Tuesday, March 15, 2005
WAshington's New Low
The Senate is poised to elimate the possibility of fillibusters on votes for judicial nominees. As frustrating as it was to have the Reps stonewall Clinton's nominees and I'm sure equally difficult for them to live through the Dems blocking of W's picks, ending fillibusters is not the answer.
Checks and balances are there for good reason and we are better served when each side is prevented from ramming its selections through like greased pigs at the state fair. I, for one, don't want to see a rush to stack the courts each time that the balance of power shifts in Congress. I'd rather see the two sides forced to talk, debate, argue -- in short, deal with each other.
But in Washington today, it is all about winning not governing. I would hope that there would be enough people who value the integrity of the process over expediency. But, apparently the Reps have just about lined up the necessary votes.
Sad.
On another front: three cheers for the jury that convicted Bernie Ebbers. After all of the abuse by rogue CEOs, it is good to see one getting his due.
Checks and balances are there for good reason and we are better served when each side is prevented from ramming its selections through like greased pigs at the state fair. I, for one, don't want to see a rush to stack the courts each time that the balance of power shifts in Congress. I'd rather see the two sides forced to talk, debate, argue -- in short, deal with each other.
But in Washington today, it is all about winning not governing. I would hope that there would be enough people who value the integrity of the process over expediency. But, apparently the Reps have just about lined up the necessary votes.
Sad.
On another front: three cheers for the jury that convicted Bernie Ebbers. After all of the abuse by rogue CEOs, it is good to see one getting his due.
Friday, March 11, 2005
Weekly Recap
It was another wild week on the road for me this week -- DC and NY with wall-to-wall meetings. I didn't get much time to blog but there was plenty of time on planes with papers full of swell news:
Congress courageously stepped up to pass a bankruptcy bill that makes it harder to for little guys to clear away debts through bankruptcy but preserves loopholes for the wealthy should they need to do the same. Another bold step for the average working stiff courtesy of their friends in the credit card industry.
Meanwhile, the credit card issuers are getting better and better at handing out credit cards to folks who can just get by, charging them $29 if they make a late payment and then raise their interest rates on all credit vehicles just because they are late on one. It's as stacked as a stacked gets deck.
But at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue our fearless President was saying it's time to drill in ANWR and build more nuclear plants. Nothing like embracing yesterday's technology. Oh, but I forgot, those are the technologies that support yesterday's big corporations that make big contributions. Tomorrow's big energy corporations are more likely to come from China or India because the next generation of energy production has a chance of taking root there where "good enough" is better than nothing for a lot of folks. We need a forward-looking energy policy and we're short-changing our future by expecting the oil boys to deliver it.
At least the Social Security boondoggle seems to be getting bogged down long enough for us to have a real debate about it.
Congress courageously stepped up to pass a bankruptcy bill that makes it harder to for little guys to clear away debts through bankruptcy but preserves loopholes for the wealthy should they need to do the same. Another bold step for the average working stiff courtesy of their friends in the credit card industry.
Meanwhile, the credit card issuers are getting better and better at handing out credit cards to folks who can just get by, charging them $29 if they make a late payment and then raise their interest rates on all credit vehicles just because they are late on one. It's as stacked as a stacked gets deck.
But at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue our fearless President was saying it's time to drill in ANWR and build more nuclear plants. Nothing like embracing yesterday's technology. Oh, but I forgot, those are the technologies that support yesterday's big corporations that make big contributions. Tomorrow's big energy corporations are more likely to come from China or India because the next generation of energy production has a chance of taking root there where "good enough" is better than nothing for a lot of folks. We need a forward-looking energy policy and we're short-changing our future by expecting the oil boys to deliver it.
At least the Social Security boondoggle seems to be getting bogged down long enough for us to have a real debate about it.
Sunday, February 27, 2005
CEO Comp up Again
Friday's Wall Street Journal reported that average CEO compensation at 100 large U.S. companies was up 46.4% in 2004. It must be nice to be able to vote yourself a raise. I checked my investment portfolio and it certainly wasn't up 46.4% last year. Cost of living? According to the Mercer worldwide survey of cost of living, NY was the roughly the same as the previous year. Why, oh why, do CEOs deserve big raises every year?
As Rakesh Khurana of Harvard Business School has documented, company performance is tied more tightly to general economic conditions and industry trends than the brilliance of an individual CEO. Still, CEO comp continues to skyrocket -- now 160 times the pay of the average worker.
Excessive CEO pay is a disservice to shareholders, employees, and customers. The question is what to do. Writing to the heads of the mutual funds and companies in which you are invested is one step. Also write to your legislators to push for laws that create more transparency and rights for shareholders.
Then, if you are an average Jane or Joe, sit back and wait for your riches to arrive: Salary.com predicts that you can expect a 3.7% rise in 2005. That's way up from the 3.6% average in 2004.
As Rakesh Khurana of Harvard Business School has documented, company performance is tied more tightly to general economic conditions and industry trends than the brilliance of an individual CEO. Still, CEO comp continues to skyrocket -- now 160 times the pay of the average worker.
Excessive CEO pay is a disservice to shareholders, employees, and customers. The question is what to do. Writing to the heads of the mutual funds and companies in which you are invested is one step. Also write to your legislators to push for laws that create more transparency and rights for shareholders.
Then, if you are an average Jane or Joe, sit back and wait for your riches to arrive: Salary.com predicts that you can expect a 3.7% rise in 2005. That's way up from the 3.6% average in 2004.
