Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by Landshark

Company i work for had profits of $4.65 billion last quarter, and instead of the 1/2 day we usually get on Xmas Eve, we got 2 hours off.

Im going to camp out and not shower, and maybe my concerns will be heard!

If it's at all like the V office were I worked, no one would notice...

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by sicksubie

I dont see what the problem is with the last story or the point you are trying to raise by posting it...

because:

A lot of companies (including my own) are holding back on bonuses even though they are pulling in large profits. They are doing this for exactly the reason listed in the story, they know that they have their employees over a barrel.

It seems you already understand the problem. These guys just hoard money and even people like you who don't consider yourselves part of the 99% are feeling the squeeze.


Aside from that, I just thought it was a funny story, in an ironic sort of way. It's a nice luxury to plan your life around your bonus but when it gets taken away from you, whaaambulance is already over capacity.

[sicksubie]

Originally Posted by NikFu S.

because:



It seems you already understand the problem. These guys just hoard money and even people like you who don't consider yourselves part of the 99% are feeling the squeeze.


Aside from that, I just thought it was a funny story, in an ironic sort of way. It's a nice luxury to plan your life around your bonus but when it gets taken away from you, whaaambulance is already over capacity.

It does not seem that you quite understand the problem... "These guys" cannot just "hoard money". From how you talk(write) it seems that you think these evil "Wall Streeters" like to go home and sleep on the piles of cash their company hoarded and stole from the "99%". That is very far off from reality.

A. Companies do not want to "hoard" money AT ALL except for the fact of establishing or building up cash reserves for emergency situations (that is how Ford survived the crisis with no bailouts). Except for that reason, holding unecessary cash is a terrible business idea. Cash needs to be used...

B. If the company is starting to hold more cash, than it is just that... It is the company. Plus the cash is still being held in a cash reserves fund somewhere and is still being used/ circulated throughout the economy. Also if a company does start holding more cash, shareholders of that company can examine the books and determine if they are in agreement with the direction the company is going and if so, great and if not, well then they can invest elsewhere.

C. If you are pointing out the "problem" of how much $ upper level people make (CEO's, Presidents, etc., etc.) and "hoard". That is still none of your business. The free market determined the salaries that they received. If ABC company did not pay their CEO $12million per year then XYZ company would have paid him and ABC would be out their CEO. The government cannot stick it's filthy hands in this process...

The problem I have is when a company cries poor to it's production level employees, low level, and mid level management and says that bonuses will be 2% this year and then a week later there is an announcement that the CEO will be getting a $19million bonus. Unless that bonus was part of his contracted compensation, then I have a real problem with that. How to fix it though is the question...

[sunvalleyray]

The free market does not control bonuses to executives...board of directors do and this is part of the problem. When the foxes hire the guards there are no controls. Germany has included labor into the boardroom and the results have been positive - workers and management work together to produce a better product, cut cost, increase profits and protect workers. There is a new paradigm in the business world, it is called the four P's - planet, profit and people. Companies should not be allowed to pollute and pass on the costs to the tax payer or take advantage of workers.

Ray

[Hocrest]

Originally Posted by sunvalleyray

... There is a new paradigm in the business world, it is called the four P's - planet, profit and people...

I would think that the business world could count better...

[sunvalleyray]

That is what happens when you drive for twelve hours...it is the three P's.

Ray

PS: I loved your response - very funny. I will say that our present recession points to the business world not counting well or perhaps they also need more sleep.

Ray

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by sicksubie

C. If you are pointing out the "problem" of how much $ upper level people make (CEO's, Presidents, etc., etc.) and "hoard". That is still none of your business. The free market determined the salaries that they received. If ABC company did not pay their CEO $12million per year then XYZ company would have paid him and ABC would be out their CEO. The government cannot stick it's filthy hands in this process...

The problem I have is when a company cries poor to it's production level employees, low level, and mid level management and says that bonuses will be 2% this year and then a week later there is an announcement that the CEO will be getting a $19million bonus. Unless that bonus was part of his contracted compensation, then I have a real problem with that. How to fix it though is the question...

So on the one hand you have a problem with in-house swindling, but on the other hand you think in-house swindlers should just be left to their devices because the "free market" says it's ok... ?


