Those "Poor" CEOs, The Private Sector and Government

I first published this on March 8, 2007, but the subject is still VERY relevant, and I've added a Word History, and made only minor changes to the text (December 3, 2014), but bear in mind, the article refers to the subjects under discussion in the spring of 2007. 

Well, in watching CNBC for awhile today, they have been discussing the congressional hearings into CEO pay. The hearing started today. I LOVE how all of these free market worshipers are in a hand wringing (see Word History below) mode about the possibility that the government might actually do something to halt the absolute nonsense that's been going on in many corporate board rooms. They always say how private business can take care of itself, and that there already are crackdowns going on within the corporate community to correct the problem. Most of the hysteria centers around a proposal that would give shareholders in a company the right to express their dissatisfaction with CEO pay and termination compensation. This "right," however, would be non-binding, under the current proposal. The bigwigs even get nervous about non-binding proposals. One guy even had the nerve to say something to the effect, (this in NOT a direct quote, but I'm putting it in quotes anyhow) "So a CEO comes home one day, his wife says the kids are almost grown up, that he's missed so much of their lives. Are you being compensated for all of this time you put in?" she asked him.

I had to wipe away the tears.... of laughter!!! These folks NEVER stop!!! EVER!!! There is NO shame!!! I can imagine a company worker telling his boss that he feels that he deserves extra pay because he's giving up time with his family. I can just hear the reply, "If you didn't want the job, why did you take it? Hell no you won't get any extra money! This is a business, not a charity! Now get the hell out of here before I replace you with someone else I can exploit... I mean, I might help along the corporate ladder."

To me, everything needs some sort of oversight. It's just how human beings are. For my friends on the political left, that includes the government. It also needs to have its sails trimmed at times. Just look at this mess with the medical care for veterans.* On the other hand, this nonsense that only business can work efficiently is just that, NONSENSE! Just recently, my telephone line had very bad static. I called the telephone company (this was on a Tuesday). The lady told me that the problem would be fixed within 48 hours. The very next morning (Wednesday), I received a call from the telephone company telling me that someone would be out Thursday, between 8:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. On Wednesday afternoon, I picked up the phone to make a call, and the line was dead. I looked outside, and a telephone company van was there. I went out, and here a repairman was working on my telephone line, and he had disconnected the line to make the repair. Within 30 minutes, the problem was fixed. On Thursday morning, the phone rang, and a telephone company representative said that someone was due out to fix my telephone line that day. I told her that the problem had already been repaired on Wednesday. On Saturday there was a knock at the door. A telephone repairman said he was here to repair a problem with static on my phone line. I told him that it had been fixed on Wednesday afternoon. Now, if this is private business efficiency, then I have a bridge, any bridge; hell, it doesn't have to be in Brooklyn, that I'll sell to you.

Further, recently I had the natural gas service in the upstairs of my house put into my name, as the unit was vacant, and with cold weather I wanted to have some heat up there to prevent frozen pipes. When I rented the unit, the gas company sent me a final bill for an outrageous amount. When I looked, it was an estimated bill!!! How can you send someone a final billing that is an estimate? I called the gas company and the customer service rep said that they hadn't gotten a reading, and so she apologized (not that this is her fault, but she's apologizing for the company; I understand), and she said for me to call her back with a reading from the meter, which I did. Instead of the obscene amount of the estimate, she told me the bill would be only a quarter of the amount of the estimated billing. About three or four days later, a bill arrived that was double the amount that she had told me during our telephone conversation. I called the gas company again, and again an apology was issued, with the statement that the computer did an incorrect calculation, and that indeed, the amount quoted by the original customer service rep was correct, and that another final bill would be sent, which it was. I LOVE the efficiency of private enterprise!

Folks, we need the private sector AND we need government. There has to be some kind of balancing act, but we need both. Only government can protect us from the excesses of the business world, which can be absolutely ruthless. We, as private citizens and businesses, must protect ourselves from government run amok, which it certainly does. The idea that either of these entities can function without some checks on their power from the other, is NONSENSE!

* For some information on the VA situation in 2007, see this Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/04/AR2007030401394.html

WORD HISTORY:
Wring-This word, related to "wrong," "worry," and "wrangle," goes back to Indo European "wrengh," with the notion of "bend, compress." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "wrenganan," with the meaning "to twist, to bend, to squeeze," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "wringan," with the same meanings. This then became "wringen," before the modern version. Forms in the other Germanic languages are: German "ringen" (to wrestle, to struggle), Low German Saxon and Dutch "wringen" (squeeze/press out), and Saterland Frisian "wringe" (press out, wring).^ Apparently, West Frisian no longer uses a form of the word in this general context, nor do the languages of the North Germanic branch of Germanic; Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish, but the meanings in the Germanic languages diverged long ago from variant forms in Indo European, although all stemming from the notions of "twist, bend, press, squeeze." This is why "wring" is also related to "wrong," which once simply meant "twisted," and to "worry," which once meant "strangle" (twist or wring someone's or something's neck).

^Saterland Frisian is a surviving form of East Frisian, spoken in a section of Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen) in northwestern Germany.   

