Dylan Radigan, an MSNBC commentator with a finance background, has penned a book by this name. He believes that American bankers and leaders are just that -- greedy. They have put themselves before everyone else.
Almost weekly we read about these same kind of greedy people in our own backyard -- most of them are in leadership positions. I always thought leadership was about leading by example -- and that is the problem -- their example is not good for anyone who is honest, has ethics, compassion, or morality.
Newspaper articles recently reported that the top administrators of the Sacramento County Retirement System raised their salaries between 13%-22%. Meanwhile that retirement system remains severely underfunded and workers are asked to make concessions. Where are the leaders' concessions?
Certain staff in the Assembly and Senate also received pay raises -- maybe some of these were deserved, but when the state budget is so severely underfunded can we really afford these pay raises?
Cal Fire, in negotiations with state government officials, were "forced" to raise the pay of supervising Chiefs. Seems that no on wanted to be a Chief -- the rank and file made more in overtime than a supervisor could make as a Chief. I have to wonder if there was not an alternative such as looking at the overtime compensation for the rank and file and perhaps even adjusting their hours so they do not receive as much overtime? If government has no money, how can we keep raising salaries?
But my all time favorite greedy guy, at least so far, is the new Sacramento County administrator, Brad Hudson. First he rolls into town making $258,000 plus benefits, and at the same time he is collecting a pension of $200,000+ from Riverside County. I thought he had retired -- meaning that he was no longer working , hummm.... Why not leave Riverside after twenty five years and start anew here in Sacramento collecting retirement, another big salary plus benefits, and earning time under another retirement system so he can make yet more money. So much for the era of austerity.
And then there was that crappy old furniture in his Sacramento office which was not to his liking. It was so bad he needed to purchase $21,000 worth of new "nicer" stuff so as to make it inviting enough for those that want to walk through his "open door policy" door. Then comes the shoe shine machine -- really???-- can't he do that at home or at least pay to have that done somewhere else? It would seem that the shoe shiner belongs to all of us county residents; perhaps that is why we should darken his door -- to shine our shoes.
As if that was not enough, the most recent "need" was a "white noise" privacy system used by the US Air Force, the secretary of the defense and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that he had installed so no one could hear confidential personnel conversations. Wow!! What is going to be discussed in those county personnel offices? It must be some top secret kind of stuff -- and a lot of it to justify the $15,000 expenditure. If I worked for the county, I would be very afraid--are heads going to roll?
Normally when there are meetings regarding sensitive and confidential personnel issues, they are in an office with the door closed -- so either there is no insulation in the executive's office, he trusts absolutely no one, or he has an oversized ego. I am sure it makes him feel real important to be right up there with the secretary of defense -- white noise system equals really big ego food. I say all of this and I do not even know the man, but one can tell a lot about people just by their actions. I hope I am wrong, but time will tell if Brad is here because he cares about doing a good job for Sacramento County, or he is just greedy. I hope it is the former.
It is in this context that I so appreciate the CEO of Morgan Stanley, James Gorman. Recently he told employees they would be receiving less than last year in total compensation. And he further stated that if employees complained he would tell them, "You're naive, read the newspaper, No.1"; No. 2., if you put your compensation in a one-year context to define your overall level of happiness, you have a problem which is much bigger than the job. And No.3, if you're really unhappy, just leave. I mean life's too short".
Very well said -- happiness and job satisfaction are not all about how much money you make, how nice an office you have, if you have a shoe shine machine or a "white noise" system in your offices. It should be about so much more....
To Be Continued --
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Vol.2.3 -- I Want to Go Into Organized Crime
These words were used in a political cartoon wherein a son uttered those words to his father. The father calmly replied, "Are you considering the private or government sector?' Ouch!!! This should be a "funny parody" as the friend who sent it to me suggested, but it hits too close to the reality of what is going on in our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently stated that Americans "are being robbed of their freedom" and that we are now a kleptocracy. I had to look that one up. It is a word used to describe corrupt and exploitative governments that steal ruthlessly and relentlessly from the people. It is not a word that anyone would have used to talk about the American form of government until now. As William Astore, a teacher of history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, wrote, "It is usually applied to flawed or failed governments in Africa, Latin American" or other areas of the world where governments are"led by autocratic strong men who shower themselves and their cronies with all the fruits of extracted wealth whether stolen from the people or squeezed from their country's natural resources".
