Miscellaneous ramblings on the "Global Economy"

Greetings, Sports fans!

In this time during the Democratic convention, I had a chance to reflect on Sen. Edwards' "Hope is on the way" theme. You see, I am among many of the technology workers who were affected by the influx of H1B workers and off-shore labor. I have several college degrees--so it isn't about "getting educated," Mr. President. I have consistently gotten "Excellent/Superior" ratings on my performance reviews—so it isn't about "job performance," Mr. President. In fact, up until last year, I had never been fired—ahem , "laid off"—from a job. The fact of the matter was that while the company—that will remain nameless—treated its workers with dignity, it made no effort to retain individuals based upon merit. Let's see, the workers doing the right thing and working hard are ousted while the people keeping themselves busy by coding themselves a vacation bonus get retained? Yikes! "We're going to supplement, not replace our workers," the CEOs say. What this really means is that regardless of how educated you are or how hard you work, if someone across the pond is willing to work for a pittance of what we're paying you, then your days are numbered. Anyone remember Ross Perot and his talks of that "giant 'sucking' sound?" He was right!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you can often hear CFOs reporting numbers that never seem to be good enough for Wall St. Gurus managing your portfolio. Something has to give, right?

Thoughts from the journal of a CEO: Let's see...we're losing tons of money, but what the hell, I'll make some waves and then get that sweet severance package and get that loan for my house in the Bahamas forgiven. So what should I do? I guess I could:

a) Lay off more workers and ask the ones who stay to do more with less (ADP)...dang...already did that...but hell, a few more will help cover my bonus this Fall
b) Kick off a marketing blitz that will far exceed our revenues (TIVO)...only way to stay in business while losing money is cover it as a market share acquisition strategy...LOL...works like a charm every time!
c) "Concede" product X to the competition and spin it as our re-focus on legacy products. (Lou) Gerstner did that even while having a better product that he could have marketed better—what the hell was he thinking???!!!
d) Make mo' money by using our insider information...Nah, the SEC is watching too closely these days. Maybe the climate will cool after Martha finishes her appeals and Michael Jackson goes on trial.
e) What the heck, we didn't lose that much this last year. That's gotta be worth something! Time to give myself a FAT raise despite the fact that we're (still) losing money! Yeah, yeah…that’s the ticket!

To come correct, I'm as capitalist as they come, and I have no "Hater-ade" for the "Over-paid." I'm just continually stunned about the lack of conscience or ethics in the anals of corporate America…so much so that I walked away from a job with good money on the table. As good consumers, we regularly must make decisions that minimize risk to our families in order to meet our financial responsibilities. Why don't (most) CEOs do the same? I "get" that executives are beholden to stockholders, but the disparity between those who have and have not has become the ultimate barometer in my never-to-be-humble opinion. Which brings me back to the eloquent speech made by Senator Edwards on Wednesday. Isn't it ironic that our Democratic candidates-in-arms have made the issue of jobs and opportunity a cornerstone of their campaign? I don't think so. Sen. Edwards may not have the fluency of John Kennedy, but I must admit his message rang loud and clear: "Hope is on the way," indeed, but only if those who care step up to participate in our political process.

I periodically remind my sons that voting is a privilege, not a right. For instance, those who are incarcerated and serve their terms don't regain this privilege, and it wasn't that long ago when women and Blacks were not permitted to vote in this country. Al Sharpton said it best: "We never got our (40 acres) & a mule, but we're going to ride this donkey for all its worth!" We have few opportunities to collectively make a difference in this country and in this life. Make yours count.

Peace,
+THINKER