How Does Your Income Compare?

I first published this in early 2007, but it is even more relevant now, as this was BEFORE the economic meltdown. Updated to include a "Word History" on November 29, 2014. I also simply added a paragraph, almost intact, from another article from back then, as it fit perfectly with this subject. At that time George W. Bush was President. 

A couple of things caught my attention regarding recent reports on income in America. First, the CEO of Home Depot is leaving. He is getting a severance package worth 210 million dollars!!! From my understanding, he's being given the boot for the company NOT doing as well under his leadership. What would he have gotten if he had left the company having done a GOOD job?

Then, on the radio, I heard this info, but I don't believe a source was cited:
The average pay of an American CEO of a company with at least a billion dollars a year in sales is about $44,000 per day (rounded off ... thank God!). The average pay for American workers is around $35,000 per year. Please draw your own conclusions.

President George W. Bush recently said in an interview that corporate boards need to be more vigilant in oversight of CEO pay and benefits. The reaction has been that last week, one Wall Street company paid it's CEO $40 million (as Jethro Bodine, of the Beverly Hillbillies would say, "That's 40 comma... naught... naught... naught...comma...naught...naught...naught"). As if to further prove a point, this week, another Wall Street company paid it's CEO more than $50 million. I'm glad these companies have followed the President's advice. (Generally gleaned from CNBC, December 2006)

WORD HISTORY:
Ween-This is NOT the same word as "wean," which means, "to get used to, get accustomed to, to gradually become independent of," but they are distantly related from long ago. English has a noun and verb form of this word, although both have unfortunately become archaic, but you never know when words may make a comeback, or when you may encounter old forms in poetry or old writings. "Ween" goes back to Indo European "wen," which had the notion of "to wish, to desire, to strive for, to expect." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "wenjanan," which had the meanings "to hope, to imagine, to expect." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "wenan," with the same general meanings, but also with the notion behind these meanings of "to believe unrealistically, have unreal expectations." This then became "wenen," before "ween" became the standard form. Old Germanic also had the noun form "wenaz," which meant "an expectation, a hope." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "wena/wen," with the same meanings, but also "incorrect expectation, false hope." This then became "wene," before "ween" became the standard. Forms of "ween" in the other Germanic languages have suffered a decline in usage too, except: German has the verb "wähnen" (to falsely imagine) in limited use, and the much more common noun "Wahn" (delusion, mania), Dutch has the limited use verb "wanen" (to falsely imagine) and the noun "waan" (delusion). Low German Saxon has "wahn," an adverb meaning "angry," which goes to a state of mind, too.    

"Lessons Of The Greatest Generation, Now Forgotten By Too Many" Part Three

First published in July 2014


Americans had fought, and contributed greatly to, the winning of World War Two, but upon their return from distant battlefields, where they had fought the hatred and the desire to return to some glorified past of reactionary fascism, they re-entered a nation still fraught with injustices. The major issue was about race, more especially about the treatment of Black Americans, a part of the population over whose enslavement a civil war had been fought, but also a part of society kept segregated from others, with the accompanying discrimination, mistreatment and hatred. Unfortunately, some who had fought fascist hatred in World War Two, returned to America only to support hatred against other Americans, a nasty failing quickly exploited by those seeking to gain or to retain power; our very own reactionary fascists.

The greediest of the greedy and the most reactionary elements of the country gradually chipped away at protections for Americans put in place during the Great Depression, or added later as the legacy of the reforms of the Great Depression. To roll back advances and attempts to right wrongs to American society, reactionaries often used the states to whittle down federal power. This approach, by its very nature, divides the nation, as in the Civil War era, and gradually an anti-Uncle Sam campaign was mounted and financed by those seeking something of which there is obviously not a sufficient supply on this planet for them, MONEY, and the POWER that money can bring. Eventually the banking laws of the Great Depression were repealed. Why? Fewer and fewer people of "the greatest generation" survived to remember those times, by then long past. Further, "some," certainly not all, of their children and grandchildren, many of whom had taken up gallant causes to make the U.S. a better place by fighting racism, bigotry, pollution, militarism, and monopolistic business interests, among other things, during the 1960s and 1970s, decided that making money and accumulating more and more wealth was more important than promoting a fairer country.* The marked decline of activism and the forgotten lessons of the past most certainly contributed to the rise of those who had been waiting for just such an opportunity, and they gained power, along with their philosophy of self interest and greed.