Humm...that sounds like the mortgage meltdown, where Wall Street bankers, the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), i.e., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and many others received taxpayer "bail out" money to rescue them from their own bad performance. It is so amazing that one can bankrupt their company yet still pull in a huge salary and expect a fat bonus paid for by taxpayers who now have no jobs. And people have no jobs because of others' bad actions. One would think that the Wall Street people, bankers, lenders, and government officials who acted so irresponsibly and perhaps even criminally, and Congress -- who voted on a myriad of the bills that took away restrictions that allowed all of this to happen, would at least feel contrite, be embarrassed, show remorse, maybe even shame, but no, we have seen none of that. They act just like organized crime bosses -- they had nothing to do with nothing. They continue with their opulent lifestyles while the rest of the country is in peril -- and they do not care.
I think that is what bothers me most -- no one cares -- they care only about their own self interest -- and that narcissistic self interest stuff has spread to almost every level in our society. CEOs in private corporations care about the stockholders making money so they can get their big salaries and bonuses; government workers care about raising their pay as high as possible so they can get the highest level of retirement; hopefully they can retire early enough so they can go to work somewhere else. Then they can earn another high salary while receiving their retirement, plus working on another retirement. Is any city, county or other governmental official really worth $400,000+ per year?
As my friend said, "the message that he got from the political cartoon is that crime against society in general is okay and stealing public funds (which we should all hold sacred because it is our tax money) is acceptable."
I think that we have turned into a society of "Greedy Bastards". More on that next time.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently stated that Americans "are being robbed of their freedom" and that we are now a kleptocracy. I had to look that one up. It is a word used to describe corrupt and exploitative governments that steal ruthlessly and relentlessly from the people. It is not a word that anyone would have used to talk about the American form of government until now. As William Astore, a teacher of history at the Pennsylvania College of Technology, wrote, "It is usually applied to flawed or failed governments in Africa, Latin American" or other areas of the world where governments are"led by autocratic strong men who shower themselves and their cronies with all the fruits of extracted wealth whether stolen from the people or squeezed from their country's natural resources".
Humm...that sounds like the mortgage meltdown, where Wall Street bankers, the government sponsored enterprises (GSEs), i.e., Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and many others received taxpayer "bail out" money to rescue them from their own bad performance. It is so amazing that one can bankrupt their company yet still pull in a huge salary and expect a fat bonus paid for by taxpayers who now have no jobs. And people have no jobs because of others' bad actions. One would think that the Wall Street people, bankers, lenders, and government officials who acted so irresponsibly and perhaps even criminally, and Congress -- who voted on a myriad of the bills that took away restrictions that allowed all of this to happen, would at least feel contrite, be embarrassed, show remorse, maybe even shame, but no, we have seen none of that. They act just like organized crime bosses -- they had nothing to do with nothing. They continue with their opulent lifestyles while the rest of the country is in peril -- and they do not care.
I think that is what bothers me most -- no one cares -- they care only about their own self interest -- and that narcissistic self interest stuff has spread to almost every level in our society. CEOs in private corporations care about the stockholders making money so they can get their big salaries and bonuses; government workers care about raising their pay as high as possible so they can get the highest level of retirement; hopefully they can retire early enough so they can go to work somewhere else. Then they can earn another high salary while receiving their retirement, plus working on another retirement. Is any city, county or other governmental official really worth $400,000+ per year?
As my friend said, "the message that he got from the political cartoon is that crime against society in general is okay and stealing public funds (which we should all hold sacred because it is our tax money) is acceptable."
I think that we have turned into a society of "Greedy Bastards". More on that next time.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Vol.2.2 - Are We in the Void?
