This story has been everywhere this week, but I didn’t even think to cover it until today (because it’s super-dead, gossip-wise). Tiger Woods’ ex-wife Elin Nordegren has a new boyfriend! The dude is named Chris Cline, and he’s her neighbor down in North Palm Beach (which is where Elin has been living since the divorce). Guess what? He’s a billionaire. Because Elin doesn’t date poor dudes. EVER.
Tiger Woods’ ex-wife, Elin Nordegren, is quietly dating her older Florida neighbor, billionaire coal magnate Chris Cline, sources exclusively tell us. Nordegren, 33, the Swedish former model, and Cline, 53, both have mansions in the exclusive North Palm Beach oceanfront community of Seminole Landing, where Nordegren had her home bulldozed and rebuilt after splitting with Woods.
“Elin and Chris have been dating since the holidays,” a source tells Page Six. Cline, a West Virginia native worth a reported $1.2 billion, stays far from the spotlight, but he did make headlines last year when he was the victim of a bizarre attempted extortion plot by an aspiring actor against targets including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, Groupon co-founder Eric Lefkofsky and Buffalo Sabres owner Terry Pegula. The plot allegedly involved a letter sent to Cline that threatened the coal tycoon’s family unless he gave over $13 million.
A father of four, Cline’s been married twice, and his most recent marriage ended in divorce in 2000. Cline, who owns a luxury yacht called Mine Games, reportedly hosted a Mitt Romney fund-raising reception at his home in September. Nordegren had the Seminole Landing house she shared with Woods leveled so she could erect a brand-new home on the site.
Last weekend, however, the beautiful blonde seemed to be Woods’ lucky charm at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Weeks after they were photographed together, Woods won the tournament amid talk of his best play in years. Meanwhile, reports have said that Woods’ relationship has been heating up with Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn. But sources tell us the pair are not dating exclusively. A rep for Cline had no comment.
I think it’s funny that Tiger only plays well when Elin is being nice to him. That’s hilarious to me. As for this new guy, he’s worth a reported $1.2 billion (get it, Elin), he made his money in the coal industry. His first wife died of breast cancer and his second marriage ended in divorce. He owns extensive property in West Virginia and he’s a Republican. I say that she should lock this down. He seems like a keeper (for her). Yeah, there’s a 20-year age difference, but $1.2 billion eases a lot of qualms, right?
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.
She’s a gorgeous woman, but her modeling pictures look weird. I can almost hear Tyra Banks shouting critiques.
Get it, Elin. if you don’t want to work, you’re gonna have to marry money.
But she has her own money….that is, Tiger’s money. Doesn’t sound like she has to worry about marrying any more of it.
Why???? Don’t you think she has enough gazillions to see her through the tough times?
Haha that’s exactly what I was thinking! Elin has an amazing body but she has obviously never heard of SMIZING!
SMIZE ELIN!!
Hahaha at SMIZE. But yeah, she looks way prettier in her candids than the model shots!
The Reel Mytee Mack: Elin already has children by Tiger Woods; where on earth do you get the idea that these innocent children are “monsters”? Unless you are unaware that she has kids already, that is SUCH a disturbing and ugly comment to make.
A Republican who’s TWENTY years older? No fucking way!
+++ 1000000000!!!
Agreed!!
And has already been through TWO divorces?! Meh.
1 divorce, his first wife passed away
@Ann: Exactly, no freaking way Elin whom I am sure is a liberal woman should be dating republicans who is old enough to be her daddy.
You’re pretty sure that Elin is a liberal?
Care to back up that statement? Not trying to start a fight, but I would just like to know how / why you’ve come to that conclusion.
@ManchurianGlobal:
We don’t know for sure, but if she takes after her mother she is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbro_Holmberg
After reading Elin’s mother’s bio I wonder if she’s disappointed with her daughter. That is a very accomplished woman: multiple government posts, published in prestigious journals. Meanwhile the only thing Elin has done is date and marry very wealthy men.
@ManchurianGlobal: She’s Swedish. Our right would probably be concidered crazy lefties in USA.
Her mother is a member of the Socialist party and a former minister and her dad is a well known journalist. So yes, from a US point of view, she comes from a very liberal background. Plus she has got a whip smart pedigree.