So as, what has been called, "conservatism" became the prevailing philosophy from the 1980s forward, more and more state and local power was pushed, as well as the power of money and the power of those who have money ... lots and lots of money. This corrupting notion has permeated everything from business, to government, to the court system, ever since. Money, or wealth in some form, has always been around, and likely always will be, but when it is unleashed with few restraints, the egomaniacs driving its engine are bound to try to soothe their egos on the backs of others. Can catastrophe be far behind? In recent years, after an economic meltdown that almost brought about a collapse of the world economy, the Great Recession, the perpetrators of the collapse: businesses that moved plants and other facilities overseas, oil speculators, bankers and others with ties to the financial system, generally escaped unscathed from their manipulations and outright deceit. Millions of others lost their jobs, but wealthy bankers and Wall Street brokers whined when they were asked to take smaller bonuses, or when the prospect of slightly higher taxes for them were proposed. Lack of perspective here folks, so "sacrifice" became a word for poor and middle class Americans, not for the super rich. In the world of such egomaniacs, Robin Hood was no hero, but a villain. So instead of shared sacrifice we've seen the wealthiest Americans reap virtually all of the benefits of a gradually recovering economy. The "too big to fail" banks of the initial crisis** are now larger than EVER. This is all pretty much the OPPOSITE of how "the greatest generation" dealt with the economic catastrophe of the 1930s. Instead of pulling together and finding common ground when the crisis developed, the likes of Rush Limbaugh and others chose to try to keep Americans divided, a tactic that has worked, at least to some degree, and government action has been somewhat paralyzed to the delight of the reactionaries, who now await their return to power over the entire system. When a BP oil spill sent a huge spewing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, one Republican congressman publicly announced that "we" should apologize to BP for the treatment they were receiving from angry Americans wanting the mess cleaned up and the Gulf's wildlife and ecosystem protected.

* The 1960s saw a major increase in activism, often led by younger people, but having lived through that era, the idea that younger people were very liberal, is not truly accurate, in my opinion. To this day, people's political views, including those of young people, are "often" influenced by the area of the country where they live and by the views of their elders. Let's be honest, people of any age vote for or against certain candidates or issues for a wide variety of reasons, some of which don't always make sense, but that's part of being able to vote the way you choose. Just try not to be misguided or to hold onto nasty views out of the false pride that changing your views shows weakness. That philosophy equals, "I'd rather be wrong, than to change," or "2 + 2=5, and I'm sticking with it, no matter what the rest of the world says."  

WORD HISTORY:
Burst (Bust)-Before I go into the history, "bust" is simply the same word as "burst," when the "r" sound died out in some dialects in America during the mid 1700s (see the entry for Low German, below). In this case, this is NOT the same word as "bust," meaning, "the chest of a woman," or, "a sculpture of the upper body of a person." "Burst" goes back to Indo European "bhrest," which had the notion "to split, to break apart." This then gave its Old Germanic offspring "brestanan," which had the same general meaning. As the West Germanic offshoot developed from Old Germanic, the vowel and "r" sounds changed places (called "metathesis''). This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "berstan," meaning "to break apart suddenly," and this then became "bersten," before the modern version. The noun form was derived from the verb and also meant "damage, injury." The other Germanic languages have (verb forms): German "bersten," Low German "barsten" and "bassen" (the "r" sound has died out), Dutch "barsten," West Frisian "barste," Norwegian and Danish "briste," Swedish "brista." In Icelandic I found the noun "brestur," meaning "a crack, a break, a fracture."

The Time Warner Cable-Comcast Merger

There's a good chance you are a customer of one of these huge corporations, either Time Warner Cable or Comcast. I am. I received an email from that company and before I even opened it, I set out what I figured was in it: "This merger is for our customers, it will benefit you, blah, blah, blah." Remember folks, everything in American business is about selling something, legit or not, including how terribly concerned super wealthy CEOs, other executives and big stockholders are about you, their customers. Let me tell you this folks, this merger, if approved, is about ONE THING and only ONE THING, MONEY! Money for some of the wealthiest people in the country and in the world. It is not about ANYTHING ELSE. "If," and I seriously doubt this will result, it truly benefits the rest of us in any way, that will be pure coincidence. Time Warner Cable was once part of Time Warner, but it has been independent for a few years. Comcast, the largest media company in the world, as well as the largest cable provider in the U.S., owns NBC/Universal.*

Both Comcast (its cable, internet and phone services) and Time Warner Cable (it also has cable, internet, and phone services) have poor customer service ratings from consumers. Cable companies have been raising prices for years, much to the anger of their customers, and if this merger is approved, with more concentration in that industry, watch out! "We have to raise prices, because we're working on new innovations and ...." The thing is, the owners don't want to pay for any of this, they want you to pay, with extra profits tacked on for them, just to make things worth their while. Nope, no "just the cost of doing business" for these greedy bastards. You know, they won't do anything without being able to make enough money to circle the globe at least twice with hundred dollar bills, but you're supposed to work for less, and don't go complaining about it either, you moocher! Remember too, when you hear the term, "corporate profit," that likely has little to do with you, except how the execs are holding down your wages and/or benefits, but it has loads to do with how much more the wealthy are raking in, further adding to the concentration of wealth with the top earners.

A few years ago, the banking fee, by Bank America, if I remember correctly, was stopped because Americans finally took action. Wealthy interests and corporations have taken over our country. To get it back and to get some balance restored will require action, not just complaining to one another. The big money people count on us taking no action. They know people complain and that many Americans hate their guts, but they also count on Americans whining and bellyaching, but in the end, that we will sit on our asses and do nothing, which is what happens in the overwhelming number of cases. What will we do in the case of the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger?