Robert Brumet, a Unity minister believes that we are in "The VOID". He defines the VOID as being in between the old and the as yet-to-be-determined new. This VOID makes us feel very uncomfortable and off balance, but we are in limbo? He thinks not -- the VOID could be compared to winter -- a "dead" time of year -- we think, but is that true. What we may not realize is during the winter season there is much going on underground. Plants and bulbs are getting ready to burst forth in the spring by storing nutrients and growing and spreading their roots during this seemingly "dead" season. When the conditions are right new blooms in all of their vibrancy will grace the landscape again. Brumet believes the same to be true for all of us -- when the conditions are right the VOID will end and something new will spring forth.
Similarly Deepak Chopra also believes that chaos and instability equal an opportunity for a collective change -- when we collectively reach rock bottom, we will change, because the current situation is not sustainable. Have we sunk to our collective rock bottom? I certainly don't know. What I do know and do believe is that change begins within each and everyone of us. As Chopra further states, "Be the shift inside of you, then you can communicate the shift to others...soon others are resonating on the same frequency and the energy spreads."
Christopher Renza, a health writer suggests that "at the most fundamental level of being human there is a primal energy exchange that happens between us whether we are conscious of it or not." He also asserts that "quantum physics has theoretically proven that everything is in a constant state of energy exchange." It is that energy that connects all of us together and brings us into relationship with one another.
Chopra suggests that we "look at the chaos in the world through the lens of what is the opportunity here for us". He further instructs us to to ask ourselves: "What are my unique skills at this moment? What do I really care about? Who are the people I can connect with and ask for help? Who are the people I can help with? How can I nurture the right relationships and are they examples of the people who have made a differences in this kind of situation?"
Our collective consciousness can and will change. That change is well under way -- the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Tea Party faithful, broadcasters and writers voicing their concerns, disgruntled workers and disenfranchised students are all speaking out. While they may have different points of view, they are putting energy out. This growing energy has not all come together yet. If we are in the VOID as Brumet claims, we all are growing in awareness, nearly unnoticed, just like plants in winter. We are being creative, sharing ideas and thus forming an energy that is working toward that moment, when the time is just right -- when our collective consciousness changes -- and a new beginning bursts forth.
Similarly Deepak Chopra also believes that chaos and instability equal an opportunity for a collective change -- when we collectively reach rock bottom, we will change, because the current situation is not sustainable. Have we sunk to our collective rock bottom? I certainly don't know. What I do know and do believe is that change begins within each and everyone of us. As Chopra further states, "Be the shift inside of you, then you can communicate the shift to others...soon others are resonating on the same frequency and the energy spreads."
Christopher Renza, a health writer suggests that "at the most fundamental level of being human there is a primal energy exchange that happens between us whether we are conscious of it or not." He also asserts that "quantum physics has theoretically proven that everything is in a constant state of energy exchange." It is that energy that connects all of us together and brings us into relationship with one another.
Chopra suggests that we "look at the chaos in the world through the lens of what is the opportunity here for us". He further instructs us to to ask ourselves: "What are my unique skills at this moment? What do I really care about? Who are the people I can connect with and ask for help? Who are the people I can help with? How can I nurture the right relationships and are they examples of the people who have made a differences in this kind of situation?"
Our collective consciousness can and will change. That change is well under way -- the Occupy Wall Street movement, the Tea Party faithful, broadcasters and writers voicing their concerns, disgruntled workers and disenfranchised students are all speaking out. While they may have different points of view, they are putting energy out. This growing energy has not all come together yet. If we are in the VOID as Brumet claims, we all are growing in awareness, nearly unnoticed, just like plants in winter. We are being creative, sharing ideas and thus forming an energy that is working toward that moment, when the time is just right -- when our collective consciousness changes -- and a new beginning bursts forth.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Vol.2.1 -- How Did We Get Here?
Have you ever noticed how often you say to yourself, "How did I get here"? It's like you wake up one morning and wonder how did whatever (credit card debt, personal relationship problems, etc.) get so messed up. The truth is it was happening all the time. But it was unfolding step by little tiny step, so maybe you did not really notice it -- just a niggling feeling in the back of your head. So you just ignored it and lived in denial until THAT morning (like we all do). But as always happens, unless we deal with these whatevers they have a way of reaching critical mass down the road. And THAT morning was your day of reckoning and at that moment you became conscious -- and the pain and anxiety started, because you knew you must do something.
