have this type of binding legal authority.

That being the case-call your representative to demand that tax exempt rules be changed through legislation. Also, dont confuse 1 billion in revenue with 1 billion in profit-I have no idea what the profitability of Mercy is. My guess is that its not as profitable as Apple computer (on a percentage basis)....

As for CEOs who walk with golden parachutes despite driving their companies into the ground-If the CEO's decisions are costing the company billions, it is a bargain to get him out the door immediately for millions, rather than having his departure delayed by either internal struggles or battles in the courts. Not saying this is correct-but its the way the world works....

It is the same principle if you are married to someone who is impossible to live with. The divorce may cost far more than the marriage-- and still be worth every cent of it.

The difference between a top-notch CEO and a second-rate CEO can be billions of dollars on the bottom line. That is what drives up the pay of CEOs. If you want someone who will be top-notch in running organizations there is no point offering $5 million a year if similar enterprises elsewhere are paying $20 million for people with the kind of ability required.

In a market economy salaries have market clearing rates. There are about 600 hospital systems in the UNited states-this means there are about 600 CEOs running these systems. These jobs are scarce-scarcity drives the salary-it is as simple as this. Whether Bea is worth his salary-is an entirely different question-evident the Board of Directors (who determine Beas pay) believe he is.

Vat -- I would say the % is much lower, more like 50%.

Proposition, not proportion.

"So tell me once again how it is you dont hate teachers? Just because you try to hedge your bets and comeback and say "Its not the teachers , its the system" doesn't clear you"

Fear

I think you have amnesia and probably need milk of magnesia.

I have advocated higher salaries for excellent teachers but you made fun of my proportion of starting teachers at 70 to 80 k. How is that hating teachers?

You are full of lies that I hate teachers.

"95% of teachers are wonderful people in it for the right reasons, and are excellent at what they do"

I agree fear. But being wonderful or having a teaching degree doesn't always gets you results or make you effective yet they get rewarded for that year after year.

Smarty Pants-Keep in mind that many people working there make good money and support the economy and probably keep you employed in some way. We all need to realize that every business in some way provides others with employment. This is what keeps America going.

TCB:
I personally don't care what he makes, as long as it's within the purity of a truly free market. Your comment asking: "What about the CEOs that lost their jobs? Did their pay increase?
.
Actually in many cases they walk away multi millionaires DESPITE BANKRUPTING a company..See: Angelo Mozilo of Country wide for starters...Hank Greenburg; AIG CEO..., Then all the CEO's of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citi bank, Merryl Lynch, Lehman Bros, WAMU, Wakovia (I could go on for PAGES literally)...It's called a GOLDEN PARACHUTE. They run the company into the ground, totally bankrupting it..Are then run out, or simply resign before the chit hits the fan, and literally walk away with millions in LIFETIME compensation. It's hardly free market when you bankrupt a company, and are rewarded with millions for life.
.
As far as Mercy, I don't have much problem what the guy makes, IF it was in the context of a full profit corporation. Mercy gets HUGE tax breaks because of this non profit designation SHAM. If you want to pay these exorbitant salaries, then the city of Janesville should not be so moronic to allow this designation. It's a total slap in the face to the citizens, to allow them to use a tax free fossad while paying millions in executive pay.
.
My question is, who is allowing the non-profit-tax exempt status? Is that done by City Council, or who exactly makes that determination/approval? I bet that whole deal is just LOADED with back door deals, and corruption.

95% of teachers are wonderful people in it for the right reasons, and are excellent at what they do. Your contentions about worksheets and videos is just false. I have been all over this community and Madison, Milwaukee schools and can tell you that is a false premise. You lose everytime you try to philosophize about new "methods" as you suggest and a system wide shakeup.
Teachers arent afraid of evaluations, its a matter of who does them and what makes them qualified?

Vato I dont need to put words in your mouth you do it well enough yourself-
"A teacher has 300 less responsibilities than this guy."

"Let the layoffs begin....chop chop...... "" that was Hilarious!! Cho chop, so funny vato!

"It's about the teaching methods and addressing diverse learning styles. You can have 10 students and still be a bad teacher.""

""Ever known or know someone whom you might have said, "Man, he or she would be a great teacher"' even though they don't have a teaching license?

A license is required to drive, but does it mean all drivers license holders drive well?""

""I know teachers that show movies all the time and worksheet the kids to death. How is that effective?""

I could look back in your comments all night long and find a TON of spewage from you and your big mouth. So tell me once again how it is you dont hate teachers? Just because you try to hedge your bets and comeback and say "Its not the teachers , its the system" doesn't clear you. I have an Idea why don't you tell me why cronie capitalism is okay with you and UNDER compensating teachers and taking more from them so organizations like these can be tax exempt , while pukes like this guy can take home 3 million in salary? And YOU look up to him like he is some kind of hero, PATHETIC!!

Progress is everywhere Vato, you just have to take your head out of your ____! Janesville Schools test scores are UP across the board, yet you are one of the advocates against them taking very large cuts!
Public schools outperform private schools in this state when public schools face MUCH tougher variables(Algebra). You are such a sad example of the stupidity that so many that like to interpret a stat sheet as irrefutable facts , without taking into account the countless different situations that teachers face in this country. You are such a tough guy saying we "make excuses" you might want to teach 5th grade in a poverty stricken community , and then give us a dissertation about your philosophy about how education should work, otherwise you are just full of hot air, again armchair quarterbacking.
Big mouth? LOL , all you do is bash teachers and then backtrack and say you dont do it, over and over again. You are either putting your foot in your mouth or you have amnesia.

Try to remember that YOU are the "person" that brought teachers into this equation, THIS discussion. I was willing to discuss over inflated COMPENSATION of people like these, and you come with the rhetoric and hate for TEACHERS.

Too many excuses fear and not enough effort. just like the teachers that complain.

"I am here to tell you that its not the teachers that need a lesson, its moms, dads, and families in poor neighborhoods that nedd parenting lessons."

Tell them to start growing a sack and be responsible. Too much liberalism.

" When I am in Milwaukee next week volunteering my time, I will say merry christmas to all of the poor illiterate kids that you seem to hate so much."

Wrong, I don't hate the kids I hate the adults that neglect them.

"Unfortunately for your false rhetoric , there are many variables in our society that provides the necessity of higher spending "per pupil". Unfortunately Algebra ecapes you. "

Show me the progress big mouth.

Stop putting words in my mouth, I don't hate teachers, I hate bad systems.

Nahh youre right vato just 300 computers in a building and lock em up! Unfortunately for your false rhetoric , there are many variables in our society that provides the necessity of higher spending "per pupil". Unfortunately Algebra ecapes you. I would encourage you to spend a week in a poverty stricken school in Milwaukee or Madison, and tell me how less spending is the answer. THOSE are the schools that drive the per pupil cost high, and THOSE are the schools that have high illeteracy rates, what do you suggest vato? Close them and just not educate kids from poor backgrounds with no role models/supervision? Your logic is and always has been faulty. Weak? Unfortunately what makes you weak are your arguments , and lack of true independant thought. Its NOT all about "per pupil" spending, its about the fact that we live in a nation that provides education, or at least the opportunity for one to EVERYONE!Its thick headed folks that want to just cut out the inner city kids so our numbers can look better. Again quote all the stats you like and ignore reality, spend life as a hater, it suits you. Someone who hates and criticizes with little or no knowledge of what sgoing on, its called armchair quarterbacking, and you are the Tom Brady of it.

Incase you are wondering I have relatives that teache in Milwaukee and I VOLUNTEER each year at their school, and I am here to tell you that its not the teachers that need a lesson, its moms, dads, and families in poor neighborhoods that nedd parenting lessons. Unfortunately for you and the other macho "tough guys" that cite weakness as some kind of real argument to hammer public ed every chance they get, being tough doesn't educate inner city kids. It just creates new generations of criminals, but who knows maybe thats what you want?
As usual you have nothing substantive to say on this, and have no true point of view other than some faulty ideological one. I am just so sick of you bashing teachers, they are THE MOST IMPORTANT people in society IMO, and those who ruthlessly bash and criticize with little more than rhetorical poitless garble just make me wanna puke. When I am in Milwaukee next week volunteering my time, I will say merry christmas to all of the poor illiterate kids that you seem to hate so much.

