Morning Commentary
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Less than 2007. Reason #1: Retirement, prompted by incompetent management at a major analog semiconductor company that believes youth and salesmanship are more important that experience and knowledge. (This company lists market share gains as its major criteria of success, but has been slipping down consistently for several years now.) Reason #2: Greedy top management. Had I not retired, I would be making less as upper management where I worked has made a very strong move to consolidate the bonuses and stock options to the political "in" group. Amazingly, 15 years ago, management realized the large number of people who had an impact on corporate success and started a program to share the bonuses and stock options with a much larger group. Company profits and market share both grew steadily. For te last 7 years, they have focused on moving all that money back to themselves. Not surprisingly, market share has dropped, and profits are holding for the moment only through suicidal cost cutting which assures profit collapse in the next few years. Of course, the board is "owned" by the CEO, so he continues to see huge personal compensation even though the company is dying under his mismanagement. It amazes me how few big corporations understand that success is defined by employee morale, and that amputate that success by cheating their employees out of a fair living. Great pay was how Henry Ford was so successful. When he lost control, the fools that followed tried to cheat the employees out if a fair living, and they got rewarded by labor unions. Now the labor unions want riches in return for mediocrity, so those workers are grossly overpaid while their morale is lousy, so the company loses on both ends. It all happened because of bad management. Let's not blame Obama for too much. Certainly, he is making it harder for business in America to thrive. On the other hand, he is doing far less damage than the 90% of CEOs who haven't got a clue about how to run a business for the long run (only concerned with this quarter results and selling the future cheaply). Bob G on 6/12/2012 9:56:37 AM |
Reason why? Greed and bad management. Greed= show me one retailer who has passed along the declining costs of doing business,,, yet? Example: Dairy farmers are going out of business due to low prices being paid for their milk yet all dairy products in the stores are still at the highest prices on record. Energy, we are still paying Katrina Rebuilding costs???????? Bad management: government from small city to the Fed cannot manage money so they raises taxes and their wages as well. Instead of finding costs savings within an organization [any for profit] they just raise prices. God Help Us All!!!!!!!! <>< james on 6/12/2012 10:11:54 AM |
NO NO the GREEDY GOT IT !!!! Josef on 6/12/2012 10:40:34 AM |
We're lucky to have paid off our mortgage before the crunch hit, but our biggest hit is still in the 20% plus drop in market value, and loss of liquidity in the R.E. market if we actually wanted to sell. At least 10% of people we know lost houses thru foreclosure. I also run a small non-profit that depended on a steady volume of car donations, but "Cash for Clunkers" not only erased that, but it nearly wiped out our salvage vendor because of the steep drop it caused in metal prices because of the glut in cars that had to be scrapped or else. Now there is a shortage of good used cars for consumers. Hardest hit were the poor who needed cheap cars to get to their jobs. That program hurt everyone except the new car dealers, and I'm not sure how much it helped them. People who don't understand markets have no place making decisions like this. This admin doesn't know what the hell it's doing. Dennis Howard on 6/12/2012 11:32:13 AM |
More, a lot more, mostly because my performance based pay is just that. Not being salaried, I lose paid vacation, sick days, holidays. But, if I perform, I get paid. It's on me to perform. However, over the years, the grid with which I am paid has been getting cut. I have to work harder to get the same pay. I'm willing to do it. A performance system Charles understands. Scott Heck on 6/12/2012 11:50:58 AM |
I am making more today than in 2007, since I just got back into the work force in Dec 2006 after being out for 6 years. However, the raises and promotions that I received in the 1990s were in the range of 5-10% versus the 2-4% now. I am JUST starting to earn a comparable wage now to when I left the work force in 1999 as a middle manager. I feel less wealthy since costs are going up faster than wages. But there is no inflation, right? Even with standard expenses growing 200% (like gas at $4 versus $1.25 per gallon). We are blessed to have purchased our home in the downturn in mid-90s so we bought at rock bottom and still have plenty of equity in our home with a very reasonable monthly payment. Many are not as fortunate. Judi G. on 6/12/2012 1:29:18 PM |
I make more today because I live in Texas. Robert Simmons on 6/12/2012 1:30:41 PM |
I am making less but that is because I retired after I was pushed out of my teaching position for insisting that student's earn passing grades or fail. I loved your circular graph of the phases of capitalism. I am writing a novel and would like to mention this is in. Could I have your permission for one my characters to mention that they saw it in your newletter? My book is a modern day Atlas Shrugged of sorts. Fran Touchette on 6/12/2012 5:31:22 PM |
I make a lot more, because we have a president that is willing and able to face the political opposition and create an enviroment of fairness and security in which busincess has been able to thrive! Jetti on 6/13/2012 5:04:30 AM |
I am making the same today as I made in 2007 because the company I work for has halted raises and 401K matching and I pay slightly more for my health benefits. However since I am paying more for gas, food and electric, I have very little left over now than I did in 2007. It all adds up. I only shop grocery sales and stay away from impulse shopping and eating out. sara hunt on 6/14/2012 4:24:31 PM |
No. Fear of Obamas policies and what they will do to our company has caused my employer to hold everything. Also, everything reuired to "live" gas to go to work, food to feed my kids, clothes, taxes, etc. have gone WAY up! People are not seeing the hidden costs of Obamacare yet, but they are there... James Spieles on 6/15/2012 5:54:28 AM |
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