How did we get here as a society? The seeds for these changes were sown over the past several decades. Little by little our sense of shared societal beliefs and moral attitudes changed. And just like in our personal lives when we did not deal with a problem when it was small, it only continued to grow and become bigger.
Is it time to recognize how we have allowed the media backed by large corporations with their mass marketing and television programs to define what is acceptable in our society. We began to believe that we needed more "stuff" (consumer goods) to make us happy. And we bought it -- bigger houses, nicer cars, a myriad of things -- women went to work in droves in order to be able to afford this level of conspicuous consumption. And via the movie Wall Street with its Gordon Gecko in 1987, we learned that "greed was good".
Television, corporations and politicians continued to shape our beliefs. In 2001 the Survivor series started and through it we learned how to form alliances; we also learned that by being conniving and treacherous one could be rewarded. It was acceptable to pretend to befriend someone and then stab them in the back -- all for personal gain. It was about the individual and not the collective whole. Many supposedly "reality" shows have followed. In fact the media has dominated our every thought and shaped what we believe across the board -- what we buy, the way we look, what we watch on TV, which politicians to vote for and what is right and wrong.
The worst part of all of this is that we are all accomplices. By watching these shows, accepting explicit lyrics in our music, and by thinking that we are not good enough unless we get more "stuff", we are all guilty. Big money is supporting all of this -- and we are supporting them. If we did not watch all of these shows, did not buy numerous products, or buy the lies that are told to us, this could not be happening. We are our own worst enemies!!! While we have been lulled into submission by mindless entertainment, our corporations, leaders, politicians and wall street have been living by that motto that greed is good and it has been for them. We have been robbed of our jobs, our homes, our savings, our children's futures and even our culture.
Is it any wonder that this country is in a crisis and so are our governmental institutions, our corporations and even our families. We have been distracted by the the wrong things -- the greed instead of the good, the ME instead of the WE -- we thought we could fill ourselves up with stuff instead of what is inside us. How wrong we were -- but we have an opportunity now for a collective change. Let's seize THIS moment!
Stay tuned....
How did we get here as a society? The seeds for these changes were sown over the past several decades. Little by little our sense of shared societal beliefs and moral attitudes changed. And just like in our personal lives when we did not deal with a problem when it was small, it only continued to grow and become bigger.
Is it time to recognize how we have allowed the media backed by large corporations with their mass marketing and television programs to define what is acceptable in our society. We began to believe that we needed more "stuff" (consumer goods) to make us happy. And we bought it -- bigger houses, nicer cars, a myriad of things -- women went to work in droves in order to be able to afford this level of conspicuous consumption. And via the movie Wall Street with its Gordon Gecko in 1987, we learned that "greed was good".
Television, corporations and politicians continued to shape our beliefs. In 2001 the Survivor series started and through it we learned how to form alliances; we also learned that by being conniving and treacherous one could be rewarded. It was acceptable to pretend to befriend someone and then stab them in the back -- all for personal gain. It was about the individual and not the collective whole. Many supposedly "reality" shows have followed. In fact the media has dominated our every thought and shaped what we believe across the board -- what we buy, the way we look, what we watch on TV, which politicians to vote for and what is right and wrong.
The worst part of all of this is that we are all accomplices. By watching these shows, accepting explicit lyrics in our music, and by thinking that we are not good enough unless we get more "stuff", we are all guilty. Big money is supporting all of this -- and we are supporting them. If we did not watch all of these shows, did not buy numerous products, or buy the lies that are told to us, this could not be happening. We are our own worst enemies!!! While we have been lulled into submission by mindless entertainment, our corporations, leaders, politicians and wall street have been living by that motto that greed is good and it has been for them. We have been robbed of our jobs, our homes, our savings, our children's futures and even our culture.
Is it any wonder that this country is in a crisis and so are our governmental institutions, our corporations and even our families. We have been distracted by the the wrong things -- the greed instead of the good, the ME instead of the WE -- we thought we could fill ourselves up with stuff instead of what is inside us. How wrong we were -- but we have an opportunity now for a collective change. Let's seize THIS moment!
Stay tuned....
