Originally Posted by
Bluto
Early outs create jobs to the same extent that a credit card creates money. A great man once said, "...in this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
Absolutely correct. An early out is an advance on future progression.
It's nice to have the job early, though, even if the next step is stagnation. Several years of longevity and stuck at bottom probably trumps several years at a marginal regional, at least for most people.
So it's more like a credit card that pays you interest on the money you borrow.
For the record, I am generally against expanding capital on early outs, except if I thought there was a high likelyhood of a merger.