I don’t get it–what does him being a republican have to do with anything? He wants a balanced budget and that’s a bad thing?
@ manchurian: i assumed she is liberal because she married a black man. I have never heard of any white, rich, famous, CONSERVATIVE woman who married out of her race. I AM NOT A RACIST! I am just expressing my thought process.
Again, I don’t get it. What does your political party have to do with being racist or the skin color of the person you marry? I don’t know if you can go by just looking at rich/famous people because most of the rich Hollywood stars are famously liberal. You don’t have a similar sized sample that would be representative of rich/famous conservatives because there are not very many of them.
@ Jules: I don’t have an answer to your question. You sound like a college instructor or something and all I can say is that most conservatives are republicans and republicans do not tolerate a lot of things Including interracial marriages, gay people, the 47 percent etc. So I doubt it Elin has anything in common with that older guy she is dating. Come on,he even held a fundraiser for Mitt Romney!
@elceibeno—I find your biases against conservatives/republicans to be intriguing, that’s all. They happen to be exactly opposite of my personal experiences of republicans in the real world. Last week one of my (very proudly) progressive/liberal relatives said she would not move to a particular neighborhood because it would be “crawling with” minorities in 5 years. I was horrified. On the other hand my white male/christian/conservative cousin married a black woman. I guess I don’t really like stereotyping/bigotry in any form whether it be against minorities or in your case republicans. I’m always interested to hear where people get their ideas though. No I’m not a college professor, just a very curious person I suppose.
You assume she is liberal because she married a black man? I guess you also assume that man (Tiger) is liberal?
I was more perturbed by the fact that he’s a coal mine owner than the fact that he’s a Republican (although the two generally go hand-in-hand).
Coal mine owners have a history of abusing their workforce by exposing them to dangerous and unsafe conditions and docking their pay with no explanation. Not to mention this a-hole:
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/11/coal-exec-blames-obama-he-lays-miners
PS-People that work in coal mines amaze me. I think of them whenever I have some petty complaint about my office job.
I’m sorry to say this but in the last picture she looks like a blow-up doll
You mean she looks bad or photoshopped?
These photos were probably taken years ago.
She’s just casually dating this new man. He isn’t around that much and I would think she’d be looking for someone a little different when it comes to making it permanent.
Yup. Elin is a very attractive woman but these photos are awful – amateurish and tacky.
Those were back when she was a college student in Norway before she ever even came over here. She did some swimsuit modeling in her country. She only modeled a little bit part-time and I doubt it was for any major brand or magazine.
@Jayna: she’s Swedish. Completely different country.
I wonder is she’s still in love with Tiger and feels her only solace is to get with men richer than him. Just as kind of an eff you to him.
Also, she may be hesitant to date men her own age, worrying that they will just stray for a younger woman.
Hmmm….third marriages actually work out much better than second ones. And since his first marriage only ended with her death I could see this guy as the marriage type. She really doesn’t need the money though since Tiger set her up for life.
my aunt’s 3rd marriage did last longer than the 2nd but she’s on her 7th, so it didn’t work that well..
Yikes…that a whole lotta husbands! Yea I guess that, statistically, 2nd marriages rarely work out and are much shorter than other types.
ha, my aunt is a rare bird
@Marie: your aunt is Elisabeth Taylor!
I know of a few guys who married young (’20’s), made their fortune and then the 1st wife died. They marry again but it turns out badly – guy can’t figure out how to avoid a smooth talking gold digger and the 2nd marriage fails (as his grown up children sigh in relief). When he starts to look for wife #3, the guy has gotten a lot smarter and finds someone more grounded who isn’t after the money, someone he would have thought was too “plain” when he went looking for wife #2. 3rd marriage works out fine. Really, I’ve seen this happen a number of times. Weird.
I’m intrigued Asputter… why do you say 3rd marriages tend to work out better than 2nd marriages?? Are there actual stats to support this? I’m wife # 3 for my hubby. #1 was his high school sweetheart who cheated a year into the marriage and #2 realized she was gay after they had 2 children together. He says our marriage is, by far, stronger and happier than his first two combined.
Yes, I don’t have them on hand but I love reading books and articles on relationships and marriage and statistically 2nd marriages are much more doomed to failure. I wonder if its because people seem to rush into marriage a second time. Very fascinating stuff.
well, he might have money but he’s not attractive, plus he’s 20 yrs older. whatever floats her boat I guess.
in the yellow suit, she kind of resembles Jessica Simpson.