Just remember technology is the key ,right Vat. Lock up 350 kids with a bunch of computers and no teachers, theyll figure it out.

Oh yes and BTW I DO THINK we need to spend more on education, TONS MORE, stop over funding a bloated military and starting war all over the world, and we will fund education how it should be.

"Instead you bash, and criticize those trying to make a middle class living
"

I bash the system, I love great teachers, they deserve hugevsalaries. But unions protect the weak and ineffective, good night fear.

"Vato, since it failed you so miserably, but MAYBE you should back up your statement with facts before making them."

Really fear? Talk about idiotic comments.

''A teacher has 300 less responsibilities than this guy.''
Could you please stand by that statement with some real facts to back them up mr Rhetoric machine? What "responsibilities" do you suppose he really has that aren't actually done by someone else? I am guessing that is some assumption made by you because you are a teacher hater with no real education to spek of. Again I understand why you hate the system Vato, since it failed you so miserably, but MAYBE you should back up your statement with facts before making them. Instead you bash, and criticize those trying to make a middle class living HONESTLY, and prop up those that are the "TAKERS" , those that take a percentage because they feel the market dictates it, I for one am here to tell you that type of class warfare will be coming to an end, one way or another. If CEO salaries and others keep skyrocketing while average salaries keep spiraling downwards, this country will face revolution like never seen before, mark my words!!

"Unfortunately because of the crap in the media we now have a large sector of society that thinks a solution is to starve schools of funding."

Again fear, we spend more money per pupil than many nations yet we produce illiterate kids.

Your ideas always involve spending more money without coming up with true solutions. You are a perfect example of what drives the weak.

"Calling educated people zombies to serve some stupid ideological point makes you look really bad"

I have blasted you to smithereens on this topic fear, you want me to do it again?

Schools are perfect places that teach kids that they cannot think for themselves. The teacher is looked at as the master and the student is a worthless mind.

I am guessing if any politician ran on the postings of TCB and the "jealousy" we all seem to have for these completely NON-exceptional CEOs like Bea, he would lose by a landslide. These people are OVER-Compensated thats all there is to it. Use inflated corporate profits all you like , doesn't jive , especially when HUGE amounts of that money is medicare payments (taxdollars).
Like Kiwo said before its not true free market capitalism, its CRONY Capitalism. I would also ask you to dispute any of the facts put forth by myself or the Doc Inside Job.
I NEVER said that this was some kind of partisan problem either, get your head out of the Republican clouds, they are all the same, they are all liable.I suggest you watch inside job instead of just find it on the web if you already haven't, and yes I am FULLY aware of Paulson, I just didn't have more time to cite more references.Clinton, Obama, Bush, Reagan, Bush(again) are all HUGELY responsible for this mess, and they do nothing to help any of us, only themselves(Cronies).
Please stop crying me a river for these CEOs , its not gonna work here or anywhere. Wage despairity is a HUGE problem in this nation, and its getting worse. Defend executive compensation till your blue in the face , cite all the profit percentages you like, I will tell ypu that there isnt a single CEO in the world that is worth 3000 times what a worker in production, or providing services for them makes.

"Please stop comparing the compensation of a teacher and that of this arrogant SOB. The highest paid Teacher in the district makes 300+ times less than this guy, so spare me the partisan hackery, and silly apples to oranges comparisons. Sometimes I wish I could curse at people on these blogs for their level of stupidity and ponderance for making ridiculous statements."

A teacher has 300 less responsibilities than this guy.

"Your constant sensationalization and hate for the sytstem is noted and not very bright. Sorry the system failed you so rterribly but hundreds of millions of Americans have gotten great education in the system that you hate. Calling educated people zombies to serve some stupid ideological point makes you look really bad"

Fear

Your idea of great education is having a teaching degreed person in a classroom and that's it. You know nothing about education. Just because you know teachers and are related to them does not mean squat boy.
Teacher Masters degrees in baters don't mean jack, jack. We trail the world in math, science, and reading yet teachers keep getting salary increases year after year. Talk about producing nothing. Thanks unions.
A certain number of graduates can't even read their diploma. It's about methods and teaching practices, which you don't know about. Sitting in a classroom to volunteer hardly qualifies you to speak on education. If we had the best system in the world, why are our graduation rates lower? Why can't we fill high need areas requiring tech skills?

TCB, you may be shocked to learn that the higher rates are for the top earners only.
.
Warren Buffet and his ilk didn't stop investing in the 70s when the tax rates were higher, and they still made a lot of money.
.
Either way, I'm in the 15% bracket. It's called a progressive tax structure. You can google that.

""What about the CEOs that lost their jobs? Did their pay increase? How about Brett Favre? I bet his pay dropped by 20 Million this year....compared to last year-but I bet that the salaries of NFL quarterbacks is up this year-compared to last year...""
What about those poor CEOS that lost their job? Did they have to sell one of their 5 mansions? Youll get no sympathy from me. Brett Favre? The Guy will be okay, normally when you rake in over a hundred million during his career so I amsure he will be able to feed his family oka y for about the next oh hundred years!
Please stop the comparisons of sports stars and these people. A sports pro has a special ability that makes them marketable. WHat do these people have to offer that is so special? What qualities? The "industry" has increased in size due to corruption in pricing rigged by Big Pharm, and Big Insurance. Mercy would have grown in this manor if Rudolph the Red nosed reindeer was CEO.
I also am with Mad City Dad their Non profit status should be revoked IMMEDIATELY and they should be coughing up taxes, NOW!!

Sure its from Inside Job TCB , my own context, and the numbers are TRUE!! Not lifted copied or pasted. Inside job is one of the best most well done docs in my lifetime. Helps regular people to understand the economy and how the banks are almost completely responsible for the economic crisis, not the "free-spending" democrats and republicans.
The POINT of my posts are to point out RIDICULOUS compensation for executives who do not deserve it, in ANY WAY shape or form. Many of them took millions of taxpayer funded bonuses in the form of TARP dollars and ran.
I am also looking for an argument about how Javon deserves this type of compensation, anything.

Vato- this subject HAS NOTHING to do with teachers or education. Your constant sensationalization and hate for the sytstem is noted and not very bright. Sorry the system failed you so rterribly but hundreds of millions of Americans have gotten great education in the system that you hate. Calling educated people zombies to serve some stupid ideological point makes you look really bad. Your theories about how to educate kids have been , just park them in front of computers etc.... No offense but I have yet to see anything but rhetroical crap from you about a broken system without ever recognizing that IN MANY ways we have the greatest system on Earth. Prioviding a chance for everyone to get an education. Unfortunately because of the crap in the media we now have a large sector of society that thinks a solution is to starve schools of funding.

The variables that our system faces are unlike any other in the world. Most countries DO NOT offer education as a right as we do, so when you look at your beloved rankings you might want to take that into account. I know that if you and your ilk had it your way, poor kids in urban areas wouldnt get an education, they would be cleaning the toilets and sweeping the floors at the affluent schools(Newt).

Please stop comparing the compensation of a teacher and that of this arrogant SOB. The highest paid Teacher in the district makes 300+ times less than this guy, so spare me the partisan hackery, and silly apples to oranges comparisons. Sometimes I wish I could curse at people on these blogs for their level of stupidity and ponderance for making ridiculous statements.

madcity,

Art Laffer would highly disagree. You might want to google him (and yet in the 1950s and 1960s google didnt exist)....

Never forget, that if you wish to donate your income to an effective rate of 90% you may donate your largess to the treasury....there is afterall a 60 trillion unfunded social security/medicare liability facing the USA. Every little bit will help...

Mooshoo,

I accept your surrender. Are you a fan June Cleaver?

Signed,

a clever fellow....

