This stuff in the news about the big three auto makers (in Detroit) asking for more bailout money bugs me. It is indicative of the ‘entitlement’ mentality that suffuses American business, and organized labor in general.
In a free market economy, the best businesses usually win. Those who can control costs, be aggressive and innovative in their strategy, be flexible to shifting markets and demands and operating costs and challenges, will be more successful than those who try to keep doing the same thing over and over.
My personal opinion is that organized labor is a large part of the problem purely because the costs of labor are not in line with the service delivered. Unions are about entitlement. "I did for you before, so you do for me now." It’s contrary to the way the business world really works, which is, "I did this before, and now I’m doing this and next I’ll do that." Success is about pay for performance, and constantly improving that performance. It takes constant improvement, not resting on past successes, to be successful in the future.
If organized labor could do an about-face and become more like guilds, they would deliver true value. If the purpose of a union was to develop and provide the best trade service to their customers, and hiring a union worker meant the customer knew she was getting a proven, qualified and skilled person, the whole thing could be different. Unions could demand the same dollars (if not more) they do now because the customer would be willing to pay for quality, not because they had successfully tied the hands that feed them. You have to make your customer want your product. It's about customer satisfaction. But unions aren't in the business of customer satisfaction. They’re in the business of making union management fat dumb and happy.
I think organized labor is the leading driver that limits our ability to compete in a world-wide marketplace. We have the laziest, highest paid workers in the world. It’s a cultural problem, however. It’s based out of a belief in individual rights at the expense of others’ rights: Me before you. It disgusts me.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Sunday, November 2, 2008
How do we forget?
We have things that we really enjoy. Things that revive us, rejuvenate us, remind us why we go on day after day.
Sometimes, other things get in the way. We're distracted, diverted from the things that sustain us. We go for days, then weeks, then longer and slowly tell ourselves we'd rather not. We're too tired. It's too much trouble. There are things more important. We forget--forget what makes us happy. We substitute sustenance for joy.
When we wake up, however, and make ourselves get up and go and do the thing we know we love but have forgotten temporarily , the surge of well-being is addictive. How did we ever go this long without, we wonder.
Now, if I can just remember how to not forget.
Sometimes, other things get in the way. We're distracted, diverted from the things that sustain us. We go for days, then weeks, then longer and slowly tell ourselves we'd rather not. We're too tired. It's too much trouble. There are things more important. We forget--forget what makes us happy. We substitute sustenance for joy.
When we wake up, however, and make ourselves get up and go and do the thing we know we love but have forgotten temporarily , the surge of well-being is addictive. How did we ever go this long without, we wonder.
Now, if I can just remember how to not forget.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Story with Teeth
Location: The Sofa
Just got the chance to watch director Mitchell Lichtenstein's movie Teeth. Some have panned it, but I thought it was a fun satire/metaphor on sex, the anxiety we all feel (or felt) as teens discovering ourselves and our sexuality. Yes, it has feminist tones, but only in that sex is power, and by our biology/evolution, women tend to hold that power more than men.
A fun movie, severed penis tips aside.
Besides, one can never tire of Jess Weixler's voice which reminds me constantly of Winona Ryder's slightly slightly round-mouthed diction.
Just got the chance to watch director Mitchell Lichtenstein's movie Teeth. Some have panned it, but I thought it was a fun satire/metaphor on sex, the anxiety we all feel (or felt) as teens discovering ourselves and our sexuality. Yes, it has feminist tones, but only in that sex is power, and by our biology/evolution, women tend to hold that power more than men.
A fun movie, severed penis tips aside.
Besides, one can never tire of Jess Weixler's voice which reminds me constantly of Winona Ryder's slightly slightly round-mouthed diction.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Economic Flatulence
Location: Home.
Received my Economic Stimulus check the other day. Been thinking about what to do with it.
The classic options are: Spend it, save it or pay off debt. To have the best potential for impacting the economy, spending it is the only choice. But not just wanton spending.