Seriously. I don’t get it. She has money…but yeah, I think maybe rich people just flock together like that.
…because one yacht is just not enough.
*eye roll*
I like this chick, I really like her. She’s smart, self aware, excellent at being a professional celebrity without getting caught up in the media, and she chased her cheating ass husband down the driveway with the same thing he made bazillions with. Razing the north palm beach mansion to casually build another (cause you can) was such a well done “suck it”. I wouldn’t be surprised if she has bathrooms wallpapered in cancelled alimony checks. Get it.
Go ahead girl.
I like her, too, and other than that one People interview she gave a few days after the divorce was final she has kept her mouth shut about her personal life.
This guy lives in a 33,000+ square foot home that is right next door to Elin’s new home in FL. He has been divorced for over ten years, has four children, and pretty much lives a quiet life out of the media spotlight.
I believe she tore down the 1st house because it had a problem with termites and was not up to regulations for hurricanes (it was built in the ’30’s?). She let Habitat for Humanity go in for 3 weeks to gut the old house of whatever they could reuse and sell for charity. So it wasn’t just an “in-your-face-Tiger” move.
Glorified escort!
Lmao!!!
I would never have hired this girl as my nanny.
She went from a nanny to a millionaire.
Damn; only in America.
I agree. I think she had her sights set on a very rich man from day one. I don’t care about the bs she gives about going to college. She was a model and a nanny. I think being a nanny to a wealthy family is one of the avenues these beautiful ladies take to get themselves a very rich man. I don’t believe for one second she didn’t know Tiger was cheating on her. She only got pissed when he humiliated her publically. Lot’s of rich women turn a blind eye to cheating. They only care about not being embarrassed because then everyone knows you are a fool.
She is a very pretty girl but the quality of those photos is cheap at best. Can we say tacky.
She was neither a model or a nanny.
TG I totally agree with you. Being a nanny for celebrities (an attractive nanny at that) affords you many opportunities to meet rich or famous men.
Damn maybe I should have taken that route; it could have been me and Jude Law. Darn it; I keep choosing the wrong career path.
I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that Elin was in the process of getting (or has already completed) her bachelor’s degree in psychology after her divorce from Tiger. So she’s not some dumb bunny. It kind of gets my goat that people think she’s a gold digger just because she was a nanny who married a wealthy man. Like really people!
@dagdag:
Hmm, yes she was. She was a model and also a nanny to the children of Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik.
Depends how one sees it.
She never made a living of modelling and she was an au pair to the Swedish golfer. Her and her twin sister were asked to sit for some pictures, she never followed it for a career.
It is very common in Europe to be an au pair for one year in another country. You work 4 hours, the rest in up to the au pair.
Elin has an established family background. The family is not exactly poor. But the kids had to work for extras and attribute to education. A healthy attitude, I think.
Au-pair is just a glorified word for nanny. No matter how many hours she worked she was a live in babysitter or as we say in the US a freaking nanny.
Agreed, since when is “au-pair” not a synonym for “nanny?” LOL and people who work at McDonald’s are “food artists.” There is no shortage of Elin’s modeling photos. Google is a nice tool. If it walks like a duck and talks like duck…
Whatever you say in the states, in Sweden, and many other european countries (and that is where Elin is from) it´s very common for youngsters to take a year abroad to work as an au pair, or if you wan´t to call nanny, or some other job that they can find (like fruit picking in Australia). We do that to widen our horizon and to see what it´s like in other parts of the world. People from all diffrent social backgrounds to this in sweden before the go to college or settle down. Elin´s family is quit well of, her mom just to be a minister in the swedish goverment and is now something equivalent to a mayor.
The pictures were taken long before that, when she was really young.
And what is wrong with being a nanny anyhow? Atleast she was doing an honest job, and I think she was also taking college classes at the same time.
By the way, I think that Lady Diana worked in a daycare center for kids before she married Prince Charles. Is there something wrong with that too?
oh, oh, so in the US a nanny is just a freaking au pair or maybe like a food artist at McDonalds?
In other words, don´t mind qualifications, anybody can be a nanny?
