OT: Patterson Worse than Brandon?
Apparently, UT is charging members of the Texas Tech marching band $100 per ticket to enter the stadium and play this year at their game. This really, really felt like something Brandon would have done too. Could Patterson actually be more "douchebag money grab CEO" than Brandon???
(Can't get the link to the article to embed, but the information is all over the Googles and the Facespaces)
September 10th, 2015 at 10:41 AM ^
Patterson makes Brandon look like a humanitarian... He's an absolute monster.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:46 AM ^
In fairness to Brandon I think his donations to the U of M Medical Center demonstrate that he is indeed a humanitarian. He's just an awful AD/CEO.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
Tax write-offs
September 10th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
Or maybe they saved his kids' lives? I dunno.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:20 AM ^
Even if it is a "tax write-off", on an after-tax basis you are still paying AROUND 2/3's of the amount.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:25 AM ^
I know, I don't understand why people think you can somehow make money giving to charity of something.
September 10th, 2015 at 1:57 PM ^
I'm 27 years old, with an MSE from U-M, and I didn't understand marginal tax rates until earlier this year. No idea how it took so long, but I explained it to at least 5 or 6 friends and it was news to them as well. Tax write-offs are thrown around so often I always just assumed it would actually save someone money somehow.
September 10th, 2015 at 2:15 PM ^
Dammit. Complete embed fail. Kramer explains for Jerry how write-offs work.
September 10th, 2015 at 3:30 PM ^
but probably not if you are making Brandon Money. There are tax brackets that can screw you over if you are the bottom of one of them. For example, one of the tax brackets is around $75,000 for a family, which, if you are over, jumps your tax bracket from 25% to 28% (I don't know what it actually is and am too lazy to look it up). This would mean That you make more money if your family pulls in $74,999 compared to $75,001. In fact, in this scenario, you don't start making more money until you earn greater than $78,125 dollars. This means if you are at $74,999, you take a pay cut on any raise up until $78,125.
I'm sure there is some funny rich person math where you can take advantage of tax breaks by making large donations, but I haven't researched it, because I don't need to unfortunetaly.
September 10th, 2015 at 4:14 PM ^
For example, one of the tax brackets is around $75,000 for a family, which, if you are over, jumps your tax bracket from 25% to 28% (I don't know what it actually is and am too lazy to look it up). This would mean That you make more money if your family pulls in $74,999 compared to $75,001.
Absolutely and completely false.
Do people REALLY not understand marginal tax rates?
You only pay the increased percentage on the money IN THE BRACKET.
If you pay 25% at 74,999 and 28% at 75,001 - that means if you make 75,001 you pay:
25% of $74,999 + 28% of $2
With marginal tax rates it is never possible for your income to increase and you make less after tax income. Completely impossible.
September 10th, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
Honestly not trying to be a dick, but this is so wrong it, and it makes me sad people actually think this. Tax rates for individuals in the US are progressive but they are MARGINAL tax rates. If a bracket cut-off is $90k, you're taxed at 25% on your first $90k of income and 28% on every dollar you make over $90k. If you got a $5 raise, you wouldn't then pay tax at 28% on the whole $90,005 of income. I dislike the IRS just as much as the next guy, but they're not that mean.
Really rich people (or corporations) just make sooo much money that the top marginal rate is basically what they pay on everything because the piddly amount they pay on their first $X of income is so small compared to the rest.
September 10th, 2015 at 6:57 PM ^
it's like chapter 2 in BLL
September 10th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
The same can be said of every charitable donation that can be deducted. It just means his $2M donation actually only cost him something like $1.2M,
September 10th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
I'm sure as a businessman that enters his consideration at some point, but let's not forget that the hospital saved Brandon's prematurely born twins a long time ago. I wouldn't criticize Brandon for his generous support of the hospital when we have so many other reasons to criticize him.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:54 AM ^
I have good friends who also had seriously premature twins whose lives were saved by the UM natal intensive care unit. They know and appreciate Brandon from his commitment to the center, which ranges from his major financial donations to appearing there dressed as Santa at Xmas. I am one of the few people who was anti-Dave Brandon from day one, but out of respect for his contributions to the NICU I have tried very hard to refrain from personal attacks on the man.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:06 AM ^
Brandon may be capable of being a complete asshole, but I wouldn't classify him as human scum.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:50 AM ^
general sense of humanity showed a lot of paradoxes thru his actions. How he dealt with Will Hagerup and his donations to CS Mott was in stark contrast to the callous way he fired many longtime employees and highly dismissive emails to fans and supporters.
September 10th, 2015 at 2:37 PM ^
He gave $4M because the doctors at the UM medical school saved his kids' lives. I know he's a bad CEO, but jebus people, he's not a monster.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:35 AM ^
It's very possible for someone to be very bad at a job but not a bad dude. Many people who knew DB intimately defended him.
I actually wonder if years in the corporate world didn't turn a once good guy into a nutcase.
September 10th, 2015 at 12:40 PM ^
Uh, in fairness to Brandon, Hitler liked puppies...
September 10th, 2015 at 1:32 PM ^
I thought there was some speculation that Hitler was abusive towards his German Shepherd. Something about it constantly flinching on video.