* NBC/Universal owns: NBC, NBCSN (NBC Sports Network), the Golf Channel, Telemundo, "E" (Entertainment Television), USA Network, Syfy Channel, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo Channel, the Weather Channel, Universal Pictures, numerous theme parks in the U.S. and overseas, and several other entities.

WORD HISTORY:
Merge-This goes back to Indo European "mezg," which had the notion of "dip, place in water, dive." This gave Latin "mergere," as the "r" sound replaced the "z," in a process called "rhotacism." The general meaning, however, remained the same. English borrowed the word from Latin in the first half of the 1600s and its meaning gradually changed to "to join, to combine," perhaps from the notion of "joining an object in liquid." The derived "submerge" retains the original meaning of "dip, dive, plunge."

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who Is Richest Of Them All?

I suppose everyone has heard the tale of "Snow White," made even more popular in the U.S., and indeed, the world, in the late 1930s on by the Walt Disney animated screen version, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs." The story was first popularized back in the earlier 1800s by famous German storytellers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, also simply known as "the Brothers Grimm." The tale is about envy by Snow White's stepmother, who is so insecure, she uses a magic mirror to reassure herself by asking, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?"* She is comforted to hear the mirror answer that she is the fairest, until Snow White's beauty eventually becomes the mirror's answer, terribly shaking the stepmother who then tries to have her killed. The stepmother gets a hunter to kill the girl, but he leaves Snow White to what he believes will be certain death in the forest. Snow White comes upon a cottage owned by seven dwarfs who go digging for gold and ore every day. She tells them her story and the dwarfs ask her to keep house for them, which she accepts. The stepmother, however, asks the question of the magic mirror, only to learn that the hunter failed to kill the girl. She then sets out to accomplish the task herself, but fails three times, each time learning that Snow White has survived when the mirror tells her that Snow White is still the fairest.

While the story is about envy over beauty, it could just as easily be about envy over money. People with such insecurity can do just about anything when their egos feel threatened, including wage and benefit cuts and jobs shipped to low wage countries, where not only low wages prevail, but where there are often less environmental regulations; after all, what's a little pollution, when it comes to these insecure maniacs making more money. Just about anyone perceived to be standing in their way can become a victim. They're trying to get that answer from the magic mirror, "YOU are the richest one of all."  

* There are some variations in the English versions, as the original German couldn't be made to rhyme easily in word for word translation into English. The German is, "Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, wer ist die schönste im ganzen Land?"  Literally, "Little mirror, little mirror on the wall, who is the most beautiful in the entire land? (or, 'in all the land')." Some English versions, in order to have the words rhyme, had the stepmother use a handheld mirror and say, "Mirror, mirror in my hand, who is the fairest in all the land?" German "Wand" (interior wall, partition) is related to English "wound" (not the word for "injury," but from "wind," with a long "i"). It goes back to the time when many building materials were fashioned from branches and twigs "wound" together. German also has "Wall," but it is used only for fortification walls and earthworks and a "Mauer" (closely related to "mural"), a word German borrowed from Latin, is an exterior wall, usually including walls around a city. The famous (infamous) wall that divided Berlin was also called "die Mauer," a feminine noun; thus, "die" is the article, "the wall."

WORD HISTORY:
Enough-This word, meaning "be sufficient, be of the necessary amount," is actually a compound going back to Indo European "ko(m)," which had the idea of "with, near," and whose Old Germanic descendant was "ga/ge." The second part goes back to Indo European "hnak/hnek," which had the notion of "attain." The two gave Old Germanic the compound "ganogaz," which meant "be sufficient, be of the necessary amount." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "genog," with the same meaning. This later became "inough/ynough," before the modern version.^ Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "genug," Low German has "noog," Dutch has "genoeg," West Frisian has "genôch," Danish and Norwegian have "nok," Swedish has "nog" and Icelandic has "nóg."

^ While English is from the West Germanic branch of the Germanic languages and is closely related to German, it is even more closely related to Low German, which is natural, as the ancestral homeland of English (Anglo-Saxon) is north/northwestern Germany, an area where Low German is still spoken with some regularity, although it has been in decline for quite some time, as standard German, based more so on high dialects, has been reducing the number of Low German speakers. Anyway, the "ga/ge" prefix on Low German words is pronounced "ya," as opposed to standard German hard "g" sound. So English "ynough/inough" reflects the connection to Low German pronunciation, and you must remember, the "gh" sound was pronounced in English years ago, but it morphed into an "f" sound, while the "gh" spelling was continued. Further, dialectal English pronunciation has given English "nough," corresponding to its Low German and North Germanic relatives (see above).

How Many Rich Folks Will Step Up To The Plate?