@ Lotta
I don’t think there is anything wrong with being with being an au-pair, nanny, babysitter, whatever you want to call it. Doubt anyone here does. It is a bit silly to try and differentiate between all of the above when the very definition of au-pair means “live-in nanny.” At one point I was a “retail sales associate” also simply known as “cashier.” Calling it what it is doesn’t demean anyone. 😉
@ dagdag
LOL, see my comment above. Not what I was saying.
Is there a secret Au-Pair Union within Celebitchy? Done with this thread.
Well, maybe she calls herself an aipair rather then a nanny because that is what it is called here in Sweden.
Whatever the word au pair originally meant, it indicates that it¨s a young girl from abroad moving to another country to combine meeting new cultures while working as a nanny. For me a nanny is someone who is a person who has decided to work proffessionally as person who takes care of kids, rather then just doing it as a part of a life experience.
I think that taking care of kids is one of the most important job there is. After all, the kids are supposed to be our future.
I meet american au pairs here in Sweden, who have been working for rich swedes, and non of them has came across a gold diggers. 😉
Au pairs and nannies both paid to take care of children which makes them the same thing. And she did do some limited modeling, in fact, I believe these photos are from some of her modeling gigs.
And neither one of these occupations is bad so I’m not sure why we’re dissecting them.
I think she gets better looking as she gets older.
Oh people take it down a knotch; nobody said there was something wrong with being a freaking nanny. I said it’s amazing that a girl can go from being a nanny to being a millionaire. “Only in America. Who cares that Elin parents came from money; apparently it wasn’t enough because they could have sent her to America without being someone’s live in childcare provider. To the person who mention Princess Diana working in a daycare; a daycare is not a live in facility and the workers and children go home. Most nannies are live-in; therefore there is a difference. I used to be a bank teller but we were convinced that we were customer service rep; please I was just a damn bank teller. Lastly no one said Elin was dumb; in fact she’s a pretty smart cookie and knew what she was doing. Sometimes people just go way overboard on simple comments about people who you probably don’t think about twice; people such as Elin.
Right…cuz we all know rich men are known for their fidelity.
I don’t get it, if she has so much money why does she need even more. If I was stinking rich I would have some fun in my life, travel, be lazy, take on an interesting hobby, read some good books, get with a guy who is actually fun and cool, not with some 50 something old dude, who is probably boring as hell and who just has other old stinking rich boring friends.
She doesn’t need his money.
But since she got screwed big time in her last marriage I’d assume she ain’t gonna date a broke man that only wants her for her money. If she’s dating rich men she’s not getting screwed for her money at least.
Hmmm..I’m thinking she wants to date someone who isn’t coming after her money plus he’s her neighbor so it’s convenient. For all we know she could just be having flings and not getting serious with anyone. But if I was her I would just have fun and travel and raise my kids and not sweat any men.
Because I’m pretty sure Elin just said “f–k it” a looong time ago and decided dating/marrying rich men would be a suitable career path. Don’t get me wrong, I have quite a bit of respect for Elin, but in many ways she’s just another pretty blonde trophy wife. This doesn’t surprise me at all.
Maybe she has a hard time trusting people and a maybe a lot of guys goes after her because of all the money she got. If she dates rich guys she at least doesn´t have to worry about that.
I am not so sure if billionaire coal magnate and trustworthy goes together very well.
I have some sympathy for her- her marriage busted up in about the worst way possible. After all, where is she supposed to meet guys- at the gym? Check out line at the grocery store? Plus, she has her children to think of.
That being said- for a woman who reportedly allowed Habitat for Humanity to come in and take anything they wanted from her house bef it was bulldozed to build this one – what she has in common with this guy is a puzzle!
Well, she certainly has a type – loaded.
Much older, staunch Republican, and a coal mine company owner – I don’t think even billionaire status would overcome that for me, especially if I already had my own cash like she does.
ah, gold diggers never change and she does have a talent for it. her only talent judging from her “modeling” pictures.
I’m pretty sure she comes from a fairly wealthy family in Sweden. Her mother is a politician and her dad is a journalist of some sort. That’s how she got the nanny job–the families were friends, or she was friends with a Swedish golfer’s wife or something. If she was realy a gold digger she’d be more like a Vanessa Bryant (Kobe’s wife) or a Real Housewife. But she’s always led a quiet and contained lifestyle.
