Election Issues Today

Here is a governor who admits to having an extramarital affair for the past year, disappeared for several days, had his office AND his spouse cover for him as to his whereabouts, and still expects to remain in office…at least as of today.

What a JERK! How disrespectful! How disgusting!

Why is it that such people enter politics? Or is it politics and power that changes them into jerks?

I have no use for his kind. The State has no use for such a governor.

As a matter of fact, such behavior shows such contempt for his family that he is unfit to be a husband or father.

Get a divorce first!

I am not an economist, or accountant, or banker or financier, financial analyst or securities analyst. Those professions get paid for making decisions (or at least recommendations) that involve money–lots and lots of money.

When I ask the question of “Bigness” being “too big,” I am coming from a position of ignorance. I saw an article today wherein a U.S. government official has stated something to the effect that:

AIG is a globally interconnected colossus, with 74 million customers worldwide and operations in more than 130 countries. The government decided it was simply too big to let fail.

There are CORPORATIONS with assets and annual revenues that are bigger than the gross domestic product of some COUNTRIES!

A financial crisis in a small country can be bailed out more easily than these huge “conglomerates.”

I don’t know a great deal about American history, but there were so many problems with monopolies during the early years of the Industrial Revolution, I thought the U.S. Government had put measures in place to control these “giants.”

I think the problem may now be that the “giants” have become so BIG and so POWERFUL that the CEOs or Presidents wield more power in the World than many–(yes MANY)–government leaders. Corporate CEOs fly around the World in private jets that put many a country’s elected leaders to shame. Corporate CEO’s and other top officials earn salaries (oh yes, and bonuses too) that FAR exceed the incomes of all but the most corrupt World dictators.

I just hope it isn’t TOO late to put the Brakes on and exert some Control over these “TOO-BIG-for-their-own-good” corporations.

SPIDER superstitions:

Spider Webs can be seen as traps that ensnare people, like flies that become stuck fast. Spiders in history have often represented human fragility as well as enticement for evil. In Africa spiders are often associated with tricksters.

(In all fairness to the world’s spiders, most spider superstition is actually favorable and they are often associated with good luck.)

I probably don’t need to add my insignificant voice to the MOBs who are in such an outrage over the AIG employee bonuses. I know that some employees received only $1,000, but many received over $1 Million!

What I can’t get my mind around is how a “bonus” can be over $1 Million! Even if we discount the QUAINT NOTION that a “bonus” should be CONNECTED in SOME WAY to PERFORMANCE, I am mind-boggled at a one-year bonus that exceeds what a lot of working people earn in their ENTIRE LIFETIME!

Something is seriously wrong with our society–with our SYSTEM–that pays some people millions and millions in regular salary PLUS such an outrageous amount as a “little bonus,” while millions are unemployed or toil at jobs that pay $7.00 per hour, AND where heads of household are working two or three part-time jobs to make $20,000 a year and pay rent, utilities, car payments, gasoline, and buy food for a family of four.

Here’s the part that is really hurtful and offensive to most of the working people: the recipients of these multi-million dollar salaries and million dollar bonuses often take it for granted that they DESERVE it; that the company, or society, or the country OWES them this kind of compensation.

In my humble opinion, NOBODY is worth that kind of money and it doesn’t matter WHAT they contribute to society. These people are SUCKING CHEST WOUNDs on the World’s economies!

There was one time that I saw a statistic from Japan that showed the ratio of the salary from the highest paid company executive to the lowest paid employee was only FIVE to ONE! That was some years ago, and things have changed. (AND HOW!)

It is no wonder that our entire financial system, as it currently functions, is not sustainable. There is no value added at each step of the financial management process; but rather there is a “rake off the top” for these privileged individuals, and the cost is passed on at each step, with the large numbers of us poor bastards at the bottom of the taxpayer food chain picking up the cost.

I am totally fed up, and the only thing I can do is pull our annuity out of AIG and put it somewhere else.

Perhaps this is too obvious, but the problem here is finding ANY FINANCIAL organization that is any different!

If we eliminated every single CEO position in the United States economy I doubt if we would be giving up much in efficiency or productivity. 

It may be unfair to compare corporate CEOs to head football coaches, but their tenure is supposed to be based on performance, and that actually means performance by their corporation or team.  

We often see head coaches who do virtually nothing; they have delegated it all to assistants.  Yet the Head Coach still draws the big bucks. Corporate CEO’s are often in their positions based on reputation as well as previous, or proven, performance.  They are often hired based on their “image” as a winner, much like a head football coach. 

• Big reputations for coaches draw big players and big audiences with higher ticket pricing.
• Big reputations for CEOs draw big investors, big customer orders, and big stock market gains.  

I think it is often just a big hot air balloon, both in football and in the corporate world.  The boost that a new coach or CEO provides is almost always temporary.  The insiders quickly take advantage of the temporary boost and “get theirs while the gettin is good.”

The performance of the corporate CEOs that have been in the news recently has been shameful.  They should all be fired.  Talk about an old boy network.  Boards of Directors, CEOs, corporate officers are all made of the same stuff, all went to the same universities, belong to the same fraternities, marry into the same money.  It’s disgusting.