TCB - I would be fine with those tax rates. USA was pretty prosperous during the 50s and 60s until inflation got out of control and there were still plenty of rich people around back then..
.
I just remember what my dad used to say about high tax rates:"you just have to make enough money that it doesn't matter."

TCB, Keep on posting you cleaver fellow :}

factsplease,

The money article sites publicly traded companies. Ophra winfrey makes 300 Million per year-and earned twice as much as the highest paid CEO!

Multiple Hedge fund managers earn in excess of 200 Million per year. Warren Buffet paid himself a "salary" of 100K but he counted coupons in excess of 60 Million last year-not too bad....MCK is the largest healthcare company on earth-100 +billion in sales-I would expect the CEO earns a nice living-a salary of 12 Million-about half of what Prince Fielder is seeking every year..plus he excercised 120 Million in stock....(good thing uncle sam took his $24 Million cut first)...it just goes to show you that people can still earn a nice living in the US despite the recession...

dkush,

I am not asking you to change your beliefs. You may not believe Bea is worth a box of latex gloves-but unless you are on the compensation committee that dictates his annual comp package-then you are only emoting.

People who say that they cannot understand how CEOs in general get so many millions of dollars seem not to realize what a trivial thing they are saying. Most people do not understand most things. But that is no reason to have national corporate policy guided by their ignorance. Kush what you seek is social justice.

The question you should ask what is the alternative and how will that alternative affect the future?

If you owned a 33 Million corporation and the CEO turned it into a 1 billion corporation-what would you be willing to pay that person in salary and bonus? How about .5% of revenues? Would that be fair? There's another important issue. If one company has an effective CEO, it is not the only company that would like to have him/her on the payroll.

In order to keep him, the company must pay him/her enough so that he can't be lured elsewhere.

The most lucrative sector for CEO pay was health care, which included three of the nine top-paid executives, including the two most lucrative packages:
$145 million for John Hammergen of McKesson Corp. (MCK, Fortune 500), which distributes drugs and health and beauty care products to pharmacies; and
$98 million for Joel Gemunder, who retired in July 2010 as CEO of Omnicare (OCR, Fortune 500), which provides drugs to nursing homes and other long-term care facilities.
-
http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/15/news/com...

TCB: Please get a clue. Having different wages is one thing, having such a wide ridiculous gap is another. Sorry, I do not believe ANYONE is worth that much.

How sad and unfair. Yes, I said it unfair! Sorry, but we allowed this to happen. :(
http://news.yahoo.com/census-shows-1-2-p...

Mooshoo,

Bea still is required to file a WT4 form with the state of wisconsin. As for hubris-you believe a lack of hubris should be taxable? If you're not jealous but believe that Bea lacks humility-he should earn less? is this your reasoned response? Or are you simply emoting? How did you measure the years of hubris?

Why demonize CEOs? Demonize people whose power you want to usurp. That's the typical way totalitarians gain power. They give the masses someone to hate. Fairness, is a much mis-used word doesn't have any value when comparing wages. Thankfullywe live in a free society and have the opportunity to succeed according to our own dictates and choices. At least I do.

Bliss communications knows that promoting jealousy, fear and hate is an effective strategy for selling newspapers and selling advertising.

Because Mercy is non-profit TCB, it does not pay income taxes or property taxes. Kinda blows your arguments TCB. Keep writing TCB, your fables are funny.

Madcity,

Will "taxing the hell out of" Mercy have no impact on healthcare costs or no impact on the business or employees?

If your solution is to tax ourselves into prosperity-shouldnt the federal govt raise rates back to the Kennedy era from the current rate of 36% to 90%? Think of how prosperous things would be! And also raise the corporate rate from 35% to 90%...Yes, companies like GE with 14.2 Billion in PROFIT (not revenues) paid no income taxes-(actually received a 3.2 Billion $ tax benefit!)..

TCB, you plus too many to count.
*
Uh, he lives out of state you and Mercy owns the local residence.
*
And no, not jealous. Offended by years of hubris and arrogance.
*
Keep writing, I enjoy watching the hole get deeper.

Mooshoo,

Who are those bootlicker that you refer to? Lets hear some names? Its bonus time for many employees-perhaps you once worked in HR for mercy and see the salary information for those VPs of Brooms and Pans? What do these bootlickers earn? 200K-500K?

Again, your ire is that you are jealous, nothing more. Lets not assume that all city, county, school district employees use the services of Mercy-paying for their insurance premiums is not the same as delivering healthcare services....

You should open your own hospital-offer lower costs-hire away only the best employees (at lower salaries-because they are as altruistic as you are) and compete directly-on delivering quality healthcare at lower costs and directly tie your pay to your hospital's performance....when you become a success I will see you in the 1%....

Think of it this way. If Bea earns 2 million in salary-think of the taxes he directly contributes to the state and federal government? His annual state income tax bill is likely more than several of his employees salaries-and that money that you gave him (since you pay him)-goes to directly employ the local teacher that might lose his/her job-and healthcare because the school district has a 10 Million deficit and has determined that spending 10,000 per child is not enough...at 145K per month-how many teacher is Bea directly employing within the JSD? Perhaps Bea is due for a raise? (to save the jobs that will be cut to meet the budget)

If his salary doesn't affect health care costs, it can only mean that Mercyless' profits are so high that his millions in salary don't affect the budget.
.
Billion in income? Time to revoke the non-profit status here and tax the hell out of them.

JanesvilleCAn,

People come here (the USA) because its the land of opportunity.

And as for the ones that come because their countries are much worse, what? You want us to look like Mexico? I thought we wanted America to be great, for Americans?

Aux Contraire TCB. Your property taxes pay for City, County, School District employee health insurance premiums. Those premiums pay for health care at Mercy. If distance between those dots is too far you, I'll move them closer. How is this TCB (..)?
*
Did you just fall off the turnip truck, or are you one of the multitude of worthless boot licking Mercy VPs? You sound like the "VP of Brooms and Pans" who follows Javon around to pick up the parade droppings?
*
Recommend you read KiowaMohican's comment below before you start with the free market economy argument. But you are correct with the Demand Economy argument TCB. Javon Demand's it, and the Board of Dirctor's give it.

TCB, I think a lot of them come because they know they have a skill set that enables them to do very well here. A skill set that they got because they did NOT have an American education.

JanesvilleCAN,

What about the CEOs that lost their jobs? Did their pay increase? How about Brett Favre? I bet his pay dropped by 20 Million this year....compared to last year-but I bet that the salaries of NFL quarterbacks is up this year-compared to last year...

Why do you suppose 1 in 2 people are poor? Is it because of Bea's salary? Or is it because of the choices these people make when they are young? Is the 1 person a college graduate? What marketable skills do these 1 in 2 have?

If its soo bad in the USA why does the rest of the world risk their life to emigrate to live here?

Mooshoo,

Nonsense-no incentive to control his salary? The board determines his salary, the board could offer him 50k per year and Bea is free to accept it or deny it. Its a competitive salary based on industry comparables. This is the way it works in a market economy. What would you prefer? That some govt bureacrat determine his salary-and yours? No thanks. Thats called a command economy-it doesnt work, we live and work in a demand economy.

The 50% of the US healthcare market that is paid for by the US taxpayers called Medicare and Medicaid is only 1 part of the revenue stream that creates operating revenues for Mercy Healthcare. You currently are free to pay for your healthcare in cash, purchase health insurance who then negotiate payments and rates with Hospitals and providers on your behalf, or choose no healthcare.

Your property taxes do not pay his salary either. Property taxes pay for many things including Streets, fire protection, police departments, schools, colleges–property taxes are the largest single funding source for these community services.

This story is about jealousy-nothing more. The average person cannot comprehend that someone could be paid 3 million or 14 million-provided they are not throwing a football or hitting a baseball or making a movie. The story is about comparative worth and its easy to assume that simply because healthcare costs are high-that a CEO of a company that employs 3500 people is not worth his/her salary-whatever it is. The market disagrees. These mundane facts spoil the drama surrounding Beas salary.

