American Greed

As I ponder my future and the best way to achieve the goals I have yet to clearly define, I often look at the examples of others both in my life and in the public eye. I work at a wine shop in a wealthy suburb so I see my share of folks who have the income to live a very comfortable life. On the other hand, I read about the Enron boys, Tyco, WorldCom etc. and people whose greed became so all-consuming, I can't even understand what drove them to do what they did.

My early conclusion is that it all comes down to power and a pathological greed. You can make a comfortable living doing lots of things. All it takes is fundamental intelligence, hard work and a bit of luck. You can multiply each of those factors and make a fortune to the extent that you and your family and the next generations of your family can live without fear of poverty with basic wealth management. At the next level, you can strive to make more money than God and do whatever it takes to get more.

It's at this last level that I lose track of what motivates people. I just don't understand how someone with so much money can be dumb enough to do something illegal to make more. Take Bill Gates as an example of how to properly be that rich; he made kajillions as a result of smart (and maybe a little aggressive) business practices. By the time Microsoft was in full swing, he was sitting at the top of a huge moneymaking machine and amassed a huge fortune because he created something that almost everyone needed. He retired (sort of) at an early age and spends his time donating money to worthy causes. This is admirable--he's set for the rest of his years in extreme luxury if desired as a result of his ingenuity and hard work but quit when the time was right and has donated millions to people around the world who could use some of his luck.

Contrast that to Ole Kenny Boy and you see a marked difference. Lay, Skilling, Kozlowski etc. couldn't stop themselves from taking advantage of whatever scheme they or their cohorts could think of to add a few more bucks to their already vast pile of money. Their greed ran rampant and as a group, they propose the notion that they aren't the exceptions but merely the symptoms of a perverted business culture.

Many of those indicted also felt entitled to take ridiculous perks from the companies they ran even though the boards were more than willing to pay them too much already. In other words, they didn't want to even spend any of the money that they already had too much of. Even the more admirable business leaders of the day, for instance, Jack Welch, have a large number of expenses taken care of by the company. Welch's retirement package from GE included travel on the corporate jet, an apartment in Manhattan, tickets to sporting events and full use of company resources. Okay, that's nice, he made them a lot of money, he should have access to these assets since he is a high profile dude who is still of value to them. However, the list continued and included country club membership, restaurant expense and banal items like dry cleaning. He's Jack fucking Welch! He can pay for his own goddamn dry cleaning! His speaking fees for a single engagement would easily cover his dry cleaning for 5 years!

In the 1970's, executives made an average of 25-30 times what the lowest paid employee of the same company earned. Today that figure is closer to 750 times. And guess who gets to use the company expense accounts for "business lunches" and entertainment? This element of our culture is harmful and unnecessary. I'm all in favor of capitalism but this isn't it. Rigging the system to make it this top heavy goes against what it's all about. When the board is chummy with the CEO, the shareholders suffer. When a company cuts benefits to the bulk of employees because income is down, the CEO shouldn't get a bonus. This has to stop. Enron may be put to rest now that the verdict is in but that was only a chapter. We can't let the resolution of that one instance lull us to sleep thinking that the mess is cleared up. The bright lights of the Enron affair caught our attention but now that they are off, we stand blinking in the darkness, unaware of the malfeasance in the dark corridors.

UPDATE:
Warren Buffet announced that he will donate a kajillion dollars to the Gates Foundation. Good for him. He basically gave away the amount of money he made that he, nor his heirs, will ever need. Here are his words on the topic:

"Neither [late wife] Susie nor I ever thought we should pass huge amounts of money along to our children," said Warren Buffett, who said he plans to give away his remaining stock holdings after his death but that he has "quite a bit of cash" he still plans to leave to those close to him. "Our children are great," he told Fortune. "But I would argue that when your kids have all the advantages anyway, in terms of how they grow up and the opportunities they have for education, including what they learn at home - I would say it's neither right nor rational to be flooding them with money."

Is there anyone who doesn't yet realize what's going on?

This article is for anyone out there who doesn't yet realize that the administration is playing by it's own rules and that we're a bunch of saps for letting it happen.

The news that Bush feels he can ignore laws and do whatever he wants isn't exactly breaking--they've been doing it since 2001 (remember Cheney's secret energy policy meeting). This article however is an indication that more people are becoming aware of it.

I admit I don't like Bush and co. Except for a few weeks in late september, 2001 when I tolerated him, I never liked him. Despite what I think about his policies, I just never liked his smug, aristocratic air that we shouldn't worry, he'll take care of it. Like the popular, rich kid in high school who's got the student body and teaching staff in his pocket, he goes around like he can do no harm. The result is a failure to admit/learn from mistakes, unwillingness to accept advice, and an inability to adapt to changing situations. Even if he had done everything right, I'd still hate him.

The fact is, he's gotten away with so much BS, it's amazing the smell alone didn't alert everyone from Alaska to the Keys. If his approval wasn't in the toilet, I'd be worried about him running for a third term. Luckily, the errors of the administration belie the image and Americans finally realize how badly they've been hoodwinked for the past five years. I only hope that the result will be more accountibility in the upper levels of gov't and greater scrutiny of the people we elect to hold those positions.

skid, crash, sit.

I was just walking down Mass Ave. in Cambridge, running an errand when I heard the tell-tale sound of a car hitting/getting hit behind me. I hear a woman gasp and when I turn around, there's a car halfway through the intersection with a man sitting on the roof. Thinking about it now, the image makes me laugh but at the time, I rushed over to make sure no one was hurt.

The man on the roof was a 20 something bike messenger type, his bike was on the ground behind the car. The driver made a left turn without bothering to notice the bike and the bike hit him full speed in the front passenger door. The bike rider hpped down wincing but seemed ok. He'll have a bruise and some road rash but should be fine. The driver leaned out and asked if he was ok and if he should stop. The biker said yes and yes so of course the car drives away. Luckily, about 5 of us who were watching got the license plate and a nearby meter maid called for a cruiser. When I left a few minutes later, the kid was still a little shaken up but able to laugh it off. He'll get revenge when the driver is hauled in to account for the hit and run. Of interest: according to bike guy, jettas are the best cars to hi: the rounded edges don't hurt so much.

Lessons from this:

• For drivers: Bicycles should be treated as cars. They move as quickly as traffic in most cases, they have to obey the same rules and they get the right of way the same way other cars do.
• For cyclists: If you rely on your bike to get around to work/school, wear a fricking helmet. This kid didn't have one and to top that, he was wearing headphones. The accident wasn't his fault but he isn't helping his odds with the lack of protection/awareness. As someone who used to commute by bike and still ride around town, I trust my own skill and level of alertness but don't trust drivers around here to notice me and not hit me. The helmet was to insure that if anything happened, I wouldn't end up brain-dead in the hospital. If this were to happen, on the off chance that a coma allowed me to hear but not respond, I wouldn't want to lay there while my family told me what a dumbass I was for not wearing a helmet. That said, I don't understand those who wear their helmets around when off the bike. Around here at least, it isn't unusual to see someone run into a store with the helmet on but I've actually seen people wearing them in restaurants, long after they'd gotten out of that saddle. Do you forget you're wearing it or do you like the way it looks?