Away from the 'political correctness' police and from the fear of being sued or being misquoted in the press, business owners open up and say exactly what's on their minds. The backroom, unscheduled meetings where they congregate to commiserate sums it all up. Business owners have a bad rap for being stuffy and lacking humor. I find it quite the opposite. However, I have earned my spot at the table and will never rat them out. They speak freely in my presence. I find that the ultimate compliment.
Granted, there are a LOT of business owners who are complete asswipes. I can't argue that fact. However, the business owners are competing in a global economy. The simple fact is that the American public (and people in general) want their goods/services for rock bottom prices or for FREE. There is no free.
If the United States is to participate in a world economy, then we will have an economy like the rest of the world.
Think about it.......
Showing posts with label american economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label american economy. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2010 and the American Economy
Everybody is telling us the economy is getting better. Really? What drugs are they on and how come they're not sharing!
The problem is that nobody has any cash anymore. We have no solid foundation. Everything is financed in complicated voodoo loans up the gazoo and when the dominoes start falling, like they are now, the ripple effect is impossible to stop.
I got word tonight of two long-standing Sonoma County employers who will not make it financially to the end of the year. Both companies got a little over confident during the last boom cycle and expanded dramatically. Now they have laid off a big chunk of their staff, and the those left are working 18-20 hours per week. We're talking about employees who have 15 years + in with the company. Not an easy management decision to make -- gutting longtime employees. This isn't done lightly.
Employers are not always "evil." Employers get a bad rap a lot of time. I don't think employees realize the pressure of owning and operating a business. Employees don't realize the enormous amount of regulations, laws, insurance, etc., employers face. I don't think employees understand just what it takes to even own and operate a business.
I've been playing this game a long, long time. I've seen actual employees rebel against their employer for being a "tight, stingy bastard" and go into business for themselves. Lo and behold, after about 5 years (assuming they make it through the start-up phase, in which many of them do not) they take on the "management bastard" role themselves. They finally figure out how much it takes to keep a business afloat. It's an interesting transformation to watch.
Speaking of which, I think it should be a prerequisite for any and all politicians to have run a successful business. So many politicians have NO CLUE what it takes and issue mandates that are impossible for employers to comply with. Most politicians have never had a pending payroll. That's why we are in the mess we are in. We have people running California who have NO business sense whatsoever.
....and when politicians are in a bind, they just TAX, TAX, and TAX and create massive CLUSTER FUCKS. They are nothing more than financial bullies. When businesses are failing, businesses don't have the luxury of just raising their prices without extreme scrutiny and justification.
The government has no competition.
The problem is that nobody has any cash anymore. We have no solid foundation. Everything is financed in complicated voodoo loans up the gazoo and when the dominoes start falling, like they are now, the ripple effect is impossible to stop.
I got word tonight of two long-standing Sonoma County employers who will not make it financially to the end of the year. Both companies got a little over confident during the last boom cycle and expanded dramatically. Now they have laid off a big chunk of their staff, and the those left are working 18-20 hours per week. We're talking about employees who have 15 years + in with the company. Not an easy management decision to make -- gutting longtime employees. This isn't done lightly.
Employers are not always "evil." Employers get a bad rap a lot of time. I don't think employees realize the pressure of owning and operating a business. Employees don't realize the enormous amount of regulations, laws, insurance, etc., employers face. I don't think employees understand just what it takes to even own and operate a business.
I've been playing this game a long, long time. I've seen actual employees rebel against their employer for being a "tight, stingy bastard" and go into business for themselves. Lo and behold, after about 5 years (assuming they make it through the start-up phase, in which many of them do not) they take on the "management bastard" role themselves. They finally figure out how much it takes to keep a business afloat. It's an interesting transformation to watch.
Speaking of which, I think it should be a prerequisite for any and all politicians to have run a successful business. So many politicians have NO CLUE what it takes and issue mandates that are impossible for employers to comply with. Most politicians have never had a pending payroll. That's why we are in the mess we are in. We have people running California who have NO business sense whatsoever.