Just read a story about how CEO pay went up 27% last year, and now 1 in 2 people are poor or low income. Is this the America we want? We are making a ruling class for ourselves and I'm guessing that NONE of the people reading this will be part of it. I wonder how the nurses, aides, maintenance staff, and other service workers at Mercy feel about Bea making so much more than they do while having much less effect on patient care. A new front door? REALLY?!?!

No TCB you do not pay my salary, but you and I pay part of Mr. Bea's salary. The cost of health care, including Mercy's is increasing at exhorbinant rates. Our (mine and yours TCB) taxes are paying for Medicare and Medicaid billed by the Mercy System. Where do you think many of the School District, City, County, Blackhawk Tech employees go to get health care. Our (mine and yours TCB) property taxes pay for their ever increasing cost of health insurance because Mercy has no incentive to control its cost or Javon's salary.

Did this guy really say "My salary isn't going to affect your health care costs" and then boast about increasing revenues from 33 million to 1 billion? Where does his worship think all that money came from if not "your health care costs?" Just asking.

mooshoo,

Do I pay your salary-I dont believe I do? ANd are you a board member sitting on the Mercy Compensation committee? If you're not-then you dont pay Bea-directly or indirectly....

fear and rhetoric,

Your posted is lifted from Inside Job:

http://free-documentaries-online.com/wat...

has nothing to do with Javon Beas salary. In fact Obama's fingerprints are on the subprime scandal outlines in Inside Job-these same people worked for Clinton (Rham Emanuel) and made millions from it-and worked and advised the obama.

Where is hedge fundie John Paulson in your post? He made $3.7 Billion in 1 year shorting the housing crisis? Do you know who he is? Maybe hes not mentioned in the review of Inside Job...

There is no defense Javon. It is what it is. You get it, we pay for it. The Gazette gave you the blank slate and you filled in the blanks for us. And I would add, poorly done. What we find most appalling is your arrogance and intellectual dishonesty.

" and the CEOs like this embicile at mercy thinking they are above the fold, dont deserve anything, because they produce NOTHING!"

Fear

And you are worried about 3.6 million in salary? I can say the same about the educational system. Some teachers think they are above the line, they don't deserve anything because they don't produce anything but robotic children who are taught where they belong in the pyramid.

Because they are a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation their surplus of approximately 17 million can not distributed in the form of dividends as it could be in a for-profit business, but instead must be re-invested in the corporation.

FYI, 2009 revenues approx. 422 million, expenses approx. 405 million. This is from their most recently filed form 990 available at http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/20...

"It doesn't make any sense to say "My salary is not affecting patient costs" - can someone knowledgeable please explain this?"
.
It's just spin.
It's probably true if he was paid $100,000 a year, that it would not do much for patient costs. However; the statement is very misleading. Think about it. If Mercy takes in say $100 million in revenues for the year (just making up numbers here) and being "non profit", then obviously you have to offset all $100 million of revenues in expenditures (costs). If you did not do that, you would be showing profit. If their revenues to expenditures are truly balanced as it should be for a non profit entity, then if his salary was cut by say $1 million, you would consequently be showing $1 million in profit, sine employee compensation is all part of your expenditures. That $1 million of profit could be used to pay doctors, nurses, or any other employee more, to offset the profits to zero. Or you could simply cut patient costs...It's simply a matter of having no excess revenue if it's non profit.
.
The whole sham here is the non profit designation. Non profit status is given normally because you are doing benevolence to the community. IMO you are violating that public trust when you use your non profit status to pay board members, and executives, millions of $$$'s. If it's a full profit corporation that is totally different. When you are non profit, the public is granting you tax breaks and other breaks, all based on the premise of you serving the public trust in a magnanimous manner. When you pay executives exorbitant amounts of $$'s, shielded by this non profit fossad, you violate that trust IMO, and the non profit designation should be revoked.

poobah:
Also was a FUNNY comment you made earlier in the thread!
One of the few times I was truly laughing from a posting!

pohbah:
Yes, I enjoyed the link. No doubt the right will accuse you of being a left winger for posting a link to MSNBC now, haha.
.
I think the guy hits it with his "rant" though. You really need a President to just throw ALL of congress under the bus. If Obama came on TV and just threw em all to the wolves, and laid out his vision, I think he'd rally a LOT of independent public support. Instead, he has just engaged in the same old partisan garbage, and is just right in line with the whole corrupt system. You really need a maverick like Roosevelt was to fix the problems. Or the very much more obscure, John Tylor! A man who took office shortly after William Henry Harrison won the office, and died soon after from pneumonia. Tyler went against his Whig party on almost everything, simply because he believed their ideas were wrong for the country...He really was one of the most honorable Presidents we have had. True leadership will do what is best for the country, and not for their party. Tyler was defeated, as his party totally abandoned him. Nonetheless he made many diplomatic and civil accomplishments in his short tenure as President for that time.
.
Also notice that rant was made on the day the market was up HUGE (you see the dow up 400 some in the corner there!)..HAHA..Of course, all these market moves are almost 100% the result of central bank announcements. That day was the day our fed agreed to essentially bailout the defunct EU...PRINT MORE $$$$ baby..Nothing spurs the markets like MORE FREE $$$$$-liquidity pumped into the system. It's beyond hilarious to hear these analysts try to claim these big moves up as confidence, or economic recovery..It's ALL the result of the central bank pyramid scheme. The more money they print, the more the markets go wild! The other day King Bernancki announced QE3 was on delay now..Less $$$ printed = market sells off.

I don't understand how taking a smaller salary wouldn't reduce the costs the patients pay for health care? If the hospital can reduce the cost of an asprin by $3 - the patient pays less.

It doesn't make any sense to say "My salary is not affecting patient costs" - can someone knowledgeable please explain this?

fear, kiowamohican and others. This video is a bit off-topic, but related as well to this article in many ways. The video is Dylan Ratigan finally having had enough of the partisan bickering on meaningless issues and unleashes on money in politics, Congress, the President, Wall Street, et al. I think it is priceless and right on the mark. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIcqb9hHQ...

With AIG, I think you forgot Hank Greenberg.
As I recall he resigned as CEO, unloaded all his stock near $50 a share, and MIRACULOUSLY the company went under shortly after, and the stock to mere pennies...All the while he claimed he knew nothing of its coming demise...You can't make this stuff up if you try!

fearandrhetoric:
You put some detail on what I was saying in previous postings.
A consultant is a complete SCAM..Funny how the GOP leading candidate is a former "consultant" to Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae!!
.
As far as the SEC, I think I give this GREAT link every time the porn obsessed SEC is mentioned!!
http://markcrispinmiller.com/2010/04/sec...
.
Also love to hear those making this illogical: "that's what the market pays them" arguement. A true capitalist-free market I am in total support of, and agreement with. When you have this CRONY CAPITALIST system, it's hardly free. If a CEO is truly payed on performance, then perhaps all these "free marketeers" on this thread can explain to me how the former CEO of Merryl Lynch, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Citi Bank, GM, Lehman Bros, Bear Stears, MF Global (and on down the line forever)..Why ALL are multi millionaires as we speak??..
Even though they BANKRUPTED, ran the company recklessly, and into the ground, they still made million because of performance, and free market principals?...riiiiight
.
I will defend TRUE free markets all day (which is why I never will question a sports athlete, or actor, making millions)...The system of pay for these corporate giant CEO's is NOT one of free market! It's one of OBVIOUS access-influence...AKA: CRONY CAPITALISM!

Some psychologists claim that using cocaine stimulates the same part of yoour brain as winning/earning money , of course they are only professionals, what do they know?

A bigger point here is that investment banks , insurance, and ratings companies cranked out HUGE bonuses and salary in short times eventually is what helped thes companies bite the dust. When it came to pay the piper they were broke, and the CEOs like this embicile at mercy thinking they are above the fold, dont deserve anything, because they produce NOTHING!

