More AIG Fun
The AG's of NY and CT have been blustering about "naming names" and threatening to force the public disclosure of those who just got retention payments from AIG. I'm real unhappy that we've thrown money into Wall Street where folks worshiped the god of the free market and haven't let the firms suffer the wrath of the god they've served. But Cuomo and Blumenthal are little more than publicity hounds -- they're grandstanding knowing full well that the culprits behind the meltdown have all moved on. (Check out this link to a resignation letter from a top AIG exec).
And that's the way it always seem to be when folks stop looking long term, get overly focused on short term results and reward those producing those short term gains without regard for the long term consequences. Some folks catch on to the game right away, drive short term results recklessly ignoring the fallout, and then ride the wave up to promotions with other firms (where they repeat the process). Only a few hang around to deal with their messes. I saw this in the grocery business. And I saw the loyal and ethical employees pay the price. Why were these charlatans rewarded and the good guys penalized? Because the top of the food chain at the companies were ignoring anything except the immediate gain. And why were they managing in that way? Because that's what the Board of Directors was looking at - the short term stock price gains. And why would directors recklessly drive a company into the ground? In one case with one company I worked for it was because of outside pressure from a take-over group that labeled the company as "under-producing" and a likely target for a leveraged buy-out and subsequent sale of the pieces. Which meant that long term results were irrelevant to the job security of upper management. And that all those stock options they were being paid thanks to the structure of the tax code had more value by playing the traders' game than if they ran the company in the best interests of investors. By the time the company was sold and dismantled all the hot shots were long gone. The only people left were those older employees who were hoping to hang on until retirement, those lifers who "believed" in the company, and those of us who were too dumb to read the writing on the wall or whose options were too limited to let us escape. After all, if every other candidate for new jobs is showing incredible numbers on their resumes and you've got only solid gains to put on stage the only folks looking for you are the ones who see the house of cards for what it is. And since so many companies were in the house of cards group and so few looking long term the job opportunities for the responsible folks aren't very many.
So, am I bitter? No. Just tired of watching us go round and round on this same old merry-go-round and seeing that the talk radio/tv talking heads don't get it and that the public is -- in the words of Willie Stark -- hicks.
And that's the way it always seem to be when folks stop looking long term, get overly focused on short term results and reward those producing those short term gains without regard for the long term consequences. Some folks catch on to the game right away, drive short term results recklessly ignoring the fallout, and then ride the wave up to promotions with other firms (where they repeat the process). Only a few hang around to deal with their messes. I saw this in the grocery business. And I saw the loyal and ethical employees pay the price. Why were these charlatans rewarded and the good guys penalized? Because the top of the food chain at the companies were ignoring anything except the immediate gain. And why were they managing in that way? Because that's what the Board of Directors was looking at - the short term stock price gains. And why would directors recklessly drive a company into the ground? In one case with one company I worked for it was because of outside pressure from a take-over group that labeled the company as "under-producing" and a likely target for a leveraged buy-out and subsequent sale of the pieces. Which meant that long term results were irrelevant to the job security of upper management. And that all those stock options they were being paid thanks to the structure of the tax code had more value by playing the traders' game than if they ran the company in the best interests of investors. By the time the company was sold and dismantled all the hot shots were long gone. The only people left were those older employees who were hoping to hang on until retirement, those lifers who "believed" in the company, and those of us who were too dumb to read the writing on the wall or whose options were too limited to let us escape. After all, if every other candidate for new jobs is showing incredible numbers on their resumes and you've got only solid gains to put on stage the only folks looking for you are the ones who see the house of cards for what it is. And since so many companies were in the house of cards group and so few looking long term the job opportunities for the responsible folks aren't very many.
So, am I bitter? No. Just tired of watching us go round and round on this same old merry-go-round and seeing that the talk radio/tv talking heads don't get it and that the public is -- in the words of Willie Stark -- hicks.
posted by Wake of the Flood at 9:17 AM
2 Comments:
don't forget it is also in the both long term and short term interests of the talk radio/tv industry to promote disagreement and controversy. Or any other sort of feeding frenzy that will keep viewers/listeners tuned in.
at once you encounter someone that has bought the entire package of talking points, a realistic dialog is nearly impossible. no matter the subject.
as to AIG and revenge, i believe we should be listening to the song President Obama has been singing... it is what it is and putting toothpaste back in a tube isn't a job for Congress or amateurs. I realize there are people hurting due to the consequences of the speculative practices. But trying to exact revenge on some of those executives is engaging in the same sort of reactionary politics and policies that produced the situation.
The Democratic leadership in Congress is really pissing me off these days and I see no steps toward reconciliation with the other side of the aisle being taken.
There's no movement in Congress toward engaging in actual solutions because they have become comparable to the radio/tv substance-free flamethrowers. Congress also thrives on endless controversy. They get re-elected, or highly paid lobbying jobs if they lose, based upon how incendiary they are, not how well they can govern.
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