I've often noted that a traditional practice of money-losing companies is to pay large retention bonuses to managers to prevent the loss of "key executive talent." Somewhat odd if you ask me; doesn't the fact that the company is losing money mean that this "key executive talent" isn't pulling its weight in the first place? That maybe the company ought to be considering getting some new talent instead of paying the old talent more to stay?
Or would that violate a secret fraternity pledge? I'm always amazed at how there appears to be little accountability for those who get corner offices, to put it mildly.
Also, a fun thought on the "costs" of homeschooling, apropos at this time due to "back to school sales." The cost, according to the HSLDA, runs about $600 annually per homeschooled child for books and such. Then again, public school fees for books are...well...about that much in many places. Note also that homeschoolers do not buy the school lunch, and have no need to purchase the latest fashions to avoid the mockery of classmates.
Which is to note that homeschooling may actually be cheaper than government education even before the costs of substandard instruction and moral degradation are accounted for. And those costs can be big--ask any single parent, college student paying for remedial courses, prisoner, or compulsive spender. Yes, compulsive spender; our government schools were designed to create demand for industrial products and workers to make them. (see John Taylor Gatto's website for details)
“Speaking To A Rally With 30,000 People About Hayek”
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I always liked the idea of Argentina’s libertarian-conservative President,
Javier Milei. But after seeing this interview, I am actively wondering a
bunch o...
58 minutes ago
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Well, there has to be a whole lot of consuming going on...
Orwell knew it - that's why Africa was used as the place of war for capital destruction in '1984.'
Huxley knew it - 'A Brave New World' is largely devoted to the need of societies to keep production happening.
W knows it: "Mr. President, the country has just been attacked! What should we do about it?" "Don't let the terrorists stop you from going to DisneyLand!" (paraphrased)
Where would we be if everybody wore long-lasting clothing? (Do you have a website for your LLC yet, Bert?)
No website, but if Cherry wants a card of samples in a couple of months, we can certainly get one for her. Or maybe I can start a Blumenkinder sub-blog, eh? Thoughts on how to do it cheaply?
I'm thinking that I ought to get a Hummel-like picture to represent the company, and get James Lileks to endorse us--something like "whenever I sit down to do needlework, it's Blumenkinder fabric and notions for me!" We won't mention that he never does needlework, of course.
That's why execs should get a big portion of their pay based upon performance but then again that's a catch 22 since they have to answer to shareholders and shareholders want quick returns.
As far as homeschooling goes, yeah why pay more to send your kids to a public education system that fails? I saw a 20/20 clip w/ John Stossel that looked into education and he interviewed a guy in NYC who got private funds to start an alternative school...anyway, the guy said that in the past 5 years in NYC, only 3 teachers have been fired. This is a district where many schools are doing terribly. The reason is due to the teachers union so no longer is the 'public education' looking out for the kids it is looking out for the right to lifetime employment.
Well said, Mercy; it certainly would be difficult to move executive compensation from a stock-based basis to a profit basis. On the other hand, isn't that one of the big factors that's made Warren Buffett a billionaire (bazillionaire?); the willingness to consider fundamentals instead of concentrating on the quarterly results and stock price?
Somebody can be the next "Oracle of Omaha" if they just apply this, I dare suggest.
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