Anyone ever heard of a credit default swap? AIG essentially allowed HUGE amounts of people to insure investments, even if they werent the investor!! Its like letiing 50 different families insure 1 home! It works great forthe insurance company until the house is destroyed, then they have to pay anyone who bougt insurance. So when these risky CDOs went bad they were up a creek w/o a paddle.

Joeseph Casano Head of AIG FP made 315 million dollars. Look up St Denis, he resigned first.

Richard Fuld CEO of Lehman Brothers Financial , the largest subprime lender, Made 485 million dollars , anyone remember what happened to them?

The SEC conducted no investigations of ANY investment banks during the financial bubble 2001-2007. They reduced their staff of enforcement from 146 to 1!!
In 2004 the SEC LIFTED the leverage limits on Investment banks!! Allowing them to borrow 33 to 1. Meaning a 3% decrease in their asset bas would leave them INSOVENT.

Linking them all together was the securitization food chain:
Home Buyers,Lenders,Investment banks, and investors.
WHen local banks started selling mortages to investment banks , they started bundling mortages together with student loans, Car loans , and even credit card debt!! These are Called Collateralized Debt Obligations(CDO)And get a triple A rating , essentially as high as govt securities.

Phill Gramm a senator who was hugely responsiable for Glass Stegal going away, went on to serve on the board of Enron with his wofe. Larry Summers a clinton advisor made 20 million dollars as a CONSULTANT to a hedge fund that relied on derivatives. Bil HR 5660 banned regulation of derivatives. When GWB took office there were 5 investment banks Goldman Sachs
Morgan STanley
Lehman brothers
Merriyl lynce
Bear Stearns

2 financial conglomerates
Citigroup
JP Morgan

3 securities Insurance companies
AIG
MBIA
AMBAC
and 3 ratings agencies
Moodys
Standard and poors
FItch
All working together to rig the markets.

JP morgan caught bribing govenment iofficials,
Riggs Bank Laundered money for athe Chilean dictator, Credit Suisse laundered money of Iran in violation of US sanctions(536 million fine),Citi group helped funnel 100 million in drug money outr of Mexico, Freddie mac fined 125 million for accounting fraud , Fannie may fined 400 million for accounting fraud and
overstated its earnings by 10 billion dolars.

Citibank, JPmorgan, and Merriyl lynch were fined 385 million for helping Enron conceal fraud.
Then the derivatives trading began.

Dont forget the fact that the SEC did nothing during the tech boom/bust, costing investors 5 trillion dollars.
The funniest thing about that is the analysts that were helping to sell stocks like infospace, and excite to investors, and then being quoted behind the scenes as talking about how terrible they were.
So prosecutors stepped in and investigated fraud propigated by investment banks. So instead of go to court, they settled. In December 2002 10 investment banks settled
Bear Stearns $80 million
Credit Suisse $200mil
Deutsche Bank $80 million
JP morgan $80 million
Lehman Brothers $80 million
Merriyl Lynch $200 million
Morgan Stanley $125 million
UBS $80 million
Goldman Sachs $110 mil
Citigroup $400 mil
Total of 1.4 billion and promised to change.

Thousands of S&L executives went to jail, one of them was, Charles Keating. He hired an economist named Alan Greenspan for 45,000 dollars , then he published a paper stating that Mr Keating was a sound management guy who could be trusted investing his customers money,Keating went to prion. Greenspan was appointed the chair of the Fed and began even more de-regulation.
By the late 1990s there were only a few investment banks left making them so big and powerful that if they were to fail they would threaten the entire system. Clinton helped repeal Glass-Stegal and the merger that created citigroup.(Gramm-leach-bliley act) One of the advisors to the Clinton administration Robert Rubin , whom helped lobby for this law , would later make 126 million as Vice chairman of Citigroup, the very company he helped create.

Lets have some fun with this one.
The global recession that symbolically began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers and AIG cost the world tens of TRILLIONS of dollars and left upwards of 30 million people unemployed, and doubled the national debt of the US. The crisis was NO accident.
Ready?
After the great depression the US had 40 years of growth, because of tight regs. Most investment banks were small private partnerships with the partners putting up the money, hence they had an interest in the success of their investments.
In 1972 Morgan Stanley had 110 employees capital of 12 million, in 2007 they had over 50,000 employees capital of several billion and offices all over the world. They went public and began gambling with everyone elses money.
In 1981 Ronald Reagan chose the Sec of the Treasury the CEO of Merriyl Lynch, Don Regan. Hmmmmm, curious? That is when the financial de-regulation began. In 1982 they de-regulated S&L companies allowing them to make risky investments with depositors money, by the end of the decade hundreds of S&Ls went under, costing taxpayers 124 BILLION dollars of their life savings.

Who cares what he made in 2009. Bea didnt take money from you to enrich himself. All jobs have a market clearing wage and his happens to be high $. Stories like this are only "news" because so many people who dont really understand the healthcare business model assume they could run Mercy (such as the cogent post by onedayatatime).

Those who are complaining about Bea's pay package-what is stopping you from becoming a hospital CEO?

""I'd say the $400,000 we pay Obama has been a waste of money.

He has taken this country into the toilet.
"" Vato- the coountry was already down the toilet well before Barry was ever elected , but go on and blame who ever you like.

I am usually the last person to criticize someone's compensation package. I've had long discussions with friends who think that, for example, no one should be paid over $100,000 per year, that it is just wrong. One example I like to use is that of a skilled surgeon, a truly priceless one-of-a-kind professional who can do things no other surgeon can do. What would it be worth to you to have this surgeon operate on your loved one, if it's a life or death surgery? Clearly this surgeon has limited time, so there must be a way to prioritize her schedule to mazimize her value to society. Perhaps her compensation is that mechanism.
But all that being said, there seems to be a palpable disconnect between regular employee pay and exorbitant CEO salaries. This is not the free market! This is something else entirely. I could be wrong, but I cannot see that this CEO is worth the kind of money he is making. Sorry Bea, I just don't see it. Whatever decisions you have made in your tenure, whatever leadership you have provided, whatever vision you have articulated and whatever results you can claim - you haven't done it by yourself and the cost-cutting and economizing at every step are given the lie by your own obscene gain. You really should be ashamed of yourself.

NoLeftist said, "Having dealt with several boards..."
-
I'm sure you have, but the article isn't referring to 2x4's and 2x6's.

Lets not forget all Mercy does for this town/county, Homeless shelters, Options, all free if your in need..

To clueless lefties (but I repeat myself): Mercy is a non-profit. Nobody is forcing people to use their services, unlike union bosses, and their board of directors is free to pay as much as or as little as they like. If you believe that you know better than their directors how the organization should pay its executives, you should make your case.

Having dealt with several boards, and in contrast to many Democratic politicians, I can say none of them enjoy paying more than they need to for services. You should offer some board training to these people you evidently consider to be idiots, offering to be paid as a percentage of what you save them with your deep insights on health system governance.

vataloco:
"I'd say the $400,000 we pay Obama has been a waste of money. He has taken this country into the toilet."

I could say that about Big Money also, and they make way way more than our president does.

When chart errors affect the quality of care you receive, that is not what I would consider to be a good health system. Mercy is/was trying to focus on being "big" and not necessarily "best". For this the quality of services has suffered. They were much better before they became so profitable. It's a shame.

jtliszew-Glad you have had good experiences. I have had a few good experiences, but the bad has been VERY bad and therefore very memorable!

Factsplease- I use Mercy for all my needs and they have done a great job. This is just my opinion and many others may disagree.

Remember, Mercy's profits come at the expense of other areas we could be spending our money.

I'd say the $400,000 we pay Obama has been a waste of money.

He has taken this country into the toilet.

jtliszew-"great"? Have you ever been treated at Mercy? We have a large and profitable health care system, but "great" is pushing it.

Why not be paid that much. He has taken this hospital from 33 million to over a a billion. All the jobs created. This adds to the economy and keeps everyone working. I am sure that many of you would take this money if you had a chance. Get over it and be proud that Janesville has a great health system.