If I buy a product that was made overseas, that money goes overseas. Sure, some small amount goes to the retailer, the domestic transportation company, etc., but the majority goes overseas. In a truly global economy (which we don't have here), any spending would help, as the flow would be in all directions at once. If I'm interested in using this money the way our legislators intended, buying a domestically-manufactured product is a better choice than an overseas-made product.
Better still, to retain even more of the financial flow in the United States, the money should be spent on services. That way, a clear majority of the funds go to the person or company providing the service; services are much more completely domestic than products.
I'm willing to bet, though, that this 'economic stimulus' attempt will work just as well as the last time. That is, it will have no discernable effect on the economy. There are too many other, more significant, factors at work.
So my suggestion? Use the extra money however you like. It's extra money. Take it as a lottery winning, a gift from a relative, a found wallet with no identification inside... The money's yours.
As for me, I think I'll buy a gun. A domestically-manufactured gun. A Ruger, Kimber, Smith & Wesson, North American Arms, etc. NOT a Glock, Sig Sauer, Taurus, Beretta, etc. Those are great brands with great products, but in this instance, I'll stick with the American-Made option.
Received my Economic Stimulus check the other day. Been thinking about what to do with it.
The classic options are: Spend it, save it or pay off debt. To have the best potential for impacting the economy, spending it is the only choice. But not just wanton spending.
If I buy a product that was made overseas, that money goes overseas. Sure, some small amount goes to the retailer, the domestic transportation company, etc., but the majority goes overseas. In a truly global economy (which we don't have here), any spending would help, as the flow would be in all directions at once. If I'm interested in using this money the way our legislators intended, buying a domestically-manufactured product is a better choice than an overseas-made product.
Better still, to retain even more of the financial flow in the United States, the money should be spent on services. That way, a clear majority of the funds go to the person or company providing the service; services are much more completely domestic than products.
I'm willing to bet, though, that this 'economic stimulus' attempt will work just as well as the last time. That is, it will have no discernable effect on the economy. There are too many other, more significant, factors at work.
So my suggestion? Use the extra money however you like. It's extra money. Take it as a lottery winning, a gift from a relative, a found wallet with no identification inside... The money's yours.
As for me, I think I'll buy a gun. A domestically-manufactured gun. A Ruger, Kimber, Smith & Wesson, North American Arms, etc. NOT a Glock, Sig Sauer, Taurus, Beretta, etc. Those are great brands with great products, but in this instance, I'll stick with the American-Made option.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Line Jumpers
Location: Christiansburg, Virginia
I go to lunch at Panera Bread. It's lunchtime and the line is long. I'm four or five deep from the two registers open to place orders. A heavy-set lady with straight brown hair in a medical office tunic is behind me in queue. She stays behind me while we index one closer, then two.
Suddenly, she advances past me to a register just vacated by someone ahead of me who waited nicely in line.
"Ma'am, the line is back here," I say. She ignores me.
"Ma'am." I'm louder now. "The line is back here." She turns and looks at me with disdain.
"I'm picking up a phone order," she says. Then she actually snorts at me. It's not pretty when a human being snorts.
The thing is, that's actually a legitimate reason to bypass the standard line. In fact, there's a whole sign above identifying a location for picking up phone orders. (Fat nurse didn't see that, apparently; she went to a different register.) So really, she's done nothing wrong... Except maybe the attitude.
If you're there to pick up a phone order and therefore legitimately 'correct' to not stand in queue, why stand in queue at all? Why stand in queue and then suddenly decide to not?
And why is it that heavy-set women in medical office positions (not necessarily nurses) have a consistent attitude about them? I've interfaced with dozens in the past few years, and the attitude has been nearly universal. It's a condescending, entitlement aura. I understand they deal with people who are not at their best (who goes to the doctor when they're healthy?), but does that attitude need to become your personality? How sad.
Post-script:
I'm sitting, eating my lunch at an outdoor table. A lady (with her daughter) who was apparently a few spots behind me in queue approaches my table.