I'm not advocating that people in the example above should be forced to change, my fight is more with the people who intentionally gamble with other people's money already earned and invested, then making off like bandits after the **** hits the fan. Those people should be prosecuted. I'm not against corporate execs or people with money in any generalized sense, I just think that this idea that because they are in a certain position that they are entitled to the sweat of the employees brow without due compensation to the employee. I think some execs are given to a bloated self-importance, and people who believe too much in the freeness of the free market enable that kind of behavior.

"Job makers" can pay whatever they want, but because there is a trend in enough of them wanting to screw people over, government has had to step in and do things like enact minimum wage, worker's rights, etc.

[NikFu S.]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...750545602.html


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[NikFu S.]

Cop Identified in Scott Olsen Incident?

Video and police records indicate that Oakland Police Officer Robert Roche threw a stun grenade at protesters trying to help the injured Iraq War vet.

...
But an extensive review of video footage and Oakland Police Department records by this reporter indicates that Robert Roche, an acting sergeant in the Oakland Police Department and member of OPD's "Tango Teams," threw the flash-bang at Olsen and his rescuers. It's also not the first time that Roche's actions have come under scrutiny. Police records show that Roche had previously killed three people in the line of duty.
...

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/ebx/co...nt?oid=3131933

[NikFu S.]

Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs
By GREG SMITH
Published: March 14, 2012

TODAY is my last day at Goldman Sachs. After almost 12 years at the firm — first as a summer intern while at Stanford, then in New York for 10 years, and now in London — I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.

To put the problem in the simplest terms, the interests of the client continue to be sidelined in the way the firm operates and thinks about making money. Goldman Sachs is one of the world’s largest and most important investment banks and it is too integral to global finance to continue to act this way. The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/op...&smid=fb-share

Colbert:
http://on.cc.com/w1dttp

[sicksubie]

I always laugh at these billionaires who come out and say "tax the rich". If they feel so inclined to pay more than they are free to do so. There is a line right there on your taxes where you have the option of paying more. So, why have they not been paying their "fair share" all along?

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by sicksubie

So, why have they not been paying their "fair share" all along?

In Buffet's case he acknowledges the flaws of the tax system while taking advantage of them. I think it proves he knows what he's talking about.

As for Gates, I think he's actually a mostly decent guy who would like to see people treated more fairly.

[NikFu S.]

Goldman Employee Was Source of Insider Tips, Gupta’s Lawyer Says
March 16, 2012, 7:55 pm

Federal prosecutors have recordings of a Goldman Sachs executive leaking confidential information about technology stocks to Raj Rajaratnam, the former hedge fund billionaire convicted of insider trading, a lawyer disclosed Friday during a court hearing.

The evidence emerged during a pretrial hearing at Federal District Court in Manhattan in the case of Rajat K. Gupta, a former board member at Goldman who is facing charges that he leaked secret boardroom discussions about the bank to Mr. Rajaratnam, who is serving an 11-year-prison term.

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/03/...s-lawyer-says/

[NikFu S.]

Scotts Miracle Gro Pleads Guilty to Pesticide Charges
March 17, 2012

Poisoning bird seed that you sell to bird lovers isn’t the brightest of ideas. Scott’s Miracle Gro, owned by Monsanto Co., is proposing donating $500,000 to support wildlife conservation and study in addition to paying a $4 million dollar fine for using unapproved insecticides in bird seed sold nationally for two years, the judge will be considering that in their guilty plea as he decides on the repercussions for their actions. The government alleges that beginning in 2005, Scotts produced a line of wild bird food products under names including “Morning Song” and “Country Pride” that contained insecticides.

According to court records, Scotts sold a whopping 73 million packages of bird seed in 2008 that were treated with Storcide II and Actellic 5E, intended to prevent insects from destroying the feed. This was done despite being warned by one of their own chemists and orinthologists that there were toxicity issues. Storcide II is labeled as “Toxic to birds. Toxic to wildlife,” and that “Exposed treated seed may be hazardous to birds.” No such warning exists on the Actellic 5E label. Despite this, Scotts continued to sell their improperly treated seeds for two more years.

http://www.occupymonsanto360.org/201...icide-charges/