I have been justifiably hard on the people who run airlines and their careless attitude towards the comfort and satisfaction of their customers. I have reserved the most bitter scorn for the overpaid executives who would prefer to layoff the working stiffs and cut service rather than take a cut in their own compensation.
So I must take a moment and recognize at least one CEO making a move in the right direction.
The new honcho at JetBlue, David Barger, has taken a personal pay cut of 50% for six months. $250K instead of 500k the article says. If my math is correct, that is actually more like a 25% cut in his annual pay. Still, it is a gesture worthy of note. These guys get huge bonuses when business is good. It is typical for a C-level manager to take full credit - and perks - when business is good. But when things are bad they blame slow demand, weather, sunspots, price of gasoline, seasonal trends, etc. I kinda like a guy who acknowledges that the boss should get dinged along with everyone else.
I doubt that this is going to spark a new trend in responsible CEO salaries, but you never know...
7/30/2008
7/04/2008
Independence Day Musings
IN an op-ed column published in yesterday's Wall St Journal titled "Why We Went to War in Iraq." Douglas Feith, unrepentant neocon who is incidentally humping a new book, lays out the 5 major reasons that Bush decided to invade Iraq.
I think many of us who regret what has happened in Iraq would have to admit that we shared the post-9-11 mood of vulnerability and outrage. While we were not persuaded that Saddam was a clear and present danger to the USA, we saw his behavior as immediately dangerous to our ally, Israel. He had thumbed his nose at UN resolutions for years, was misusing the oil for food program, and was openly claiming to have WMD's ready to use, and threatening to acquire nuclear weapons. It certainly was my opinion that something had to be done.
In the months following the Trade Center Attacks on 9-11, I had been reading books like Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations" and was influenced by "The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq" by ex CIA analyst Kenneth Pollack. By the time Bush started rattling the saber, I was ready to sign up myself.
How easy it is to forget that we were unified as a country on that score. Today we blame it all on Bush, but i think we should take a moment and recognize that if a few parameters had been changed (eg, control of the looting, more involvement by UN, discovery of WMD's) it might seem like a different game. We know he had the Chemical weapons because we gave them to him; even today no one knows where they went to.
Although Mr Feith still thinks we had no choice other than to bring Saddam down, he does not argue that the post invasion administration was done well. Those mistakes have ruined many lives civilian and military, has wasted billions of US treasure, and has also exacerbated an ideological polarization within our own country.
Today we celebrate Independence Day. We stand in awe of those brave men who signed that letter to the king, in full realization that they might be sacrificing everything for the concept of liberty.
Few of us today can claim to share that level of commitment to an idea. Who will stand in awe of us?
I think many of us who regret what has happened in Iraq would have to admit that we shared the post-9-11 mood of vulnerability and outrage. While we were not persuaded that Saddam was a clear and present danger to the USA, we saw his behavior as immediately dangerous to our ally, Israel. He had thumbed his nose at UN resolutions for years, was misusing the oil for food program, and was openly claiming to have WMD's ready to use, and threatening to acquire nuclear weapons. It certainly was my opinion that something had to be done.
In the months following the Trade Center Attacks on 9-11, I had been reading books like Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations" and was influenced by "The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq" by ex CIA analyst Kenneth Pollack. By the time Bush started rattling the saber, I was ready to sign up myself.
How easy it is to forget that we were unified as a country on that score. Today we blame it all on Bush, but i think we should take a moment and recognize that if a few parameters had been changed (eg, control of the looting, more involvement by UN, discovery of WMD's) it might seem like a different game. We know he had the Chemical weapons because we gave them to him; even today no one knows where they went to.
Although Mr Feith still thinks we had no choice other than to bring Saddam down, he does not argue that the post invasion administration was done well. Those mistakes have ruined many lives civilian and military, has wasted billions of US treasure, and has also exacerbated an ideological polarization within our own country.
Today we celebrate Independence Day. We stand in awe of those brave men who signed that letter to the king, in full realization that they might be sacrificing everything for the concept of liberty.
Few of us today can claim to share that level of commitment to an idea. Who will stand in awe of us?
7/01/2008
The Turnaround Begins Now
Fans and critics alike will be pleased to know that the check has finally arrived.
Today, I will go to Sears and purchase a new lawn mower, made (or at least, assembled) in the USA. We will fill our gas tanks and buy locally grown foods at the market. We will buy a book written by an American author. Perhaps a case of Sierra Nevada. A California Chardonnay or maybe a nice Zinfandel.
I think that should get the Economy kick started...
Today, I will go to Sears and purchase a new lawn mower, made (or at least, assembled) in the USA. We will fill our gas tanks and buy locally grown foods at the market. We will buy a book written by an American author. Perhaps a case of Sierra Nevada. A California Chardonnay or maybe a nice Zinfandel.
I think that should get the Economy kick started...
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