Buyout of Mattel’s CEO Sends Wrong Message

* I was appalled by the details of the deal that Mattel cut with Jill Barad [“Ex-CEO Given $40-Million Exit Deal by Mattel,” April 29].

It appears the “good old boy” network is alive and well, and she will surely sit on the boards of the current directors’ companies (scratch your back).

Only in America do we reward the people at the top for poor performance. We make them rich on the way in and richer on the way out.

Every time some grunt gets a 10-cent-an-hour raise, the Fed wants to yell inflation and raise interest rates, but it’s OK to give away the store to the top executives of major corporations.

Current wisdom is that “we will never notice the difference.” Maybe so, but what message are we sending to the working stiffs in this country who are trying to make ends meet?

If this is capitalism at its best, I’m ready for a new system. I could go on, but my blood pressure is rising.

JAMES W. GROS

Harbor City

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* Jill Barad drives Mattel into the ground and makes $40 million. That’s quite a deal. I wish someone would pay me to be a complete and absolute failure.

TERRY CLEAVELAND

Long Beach