....and when politicians are in a bind, they just TAX, TAX, and TAX and create massive CLUSTER FUCKS. They are nothing more than financial bullies. When businesses are failing, businesses don't have the luxury of just raising their prices without extreme scrutiny and justification.
The government has no competition.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Damn e-Mail Scammers
Do NOT, and I repeat, do NOT fall prey to this e-mail scam:
MY DEAR AMERICAN FRIEND:
I AM NEEDING TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 700 BILLION OF YOUR DOLLARS (US). IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.
I AM WORKING WITH HIGHLY REPUTABLE MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY IF MY POLITICAL PARTY WINS UPCOMING ELECTION, WHICH WE CERTAINLY WILL BECAUSE WE ARE IN CONTROLING OF THE HIGHEST SUPREME COURT. YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM AS A SENATOR AS LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S.
THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE. YOU MUST TRUST ME COMPLETELY AND NOT ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRANSACTION. YOU HAVE MY WORD NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE MONEY.
THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED YOUR BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTH PERSONAGE WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED. YOU ARE THAT PERSONAGE.
PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN AND THOSE YET UNBORN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS WE PROMISE WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS AND PRODUCE A LONG-TERM RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR YOU AND THOSE YOU LOVE.
YOURS FAITHFULLY
MINISTER OF TREASURY H. PAULSON
MY DEAR AMERICAN FRIEND:
I AM NEEDING TO ASK YOU TO SUPPORT AN URGENT SECRET BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH A TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF GREAT MAGNITUDE.
I AM MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY OF THE REPUBLIC OF AMERICA. MY COUNTRY HAS HAD CRISIS THAT HAS CAUSED NEED FOR LARGE TRANSFER OF FUNDS OF 700 BILLION OF YOUR DOLLARS (US). IF YOU WOULD ASSIST ME IN THIS TRANSFER IT WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE TO YOU.
I AM WORKING WITH HIGHLY REPUTABLE MR. PHIL GRAM, LOBBYIST FOR UBS, WHO WILL BE MY REPLACEMENT AS MINISTRY OF THE TREASURY IN JANUARY IF MY POLITICAL PARTY WINS UPCOMING ELECTION, WHICH WE CERTAINLY WILL BECAUSE WE ARE IN CONTROLING OF THE HIGHEST SUPREME COURT. YOU MAY REMEMBER HIM AS A SENATOR AS LEADER OF THE AMERICAN BANKING DEREGULATION MOVEMENT IN THE 1990S.
THIS TRANSACTIN IS 100% SAFE. YOU MUST TRUST ME COMPLETELY AND NOT ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TRANSACTION. YOU HAVE MY WORD NO ONE WILL DO ANYTHING WRONG WITH THE MONEY.
THIS IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. WE NEED YOUR BLANK CHECK. WE NEED THE FUNDS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. WE CANNOT DIRECTLY TRANSFER THESE FUNDS IN THE NAMES OF OUR CLOSE FRIENDS BECAUSE WE ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER SURVEILLANCE. MY FAMILY LAWYER ADVISED ME THAT I SHOULD LOOK FOR A RELIABLE AND TRUSTWORTH PERSONAGE WHO WILL ACT AS A NEXT OF KIN SO THE FUNDS CAN BE TRANSFERRED. YOU ARE THAT PERSONAGE.
PLEASE REPLY WITH ALL OF YOUR BANK ACCOUNT, IRA AND COLLEGE FUND ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND THOSE OF YOUR CHILDREN, GRANDCHILDREN AND THOSE YET UNBORN TO WALLSTREETBAILOUT@TREASURY.GOV SO THAT WE MAY TRANSFER YOUR COMMISSION FOR THIS TRANSACTION. AFTER I RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION I WILL RESPOND WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT SAFEGUARDS WE PROMISE WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THE FUNDS AND PRODUCE A LONG-TERM RETURN ON INVESTMENT FOR YOU AND THOSE YOU LOVE.
