I’ve been scraping paint off of my house for a total of about 14 hours in the last couple of days. Technically I can afford to have this type of labor done for me, but for how long? The IT sector is sucking wind. Why? Companies simply do not want to spend money on IT…
Category: Business
Technical jobs in the IT and related industries are being steadily shipped out of this country. Ever hear or see an add for a technical trade school? “Prepare yourself for a hot career in the information technology sector!” they cry. Don’t believe the hype. U.S. companies would like nothing better than to ship these jobs…
USA Exporting Too Many Jobs
Technical jobs in the IT and related industries are being steadily shipped out of this country. Read the CNN.com story. Ever hear or see an add for a technical trade school? “Prepare yourself for a hot career in the information technology sector!” they cry. Don’t believe the hype. U.S. companies would like nothing better than…
Democrats Energy Boondoggle Done
Democrats have been rebuffed in their attempt to force V.P. Dick Cheny to reveal the details of meetings held with energy officials by a federal district court. Read the CNN.com story. In and of itself, this ruling is proper. National security is hardly at stake in the matter and Congress has no business meddling in…
Miss Cleo Settles with FTC
Miss Cleo’s psychic hot line agreed Thursday to cancel $500 million in customer bills. Read the CNN.com story. There’s irony in this quote: “The amount involved eclipses the record $215 million that Citigroup Inc. agreed to repay customers in September to settle deceptive lending charges involving mortgages and credit insurance.” Perhaps Wall Street insiders and…
McLosses
Not so tasty. McDonald’s laying off and closing restaurants? Unheard of. Read about it on MSNBC.com. Time was, McDonald’s was the hottest corporation in America. Countless people have gotten their start in the working world working the grill or register at McD’s, including yours truly. Frankly, the quality of service at the chain has slipped,…
CEO Salaries Criticized
Exorbitant CEO salaries were criticized recently by a man who should know: Andy Grove of Intel. Read the Washington Post story in the Houston Chronicle The skyrocketing compensation for these figureheads has been commented upon by this website before. There’s little question that CEO’s rewards are disproprtionate to their contributions at most companies. Thumbs up,…
Farmers Insurance Group: No Class
Farmers Insurance Group is leaving the Texas homeowner’s insurace market. Read the story in the Houston Chronicle. In a move typical of the industry, the company has decided to not renew coverage for Texas after a recent rash of mold claims. Insurance is a simple business: collect premiums and avoid claims. After working the system…
Executive Salaries a Joke
Is the man running General Electric really contributing 30 times more value to the company than, say, a senior-level design engineer? If you think so, you’d be in the minority of Americans. This topic is rarely discussed in corporate offices, but outside of work, employees know who makes a difference, and it’s not the head…
Privatizing Space
A couple of CNN articles prompt this comment. A Britsh astronomer predicted human settlements on Mars this century, saying private investors would likely create ‘wild west’ scenario if allowed to control settlement. In another article, the US company TransOrbital Inc. has been “granted permission” by the US government to explore the moon. Read the article….