todsails's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/141657/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/180963/comments?source=feed#comment-835789 835789 It will take a lot more than 8 years to recover from the 8 years of George W. Let's be honest about this.]]> Wed, 06 Jan 2010 11:21:17 -0500 It will take a lot more than 8 years to recover from the 8 years of George W. Let's be honest about this.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/179907/comments?source=feed#comment-826497 826497 I am all for anything that will make our people more competitive or our companies more competitive!!! Somehow what we have now seems to make our managers richer without doing either of these things.
- Vote no on executive pay packages when we vote those pesky proxies.
- Work for changes which would force mutual funds to act in the shareholder's interest relative to executive pay and perks.
- Encourage our children to aspire to make things or do things or study to be able to create things and not just head for the corner office. This may mean, horror of horrors, demanding all public schools be able to educate young people so that they can go to college and succeed in the hard sciences and engineering for example. No parent should have to send their child to a private school to get a competitive education.
- Find out why the majority of graduate slots in the hard sciences and engineering in our country are filled by foreign students and consider whether we should change this by encouraging our kids to fill those slots.
- Health care should not be tied to employment. With the current series of pink slips being given out we should finally see that this is folly. Besides, if health care was not connected to employment, then lots of really innovative people would be able to strike out on their own and start one of those wonderful small businesses we all seem to love.
- There are so many more. They just seem to upset someone's apple cart or anther.
Happy New Year


On Dec 29 11:04 AM 999abcd wrote:

> todsail, it's not a matter of "the 'right' distribution" of income
> or wealth, but rather an 'honest' distribution, which happens to
> be consistent with an 'honest' functioning of capitalism in the political-economy
> of any sustainable social democracy.
>
> As a presumed sailor, tod, I suspect that you are well aware of the
> attention to all the natural elements and sail controls that must
> be balanced to achieve a successful course and cruise.
>
> I had previously recommended this 'sailing' analogy to our politica-economic
> problems --- but I'm afraid that Obama is not much interested in
> sailing (as you and I are), and that he is not likely to be the 'captain'
> that we need for a sustainable cruise:
>
> As I have said before, Obama needs an economic crew of expert, empathetic,
> and experienced sailors, not a gold medallion wearing, dumb, and
> self-absorbed bunch of cigarette-boat, power-jockies, who only know
> how to put the throttles to the firewall and burn up our scarce and
> yank, like wankers, on the wheel.
>
> In this case of saving our titanic ship-of-state from the rocks and
> shoals to leeward, Obama needs a real sailing crew who understand
> the more subtle nature of using the natural power of winds and seas
> to sail close-hauled to windward.
>
> The major skill factor in successful sailing is in understanding
> the combination of elements inexorably linking wind and seas via
> sail controls and helm --- for which there are numerous sensitive
> controls, but no single or simple overpowering force of an engine.
>
>
> In this case of our currently endangered schooner America (like the
> racing schooner ‘American’, the first America’s Cup winner, which
> broke the back of perceived invincible British EMPIRE sea power in
> 1851) Captain Obama must understand and synthesize the indivisible
> elements of democratic political-economy just like a racing skipper
> must deal with the indivisible seas and wind.
>
> Captain Obama, whether he knows it or not, is in his first match
> race with Empire, and Empire always attempts to ‘divide and conquer’
> as it has divided economics and politics to conquer both separately.
> Now Obama has to learn how to hang the ‘political’ and ‘economic’
> elements of our indivisible democratic Republic together --- “or
> we will hang separately”.
>
> Franklin knew this truth of democratic Republic and elite Empire
> being sworn enemies when he famously answered the lady’s question
> about our first American battle against the continuing threat of
> Empire, “Now we have our Republic, if we can keep it (from Empire)”.
>
>
> Obama perhaps does not yet fully recognize the seriousness and unending
> nature of Empire’s disguised but still threatening grasp --- which
> is upon us now. His dedicated, skilled, and empathetic crew of natural-born
> sailors, need to recombine political-economy into the human and humanist
> ‘age of enlightenment’ that Adam Smith (the moral philosopher), Thomas
> Jefferson (the democrat), and all of America’s founding fathers knew
> like the back of their hand.
>
> Obama needs more than technical economists, and political advisors
> to synthesize a solution to this current crisis, which is guilefully
> ‘framed’ by those who favor Empire as only an ‘economic problem’
> (and other problems as ‘framed’ by Empire’s talking-head pundits
> as only ‘political problems’).
>
> These problems are not divisible in our shared democracy.
>
> They are all part of the much broader, singular, seminal, signal,
> and even more threatening existential problem of democracy over these
> last five thousand years.
>
> And that problem, threat, and poison is Empire itself.
>
> Alan MacDonald
> Sanford, Maine]]> Wed, 30 Dec 2009 11:57:24 -0500 I am all for anything that will make our people more competitive or our companies more competitive!!! Somehow what we have now seems to make our managers richer without doing either of these things.
- Vote no on executive pay packages when we vote those pesky proxies.
- Work for changes which would force mutual funds to act in the shareholder's interest relative to executive pay and perks.
- Encourage our children to aspire to make things or do things or study to be able to create things and not just head for the corner office. This may mean, horror of horrors, demanding all public schools be able to educate young people so that they can go to college and succeed in the hard sciences and engineering for example. No parent should have to send their child to a private school to get a competitive education.
- Find out why the majority of graduate slots in the hard sciences and engineering in our country are filled by foreign students and consider whether we should change this by encouraging our kids to fill those slots.
- Health care should not be tied to employment. With the current series of pink slips being given out we should finally see that this is folly. Besides, if health care was not connected to employment, then lots of really innovative people would be able to strike out on their own and start one of those wonderful small businesses we all seem to love.
- There are so many more. They just seem to upset someone's apple cart or anther.
Happy New Year