Thursday, February 24, 2005
The Real Gap in Social Security
I'm not the only one who sees the looming battle on Social Security as a potential sink hole for the Republicans. Noam Scheiber has an excellent piece in today's TNR Online. Here's a sample:
"If I were a congressional Republican, the thing I'd worry about most is ... well, the thing I'd worry about most is the unwritten rule requiring me to get a really bad haircut. But the second thing I'd worry about is why my party's leadership keeps lying to me about the politics of Social Security"
And he concludes, "A 2001 study by the National Committee for an Effective Congress found that, of the 88 congressional districts that Republicans won from Democrats between 1994 and 2000, 59 had incomes below the national average. Among the 46 seats that Democrats won from Republicans, 29 had incomes above the national average. If Republicans move ahead with privatization, we're likely to see Democrats win back a big chunk of the voters who abandoned them in the '90s..."
How do you spell "third rail."
"If I were a congressional Republican, the thing I'd worry about most is ... well, the thing I'd worry about most is the unwritten rule requiring me to get a really bad haircut. But the second thing I'd worry about is why my party's leadership keeps lying to me about the politics of Social Security"
And he concludes, "A 2001 study by the National Committee for an Effective Congress found that, of the 88 congressional districts that Republicans won from Democrats between 1994 and 2000, 59 had incomes below the national average. Among the 46 seats that Democrats won from Republicans, 29 had incomes above the national average. If Republicans move ahead with privatization, we're likely to see Democrats win back a big chunk of the voters who abandoned them in the '90s..."
How do you spell "third rail."
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
11,000 Years Late
All of you fans of privatization should take a look at the story in yesterday's London Times that reports that trains in the UK have been a collective 11,000 years late since the system was privatized in 1997. That's right -- 11,000 years according to the Strategic Railway Authority. Oh, in case you haven't guessed, profits for the private operators have been up while service levels have gone down.
It is time to acknowledge that private enterprises aren't always paragons of efficiency and public operations are not always wasteful and slow. Without proper incentives and oversight, privatized public services aren't likely to perform better than predecessors. Instead you get a monopoly (or duopoly) with powerful motives to boost profits and little recourse for market forces to drive service improvements. Think of your local cable company.
In this country the Bushies are pushing hard to privatize government services. There are plenty of improvements that can be made in these agencies and programs, but let's make sure we actually make improvements and don't just give private companies a license to enrich themselves.
It is time to acknowledge that private enterprises aren't always paragons of efficiency and public operations are not always wasteful and slow. Without proper incentives and oversight, privatized public services aren't likely to perform better than predecessors. Instead you get a monopoly (or duopoly) with powerful motives to boost profits and little recourse for market forces to drive service improvements. Think of your local cable company.
In this country the Bushies are pushing hard to privatize government services. There are plenty of improvements that can be made in these agencies and programs, but let's make sure we actually make improvements and don't just give private companies a license to enrich themselves.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Bush in Europe; Me Too
I'm glad that I'm in Europe to help provide a counterweight to Bush and his entourage. I realized that I am outnumbered but I am confident that I can score a point or two. I don't think that I'm alone in hoping that Bush doesn't make a mess of Iran the way that he did with Iraq. It would also be nice if he could acknowledge the massive progress of the Kyoto accord. One can dream, can't one?
Of course the whole thing is mostly a kiss-and-make-up session without a lot of real substance. The EU has designated each of nine countries to speak about a single issue in presentations and the other two have been told to piss off and shut up. It's hilarious to watch the unwieldy EU try to get its ducks in a row.
Bush will meet with Tony Blair tomorrow. I wonder if they'll discuss social security privatization. It was a complete disaster in the UK but I doubt that W wants to hear that.
But what most people will see are a series of silly photo ops. Couldn't we just PhotoShop world leaders together and save ourselves the cost of jet fuel?
Of course the whole thing is mostly a kiss-and-make-up session without a lot of real substance. The EU has designated each of nine countries to speak about a single issue in presentations and the other two have been told to piss off and shut up. It's hilarious to watch the unwieldy EU try to get its ducks in a row.
Bush will meet with Tony Blair tomorrow. I wonder if they'll discuss social security privatization. It was a complete disaster in the UK but I doubt that W wants to hear that.
But what most people will see are a series of silly photo ops. Couldn't we just PhotoShop world leaders together and save ourselves the cost of jet fuel?
Friday, February 18, 2005
Did Anyone Notice?
When I arrived in Europe the night before last the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol was all the buzz on the telly. The effective date had arrived so there were lengthy discussions about what it all means now (and what it means that U.S. opted out). I'm curious -- what was the play like in the U.S. media? Did anyone notice or care?
On a separate note, I'm sure there is great consternation about Russia's decision to sell nuclear fuel to Iran. Might I suggest that it is in the long-term strategic interests of the U.S. to develop scaleable, cost-effective alternative energy technology that we can export? Providing an "alernative" alternative would be the best way to expose any deception about nuclear programs being for energy production while also helping to clean up the planet. After all, 131 nations did sign the Kyoto Protocol and now have to reduce their toxic output.
On a separate note, I'm sure there is great consternation about Russia's decision to sell nuclear fuel to Iran. Might I suggest that it is in the long-term strategic interests of the U.S. to develop scaleable, cost-effective alternative energy technology that we can export? Providing an "alernative" alternative would be the best way to expose any deception about nuclear programs being for energy production while also helping to clean up the planet. After all, 131 nations did sign the Kyoto Protocol and now have to reduce their toxic output.