I think this relationship started not because the guy’s rich, but because their neighbors. It just so happens that her neighbors are all wealthy. But I don’t think she actively sought out a rich white guy to hang her star on. She already has more than enough money to live an extremely comfortable lifestyle for the rest of her life.
Golddigger. That’s all I’ve got to say.
He is so old looking, it looks like she would be dating her father. Gross. Girl just stick the the millions you already have and find a decent guy!!
Slow gossip week? I’d love to hear your take on the Michelle Williams AnOther cover controversy.
Yeah that I do want to hear about funny the lack of coverage it got. I mean considering if it were a celeb of ill repute they’d be raked over the coals by now.
Regardless as for Elin? Eh I never felt bad for her. I find it hard to believe she was that clueless about Tiger’s cheating.
I could see her having an issue with it being as public as it was.
I doubt it very much this new billionaire boyfriend of hers can surpass Tiger Woods in the bedroom. The billionaire probably has to take three viagras ha ha ha ha. Elin is already a very rich woman so she doesn’t need to roll in the hay with that old geezer. He has been already married several times so is not like he knows how to make a marriage work. If Elin marries him I am pretty sure he will make her a sign a prenup.
Eh…? Did you even read the story? He’s only been divorced once, as has she. His first wife lost her life to cancer. CANCER. Still want to blame him?
No I didn’t read the last paragraph of the analysis. Sorry. Okay so he only had one divorce not several.The main point stands. He is too old for Elin. she doesn’t need to shack up with him for his money because she is already filthy rich.
Being seen with someone does not necessarily mean dating and elin is known for not speaking to the public.
This are old pictures and it is said, that elin did not care of modelling.
i don’t think that i’ve ever seen a more stunning creature.
i like her, too.
whatever she does with her life…i wish her the best.
She is so beautiful. I like the fact that she’s not a famewhore too. she might like the older guy cause she might feel he’s less likely to stray than a younger guy. and he has money so she knows he’s not after hers. i have to say, i am jealous though. girl has tons of money, wish i did. oh well
Her body is sick. What’s with the lat shot though? The orange, oily skin looks absurd.
I am 23 and I actually think the bf is really good looking. I personally am only attracted to older men. I just like receding hairlines and wrinkles for some reason!
Haters are always gonna hate, but I say, “Go Elin! You deserve some happiness!”
Don’t know why but I’m always surprised by how many comments here run along the “he’s not good looking” vein. Women who hate being judged solely on their looks are so quick to point out that this guy isn’t Richard Gere. Well, so what? Perhaps he’s nice, and funny and thoughtful and won’t screw around with every Perko’s waitress he meets? There is nothing wrong with dating the solid, good guy and not the hot guy who treats you like crap.
hmm. maybe he played better because all the tweaks he was doing to his game finally came together (he has done this a couple of times but never after surgery… and his wife trying to club him and not going to jail for it… yeah, i went there), and his personal life (including life with elin) is better. no harm in that… but it is definitely not about her playing nice…
1. Just because he’s older doesn’t mean he’ll be faithful
2. She knew tiger was cheating but as soon as the public knew, she was embarrassed
3. She has went from being a nanny to marrying a millionaire
Now I’m not knocking her and I for one is not hating..
She isn’t naive at all, the signs of tiger cheating was all there.. Even his golfing buddies knew but turned the blind eye..
She is pretty, and she may be having fun.. He could be just a friend..
Isn’t it possible she turned a blind eye for the children, but once it became public she knew the children would find out anyway and that is why she then made her move?
There are plenty of women who married millionaires that would walk away..
That scenario is plausible though but I think she stayed because of money not the kids…
I don’t know how much of that story was true but it was stated she stayed due the pre-nup and the money tied to it
I hear what you’re saying, but most prenups include a cheating clause. And since his cheats were so public, I seriously doubt she had to stay because of the prenup. I could be wrong; I didn’t read her prenup. But most prenups do include very nice “out” for the injured spouse in these types of situations. Besides, she was going to get tons from child support anyway, regardless.
I don’t keep up with any sports, so I’d never heard of Elin until the Tiger cheating scandal. Therefore, could someone please tell me why Elin’s always being called a gold digger? I was under the impression she came from a family that had some money themselves…that she married Tiger and had their children, and that she wasn’t the one who cheated. What’d I miss?