We've heard a lot lately about workers' low wages in the fast food industry. I'd include workers in other industries, but right now, let's just stick to the fast food business. Talk of worker raises has also brought talk of rising product prices.Why? You don't think the wealthy corporate executives and wealthy stockholders are going to give up anything, do you? I just checked, and the CEO for McDonald's Corporation makes nearly 14 million dollars. I'm telling you, that poor guy doesn't know where his next hamburger is coming from. And fries? Oh my! Folks, the only way some of the terrible income inequality that has built up over the last three + decades is going to be brought down, is for those at the top to have to give a little; otherwise, they're just going to keep passing along any cost increases to consumers. You know that means, to you and to me, but they get the same percentage of the income. While millions of Americans have struggled over the years, the wealthiest have born no sacrifice. It's time they learn the meaning of the word "sacrifice," instead of just practicing ruthless greed to pile millions on top of millions in accumulated wealth. Many statistics show that such inequality in American hasn't been this bad for more than a hundred years. If the wealthy keep at this, my prediction of a new feudal society will come true, and I want very much to be wrong.*  I'm not saying price increases should always be off the table (no pun intended), but first let's see how many wealthy people will relinquish, let's say, 3% of their income from that particular business (including big stockholders, not just execs), before we start talking price increases. Who will step up to the plate? Don't all of you multimillionaires and billionaires charge up here at once now! 

* See my article at this link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/10/you-wont-need-time-machine.html

WORD HISTORY:
Plate-This word traces back to Indo European "plat," which had the notion of "to spread, to make thin by spreading." This gave Greek "platys/platis," which meant "broad, wide, spread out." This gave Latin "plattus," which then became "plata," and meant "flat piece of metal." Old French, a Latin based language, inherited a form of the word as "plate," with the same meaning, but also "metal disk used as a coin." English borrowed the word from French in the 1200s, but its meaning, by extension, also moved to "disk used to serve food," the most common modern meaning, but the "flat piece of metal" meaning is still very much alive.A verb form developed from noun in the late 1300s, but then it meant "to put metal pieces (plates) on something," but which later became the more common "to serve up food," as in, "The cook plated the pasta and we all took our share."

Working People Need To See The Forest AND The Trees

For those who are terribly worried about the plight of millionaires and billionaires, let me reassure you: they'll be fine! I had a troubling conversation with an acquaintance the other day. He's working class and in his 50s and of Chinese background (born in the U.S.). He proceeded to tell me how "the government" (his term) has forced so many corporations to move facilities and jobs to China and other countries. When I asked him just what he meant, he mentioned regulations about clean air, clean water, employment and also business taxes. He cited his source as Fox News. Okay, so here we have a guy who makes, at most I'm sure, $1,500 a month, and likely closer to $1,200 a month, who has had car trouble a couple of times just since the first of the year (a 2000 model car), yet he's spouting the propaganda nonsense of the wealthiest Americans, all provided to him by Fox News. Let me tell you something, the richest Americans did NOT move facilities and jobs out of the country because they were fearful they couldn't pay the electric bill for their chauffeur's bedroom or because they weren't making big money. They did it to make MORE money. Now you can say, "That's fine," but then let's dispense with all the anti-government rigamarole and tell us what you really mean. Let's hear what it really means: like, "I don't give a good damn if you choke to death in air pollution, or die from poisoned water, or get lead poisoning, or you can't get a job (or hold a job) because you're a minority, or a woman, or gay, or are 55 or 60 years old. I want MORE money!" (But you have lots of money.) "This is a free country and I can make however much I want, and I'm going to make it in China, because I can make there without worrying about clean air, clean water, your damnable employment because of your age, gender or ethnic background." (That's not very patriotic.) "Patriotic? I'm a true, red blooded American, and I'm religious too." (What if there are government upheavals in some of the countries where you now have facilities?) "Well the U.S. government better just get their behinds into action to protect my interests." (So if that means sending troops into harms way, "boots on the ground," as some Republicans like to always say, that would be okay?) "You're damned right! (So the Americans you put out of work because of those "damnable employment regulations" should send their sons and daughters to defend you?) "You got it."

Why non wealthy Americans would rise to defend the interests of the super wealthy is beyond me. The system is meant to be contentious, and if you aren't contentious, about the only thing they'll give you is the middle finger, just as so many have been doing by moving jobs overseas. For those who continue to say, "I want to keep making my $8.00 an hour, duh," don't expect any gratitude in return from the super wealthy. No, you can't even see your own self interest, but they ALWAYS see their own self interest. Remember, they didn't go through all of the outsourcing of jobs and support union busting politicians so they could pay you more, they want to pay you less! That's what all of this is about. One thing is for sure, they ARE greedier than you, and they are willing to destroy you to try to satisfy their greed. All at a time when the wealthiest segment of America is making more money and taking a greater percentage of the national income than perhaps since the latter part of the 1800s!      