YOURS FAITHFULLY
MINISTER OF TREASURY H. PAULSON
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Worried Customers Ask: Is my bank safe?
That's the headline of today's Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat. My answer is: What the fuck do you think?
The article goes on how customers are walking into their banks and asking these questions to the bank officers and employees. ....and the worried bank account holders expect an honest answer from them after these same institutions have lied to them and coaxed them into financial products that were not in their customers' best interest?
We're supposed to believe our media and government spokespeople on the statistics and figures they present to us regarding the economy are accurate after we've all been blatantly misled? The rats have abandoned the ship -- and they're trying to have us be the ones to sink with it. Helloooooooooooooo???!!!
We have all been bullshitted for so long, nobody knows the truth anymore. We have been bamboozled with impressive, intelligent-sounding, financial voodoo math formulas that were merely a smoke-and-mirrors ploy meant to distract us from what was really going on in all sectors of the financial markets -- greed, greed, GREED!
If something is complicated and difficult to follow, like the voodoo math used in calculating and creating complex loans and other financial investment vehicles, rest assured it's NO GOOD. It's all confusing for a reason, folks, because they don't want YOU to figure out that YOU'RE getting RIPPED OFF AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!
Here's your mantra for the day: SIMPLE IS GOOD.
The article goes on how customers are walking into their banks and asking these questions to the bank officers and employees. ....and the worried bank account holders expect an honest answer from them after these same institutions have lied to them and coaxed them into financial products that were not in their customers' best interest?
We're supposed to believe our media and government spokespeople on the statistics and figures they present to us regarding the economy are accurate after we've all been blatantly misled? The rats have abandoned the ship -- and they're trying to have us be the ones to sink with it. Helloooooooooooooo???!!!
We have all been bullshitted for so long, nobody knows the truth anymore. We have been bamboozled with impressive, intelligent-sounding, financial voodoo math formulas that were merely a smoke-and-mirrors ploy meant to distract us from what was really going on in all sectors of the financial markets -- greed, greed, GREED!
If something is complicated and difficult to follow, like the voodoo math used in calculating and creating complex loans and other financial investment vehicles, rest assured it's NO GOOD. It's all confusing for a reason, folks, because they don't want YOU to figure out that YOU'RE getting RIPPED OFF AND TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF!
Here's your mantra for the day: SIMPLE IS GOOD.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I Told You So...
Back in February I warned of Washington Mutual Bank being run by a bastion of greedy cluster fucks who didn't know what they were doing, and didn't care that they didn't. I then painted the same scenario regarding the financial institutions all across America. Washington Mutual stock has lost about 90% of its value over the past 12 months. Many more banks are to follow, rest assured. I also advised investing your money in your mattress. Why? Because you simply can't trust anybody to manage your money for you. People are always careless with other people's money. It's that simple.
This last week we have witnessed bank runs. Interesting. We have not seen that since the Great Depression. In the meantime we have the government telling us not to panic. Bullshit. Here's the scenario: The Titanic is sinking and the government is running around arranging deck chairs and playing nice music.
Yes, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. However, citizens are pleading to the 'government' to save us and to regulate things. I've got news for you all: The government can't do shit for you. Unless you can wipe greed out of humans, it will never change. I've yet to see a law against greed, but I'm sure they will try. Just like laws about talking on your cell phone while driving, but that's another rant.
This last week we have witnessed bank runs. Interesting. We have not seen that since the Great Depression. In the meantime we have the government telling us not to panic. Bullshit. Here's the scenario: The Titanic is sinking and the government is running around arranging deck chairs and playing nice music.
Yes, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. However, citizens are pleading to the 'government' to save us and to regulate things. I've got news for you all: The government can't do shit for you. Unless you can wipe greed out of humans, it will never change. I've yet to see a law against greed, but I'm sure they will try. Just like laws about talking on your cell phone while driving, but that's another rant.
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