This is what's wrong with our government

The wealthy and corporations have rigged the economic and business factors for themselves--and heavily so.

This is also why the Republicans and Right Wing want to kill the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the CPB), the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), because they repeatedly unmask these situations:



Work to kill campaign contributions, folks.



First, it's the only way we'll get the government back for the people. Until we kill campaign contributions, we'll never get the big, ugly, corrupting money out of our election syatem and our government.

Second and finally, it has to come from us, the people. If it doesn't, it will never happen.

You might want to watch the full special on your local PBS channel or online at www.pbs.org. Kansas' own Koch brothers figure rather prominently in the special and in this building, too, not surprsingly since they are two of the most wealthy people in the nation. They threw something in about David Koch being a fairly despicable cheapskate, too, for a humor factor, to me, anyway.

Links: http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/park-avenue/

http://tv.nytimes.com/2012/11/12/arts/television/park-avenue-money-power-the-american-dream-on-pbs.html?_r=0

http://mgross.com/writing/books/740-park/

Keeping corporations accountable

Again, from The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, there were two totally unrelated articles having to do with corporations and their responsibility to society.

The first has to do with a company, St. Jude Medical, creating heart defibrillators that had wires in them that burst out of their insulation so they ended up shocking the patients that had them. Here's the article and link:

St. Jude Riata Heart-Device Flaws Known for Years

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444223104578036752346768278.html?mod=e2tw

Nice, huh?

The thing is, the company sent out recalls on them but the doctors didn't report them to the patients, in most cases.

So say you had a heart defibrillator put in your chest and all of a sudden you started getting shocks from inside your body. Then, later, you find out your doctor just didn't tell you about it.

Real quick, there's two things about this.

First, you're angry--and likely scared as heck--that you have this thing you need to live in your body that your doctor put there years ago and it's giving you electric shocks no one can control.

That's bad enough.

Then, on top of that, it will continue to keep giving you those electric shocks until your doctor once again opens up your chest, disconnects it from your heart, takes it out and replaces it.

Here's the second article:

US Warns Motorists of Counterfeit, Faulty Air Bags

Ironically, it was right next to this, above story.

It seems people who work on cars have been replacing good, working air bags with ones that don't.

Sick.

People--mothers, fathers, sons, daughters--depend on their air bags to keep them at least a bit more safe in their cars, should they be in a car wreck, heaven forbid. They have some issue or problem with the bag, for one reason or another, depend on their local auto repair company to fix it and they put in one that isn't likely to work.

Again, fantastic. Fantastic in a sick, selfish, greedy, "free-market" Capitalism kind of way.

What this brings me to is that we, the people, the ones who end up in -these personally- and financially-exposed ways, need some kind of way to hold corporations and people responsible so if, in fact, these things happen, we are compensated for them and, just as importantly, there are punishments so others aren't tempted to cut their costs or to out-and-out cheat their customers and these types things don't happen again.

We're not shooting for a "perfect world" here by pushing for this. We're mere hoping and working for a more honest fair and working one.

So, if you think America really needs "tort reform" to help the country and get an keep our nation's company's costs down, you're badly, badly mistaken.

As a recommendation, if you haven't already seen it, go rent the documentary "Hot Coffee." (Link below).



It will really open your eyes.

Links: www.hotcoffeethemovie.com/

The things you learn on T-shirts

It seems we can be so profound on t-shirts, can't we, as a society?

People want to be either funny or profound or both and there it is, right on the front of their collarless, short-sleeved, 100% cotton shirt.

I saw one the other day that I agree was true. It said, boldly:

"Success is a choice"

And I think they're correct, whoever "they" were (the one wearing it).

But the flip side of that?

I contend that failure is not always even remotely a choice. Not at all.

I also think that to assume that is to assume ugliness on those who didn't "make it", who didn't "succeed."

Things go wrong for people It happens all the time.

Wrong choices, wrong turns, wrong assumptions. You can never know.