Thanks witaxman for the clarification. So the housing would be included in his compensation package and would be taxed as income. But he still wouldn't be paying property taxes since his "homes" are property of a non-profit. Except his home in MN which is probably in his own name and would be taxed there. Since he isn't directly contributing to the tax base for this community through property taxes, I think a big donation to the schools would be nice since he's been avoiding property taxes for all these years.

keep in mind that it was Mercy's BOD who sets the pay level, blame them. If someone offered you that kind of money, would you turn it down? I doubt it. I'm not saying it's right, but the BOD had to approve Bea's compensation package. and for those of you who think his housing and other perks are not taxed, WRONG! everything he makes is subject to both fed & WI income taxes, and also MN taxes since I understand he is a MN resident (no reciprocity anymore). his pension might also be taxable depending upon the type of plan Mercy is using to pay him.

it may not affect "your healthcare", but it does affect my salary and my raise that I didn't get. So it does affect my healthcare and mental health.

Older, is your position that if everyone does it, that makes it good? Everyone might use detergent and soaps that pollute, but not everyone dumps bleach or used motor oil into storm sewers. My point being that there are degrees to everything. I have no problem with someone making a comfortable wage that is commensurate with the work, my problem is with the huge excess that some revel in. The gluttony, if you will.

And anyone wonders why the costs of healthcare keeps rising?! Notice how not only his compensation rises but also the profits. All of that is paid to by us, and none of it adds to the quality of the healthcare.

I thought you guys were upset with all the teachers and other public service employees because of their high wages and cushy benefits. Which one is it going to be?

I have chosen to not take higher paying jobs in the past, but I still try and get the most I can in the job I'm at. How many of those "MANY" people have turned down raises? Choice of career and not taking what you are offered in salary in the job you are at to reduce income are two different things.

So if his house and suite are owned by Mercy then all of his housekeeping and lawn maintenance is also done by Mercy...basically more tax-free income for him.
-
In the last sentence, he is saying that if he were replaced, it wouldn't cost as much as it costs to have him (because he is so awesome), so maybe it's time to save some money and get him out of there! Bring in someone who focuses on patient care and not just money! How about it board???

Um, I know MANY people who have chosen not to take the most money that they can out of life. A lot of people choose careers that help people rather than make more. We don't all worship the almighty dollar.

How can Javon be blamed for his salary? Who does not try to get the highest compensation they can? The BOD gave him that package, they hold ultimate responsibility it.

I think there is a disconnect with reality that becomes necesary when you are sitting on a pile of money that big. Call it "hedonistic adaptation", call it the "prosperity doctrine", whatever, people either naturally within themselves, or by influence from others, start to imagine a justification for their greed. There is no justification for one person to have several million in the bank, while several million children in this world are near or at starvation. Not even if you aren't trying to follow Christ. Just if you are a human with empathy, there is no good enough reason to waste that much, to let that much resource sit in the bank and rot or else be spent on luxury goods when it could go to helping your fellow man. If this sounds like sour grapes, it's not. I grew up poor, we would have been dirt poor if we could have afforded some dirt, but I am mid to upper middle class now, though we live on a very tight budget because we look to our and our childrens future. I want for nothing, my kids want for nothing, and I am able to stay home the way that I feel a wife and mother should (though I feel strongly that that choice should be left up to each woman) so I don't need anything from these rich people, what I ask from them, I ask for the truly needy in this world. They will probably never give it, but I will never stop saying that they should.

poo..but apologizing to someone means you are human and USUALLY means the person accepts the apology and moves on and doesn't continue ranting on the person who apologized, counting the words that follow the apology. But I guess you are "special".

"The house he lives in on Cortland is owned by Mercy per Rock Co. tax information. Nice perk."
.
That was the comment I was referring to...
So he has a house outside of Mercy that is owned by Mercy? NO DOUBT exempt from property tax being "non profit".
This gets better and better the more you learn!
How did the city sign off, and approve, that one???
What a farce

Funny to learn that he has living quarters at Mercy.
Have to look into that a bit further, but no doubt, that is another huge tax advantage.
I have no doubt everything he has done is completely within the law, and much like anyone with that sort of income, they simply hire top notch accountants, and attorney's, to take advantage of the tax code, and law.
.
As I posted before..."NON profit" often ='s TOTAL SCAM! It's often quite telling when you look at the books of a non profit entity (if you can even see the books) and find the front office is just miraculously making millions off all their "benevolence" . The public really need to wake up on this sham. Non profit is one of the biggest ruses out there. Even organizations like United Way and the Red Cross once had scandals of executives making exorbitant amounts of salary. This stuff really needs to be exposed, because it violates the public trust.

Although its hard to pick just one, the worst part is that time and again, I see that Mercy is one of the worst paying employers in town. Clerical jobs that pay $11-13/hr elsewhere are $9 at Mercy. To work at the front desk of Urgent Care in the evenings, serving on the front line with whomever or whatever walks in (think blood, guts, drugs, etc), someone with experience may be offered $10/hr.

Meanwhile Mr. Bea is enjoying his MN elk ranch 29 days of 30 per month while Mercy employees do not only Mercy's work, but ranch business as well. Is this not illegal, seriously? Rowland McClellan, chairman of the board, who are your cohorts and what do you earn from this gig besides bad karma?

I'm willing to bet the Mr. Bea has a tri-cornered hat hanging in his mansion.

Keep up the good work defending this guy's absurd pay level my Patriots. Of the Rich, By the Rich and For the Rich - it is the American way.Beautiful

That's the worst part, when Mercy starts losing market share, he won't cut HIS pay, no he'll cut jobs. Because that's the American way!

Well if Mr. Bea's salary isn't paid by patients....he won't mind terribly when everyone starts getting their care at the new hospital... I know that is where I am going.

Your sickness pays for Javon's gross profits.

As much as this makes me sick the real problem is the board of Mercy that allows this to happen. This could be stopped by them anytime.

Highly compensated people people are paid large salaries either because they are nearly impossible to replace, like Aaron Rodgers, or because they have the abillity to screw others out of money and are compensated for that, like most ceos. I am sure at the same time this guy is collecting huge amounts of money he is trying to figure out ways to keep the workers from getting anymore. Most people that have posted here seem to be against this type of compensation yet most cry foul when the president suggests taxing these people at pre bush levels. With republicans in control of government the compensation gap between the ceos and the workers will only increase.

Parker

You just described a bunch of politicians, except they really screw things up in comparison to this guy......

Reading this just gives me a stomach ache. He is rarely at the hospital, in his 4th floor suite, how could that make him worthy of this type of salary. How noble would it be to stand up and defend your salary if you were the CEO of a place with up to date equipment, state of the art machines, and top-notch staff. thats where all the $$ comes from, cutting corners on matched savings, benefits, pay raises and cutting the budget for needed equiptment for us to do our jobs.

Mercy Health System's Board of directors should be ashamed of themselves!! they approved this.
I wish they could be the ones deciding what all others working their tails off on a daily basis at these facilities get paid too. Working extra hard, picking up duties of positions that have been eliminated didn't bring me to any extra pay, just extra work, and a "watch your overtime" scolding. This is shameful of more than just Bea...name the board members too, see what they have to say about it!

"what I built" seems like he did this by himself. I would think that many others were involved at a much lower compensation.

His salary doesn't affect our health care costs? Well, let us test his theory. Let's not pay him for five years and see what happens. What a douche.

Wow! Seems as though Javon does the work of five professionals. He must be a freakin' android. Perhaps he found a way to curve space-time to give himself extra hours per day to work or maybe he doesn't need to sleep.
-
Usually when people make that kind of money it's because they've invested their own resources, risked much, made wise choices, and been fortunate. That applies just fine to entrepreneurs and business owners, people like Jim Grafft and Ken Hendricks, but it doesn't seem fitting for an "employee" of a non-profit organization to "earn" that magnitude of compensation.

This would be laughable if it weren't so pathetic. Yes, individuals should be compensated fairly for work/leadership well done. But Bea's income is obscene (definition of obscene: "So large in amount as to be objectionable or outrageous.") There's too much of this behavior in America today.

