The Future Is Now

Photo: The Howard Stern Show

Gary remembered once asking for a raise, and instead of increasing his salary, Tom encouraged him to sign up for the company’s Fund the Future program. According to the program, employees received stock options that were worth 10 percent of their salaries. Gary reported that after a decade of owning the options, they’re now essentially worthless because the stock price has dropped below the option price. Howard wondered if Tom would give the cash value of the options to the employees who signed up for the plan, but Tom said he couldn’t.