Big Business Keeps on Rolling
The symbol of the American dream...NYC and the NY Stock Exchange. As Austin Powers would say "Yay capitalism!" And in case you had forgotten whose stock exchange this is, there is that subtle little reminder hanging from it's marble columns.
The NYSE has bounced back big time over the last few years, now trading at around 11,000 shares. To some this is an indicator that the US economy is doing well. And for some it is doing much more than well, it is doing phenomenal!
Perhaps the true American dream is no longer the one where someone starts out with a few bucks in their wallet, works hard and eventually creates their own prosperous business. Perhaps the new American dream is the one where you are born into wealth, become a CEO and progress from a millionaire to a billionaire. Perhaps it is typified by Wal-Mart stomping out Ma and Pa because it's not so easy for them to "roll back prices" with a big yellow smiley face.
In fact, when I think of Wal-Mart and "rolling back prices" I also like to think of the other things they are rolling back, like employee benefits and American manufacturing jobs. Wal-Mart takes a lot of heat for this but it has become very commonplace in today's business world.
Many companies no longer offer pensions, decent health benefits and adequate pay. The Bush administration has not only taken a "laissez-faire" or hands off approach to big business, they have also taken a smiley faced "hands in" approach as well.
The Bush-Cheney regime have been as opportunistic as any in recent memory turning disasters like Iraq and New Orleans into giant profits for big construction companies like Halliburton (where Cheney was the former CEO). And by outsourcing more American jobs to cheaper labor and taking a blind eye to illegal immigration they have decreased demand for the American worker. And the demand that is there is at a lower wage. It's a very simple supply-demand equation.
A few days ago Congress decided to reject a bill that would raise the federal minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 (one that poor people could sort of live on). Instead, the republican led Congress rejected it, citing it would hurt small business. In all fairness it could hurt some businesses but there is a solution to this problem. Australia has a minimum wage scale that varies depending on age. It makes sense, if your 16 and 17 and living at home, you don't need as much as someone who is 21 and trying to pay bills. They also require some businesses like McDonald's to hire a certain number of older employees and not rely solely on cheap high school labor (otherwise it would cut a certain segment out of the job market). It works great in Australia and makes total sense yet it is not even put on the table here.
The Bush administration has not only turned a blind eye to the poor and working class but also the middle class. It is well documented that the discrepancy in wealth continues to grow as we now have a record number of billionaires in this country.
But be content that while everyone pays exorbitant gas prices, the CEO of Exxon-Mobile was able to retire with a 400 million dollar retirement package. Sweet deal! And these kind of parting gifts don't come cheap as we have all seen first hand at the pump.
Bush has a simple vision-if your rich you need a tax cut to re-invest more of your wealth into the economy so it grows into more wealth, mostly for you with some crumbs left over for the rest. And aside from tax cuts you need more incentives like not having to pay health benefits to your workers.
If Bush wasn't doing everything he is doing now how else would our budget deficit increase atrociously? Our currency devaluate substantially? And our middle class diminish one health plan removed at a time? And all the while our stock market looks solid and Bush can claim economic growth.
So go ahead and hang the stars and stripes proud NYSE. Your CEO George Bush has done one heck of a job for you. I think he deserves a raise and a hefty parting gift! Yay capitalism!
My Salute to Stephen Colbert
While we were lucky to get seats for David Letterman we could not get seats for my favorite late night show with Stephen Colbert. Despite this, I just had to make my way down to Colbert's studio and check out the surroundings. It's not nearly as big or fancy as Letterman and it's not on Broadway...no shock there.
I was pleasantly surprised when this show began in October 2005 because the idea was very similar to the All-American album I had created. The premise of the hardcover album is a pro-Bush American traveling around the world supporting ideas similar to his (basically being ignorant). This is portrayed through many ridiculous pictures from Australia to Vietnam with captions very befitting for Bush and anyone who supports him.