Even as a believer in free enterprise I feel this is so lopsided. I wish Bea and the Mercy Board could understand the ill-will this greed cultivates.

Health care is about taking care of peoples' real medical needs--NOT building an empire.

My mom went in last year and was gone a month and 2 days later from a Staph infection, so Javon PLEASE do everyone a favor and have all your medical work done in Janesville. Then they will be able to hire 2 or 3 people to do your job at a more reasonable COMBINED salary.

Someone with more brains than Javon should have informed him that you should never attempt to defend greed. It is ineffectual and results in making individuals trying to justify the matter appear even more pathetic. Bea's comments and those who are defending his salary certainly bear that out.

"If I die tomorrow, I know the board wouldn't—if they replace me with one person to do all those functions—be paying at that level because someone would be coming in to run what I built."
....ummm, do us all a favor.

donnaw said, "poo..did you just post the word sorry??? OMG. Remember we don't accept sorry for mistakes. Your ego doesn't allow an apology to be accepted! So why should anyone accept your apology!"
-
donnaw, your 98 word "apology" contained one word relevant to your apology, "sorry", and then a 90+ word, totally unrelated rant about Obama. My apology said, "Sorry, jv93" not "Sorry, donnaw" and gave an explanation of what may have gone wrong with the link I provided and suggested an alternative method of reaching the document. No rants.

So he pays no property taxes because Mercy is a non-profit? This just keeps getting sicker.

The most profound part of this article has to be the last two paragraphs. He is a narcissistic megalomaniac, if there ever was one. Imagine what he could build if he allowed someone to help.

Those of you in the "System", make sure you kiss the ring. For King Javon has granted you the opportunity to labor in his kingdom.

The house he lives in on Cortland is owned by Mercy per Rock Co. tax information. Nice perk.

Lots of comments removed on this one, too bad we can't read them.

"My salary isn't going to affect your health care cost," Bea said.
***
Bea obviously thinks people are stupid. Unless his gets paid by his aunt every month, his salary is a huge expense that shows up in every patient billing.

"Mercy paid Bea $3.6 million in total compensation"
***
That makes Bea part of the problem. It shows how the profit motive can lead to distortions in an already burdened system. Everything Bea does is meant to raise profits for Mercy. Everything. The problem with that, of course, is that nobody can afford to pay the piper anymore. Nobody. Not insurance companies, not the government. Folks like Bea are the ones driving the whole system into a ditch.

witaxman
"deferred pension payments of just more than $1.6 million."
or NOT taxed!!!!

This guys ego and sense of entitlement along with his self worth is obscene. Whenever I'm around someone like this I can't wait to take a shower. Whatever a persons' contribution to society is it shouldn't make his great, great, great grandkids also filthy rich.

futurerichguy> there is no reciprocity between MN and WI anymore. MN cancelled it at the end of 2009, so whatever Bea's salary that is earned in WI is taxed in WI

The house he lives in is owned by Mercy. Hmm.

"In our society, inequality stems mainly from immoral values. We undervalue hard work and overvalue societal ranking. If you are an auto worker, we say that you are overpaid, but if you went to Harvard and work for a bank (hospital) there is no limit to your justified income".

I meant to say does he still live on the top floor of Mercy?
futurerichguy, I see you stated he lives in Minnesota but I know he had (has) an apartment on the top floor of Mercy.

If anybody worked so hard as to EARN this sum of money they would be worn down to a nub after 1 year. This guy defends it by saying how hard he works? :)
.
Anybody from Mercy reading this? Does King Bea still on the top floor of the hospital? If so, his income is even more tasty because he has no living expense.

vatoloco, Bea lives in Minnesota. With income tax reciprocity between MN and WI, he pays zero dollars in Wisconsin income tax.

packolies,
"the not for profit bit though"
This means all the money is put back into the company. When you pay people an income that is not profit.
I was looking at my dental chart for 1975. the dentist actually did the work. A cleaning check-up and floride treatment..$20.
I do agree I see why people are BK if the guy makes 3+ million a year. Does seem excessive to me and how does that not affect cost of care?

The hits this guy is taking doesn't even compare to the hits GB Rogers has taken. If he wants to get the cr** pounded out of him, maybe he would have earned it then.

Albert Pujols, now that guy makes some serious dough.....

Just think how many people get free benefits in WI from this guy's taxes......if you look at it that way...........

Justifying excess is a fine art. Anyone who thinks they don't throw a few bucks to this guy every time they walk in the door at a Mercy clinic is misinformed.

wonders, people voluntarily pay for football. This man makes his money off of sick people with no choice but to pay whatever the charges. I don't begrudge Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or anyone else who makes their wealth be CREATING a product that people CHOOSE to spend their money on. Even actors and athletes make their money from people who CHOOSE to spend it on entertainment. Healthcare is a totally different thing.
-
It makes me sick that while people have to make the choice of death or bankruptcy, hospital and insurance company CEOs are taking home millions and millions of dollars and building fancy new buildings with the very money that is bankrupting sick people!!!!

Seem like most are ripping on a guy because he makes millions, what about the Wisconsin Badger head football coach< or Green Bay’s Rogers? How about some of those guys?
I don’t think many will jump on Wisconsin football heroes. I say if he can negotiate that sort of money let him have it. I KNOW if any of you or me could do that we would too, and don’t anyone try to say no to that.
Let me ask one simple question, if YOU win the BIG lotto, would you give all of it back because it made you millions of dollars? Don’t even BEGIN to tell me how different that is, you then are a millionaire and in the same company of others you despise.

Where these &$*%#@ people get the idea that they are worth that much money is beyond me!! Sorry, no one is worth or should be making that much. No wonder there is so much greed in this world.

Sad that the Gazette is allowing all of the RUDE comments that I am reading. Comments are even being directed toward his family. - time to CLOSE THE COMMENTS HERE.

As much as i am an advocate for healthcare expansion and Mercy....cmon Javon...really? is anyone worth 3 million a year? 600k isnt enough?

poo..did you just post the word sorry??? OMG. Remember we don't accept sorry for mistakes. Your ego doesn't allow an apology to be accepted! So why should anyone accept your apology!

what is the average income of the patients coming into the hospital? How much do they have to pay for services after insurance pays there share? I would probably defend myself too if I was robbing you blind!

Sorry, jv93. The link must be time sensitive. Go to www.guidestar.org and search for Mercy Health System and then click on the Form 990 tab. Or Google for their Form 990.

Mercy Health Systems has tax-exempt status. We have every right to complain about Bea's salary. That's not "communist", it's common sense.
.
More accurately we should be questioning the TAX CODE!! This is just another example of a total farce, of how anyone clever can take advantage of the THOUSANDS of loopholes in the current tax code we have.
.
Non profit organizations are often a MASSIVE RUSE for scamming the system and avoiding taxation. It's a great fossid because no one wants to question a good good non profit organization. Especially if they are claiming to do benevolent work (for sick, homeless, ext)...The problem is the SCAMPERS take advantage of this. They use the non profit designation to pay executives millions...Keep in mind profits are gains AFTER paying costs; like compensation to employees..Great way to avoid having profit is to simply pay your executives millions.. These non profit designations also often give tax exemptions on property, fees, and all sorts of other breaks in the tax laws. People really need to wake up to this SCAM. If you look deep in to many non profit entities, or charities, you will often find MANY irregularities. Where millions go to the board, and "consultants" (ANYTIME you hear consultant, it's just code for $$$$$$ GRAB-SCAM..Pay someone, usually a family member, or friend, huge compensation for doing NOTHING). Non profit business, and charity, are often some of THEE most corrupt business out there. They just use their benevolent image as a big ruse to deceive the public..

page not found

Being a non-profit corporation, Mercy Health System's Form 990 is a public document made available by the IRS and can be found on many websites. This is a link to their most recently available Form 990 on GuideStar. -- http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/20......
-
Page 17 of their Form 990 shows compensation of officers and highly compensated employees.

yes, and many of the lower level workers get min wage and no health insurance.
it is pretty sad when the employees can't get health ins.