You did not miss anything.
People like to hate and nanny marries millionaire sounds so good.
I mean, really, mama and papa tiger would have never let a gold digger marry the saviour tiger.
Nobody is hating this is why people say that she went from nanny to millionaire ( which is why many calls her a gold digger)
Nordegren and her twin sister Josefin had been working as au pairs for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik
Nordegren and her twin sister Josefin had been working as au pairs for Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik when he introduced her to Woods during the 2001 British Open. In November 2003, Woods and Nordegren attended the Presidents Cup tournament in South Africa and became officially engaged when Woods proposed at the luxury Shamwari Game Reserve. On October 5, 2004, they were married by the 19th hole at the exclusive Sandy Lane resort in Barbados. The ceremony reportedly cost over $1.5 million. Privacy was achieved by buying out the island’s sole helicopter charter company and by booking the entire hotel – 200 rooms ranging in price from $700 to $8,000 per night.
On June 18, 2007, Woods announced the birth of their daughter, Sam Alexis Woods, early that morning, just a day after Woods finished second in the 2007 U.S. Open.
But she was also a model. Don’t they make money? And wasn’t her mother in politics or something like it? Also, according to Wikipedia, she’s worked since she was young to pay for her own schooling. I just don’t see a gold digger having that kind of work ethic. But I dunno.
What The Frak is going on with those model shots??? JCPenney portrait studios can do better than that. I can do better than that with my phone!
I have no comment on old rich Florida man thing…meh, she’s a trophy wife, it’s to be expected.
I can’t hate on her. If she can line up the billionaires,t hen go for it. Shoot. I’d love to date a billionaire (who wouldn’t)?! At least once!
Tiger did her super dirty. I wonder if he feels ashamed at all. That has got to be tough for her–having had to live that out publicly.
Same here.
Yep, no hate here. Go on making that paper, Elin!
I wonder if Tiger still feels bad also, or if he ever did.
He’s fug and Republican – there’s not enough KY Jelly in the world.
I don’t know why but the thing that bugs me the most about the story is that she tore down a perfectly good mansion to build a new one. Talk about wasteful and excessive 🙁
The home did not meet hurricane safety standards and was infested with termites. She invited Habitat for Humanity to take whatever was salvageable before the demolition.
About the house. If it had been some historical house she could not have torn it down. It was not. Originally Elin was going to remodeled/updated the home, but as the other poster said the builders discovered it was big time infested with termites. Habitat for Humanity made a lot of money off the things they were able to get out of this home-hardware, cabinets, mantles, light fixtures, doors, etc.
Ah, that makes sense. I clearly only had part of the story. Thanks!
@TheOriginalKitten – I admire and share your concern for the coal mine workers. But I would strive to balance our your news sources as well. In regard to the article you linked, here are two direct quotes from Barack Obama, January 17, 2008 audio interview to the San Francisco Chronicle:
1-“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.
And 2-
“So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It’s just that it will bankrupt them.”
So, if he deliberately wants to bankrupt the coal industry to save the environment, don’t you logically think layoffs of coal workers come along with that? Why blame the CEO–let me guess, business is evil right? The only thing I see in areas where businesses are not thriving is poverty.
I would argue that Obama doesn’t “deliberately want to bankrupt the coal mine industry” but instead wants to protect the environment and the earth, that we as humans-both Democrats AND Republicans-need to share. I still don’t understand why people don’t see that every single issue we have is a subset of the largest issue that is rarely talked about: PRESERVING OUR PLANET.
Without earth, Republicans wouldn’t have the luxury to bitch about the economy, for example.
Beyond that, I agree that layoffs are probably inevitable as we move forward with more green initiatives like clean energy. It’s sad for the workers but it’s called PROGRESS.
Trust me when I tell you the financial cost as well as the environmental damage caused by coal mines trumps the economic benefit that the industry as a whole contributes.
Details here: http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/smart-energy-solutions/decrease-coal/ripe-for-retirement-closing-americas-costliest-coal-plants.html
My problem is that the owner who is referenced in the article, Murray, is responsible for the Crandall Canyon collapse that killed 6 miners. He’s never really shown that he has his workers best interest in mind, so it’s pretty hard for me to believe that he’s the warm-hearted corporate CEO that you may think he is.