And get this, the super money making is not limited to just some industries or businesses, as even Goodwill Industries, a "non profit" business that exists to help train and employ people with employment disadvantages, including disabilities, pays some workers less than the minimum wage, including some who make about a quarter an hour! (Just to be clear, this is legal under specific circumstances.) At the same time, executives for many of Goodwill's branches make hundreds of thousands of dollars, with some making anywhere from a half million to more than one million dollars a year. I guess the "non profit" designation must refer to the workers. I don't mean to just cite Goodwill, but this just goes to show how this "money to the richest" philosophy has permeated the entire American business world, where the wealthiest feel ENTITLED to make not just more than 99% of other Americans, but gazillions more! This is a philosophy that will continue the decline of the country. All the while Americans are bombarded with advertisements telling us "to buy this new phone with all sorts of gadgets, most which you won't be able to figure out how to use by the time we release the next super gadget phone," or "get the latest cable or satellite TV package with 55,000,000 channels, 54,999,988 you'll never watch, but if you don't get this package you're a loser," or "get your tickets to the next game and sit right up close to see that 5 million dollar a year shortstop for just $300 for four tickets, and don't forget to bring plenty of money with you, because we've got some deals for you, like 4 cups of beer for $30.00 and 4 hotdogs for just $16.00, what a deal, that less than fifty dollars."

Then there's the political side of things. Here in Ohio Republican John Kasich defeated Democratic incumbent governor Ted Strickland in 2010 in part by running a television ad telling Ohioans that his father had been a mailman and how he therefore related to working people. No sooner had he taken office than he and other Republicans in the state legislature began an assault to gut unions, an assault that ended with an embarrassing trouncing for Republicans in a referendum on the issue. Don't be fooled; forget the "my father was a mailman" story, this was about camouflaging the shift of more money to the wealthy by destroying unions, along with wage, benefit, job protection and safety provisions unions help to set for all workers, including non union workers. If we allow unions to be destroyed, no whining about our treatment at the hands of ruthless greed. We deserve it! I make NO apologies to the wealthiest of the wealthy, or to John Kasich, I proudly stand for unions! The object of conservative policy seems always to be, "we've got to cut middle class and poor Americans so that we can give tax cuts to the wealthy." At least that argument  would sound half way sane, if the wealthy were in decline, but they are doing better than anytime in more than a century; it is the middle class and the poor who are under siege With so much excess money in their hands, the wealthy can influence all sorts of financial markets to their advantage very easily and also tamper with the political system. The Supreme Court decision (Citizens United) that essentially said that corporations are people and that corporations (who owns corporations? The wealthiest Americans) can contribute unlimited sums of money to political causes and permits special political groups to act as attack dogs (used by both major parties) by using money from anonymous donors is perhaps the biggest blow to American democracy yet. America was once the progressive source of democracy for the world, now we've become regressive, with increasing power to the wealthy, the worst income inequality among developed nations, less social mobility (generally the ability to move upward in income level), the most expensive health care system, without necessarily a comparable benefit for the costs as compared to other developed nations,* a high rate of infant mortality, etc. Workers of America who support the conservative agenda and thus the wealthiest of the wealthy, I just want you to know, that expanse of trees is called a forest.

* For some very good information on the health care cost/benefit comparisons, see this PBS article:  http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2012/10/health-costs-how-the-us-compares-with-other-countries.html

WORD HISTORY:
Curt-Like its relative "short," this word goes back to Indo European "sker," which meant "to cut," but without the beginning "s" sound. This gave its Latin offspring "curtus," which meant "short/shortened." Forms of the word spread through the Germanic languages, "seemingly" around 800-900 A.D., but English, unlike its close relatives, did not borrow the word at that time, retaining Germanic "short" to this day; the only Germanic language to retain the word as its main adjective word for "short." Exactly when English borrowed the word is somewhat unclear, but I "lean" toward 1350-1400, and it simply meant "brief," from which later developed the meaning "abrupt, blunt," its main meaning in modern times. German has "kurz" (meaning "short") which replaced "schurz," which had been the German form closely related to English "short." Low German Saxon, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch and Swedish all have "kort;" and West Frisian has "koart." As best I can tell, Icelandic does not use a form of "curt." As I noted above, "curt" and "short" are related, but "short" came from the Germanic branch of Indo European (English is a Germanic language), and "curt" came from the Italic/Latin branch of Indo European and was borrowed by many Germanic languages, including English.  

The Sermon Unheard

I first published this on November 27, 2006, and then again in October 2011, but with a "Word History," which did not accompany the original article. Unfortunately, this article hasn't really gone out of style, although Pope Francis has brought a refreshing change in tone and emphasis to religion, but much more is needed from others. Updated November 18, 2014.

"Please be seated, my brethren. I won't waste time with any preliminaries.

It seems we hear so much about religious people making statements concerning many of the hot button social issues of today's world. I see the clips on the television news or read about them in the paper. Whether or not I agree with some, all, or perhaps even none of these statements, is not what I'm here to talk about today. Maybe it's the fault of the news media, but I seldom, if ever, hear a word on the news from the religious community about a blight that's going on around us each day in our cities, towns and rural areas. I spell it with capital letters: G-R-E-E-D.