No one truly earns that much money...he has well-placed people doing most of the work. And the beautiful new entrance...all facade! My friend was just a patient on the 5th floor. Have you seen that place?! It is disgusting: dirty carpets, peeling paint, nothing healthy to occupy someone's time. I guess Mr. Bea thinks mentally ill people don't rate a nice place to stay when they have to be hospitalized. Shame on you.

Mercy Health Systems has tax-exempt status. We have every right to complain about Bea's salary. That's not "communist", it's common sense.

Oh, look, he's also the President of this company.
"Health Consult Inc in Oronoco, MN is a private company categorized under Health Care Management. Our records show it was established in 1995 and incorporated in Minnesota."
---
I wonder how much money he is making from his "for profit" business???

http://www.zabasearch.com/query1_zaba.ph...
shows where you can ask him questions, before his morning coffee

Mercy Health System is terrible. He should not be making that much.

Of course he defended his salary, no one would expect him to say he was overpaid and overcompensated. Yet that's EXACTLY what he is.

"My salary isn't going to affect your health care cost," Bea ---------------- The real question to ask is why he believes that to be true? Is there that much capital fluff, cushion and waste in the private health care system where the CEO can earn millions a year regardless of the price of their product AND where they are the only business sector expanding at a time when everyone else lost their shirt. Is this success or piracy?

Amen Rocky! Since a chunk of his money is coming from medicare and medicaid (TAX MONEY) and the hospital is exempt from property and most other taxes with it's "non-profit" status, I'd say he owes the taxpayers a refund! Saving the schools would be a great place to start!

"My salary isn't going to affect your health care cost," Bea said. Possible, but I doubt it. What it more likely does affect is your health care quality. Mercy has cut corners in their janitorial staff--the burden picked up by nurses. Hence, less than sanitary conditions. My father went in to Mercy in 1998 with intermittent bleeding. He obtained a staph infection there. He never came out alive. Swell. Pay the guy more!

Perhaps he should donate a year's salary to the Janesville Schools - that would pretty much plug a big part of the budget hole.....and employ about 30-40 people. Nobody is worth $1 million or more per year. Period.

...and he'd like us to think his salary has no affect on healthcare. Really?

Just think of how great the patient treatment would have been if he would have focused on patient care instead of growing the revenue stream. I dont want to go to a billion dollar health care facility I want to go to a place that actually improves my healthcare.

An to think that some think teachers are over payed

I just love all these comments about how someone is paid too much from the perspective of someone who settled for less, and they is consumed with envy...........to the point of selling out their own country.

I don't hate excellent teachers...I dislike the ineffectives ones.

He doesn't owe anyone anything..that's the beauty of it......

How much has the occupy movement cost in law enforcement wages?

Vatoloco, seriously? Take a moment and look at the title of the article you are posting to. You have completely missed the mark in more ways than one.

Mercy can pay Bea and build all kinds of new buildings but they can't keep good doctors or nurses because they refuse to pay them what they can make elsewhere and patient care suffers. I don't care about J D Power awards and the rest of that bugle oil I'm talking real
life experience as a client. Bea makes me sick.

pretty good gig if you can get it.. so much for the not for profit bit though... haha

If half the people who bitch about someone else's salary spent as much time thinking about how they could do it themselves and then took the steps to make it happen, there would be 50% more wealthy people in the world.

He is a perfect example of what is wrong with corporate America today.
This is pathetic, and so his he....
What a pity.
I did this...I did that, I, I , I , I.....and lastly what in the devil is wrong with a board that will pay this totally ridiculous yearly salary that an average hard worker couldn't make in his whole lifetime.....Now think about it ....this is $300,000 a MONTH, or ~$69,230 a WEEK, and even IF HE WORKED 60 hrs a week (instead of 40 hrs) it would still be ~$1153 PER HOUR....STUPID STUPID STUPID....

This guy thinks he's worth 3.6 mil and OMG 14.4 mil in 2002! Let's put this in perspective. The current Presidential salary is capped at $400,000 per year. I seriously doubt this mans job is as hard as POTUS. A full summary of presidential salary & benefits can be found @ http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=...

Hey Vato,
Can you make a more broad,meaningless sentence?
Try this: All _______ people are _________.

Put your training wheels back on.

Thank you for pointing out that Mr. Bea makes THREE TIMES as much as ALL SEVEN of the highest paid leadership of the WEAC combined. And this does not consider his huge payout in 2004 that was over TEN TIMES what these seven people make. Glad to see you're throwing your support behind the WEAC, vato. Welcome aboard.

wow.
Is he saying he does the work of three jobs and should get paid x3?
Wish that were the case for the rest of us!!
Some just get more work and lucky to keep their jobs or even get more work and less pay.
If you have three jobs and paid for three I would guess one or two will be lacking in quality. I have direct experience of this happening and this person does 2 jobs/ 2 pays and actually BOTH suffer! I also know of another that gets paid like they have two jobs and doesn't even do the one well enough to balance how much is paid to do the one job.
Not sure how well he does his job but something must be going well they are building all over the place.

Oh my...is this guy full of himself or what? Over the years, have heard many an employee of Mercy talk unkindly about him. How he can figure his compensation (i.e. pension funding for him ok, but employees should "pay their own way?")doesn't affect the cost of healthcare is absurd!

""I've taken Mercy's gross revenues from $33 million to over $1 billion."
I'm sure this was not accomplished by "exceptional management". The only way to increase gross revenues this much is either by increased cost to the customer or cutting expenses. Considering the rise in the cost of health care, it's pretty safe to say where it came from. This is comparable to how frontiersmen and indians use to wear the scalps of thier victims as a source of pride.

That school janitor, street maintenance worker and all public folks need to keep kickin' in more percentages, it is starting to pinch these millionaires!!!! (Sarcasm)

I hope all you conservatives love this. Shame.

http://www.rhinelanderdailynews.com/main...

The hypocrisy wreaks.

"Well, what do WEAC president Mary Bell and other WEAC officials make for salary and benefits?

In July Lakeland Times investigative reporter Richard Moore dug into that question and found out the real answers.

Moore found that: Dan Burkhalter, WEAC executive director, was raking in $242,807, with $177,366 in wages; government relations director Robert Burke hauled in $189,505, with wages of $128,428; information and communications technology director Nathan Harper made $189,528, with wages of $129,221; financial and membership services director Jane Oberdorf made $188,164, with wages of $131,328; affiliate relations director Robert Baxter was paid $186,461, with wages of $127,774; and collective bargaining director Daniel Holub made $165,112, with wages of $110,534.

And what about WEAC president Mary Bell, who describes herself as a teacher from Wisconsin Rapids? She made $173,466, with wages of $138,031. That's on par with Gov. Scott Walker's salary of $144,423.

All totaled, those seven employees collected $1,335,043, with wages of $942,682.

angry_again: Are you serious? Is this why the right is ridiculing public employees because people think they make to much money. You're contradicting yourself. It's ok for a guy to make millions but it's not ok for a public employee to make a decent living. If he's worth it I have no problem with it! But to tell public employees they are overpaid is absurd!

"Bea said his salary has no effect on health care costs or the premiums MercyCare subscribers pay each year. He likened his salary to capital costs, which he also said don't affect what patients are charged."
-
In another article today, Mr. Bea said this about the costs of hospital improvements, "People say that's going to raise my costs. No, we're paying for them over 25 or 35 years."
-
It quite frankly doesn't matter what the depreciation schedule is on these items -- and if they are capitalized or expensed. Someone still has to pay for it and it surely isn't Mr. Bea as his salary and deferred compensation continues to increase. So, Mr Bea, come clean with us. Just exactly who is paying for these improvements and your compensation?

Uh, RPRP, in case you didnt notice seems anyone who makes money these days gets turned into a criminal by the "Lib"tards. Thanks to class warfare being used by the dems to make wealthy americans look like the problem, instead of failed socialist tax the crap out people politics.

If he really did his job of making sure his doctors did their job, he wouldn't have to defend himself.