It could be the right thing but at the wrong time and there you are--a failure.

This is what's wrong in giving too much credit to people who have "succeeded", first of all. It's dangerous to give too much credit to the successful, for fear of building up one huge ego.

The danger of assuming bad things about the failed is that it dooms them to moral ugliness and that's grossly unfair.

Finally, it's important that "success" is absolutely not defined as having lots of money and/or things, objects, property and properties.

We either know this or should--that success isn't just about money--but it all too frequently gets lost or forgotten, especially here in materialistic heaven America.

Quote of the day

"Greed is guiding much of the world, not common sense or intelligence. Those last two won't kick in until we've created an emergency and/or catastrophe for ourselves, sadly." --me

Senator Blunt votes to support Missouri's wealthy

No surprise but our own Republican Senator Roy "Just Stash the Money in My Pocket" Blunt made it public today on his website that he voted down the "Buffet Rule" for taxation. You know the one, it would have meant the people with all the money pay the same tax percentage of all their wealth and income that the middle- and lower-income people do. How very Christian of him, right? But then, what do we expect from the political party that virtually never fails to support the wealthy of us-and corporations--at the expense of all the rest of us without big money?

How disgusting and vile. Not only did he vote it down and then defend it but in his note (see link at bottom) he then goes on to describe how we should get the Keystone XL pipeline going, too, as though that has ANYTHING to do with this vote. Not only does he make sure he keeps his wealthy constituents rich but he then insults the rest of us further by going off on a completely unrelated tangent about making "Big Oil" and anyone who owns their stock even richer. It's shameful. And it's shameless. I warned about voting this greedhead into office. Link: http://blunt.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=c7d9b2ee-855c-4660-9b40-c979f9329f7e

Quote of the day

It takes nerve to be a Democrat. But it takes money to be a Republican." --Will Rogers

Terrific examples of why we should eat the rich

Well, at least some of them.

Back in high school, a friend of mine once mentioned he had seen a lapel button once that said "Eat the Rich" and that he wanted one.  Ever since I heard of it, I'd never forgotten it and, like him, wanted one.

Herewith, an article out today on Yahoo! News from Kiplinger of some of the most egregious perks given by corporations--publicly-held corporations--to executives, showing why such a button might be created:

8 Outrageous Executive Perks

by Kathy Kristof
Tuesday, April 5, 2011

$2 Million Birthday Party

Company: Tyco International (NYSE: TYC - News)
Perk recipient: Dennis Kozlowski

When Dennis Kozlowski's second wife hit the magic age of 40 in 2001 -- only a few months after they wed -- the former Tyco chief went all out. He threw a weeklong Roman-themed party on the island of Sardinia -- replete with scantily clad models, chariots and an ice-sculpture vodka fountain made to look like Michelangelo's David. Tyco, now based in Switzerland, paid half of the $2 million tab.

Tyco also paid for Kozlowski's dog-shaped umbrella stand ($15,000), a gold-plated waste basket and artwork in his mansion -- but apparently not with the company's knowledge or consent. Four years later, Kozlowski was convicted of grand larceny for misappropriating millions in shareholder assets for his own benefit.  (MR:  At least they caught one).

Post-Mortem Non-Compete

Company: Shaw Group (NYSE: SHAW - News)
Perk recipient: James Bernhard

Companies are sometimes willing to pay executives vast sums for promises not to compete or divulge company secrets when they change employers. But Baton Rouge-based Shaw Group wants CEO James Bernhard to keep that promise a little longer than normal -- two years past death -- and is willing to pay dearly for his silence in the grave.

According to the company's most recent proxy statement, Shaw will pay Bernhard -- or his heirs -- $15 million (plus interest) when he leaves for his promise not to compete -- even if he can't compete because he's dead.