This is a condition from which all of us suffer to some extent, but when it comes down to it, it has never seen such heights in modern times as that which is emanating from the board rooms, money managers' offices, and the dens of the very wealthy in our society. The behavior we are witnessing is just plain ruthless, and unfortunately, it is extensive. We have very wealthy individuals hoping for hurricanes to disrupt oil and natural gas supplies. We have very wealthy individuals hoping for conflict in the Middle East for the same sick reason. Those who wish for any catastrophe for the sake of money!!! How despicable!!! No thoughts for their fellow man, only thoughts of more money and their chest-thumping ego trips!!! Let me tell you my brethren, there's not enough money in this world to satisfy these greedy, money-grubbing, ruthless individuals! They have a total disconnect with humanity. They have turned out the lights in their minds that lead to some pang of conscience.

And where are the ministers, priests, and rabbis to out and out condemn this behavior? My brethren, I'm afraid some, but not all, have fallen under the spell of the same curse. The wealthy contribute to the churches, and the very people who should be giving some moral guidance fall silent on this terrible affliction. Do they stand up and say that in a country like America, that people need medical care without the prospect of going bankrupt? No! Do they stand up and tell the board room class that they are ruthlessly cutting people from their employment rolls to save on medical insurance? No! Do they even ask their wealthy members to support some kind of national health insurance plan? No! Do they tell their wealthy members that after doing all sorts of rotten things to their fellow man, that making a donation to the church or hospital doesn't wipe the slate clean? No!

It is time for the religious community to stand up and point an accusing finger at the people who have so callously culled the ranks of working people from getting proper medical care! Further, I heard an interview with the President (then George W. Bush) recently. He was asked about the tremendous sums being paid to corporate executives, and what he felt should be done about it. He first noted that executive salaries should not be controlled by the government, but that corporate board members should be more diligent in watching pay levels. To me it sounds a bit like "Heal Thy self," or "the foxes put in charge of guarding the chicken coop." There's no doubt in my mind that workers deserve at least some of the huge sums being paid to the big wigs. I remember an episode from "Gilligan's Island," the 1960s sitcom. In this episode, if memory serves me right, an impostor is back on the mainland spending multimillionaire Mr. Howell's money. Mr. Howell, played by Jim Backus, blurts out, "Little does he know how hard other people worked to make me that money." That one line makes a great point.

So my brethren, I now will cool my rhetoric and offer a softer tone toward the people I want to reach. Please, please think about your actions! Turn on the light of conscience! Think of others, not just of yourselves! You will still have plenty! Think of how much you have and how little others have. Just think of the money you spent on yourself in the last few days. That amount alone could help save the life of someone without proper medical care. Or, that amount could save someone's home from foreclosure. Or that amount could save the emotional stability of someone struggling with financial problems due to layoff or a cutback in hours. Or that amount could feed a number of families who lack the wherewithal to keep food on the table. I could go on and on, but these are the things that should make you feel good, not just acquiring more wealth on top of more wealth, or watching your stocks rise because of some catastrophe, or gloating over some shrewd deal where you made a bundle, because you gave the other person "the business." Think! Think! Think! You can help cure, at least in part, this terrible affliction I spell G-R-E-E-D!!!

Do I hear an Amen?"

WORD HISTORY:
Wish-This verb goes back to Indo European "wen/wun," with the general meaning "to desire, to wish for." This gave its Old Germanic offshoot "wunsk(i)janan," with the same meaning. This gave Old English "wyscan" (notice the "n" sound is lacking), again with the same meaning. This then became "wisshen" (notice the "k" sound had become softened), before the modern form. The noun was derived from the verb by the late 1200s. The other Germanic languages have forms of the word (usually both a verb and a noun), and all with the same meaning as their English relative: (notice how in some of the other Germanic languages, the "k" sound softened, as in English, but the "n" persists, except in English and Icelandic) Old High German had "wunsken," but as happened in English, the "k" sound softened in the modern form, "wünschen"("Wunsch," is the noun form); Low German Saxon has the same forms as standard German; some Low German dialects have "wensche" ("Wensch," noun form); Frisian has only a noun form, "winsk" (here the hard "k" is retained); Dutch has "wensen" ("wens" is the noun); Danish and Norwegian have "ønske" (same form for the noun); Swedish has "önska" ("önskan"/noun); Icelandic has only the noun form, "Óska."

Will The Dems Finally Act?

Regular readers know that I've been preaching here for quite some time about how the country has been taken over by the wealthy business interests in the country. There are many important issues in this country, war and peace certainly being one, but in my opinion, in the end, what will destroy the country is how we deal with the economy and the standard of living for all Americans, not just the rich. The philosophy that spawned the take over by the "interests" was put in place just shy of thirty years ago. In the early Reagan years, many Americans could not have foreseen how the mighty would truly become THE mighty in the country within just a couple of decades. We have two major political parties to help balance things out in how the country operates. During much of the last thirty years many Democrats in Congress supported a lot of conservative policies. I said "many Democrats," but certainly not all. Some of those Dems were so conservative, that they switched parties and became Republicans. Additionally, during his two terms, President Clinton, a Democrat, also signed into law a number of policies that were heavily supported by conservatives in the country, including the repeal of some significant regulation of the banking industry, proposed mainly by then Senator Phil Gramm, Republican of Texas.* So, I'm not just picking on Republicans, but it was their favored philosophy that prevailed for almost thirty years, and it was that philosophy that helped put the country into the predicament it is now in economically.** In essence, however, WE are to blame.