Of course corporations aren’t “evil”–on the contrary, they have no feelings whatsoever nor do they have any obligation to. They exist to profit-I get it. But that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t hold corporate CEOs to a minimum level of social responsibility, which includes treating your workers with respect. I highly doubt this multi-millionaire couldn’t have found a way to keep these workers on board-maybe take a few less million for himself, for instance? Recall that this is a guy that docked his workers a day’s pay while forcing them to attend a Romney event. Do you REALLY think the layoffs weren’t at least partially motivated by politics? Bless your heart if you don’t.
And just for the record: I work in the financial industry, everything I do is tied to wall street and I deal with CEOs of large financial institutions on a daily basis. I have a pretty well-rounded and fair view of them but I’m not going to put these people on a pedestal and turn a blind eye to bad behavior in the name of capitalism.
So if he wants to save the earth, then yes, he deliberately wants to bankrupt the coal industry due to his ideology. That’s fine if we as a nation have an alternative to replace it with. I think the intentions are a little ahead of the technology though from what I’ve read. Hopefully that will improve. I believe we can all have high ideals but there has to be some realism thrown in based on our actual circumstances. I’m sure this coal guy wanted to publicize the layoffs to call attention to the policies (rightly or wrongly) that are destroying his industry. I kind of doubt there was a line in his budget for ‘revenge’ though. So why would he support Romney vs. a guy who wants his industry gone? Self preservation maybe? If Obama’s policies reflected the best interests of his business, I’m sure he would support him instead (logically). I think his politics reflect the best interest of his business. Is he personally a bad guy- maybe. But bad politicians pointing fingers at others for the problems they cause is hard for me to take and it happens non-stop. Plenty of union workers are forced to attend rallies for democrats and forced to pay dues which turn into forced contributions to the democrat party. I don’t know if they get paid, but getting paid to attend a political rally doesn’t sound good either. I wonder how many federal jobs Obama could have saved after the sequester (that he initiated by the way) if he stayed off Air Force 1 for a day. One less golf trip even. Maybe he could fly together WITH Michelle on their vacations instead of going separately. Those minimal and simple actions would result in millions of dollars saved that could keep people employed, but he’s trying to make a statement and inflict damage on his opponents too. Sorry, I don’t believe that business is the enemy and politicians are going to save us. They are the biggest hypocrites of all and drive a wedge between the citizens where they don’t need to exist for the sake of their own power. Anyway, I thank you for your comments. I have found them interesting. And I do hope we preserve the planet:)
No, I definitely don’t think he should have supported Obama-I understand why he gave money to Romney’s campaign, it would be silly of him not too. I’m completely aware that the left does the same. The truth is modern-day campaigns require so much money that they have to take corporate cash simply to effectively compete with one another. Which is really fucked up and goes against the public’s best interest, but that’s not unusual in the political arena.
I just think the workers shouldn’t be DOCKED a day of pay to attend something that wasn’t optional. I mean how is that even remotely fair?
GW spent $20M MORE (of taxpayers money) than Obama on his vacations. But honestly, I never cared about W’s constant vacations. Focusing on irrelevant shit like that detracts from REAL issues. At the time, the issue was soldiers dying at an alarming rate due to a war based on a faslehood sold to the American public.
But I digress…The sequester was forced, not initiated. It was forced after Congress refused to reach a deal. In fact, Paul Ryan heralded the sequestration as a victory of bipartisanship and a welcome change in Congress’ culture, which just further illustrates how batshit crazy that dude is. Republicans, who refused to raise any additional revenue to avoid the budget cuts, have described the reductions as “modest” a “homerun” and something that “needs to happen” in order to “get this economy rolling again.” Listen, I’m not trying to play the blame game here-I just think that you might not know why the sequester actually happened-it IS pretty convoluted but yes, the right was gung-ho on this one. Cut education $$, cut student financial assistance, cut special ed, cut public health funds– just don’t punish big bank, or hold corporate CEOs responsible–anything but that! Ok, I’m kidding there-the truth is that with sequestration you can’t “pick and chose” what gets cut-it is INDISCRIMINATE. So saying the president could have somehow cut his vacations in exchange for saving military spending or education funds just doesn’t wash. In fact, drawing a parallel between the president and a corporate CEO is simply a false analogy-the president has to function and work within a group of people who are at odds with each, within strict parameters, through the construct of political policies and laws.