September 10th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
Brandon has also given generously to the School of Education. He basically donated back his salary when he was working here.
September 10th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
I still want to smack Dave Brandon in his seemingly always chapped lips.
September 10th, 2015 at 6:56 PM ^
I still want to smack Dave Brandon in his seemingly always chapped lips.
September 10th, 2015 at 7:00 PM ^
"michigan athletic director" Dave Brandon still pops, and this goofball photo (chapped lips SCREAMING for some balm) is included.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
at this point I think it can be said - at least we're not Texas. Things have gone downhill very quickly there. Gonna get ugly in Austin.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
Agreed, and the football team is still in shambles. It is just amazing that being in a state that has that much football talent, they can't get their act together, yet. If Charlie Strong does not right the ship soon, they may be replacing both their AD and HC soon!
September 10th, 2015 at 11:42 AM ^
of get the feeling that Texas, as a team, is stricken with the same sense of entitlement that I think you could find at Michigan for a long time. With the Longhorn network and all the discussion of Texas football, I think their players may think they have already arrived simply by being there. I don't think it is impossibly that you may see Saban head down there at some point. He really has nothing left to prove at Alabama and I could see Texas going 8, 9, 10 million per for him.
September 10th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
If you continue reading this thread, charging the visiting team's band is pretty common practice. I think this is one of those times where we are looking for something to protest. Patterson is a complete powerdouche, but not for this.
September 10th, 2015 at 12:35 PM ^
If you continue reading this thread, charging the visiting team's band is pretty common practice. I think this is one of those times where we are looking for something to protest. Patterson is a complete powerdouche, but not for this.
September 10th, 2015 at 1:19 PM ^
for "powerdouche."
September 10th, 2015 at 2:58 PM ^
Though UT did score 3 against ND.
/farnsworthimademyselfsad.jpg
September 10th, 2015 at 10:47 AM ^
I was going to post this as well. I can't believe someone at Texas hasn't had a talk with this guy. Patterson needs to find a different job. This makes them look terrible.
September 10th, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
Someone has and that someone was the Texas president and he told him to change his personal style. http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/college-sports/columnists/chuck-carlto…
September 10th, 2015 at 10:49 AM ^
John U Bacon said at Rackham that some schools are using his book as a "what not to do guide". He said he thinks Texas is using it as a cookbook.
I don't remember the situation exactly but I think there was a team being honored at a Michigan game and immediately after the ceremony, they were escorted out of the stadium, so yes this could have been something Brandon would do.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:54 AM ^
One of the many times I had to literally put down the book because I couldn't believe what I had just read.
September 10th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
I can't even guess how many times I had to put it down to pace and rant in my head or call a friend to rant about Brandon being such a self-absorbed, power-hungry, egomaniacal douche.
September 10th, 2015 at 2:41 PM ^
What do you mean by "team?" A Michigan team, like the 1996 men's swimming team? If that's the case, holy hell.
My view is that David Brandon is a normal human being—complicated, conflicted, inconsistent, rigid, biased, welcoming, greedy, generous, friendly, prickish, asshole, nice guy—and all of these characteristics show themselves in different situations depending on who's involved. He's not a monster or maniac who was bent on destroying the Michigan athletic department. He was just extremely ill-suited for the job here, and Mary Sue Coleman deserves much of the blame for essentially forcing him on the University against the explicit recommendations of the search committee she formed.
In other words, don't ascribe to malevolence that which can be easily explained by incompetence. Looking at the totality of what the athletic director at Michigan is responsible for, Brandon was not competent.
Based on what I've previously read about Patterson, I think he's even worse than Brandon, but that's Texas for you: everything's bigger in the Lone Star state, including the assholes.
September 10th, 2015 at 3:07 PM ^
But it's not just incompetence either, in my opinion. It's somewhere in between...Brandon did what Brandon thought was best regardless of what or who it helped or harmed. Some of the moves Brandon made it's hard to believe he didn't know what he was doing...I think many times he knew exactly what he was doing, he just grossly underestimated how upset it would make his "customers".
September 10th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
Things I've ever heard being done to the band. The band is college football. What a shame
September 10th, 2015 at 10:50 AM ^
I can't find it now, but I know I read that this was a conference deal, not just UT scraping every dollar off the floor they can find.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
Man, things are going downhill quickly at UT. Sucks to be a Longhorn right now...
September 10th, 2015 at 10:51 AM ^
At this point it's like vomit having an arguement with poop on who smells worse.
September 10th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
Are at least vomit?
September 10th, 2015 at 12:30 PM ^
Put me in the "I'd rather smell poop" camp.
September 10th, 2015 at 11:18 AM ^
DISCUSS
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
September 10th, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
My wife pointed this out to me yesterday and I picked up Endzone, sitting on the end table, and said "See? Cautionary tale!"
September 10th, 2015 at 10:53 AM ^
In slightly off topic news, Iowa's new president hire reeks of Brandonesque shenanigans. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/education/2015/09/university_of_iowa…
September 10th, 2015 at 8:15 PM ^
popcorn.gif