Saturday, December 31, 2011
#40 Our Collective Consciousness
Last week I caught a snippet of a television show on which Deeprok Chopra was appearing. Deeprok Chopra is a trained Indian medical doctor who is also a writer and speaker on a myriad of topics including the mind-body connection. He was discussing "collective consciousness"*. It is a perfect descriptor for what is going on all around us.
Chopra believes that "the world is as we are". He further states all of the social and economic injustice, environmental degradation, and the dysfunction of our politics and institutions are all a reflection of our collective consciousness. We as a society project our mores onto everything we do. Thus we see examples of these norms in the television shows that we watch, the bickering and fighting we witness daily by our politicians -- everything is about who is going to win, not what is good for us as a whole or what is good for this country. And I believe he is right on.
I want to provide two very subtle examples of this ME vs. WE collective consciousness. Both are holiday commercials. The first one is a Kohl's advertisement for Black Friday. It shows a happy, singing young woman in a crowd outside of Kohl's waiting for the store to open. When the door opens she puts her hand up to "stop" an older woman from entering before her. She walks in, grabs a cart, continues merrily along putting things into her cart -- she evens grabs something out of someone's else's cart -- to that person's stunned amazement. She breezes through her shopping and checks out. The Kohl's shopping experience has been a piece of cake.
The second one is an Audi commercial. The parents watch as their son drives up to their house for a holiday visit in a very spiffy new Audi. As he walks through a different door into the house, he calls out to his parents that he is home. Meanwhile the parents book out the front door and decide to take a "joy" ride in his car - thus leaving him there looking bewildered.
Chopra believes that "the world is as we are". He further states all of the social and economic injustice, environmental degradation, and the dysfunction of our politics and institutions are all a reflection of our collective consciousness. We as a society project our mores onto everything we do. Thus we see examples of these norms in the television shows that we watch, the bickering and fighting we witness daily by our politicians -- everything is about who is going to win, not what is good for us as a whole or what is good for this country. And I believe he is right on.
I want to provide two very subtle examples of this ME vs. WE collective consciousness. Both are holiday commercials. The first one is a Kohl's advertisement for Black Friday. It shows a happy, singing young woman in a crowd outside of Kohl's waiting for the store to open. When the door opens she puts her hand up to "stop" an older woman from entering before her. She walks in, grabs a cart, continues merrily along putting things into her cart -- she evens grabs something out of someone's else's cart -- to that person's stunned amazement. She breezes through her shopping and checks out. The Kohl's shopping experience has been a piece of cake.
The second one is an Audi commercial. The parents watch as their son drives up to their house for a h
Are these commercials cute and funny? I think not -- but I believe that Kohl's and Audi thought so.... Do I really want to see some self centered young woman thinking that she can just disrespect others and take what she wants? And those parents, do I really want to know that they are so self centered that they would rather go drive a car than greet their son? Which makes me ask again, what is it that we collectively care about?
Our collective consciousness has allowed for these very self-centered kinds of commercials -- it is the Me vs. WE mentality, which has created a lot of chaos and instability in our country. The good news is that according to Chopra there is an opportunity to change our collective consciousness and it all starts with each and every one of us.
To be continued in the new year -- but for now -- HAPPY NEW YEAR'S!!!!
* A term coined by the French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) to refer to the shared beliefs and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within society.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
#39 Anyway....thoughts this Holiday Season
A couple of weeks ago someone asked my why I was writing this blog. I told her that I had a lot to say about a variety of things. By the look on her face I could tell she was probably thinking something like the following: (1) you are retired, (2) why do you care, (3) what if nobody reads them, and (4) why waste your time? If she had asked me further about those thoughts, my answer to her would have been that even if very few people read them, I HAVE to write them anyway -- it is about me getting my voice out into the universe, just in case someone IS reading and needs to hear what I have to say.
And as the universe will have it -- a couple days later, I came across this poem while I was cleaning out my office. It spoke to me and I hope it speaks to you.
And as the universe will have it -- a couple days later, I came across this poem while I was cleaning out my office. It spoke to me and I hope it speaks to you.
Anyway
People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.
Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you may win false friends
And true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
Honesty and transparency make you vulnerable.
Be honest and transparent anyway.
What you spend year’s building may be destroyed overnight,
Build anyway.