We watched oil and gasoline prices spiral to heights never believed possible. We watched as higher energy prices drove the price of just about everything higher. We watched as the price of many other food products soared, because of "supposed scarcity." We watched the country's wealth dissipate in trade imbalances that boggled the mind. We watched as middle class Americans saw their collective incomes shrink. We watched as Wall Streeters and other wealthy Americans "cleaned up" on high prices for everything, transferring money from OUR pockets into THEIR bank accounts. We watched as Wall Streeters and other wealthy Americans used that money to drive prices even higher, thus perpetuating the transfer of wealth from low and middle income Americans to the very wealthy. We watched as these same greed mongers helped (unwittingly, I'm NOT saying this was a conspiracy) foreign nations, some of them openly hostile to America, reap the benefits of higher oil prices, "fueled," if you'll pardon the expression, by the obsessive greed of our own greediest people. We watched as home prices surged to absurd levels, driven higher by mortgages granted to anyone who had a heartbeat, and maybe even to some who didn't. We watched as people who hated the idea of government, be put in charge of the government! Then these same imbeciles charged that the government doesn't work right! If you ever wanted to know what the Wild West was like, this stuff was pretty much comparable; that is, no law and order, except for the wealthy, who were a law unto themselves.

Now we've had a new President since late January. We've had Democrats in control of the House of Representatives. We've had Democrats in charge of the U.S. Senate. So what's been done to change all of the absolute nonsense that had been going on? Ah...NOTHING! Well, I guess there is going to be a policy to cut back on Wall Street bonuses announced some time today, supposedly for one year, but that is insufficient for the magnitude of the problem. The whole system was taken over by wealthy interests. Corporate board members have been as cozy as cucumbers on a vine with CEOs and other corporate officers. These folks approved all of these bonuses and exorbitant salaries. The average shareholder is just like dust on the floor.

We have the greedy back to driving oil and gas higher. Let me tell you, how much do you want to bet that many a Wall Street business is behind that? They'll destroy the country, because they are so obsessed by greed and ego trips that they don't even see how they hurt the country by taking money from the pockets of average Americans AND helping transfer more of our wealth overseas to oil producing countries. I know many people don't agree with me on this at this time, but you watch, if nothing is done, many Americans will be screaming for Uncle Sam to nationalize the oil industry in this country, just to get a handle on the abuses that have gone on. Survival will outweigh all this "socialist" malarkey shouted by some people who don't even see their own self interest. And they are urged on by people who fully understand their own self interest. Can you guess who they are? All of the negative ads appearing on your television screen didn't get there by magic. They were funded by someone. Any attempts to change the system that now favors the "big boys," will face well funded opposition, and you can put that in a Wall Street bank account. (A "Word History" is below the notes)

* Gramm was one of those former Democrats who changed parties.

** Very concisely, but not all inclusive, that philosophy entailed big tax cuts for the very wealthiest Americans, free trade policies with countries whose workers earned only a fraction of what American workers made, thus putting our own workers at a serious disadvantage, and the idea of "the best regulation is no regulation." That last notion was in place as the conditions mounted that would cause the economy to melt before the very eyes of those who opposed regulation so much, like Christopher Cox, George W. Bush's head of the Security & Exchange Commission, better known by its initials, SEC, but he was not alone!

WORD HISTORY:
Now-This very common word goes back to Indo European "nu," and meant "at the present time." This gave many of the Indo European dialects (later separate languages) a form of the word, as Sanskrit, an ancient relative of English, had "nu," and Latin had "nunc," and Greek had/has "nun/nyn/nu" (I found three different versions). The Germanic languages also kept a form of the word, and this gave Old English "nu." The other Germanic languages also still have forms: German has "nun," Dutch has "nu/nou," Norwegian has "na," Danish has "nu/na," and Swedish has "nu."

The Big Boys Don't Feel Our Pain

The CEOs of America's largest companies just keep rolling along, regardless of the economy. Don't you just wish you were so "lucky?"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25106423/

Bush Is Starting To Get It

At long last, President George W. Bush is starting to get it. I'm amazed how long it has taken, but I welcome the President into the fold. What is "it?" "It" is, or rather "they" are the CEO pay and the income disparity issues. This President went to Wall Street, the holy shrine of the money lending, price gouging, sit on their ass class, and actually mentioned these two issues! I've never believed much in so called "political geniuses," Republican or Democratic, and Karl Rove is no exception. It has taken a long time for him to grasp these issues. Of course, the almost immediate response from the proponents of "I'll sell my mother to you, if the price is right," was that this is just blatant class warfare and government interference in "the market." It always has amazed me, that when businesses are squeezing the hell out of consumers, it's always "the market," but when the public strikes back, it's never "the market." Anyway, the "blame it on class warfare" slogan won't work this time. The money managers and the ass-sitters are afraid of that battle, because it's a battle they could lose, at least to some extent, and then, instead of making say, $50 million a year, they might actually have to settle for $35 million. I'll tell ya, life is tough.