I try look at the positive things that are happening in our country like Madoff going to jail, the market being up for a few days or CitiBank saying they may be profitable. However there are some really dumb things going on that I don’t understand.
- A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the 80-20 rule. This week Saks announces the following program: Saks Inc., which operates high-end retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, is on a campaign to get shoppers to pay full price again, working with designer brands to lower prices, boosting service at the stores and throwing more special events. It also hopes that stocking less of the items shoppers want will entice them to buy now. In other words, they are committed to having less of what the customer wants rather than figuring out people aren’t buying $1000 shoes and purses and that they should offer a little value.
- President Obama announced a new education plan to show how much change he can stimulate that focuses on teacher incentives and charter schools. However he completely ignored just expanding things that are a proven to work and don’t need new bureaucracies like Pre-K education, smaller class size and no student left behind.
- Everyone agreed last fall to reduce earmarks and then Democrats and Republicans passed a bill with over 9,000 earmarks. In addition, in order to avoid the criticism, they are reclassifying earmarks so they don’t show up as earmarks. That is simply not transparency.
- Employees at Goldman Sachs are complaining about the changes in traveling rules. They are now required to stay at The Embassy Suites instead of The Ritz-Carlton, according to an article in the March 12, Wall Street Journal. Hooray for Goldman and why aren’t these spoiled employees getting it.
What’s your take? Why is the world so topsy turvy right now?
2 comments on this topic
19. March - 5:16 pm
I attended a Board of Ed meeting last night .Our Superintendant advised that 90 teachers and instructional staff jobs were to be cut in order to create a workable school budget which would still require at 4% tax hike. However, it was revealed by a concerned citizen that he had just taken a $25,000 pay raise, his compensation is now up to $283,000, and had been granted 10% pay raises every year for the last 5 years, while our taxes have gone up every year 4% - 6%. There is a sense of entitlement, extreme greed that has risen up in the last decade and become the norm. It has crippled our economy and is continuing to destroy our communities.
Our course we are disillusioned and completely unnerved when we read about AIG, Madoff, even Geithner tried to pocket money instead of paying his taxes. It’s really a new, much lower standard that we are accepting as the ‘new norm’. Acceptable theft.