On Dec 29 11:04 AM 999abcd wrote:

> todsail, it's not a matter of "the 'right' distribution" of income
> or wealth, but rather an 'honest' distribution, which happens to
> be consistent with an 'honest' functioning of capitalism in the political-economy
> of any sustainable social democracy.
>
> As a presumed sailor, tod, I suspect that you are well aware of the
> attention to all the natural elements and sail controls that must
> be balanced to achieve a successful course and cruise.
>
> I had previously recommended this 'sailing' analogy to our politica-economic
> problems --- but I'm afraid that Obama is not much interested in
> sailing (as you and I are), and that he is not likely to be the 'captain'
> that we need for a sustainable cruise:
>
> As I have said before, Obama needs an economic crew of expert, empathetic,
> and experienced sailors, not a gold medallion wearing, dumb, and
> self-absorbed bunch of cigarette-boat, power-jockies, who only know
> how to put the throttles to the firewall and burn up our scarce and
> yank, like wankers, on the wheel.
>
> In this case of saving our titanic ship-of-state from the rocks and
> shoals to leeward, Obama needs a real sailing crew who understand
> the more subtle nature of using the natural power of winds and seas
> to sail close-hauled to windward.
>
> The major skill factor in successful sailing is in understanding
> the combination of elements inexorably linking wind and seas via
> sail controls and helm --- for which there are numerous sensitive
> controls, but no single or simple overpowering force of an engine.
>
>
> In this case of our currently endangered schooner America (like the
> racing schooner ‘American’, the first America’s Cup winner, which
> broke the back of perceived invincible British EMPIRE sea power in
> 1851) Captain Obama must understand and synthesize the indivisible
> elements of democratic political-economy just like a racing skipper
> must deal with the indivisible seas and wind.
>
> Captain Obama, whether he knows it or not, is in his first match
> race with Empire, and Empire always attempts to ‘divide and conquer’
> as it has divided economics and politics to conquer both separately.
> Now Obama has to learn how to hang the ‘political’ and ‘economic’
> elements of our indivisible democratic Republic together --- “or
> we will hang separately”.
>
> Franklin knew this truth of democratic Republic and elite Empire
> being sworn enemies when he famously answered the lady’s question
> about our first American battle against the continuing threat of
> Empire, “Now we have our Republic, if we can keep it (from Empire)”.
>
>
> Obama perhaps does not yet fully recognize the seriousness and unending
> nature of Empire’s disguised but still threatening grasp --- which
> is upon us now. His dedicated, skilled, and empathetic crew of natural-born
> sailors, need to recombine political-economy into the human and humanist
> ‘age of enlightenment’ that Adam Smith (the moral philosopher), Thomas
> Jefferson (the democrat), and all of America’s founding fathers knew
> like the back of their hand.
>
> Obama needs more than technical economists, and political advisors
> to synthesize a solution to this current crisis, which is guilefully
> ‘framed’ by those who favor Empire as only an ‘economic problem’
> (and other problems as ‘framed’ by Empire’s talking-head pundits
> as only ‘political problems’).
>
> These problems are not divisible in our shared democracy.
>
> They are all part of the much broader, singular, seminal, signal,
> and even more threatening existential problem of democracy over these
> last five thousand years.
>
> And that problem, threat, and poison is Empire itself.
>
> Alan MacDonald
> Sanford, Maine]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/179907/comments?source=feed#comment-824910 824910