People who really want help may attack you if you help them.
Help them anyway.
Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.
Give the world your best anyway.
-- Author Unknown
My wish for you this holiday season is to be your best, give your best to your friends and family (and I am not talking monetary things) and give the best of yourself to you -- help others, appreciate all the riches you have, be happy and have a joy filled time!
Happy Holidays!!
My wish for you this holiday season is to be your best, give your best to your friends and family (and I am not talking monetary things) and give the best of yourself to you -- help others, appreciate all the riches you have, be happy and have a joy filled time!
Happy Holidays!!
Friday, December 16, 2011
#38 Freedom of Speech -- Appreciation for the First Amendment
Yesterday was the 220th anniversary of the First Amendment -- guaranteeing the right of free speech. How better for us to understand that we are free than to be able to speak to our concerns, and voice our opinions or thoughts. It is our right to contribute to our governance, without interference, and to speak out about the good and the bad.
The citizens of Middle Eastern countries have been fighting and dying to gain these rights -- the Arab Spring has been upon us for a while. But we in the United States have had this right since the early formation of this nation --- but have we appreciated that right? As I believe the citizens from the deep south would say -- up until the last 40-50 years it has all just been lip service.
I am beginning to believe that freedom of speech in most of our institutions, governmental or otherwise, is just that -- lip service. One could ask themselves, why would you pay top leaders within governmental institutions to just be "yes" men, cronies, if you will, with the top boss. And I guess if I were one of those "cronies" I would have to say "why not?" I am getting paid well to do practically nothing as long as I go along with everything that the boss wants. It is really no skin off of my nose...but is that really true?
The older I get the more I understand each time we give up something of ourselves, we begin to lose who we are -- something is taken away from our person. At first it seems so innocent, but after a while, all of us who have done varying degrees of giving in, begin to be so far removed from ourselves we don't know who we are any more. It is like being in fog for so long (years) and then suddenly the fog lifts and you look in the mirror and don't recognize yourself anymore.
Another thing that that I have figured out over the years is that when you have something -- something as seemingly simple of being able to voice an opinion, you do not appreciate it -- you take it for granted. But when you lose it, you miss it more that anything. You always want what you don't have. It's funny how life is that way.
Let's not take our First Amendment right for granted -- take an assessment -- are you really free to voice your opinion? Do you get talked down to, talked over, or outright dismissed? If you do -- and we all do from time to time -- maybe it's time to think about that First Amendment and decide if it is worth fighting for -- maybe it is the most important thing to fight for -- the you in you depends upon it.
The citizens of Middle Eastern countries have been fighting and dying to gain these rights -- the Arab Spring has been upon us for a while. But we in the United States have had this right since the early formation of this nation --- but have we appreciated that right? As I believe the citizens from the deep south would say -- up until the last 40-50 years it has all just been lip service.
I am beginning to believe that freedom of speech in most of our institutions, governmental or otherwise, is just that -- lip service. One could ask themselves, why would you pay top leaders within governmental institutions to just be "yes" men, cronies, if you will, with the top boss. And I guess if I were one of those "cronies" I would have to say "why not?" I am getting paid well to do practically nothing as long as I go along with everything that the boss wants. It is really no skin off of my nose...but is that really true?
The older I get the more I understand each time we give up something of ourselves, we begin to lose who we are -- something is taken away from our person. At first it seems so innocent, but after a while, all of us who have done varying degrees of giving in, begin to be so far removed from ourselves we don't know who we are any more. It is like being in fog for so long (years) and then suddenly the fog lifts and you look in the mirror and don't recognize yourself anymore.
Another thing that that I have figured out over the years is that when you have something -- something as seemingly simple of being able to voice an opinion, you do not appreciate it -- you take it for granted. But when you lose it, you miss it more that anything. You always want what you don't have. It's funny how life is that way.
Let's not take our First Amendment right for granted -- take an assessment -- are you really free to voice your opinion? Do you get talked down to, talked over, or outright dismissed? If you do -- and we all do from time to time -- maybe it's time to think about that First Amendment and decide if it is worth fighting for -- maybe it is the most important thing to fight for -- the you in you depends upon it.
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