[Dream Jobs: Big Salaries and a Bright Future]

Housekeeping

Company: Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN - News)
Perk recipient: Don Tyson

Don Tyson retired in 2001, but Tyson Foods was so grateful for his past leadership that it financed vacations for Tyson and his close friends, paid their personal credit-card bills, and allowed him to charge unusual purchases -- such as an $8,000 horse and a $20,000 oriental rug -- to the company.

But perhaps the most objectionable perk was having Tyson company employees clean Mr. Tyson's house and mow his lawn. According to a 2005 SEC settlement, Tyson Foods spent $203,675 having employees clean five different homes owned by Don Tyson, his family or friends. The company, headquartered in Springdale, Ark., also sprang for $84,000 in lawn-maintenance costs for the same five homes.

Flying School Bus

Company: Qwest Communication International (NYSE: Q - News)
Perk recipient: Edward Mueller

Executives are often given the right to use the company jet for pleasure travel, but their spouses, children and friends are usually only allowed to use the plane when they're accompanying the employee. But Edward Mueller demanded an exception to that rule when he became CEO of Denver-based Qwest in 2007.

His employment agreement gave his wife and daughter the right to use the company jet to commute to and from California, where his daughter was still in high school. The phone company expensed $281,182 that year for Mueller family joy rides on the jet and ended up buying his California home for a $1.8 million premium to its resale price, too.

[5 Hot Careers for the Future]

Tax-Free California

Company: Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY - News) 
Perk recipient: Ray Irani

When Ray Irani moved to California to take Oxy's top job, he was apparently horrified by the Golden State's high income tax rate. So in 1991, Irani struck an employment deal that required Oxy to pay his state income tax bills.

Over the course of the next six years, the Los Angeles-based energy company shelled out $5.8 million to pay taxes for Irani. But the problem with paying taxes for someone is that even the tax payment is taxable. There's also tax on the tax on the tax, making this one of the most egregious corporate perks in America. Occidental, long a target of pay critics, responded to shareholder objections by paying Irani a lump sum of $95 million in 1997 to buy out his contract and rescind the company tax subsidy.

Flying Cash Cow

Company: Apple Computer (Nasdaq: AAPL - News)
Perk recipient: Steve Jobs

In 1999, Steven Jobs was "interim CEO" of Apple Computer, having returned in 1997 to the then-struggling company that had fired him a decade earlier. Directors were so grateful for his leadership and his refusal to accept any cash pay -- he still works for $1 annually -- that they gave him a plane.

A $90-million Gulfstream V is a pretty good perk. It became even better in 2002, when the Cupertino, Cal., company started reimbursing Jobs whenever he used his plane on company business. In 2002, Apple paid $1.1 million in flight-cost reimbursements for his use for the past two years.

[Resume Rules: Fact or Fiction?]

Super Security

Company: Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL - News)
Perk recipient: Larry Ellison

To say that Oracle's Larry Ellison is security-conscious is a bit of an understatement. He installed a security system at his expansive northern California home, and Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Cal., pays about $1.4 million annually to monitor it. (To put this in perspective, Qwest pays about $3,000 annually to protect Mueller.)

Few details are available about Ellison's "residential security program," except that it includes "security personnel."

Box Seats 'Til Death

Company: General Electric (NYSE: GE - News) 
Perk recipient: Jack Welch

Nobody knew what fabulous perks Jack Welch got from GE. The 2000 proxy statement said he'd only received $54,019 in giveaways. In 2001, it was $171,772 -- mainly for financial counseling.

But during a bitter divorce, Welch's ex-wife detailed a multimillion-dollar litany of perks that GE provided -- both before and after Welch retired. Among them: fresh flowers and a wait-staff for his New York City apartment; floor-level seats for Knicks games; a sky box for Red Sox games; and VIP seating at the French Open. Experts say the resulting brouhaha is one of the reasons regulators revamped corporate-disclosure rules. Welch subsequently gave up the bulk of his perks.

"...all the little piggies, in their starch-white shirts...", ladies and gentlemen.

Enjoy the beautiful weather.