"Thank you for speaking up earlier," she says. "I hate it when people do that." Line-jump, she means.
So I'm not totally alone.
I go to lunch at Panera Bread. It's lunchtime and the line is long. I'm four or five deep from the two registers open to place orders. A heavy-set lady with straight brown hair in a medical office tunic is behind me in queue. She stays behind me while we index one closer, then two.
Suddenly, she advances past me to a register just vacated by someone ahead of me who waited nicely in line.
"Ma'am, the line is back here," I say. She ignores me.
"Ma'am." I'm louder now. "The line is back here." She turns and looks at me with disdain.
"I'm picking up a phone order," she says. Then she actually snorts at me. It's not pretty when a human being snorts.
The thing is, that's actually a legitimate reason to bypass the standard line. In fact, there's a whole sign above identifying a location for picking up phone orders. (Fat nurse didn't see that, apparently; she went to a different register.) So really, she's done nothing wrong... Except maybe the attitude.
If you're there to pick up a phone order and therefore legitimately 'correct' to not stand in queue, why stand in queue at all? Why stand in queue and then suddenly decide to not?
And why is it that heavy-set women in medical office positions (not necessarily nurses) have a consistent attitude about them? I've interfaced with dozens in the past few years, and the attitude has been nearly universal. It's a condescending, entitlement aura. I understand they deal with people who are not at their best (who goes to the doctor when they're healthy?), but does that attitude need to become your personality? How sad.
Post-script:
I'm sitting, eating my lunch at an outdoor table. A lady (with her daughter) who was apparently a few spots behind me in queue approaches my table.
"Thank you for speaking up earlier," she says. "I hate it when people do that." Line-jump, she means.
So I'm not totally alone.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Provincial Assumptions
Location: Martinsville, Virginia
I had business at the local community college today. It was a nice day, so I rode the motorcycle there.
Parking was sparse; I found one spot with a random orange cone in the middle of it. The motorcycle is narrow, so I parked beside the cone in a proper parking spot. After completing my business, I returned to find a small notice from campus security on the bike: A ticket for 'parking in a reserved space.'
I carefully surveyed the space and found no signage or anything to indicate the space was reserved. The cone could serve any number of purposes: Covering a pothole or a potentially hazardous protrusion, for example.
I reached the security person via telephone from the college office. I challenged him to show me the sign that indicated the space was reserved. He reiterated the cone's presence. A random cone is not a sign, I pointed out. How is anyone supposed to guess the intent of that cone is to reserve a space? Again, I challenged him to show me the sign.
He voided the ticket. Sure, it was only for $2, but it's the principle of the thing.
I had business at the local community college today. It was a nice day, so I rode the motorcycle there.
Parking was sparse; I found one spot with a random orange cone in the middle of it. The motorcycle is narrow, so I parked beside the cone in a proper parking spot. After completing my business, I returned to find a small notice from campus security on the bike: A ticket for 'parking in a reserved space.'
I carefully surveyed the space and found no signage or anything to indicate the space was reserved. The cone could serve any number of purposes: Covering a pothole or a potentially hazardous protrusion, for example.
I reached the security person via telephone from the college office. I challenged him to show me the sign that indicated the space was reserved. He reiterated the cone's presence. A random cone is not a sign, I pointed out. How is anyone supposed to guess the intent of that cone is to reserve a space? Again, I challenged him to show me the sign.
He voided the ticket. Sure, it was only for $2, but it's the principle of the thing.
The Borders of Freedom
Where do the ‘rights’ of one individual begin and end? It’s a great topic and one worthy of discussion.
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were the Founding Fathers’ words, but where are the boundaries? Are there boundaries? Our individual right to freedom of speech is forfeit when that speech crosses into slander or libel. Our right to assemble is lost when the assembly is no longer "peaceable." Our individual right to keep and bear arms is forfeit when those arms are used aggressively rather than defensively.