I love Colbert's idiotic puns on Bush, Fox News and the current state of American affairs. Colbert has a history degree from Dartmouth and while I was not so lucky as to attend an ivy league school I too have a history degree. I also minored in political science and love being a jackass so I totally relate to the guy.
So Cheers to you Colbert! Your fake news is as real as Fox's "real" news! And if you think Fox's news is real...I'm sorry :-).
A Journey to Letterman and the Hello Deli
These pictures were taken June 8th on a recent trip to New York. While there we were lucky to score Letterman seats the day of the show! Unfortunately, you cannot take pictures inside the Ed Sullivan theatre but on the right is Rupert G who owns the Hello Deli located around the corner from The Late Show. For years, Rupert and the Hello Deli have been a regular piece on the show and I told my wife that morning that I wanted to pay him a visit on our way to Times Square. After telling my wife about this I leave to shower and just when I return I hear her excitedly say "He Owns the Hello Deli!" Bellinda had managed to get through the phone lines for seats to Letterman and the question they asked was "What does Rupert G have to do with the show?" Unbelievable! Since she doesn't watch the show it's the only question she could have answered! It was an amazing stroke of luck on all accounts!So the Letterman people tell us to be there at 3:30pm sharp (the show is taped from 4:30-5:30pm) but we got to the area earlier to pay the Hello Deli a visit as we had previously intended. When we walked to the small Deli entrance there were a few people standing in line and the guys in front were posing for pictures with Rupert. I'm not sure what they bought but one guy commented that Rupert needed a bigger deli. Rupert acted just like he does on the show, replying with a goofy and kinda uncomfortable "I know." Rupert mans the register as he has become as big a celebrity as a deli owner gets. He has a few staff members that make sandwiches and as I approached the front of the line he calls out "2 Lettermans" and places two pastrami looking sandwiches on the counter. I momentarily pause when it's my turn in line and a rude New Yorker brushes past me and gruffly says "1 large coffee!" to Rupert. Rupert gets him his coffee, the man pays him and he leaves without a thankyou. I thought it was funny that just a few seconds before Mr. Coffee treated Rupert like garbage, people were embracing him for pictures. And there I was, coming to do the same thing. What a weird world this guy lives in! One minute he is a celebrity with people paying $17 for a shirt with his picture on it and the next he is some ordinary shmuck fetching coffee for a rude asshole. Incidentily, I was one of those guys who shelled out $17 for his shirt so maybe that makes me the shmuck here.We only barely got into Letterman, we were the 15th and 16th spots and they only let 18 standbys in. Bellinda was not told we were standbys when she was congratulated on the phone and given a time to come to the studio. Suffice to say we had bad seats, last row in the upper deck. They weren't the regular stadium seating everyone else had, they were regular chairs behind the upper deck cameras. I felt like we were 2nd class guests. But considering there were 40 people on standby we were just happy to be there. Especially considering tickets to Dave are free and we did not want to pay a few hundred dollars to see some random Broadway show. Dave isn't a very personable guy in real life, he came out and talked to the audience for about 3 minutes before the show and then left immediately after the show ended. Between guests he was surrounded by his staff preparing for the next skit. One of the guests, Jeremy Piven (the actor who played the Dean in Old School) was complaining about how Dave had twice bumped him previously for other guests and how he'd flown from LA all excited only to be heartbroken when he got to NY. And the 2nd time he was jilted he ran up a massive restaraunt/bar tab at the expense of the show. He was joking around but seemed to have a hint of bitterness too. I don't blame him! At the end the musical guests came out and they were great but Dave didn't seem to care. The spotlight was off him and he just sat in his chair and basically staired at his desk. When the band finished the spotlight was back on him and he immediately did a 180 and smiled, applauded and acted as if he totally cared. Good stuff! Regardless, it was a cool experience getting to see a late night legend live and meet one of the most famous deli owners in the country. Next time I'm going to try the Letterman sandwich.