Link to original story:  http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/112473/outrageous-executive-perks-kiplinger?mod=career-salary_negotiation

Quote of the day

"The terrible, cold, cruel part is Wall Street. Rivers of gold flow there from all over the earth, and death comes with it. There, as nowhere else, you feel a total absence of the spirit: herds of men who cannot count past three, herds more who cannot get past six, scorn for pure science and demoniacal respect for the present. And the terrible thing is that the crowd that fills the street believes that the world will always be the same and that it is their duty to keep that huge machine running, day and night, forever." - Federico Garcia Lorca

Link:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federico_Garcia_Lorca

The way of the working world right now, sadly

A unionized public employee, a member of the Tea Party, and a CEO are sitting at a table. 


In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. 


The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the Tea Party member and says, 


"Look out for that union guy, he wants a piece of your cookie."

Why Capitalism isn't working

No, it's not.

Capitalism--unbridled, unregulated capitalism isn't working and it hasn't been working--at least not for our whole society and country--for some years now. Get over it.

As proof, there is an article up right now at Alternet(alternet.org) pointing out the 10 greediest people of the year, how much they make and what they're doing to their companies, their employees and our society and nation as a whole.

The information about them points out the hows and whys of our system breaking down. These people are getting more and more and more, while the middle- and lower- classes of the US increasingly have to do with less and less. It's one very evident reason of how Capitalism is tearing us down, as a country and a people, and how our system is broken and non-sustainable.

To wit, just some of the information:

10: Richard Anderson, Delta Airlines CEO

The company was collapsing: "Delta, after all, lost $8.9 billion in 2008. In 2009, Delta and other U.S. carriers, says the International Air Transport Association, will likely lose a combined $1 billion."

But Mr. Anderson? No such hard times for him: "For agreeing to become Delta’s chief, 28 months ago, Anderson picked up $8.5 million in stock awards. Seven months later, another $3.4 million. Six months after that, to celebrate the Delta-Northwest merger, more options to buy Delta stock, worth $7.3 million, and more actual shares, worth $6.1 million."

5: John Chambers, CEO of Cisco (computer equipment)

"Cisco has laid off over 1,500 workers since the economy turned challenging. Cisco CEO John Chambers, for his part, has pocketed $232.7 million over the last five years."

3: Mark Hurd

Computer printer ink, a high-tech financial analyst pointed out a few years ago, "costs more per drop than expensive perfume." Mark Hurd, the CEO at Hewlett-Packard since 2005, wouldn’t have it any other way.

HP, under Hurd, has been busy squeezing every bit of revenue possible out of the printer ink cash cow. Last year, HP upped ink prices up at double the inflation rate. The typical $30 ink cartridge, SmartMoney reported this past June, costs $3 to make.

Hurd apparently enjoys cutting wages and jobs as much as raising prices. In May, he axed 6,000 workers off the HP payroll and cut paychecks for the survivors from 5 to 15 percent.

Hurd did take a 20 percent salary cut himself for 2009. But “salary” in 2008 only accounted for $1.45 million of Hurd’s $26.04 million in cash compensation. He took in another $7.9 million in new stock awards -- and cleared still another $10.1 million cashing out previously awarded stock options.

Hurd’s CEO stint at HP has so far seen about 40,000 employees lose their jobs.

These are but 3 examples of these greedheads. There's lots more information out there on these 10 and then, of course, there are the many more who qualified for the list but didn't make it.

I absolutely recommend you go to this article to read who is number one and why. I'll give you a clue, too--it's not Bernie Madoff.

The point is, there is virtually no equity at all in our system. It seems we're as loyal and patriotic to Capitalism in this country as we are to Democracy and Freedom, to a fault.

And, ladies and gentlemen, greed is not good. It's tearing our country apart. It's emptying out the middle class. It's bankrupting us.

Get over it.

Randy Newman was--heck, is--so right

Dedicated to our government, in general, this weekend and maybe especially for President George W. Bush and his entire family.

Love ya, George.

Have a great weekend, folks!