So just within the first two articles of the Bill of Rights, we get a sense that our individual rights are limited when exercising them crosses into harming others. The colloquial phrase "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose" sums up this perspective simply, I think. But what constitutes harm and who gets to decide? Hmmmm.....
It's a wonderful topic and discussion well worth having, so long as it remains intellectual and civil and open to all viewpoints and opinions. Therein lies the very challenge of our republic: Only by allowing and considering even those perspectives so vulgar to our own may we keep to the principles necessary to maintain true freedom.
"Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" were the Founding Fathers’ words, but where are the boundaries? Are there boundaries? Our individual right to freedom of speech is forfeit when that speech crosses into slander or libel. Our right to assemble is lost when the assembly is no longer "peaceable." Our individual right to keep and bear arms is forfeit when those arms are used aggressively rather than defensively.
So just within the first two articles of the Bill of Rights, we get a sense that our individual rights are limited when exercising them crosses into harming others. The colloquial phrase "your right to swing your fist ends at my nose" sums up this perspective simply, I think. But what constitutes harm and who gets to decide? Hmmmm.....
It's a wonderful topic and discussion well worth having, so long as it remains intellectual and civil and open to all viewpoints and opinions. Therein lies the very challenge of our republic: Only by allowing and considering even those perspectives so vulgar to our own may we keep to the principles necessary to maintain true freedom.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Lake Placid Litterbugs
Location: Lake Placid, New York
The town of Lake Placid does a really nice job keeping things clean, even during this early April mud season. There's very little litter and debris in the corners, alleys and gutters, and a plethora of public ashtrays and cigarette receptacles at shop entrances. I noticed several people using these receptacles to dispose of their cigarettes. This attention by the town and most people here makes exceptions stand out all the more.
While walking across a municipal parking lot (adjacent to the Olympic arena), a group of three young women were preparing to enter their black Toyota with Connecticut plate KVAS. One discarded a lit cigarette directly in front of me as I walked by.
I picked up the butt and handed it back to her. My exact words: "There are plenty of ashtrays and places to properly dispose of this without littering."
For my citizenship, I was called names, sworn at and shown a middle finger as they drove off.
The town of Lake Placid does a really nice job keeping things clean, even during this early April mud season. There's very little litter and debris in the corners, alleys and gutters, and a plethora of public ashtrays and cigarette receptacles at shop entrances. I noticed several people using these receptacles to dispose of their cigarettes. This attention by the town and most people here makes exceptions stand out all the more.
While walking across a municipal parking lot (adjacent to the Olympic arena), a group of three young women were preparing to enter their black Toyota with Connecticut plate KVAS. One discarded a lit cigarette directly in front of me as I walked by.
I picked up the butt and handed it back to her. My exact words: "There are plenty of ashtrays and places to properly dispose of this without littering."
For my citizenship, I was called names, sworn at and shown a middle finger as they drove off.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Vapid Conversation
Am I a snob for needing more in conversation? To be unsatisfied by chit chat? To always want to find the deeper meaning, to be fascinated by the underlying motivations, truths and possibilities? To not just have the experience, but experience the flow of it all?
It's so precious when you find it. It's addictive. Painful to do without, when you realize most of the world around you doesn't care. When they want (and will be satisfied by) something less than you.
Is the the actual conversation, the topic or the conversants that affect me? I value my conversations with my friend K no matter the topic. Those times seem more connected, more involved, without even trying. We may touch on the inane, instantly forgotten topics that make up others' complete repertoire, but at some point the conversation returns to meaning, to truths, to purpose, to heart.
The conversation, the topic or the people?
It's so precious when you find it. It's addictive. Painful to do without, when you realize most of the world around you doesn't care. When they want (and will be satisfied by) something less than you.
Is the the actual conversation, the topic or the conversants that affect me? I value my conversations with my friend K no matter the topic. Those times seem more connected, more involved, without even trying. We may touch on the inane, instantly forgotten topics that make up others' complete repertoire, but at some point the conversation returns to meaning, to truths, to purpose, to heart.
The conversation, the topic or the people?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)