On Dec 29 10:11 AM Jack1234 wrote:

> You can make numbers say anything you wish to depict. The fact of
> the matter is that Americans have the highest standard of living
> of any country in the world - including the lower 40% income bracket.
> Wake up and get your head out of the sand - we have it pretty good
> in the USA. If others can make a greater income than I, more power
> to them. This is what makes America great.]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:38:44 -0500

On Dec 29 10:11 AM Jack1234 wrote:

> You can make numbers say anything you wish to depict. The fact of
> the matter is that Americans have the highest standard of living
> of any country in the world - including the lower 40% income bracket.
> Wake up and get your head out of the sand - we have it pretty good
> in the USA. If others can make a greater income than I, more power
> to them. This is what makes America great.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/179907/comments?source=feed#comment-824893 824893 It seems unlikely that our children will have the kind of life that most of those in my category (retired professional on the Eastern Shore of MD) have.
I have two daughters. Both have masters degrees (MBA - U of Michigan and Marketing Communications - Northwestern). One had her position eliminated after working 10 hour days (no OT of course - OT is so working class) and taking no vacations in order to get her project done. The other has not had a raise in 3 years - no one in her part of the company has.
Just how the hell does anyone think that the average American will be happy and content in these situations? Fox News and Rush are exploiting frustration and guiding it in one direction - one I think is silly in the extreem. Think about those who keep telling us that climate change is a hoax (forgot to mention that I spent a 35 year career in research). Watch out when the guy on the street comes around to thinking that he is the one getting screwed and the right wing represents the one doing the screwing.
As someone who grew up working class, I have to think that major changes could come. And they might not be pretty or well thought out. A little fairness could go a long way.]]> Tue, 29 Dec 2009 10:27:05 -0500 It seems unlikely that our children will have the kind of life that most of those in my category (retired professional on the Eastern Shore of MD) have.
I have two daughters. Both have masters degrees (MBA - U of Michigan and Marketing Communications - Northwestern). One had her position eliminated after working 10 hour days (no OT of course - OT is so working class) and taking no vacations in order to get her project done. The other has not had a raise in 3 years - no one in her part of the company has.
Just how the hell does anyone think that the average American will be happy and content in these situations? Fox News and Rush are exploiting frustration and guiding it in one direction - one I think is silly in the extreem. Think about those who keep telling us that climate change is a hoax (forgot to mention that I spent a 35 year career in research). Watch out when the guy on the street comes around to thinking that he is the one getting screwed and the right wing represents the one doing the screwing.
As someone who grew up working class, I have to think that major changes could come. And they might not be pretty or well thought out. A little fairness could go a long way.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/68619/comments?source=feed#comment-127117 127117 There should be a risk to the CEO for failure. Right now I do not see one. This may be part of the problem.]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 11:08:07 -0400 There should be a risk to the CEO for failure. Right now I do not see one. This may be part of the problem.]]>