Not to mention under the lens of public scrutiny.
But Obama took the job (twice)-he knew what he was getting into, so my sympathy is limited in that regard.
I hate politicians and I agree that politicians aren’t going to save us but neither is that CEO who’s sitting on a big pile of cash. Newsflash: he doesn’t give a F*CK about you or me. Why? Because he doesn’t have to. At least theoretically, government and the president are “supposed” to care about us (they don’t but that’s another story). Trickle down economics my ASS.
You know what these CEOs do when they get more money? They put it in offshore accounts so they don’t have to deal with taxes and the shit that the average American has to deal with. They don’t “invest more in the economy” but that’s the BS they’ll sell to the right, who eat it up like candy (why these people are heros to y’all I will never understand).
Anyway, I’m not an Obama fangirl and I’m obviously very liberal but I have plenty of criticisms of the current administration and I have huge problem with unions (I saw you trying to go there with me you sneak! 😉 ) so I’m a critical Liberal who doesn’t trust the government, but I trust unregulated Big Bank and Big Corp even LESS so. I also enjoyed having what I hope you viewed as a civil discussion. I always like hearing from others, even if we don’t agree on everything.
@Layale
It depends on where she was at in her career..
A lot models make money but again it depends who your working with and what contracts you draw..
I actually quite appreciate people who express an opinion and discuss the issues rather than resorting to personal attacks and name calling. It gives me hope. I’m sure we agree on quite a few things because I call myself liberal on every social issue I can think of. However, I very much want the least government interference in my life as possible so I’ll let you decide which category you want to put me in.
What really bothers me is when people have one biased news source (in general terms-not referring to you)and don’t have any opposing input which leads to ignorance. Whoever is in charge of the country, you can be damn sure I want to hear the other side because no one is out there talking willingly about their failures. So yes I read and listen to everything I can get my hands on. And basically I’m anti-corruption in any form. So I have no trouble blaming whatever politicians or business people that need to be blamed, whatever party.
As for the ‘vacation issue’, to me what is appropriate depends on the circumstances at the time. The economy seemed to be doing pretty well until the end of GWB’s term. I was not thinking in financial crisis terms until the crash, so yeah I didn’t think too much about the vacations at that time either. These days, extravagance or even just lack of frugality from the ruling class just looks bad. Sorry, it just does. Maybe you disagree. They start talking ‘depression’ and things change for me.
As for sequestration, lets just clarify that it doesn’t cut spending, it cuts growth in spending. I have no problem with cutting spending growth at all. It needs to happen in my opinion. The Repubs even floated giving Obama full control over how the cuts were implemented, but Obama didn’t want that responsibility (wonder why–haha obviously the Repubs didn’t want it either). The Dems already got their tax increase on the “rich”. Repubs agreed to it. They weren’t going to cave on tax increases again. And actually I do know why it happened- it originated as an incentive to “force” both parties to reach a budget deal–didn’t work. I didn’t see anyone of either party cheering for it.
And it’s funny you should mention Paul Ryan because he is just about the only high profile politician that I can stand due to his willingness to take on the tough problems. That is not a stupid man and I don’t see crazy at all, quite the opposite- responsible and practical in my eyes. That we can disagree on all day long. I’ve seen enough of his interviews to make up my mind.
Ok, one last thing, I’m not out to defend the ultra wealthy that you mention. I don’t feel sorry for some multimillionaire who has his salary cut from 20 to 15 mil. I do care about the small businesses which are the ones who generate the most jobs and they don’t need to be put in the same category as Warren Buffett. Those are regular folks trying to get by.
Thanks again for the discussion. I do respect your opinions. Most (ok all) of my friends are democrats, so I’m sure you might find me tolerable in real life:) This has been fun but I gotta go spend some time with the fam before they get mad at me:( I don’t mean to keep writing novels here.
Wow! She is stunning! I never understood WHY Tiger cheated on her. I guess because he could. Well, if she goes out with rich dudes…more power to her.
I ain’t sayin’ she’s a gold digger…
Lots of interesting assumptions about republicans on this thread!