THE ENTERPRISE
“LEST WE FORGET”
Amidst the political brouhaha and the finger pointing, it's amazing how even the largest unpleasant events fade from our memory. I am going back to Colorado to visit my friends there in a few months. These are the same friends that I was visiting on that fateful day of Sept. 11, 2001 when the terrorists brought War to the USA. To help remember the enormity and horror of the actual events, a PowerPoint slide show is being posted to my web site http://www.mariotti.net , in the next few days where you can once again look and listen to graphic reminders of what happened. It is posted under “News Stories” on the left side of the site and titled “LEST WE FORGET.”
The more I read in the news, the more that definition of insanity comes to mind. “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome.” In this edition, I will only take on three real cases and a fictional example-where this apt definition struck me recently-The NY Times, a “Haircut,” GM/Delphi and the Bush Administration.
IS THIS A CRIME? ---Insanity: When dissenting voices (media included) are so flagrant that they violate the laws of the US (more than once). As it pursued its anti-Bush agenda, the scandal plagued NYTimes recent actions are an egregious abuse of the freedom of the press assured by the Constitution. Many believe that the NYT management should be prosecuted for violation of the Espionage Act of 1917. The Times knowingly and willfully leaked/exposed the NSA's “eavesdropping” on suspected terrorists (War criminals?) in spite of specific and strenuous objections of the US government. On numerous occasions NYT has editorialized negatively on almost everything about the US and its “War on Terrorism,” including a prior case that resulted in a Times writer spending jail time and then, finally being fired.
FYI--The Espionage Act of 1917 describes a crime this way: “… a crime, punishable by a $10,000 fine and 20 years in jail, for a person to convey antipathy with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States or to promote the success of its enemies.” That sounds fairly clear to me. Isn't that what the NY Times did? This law is still on the books and was supported in a Supreme Court test. Whether anyone has the guts to enforce it in 2006 against a big newspaper is another question.
THE HAIRCUT (not a true story-but it seems somehow familiar)
I went to my neighborhood Barber Shop. There are 3 barber chairs there, but since two new unisex hairstyling salons opened nearby, the traffic now only keeps one barber busy. I don't have enough left to be “styled.” I just need it trimmed into shape now and then. Haircuts used to be $12, but the new hair stylists cut hair, but wash and shampoo it first, then trim and style it-and all for $15. My old barber shop posted a new sign that haircuts are now priced at $35! When I asked why the big jump in price, I was told it had two causes: First, the barbers who once worked the two vacant chairs were still out of work, so part of the $35 fee was going to pay them-even though they are doing nothing these days; Second, the other part of the fee was going to pay for retirement income and benefits of all the barbers/owners who ran the shop for its 40 year history.
Both were "humanitarian" causes. Both were directly related to how business used to be done. And the two together made the cost of a haircut totally non-competitive in today's market. And that's a for haircut that isn't as good as the one at the new stylists. When I told the sole remaining barber I'd have to take my business elsewhere, he said, “Fine. I'll just have to raise my price more to cover the cost of cutting my hours back and keeping this big a shop open with less traffic to pay for it.” I asked, "What if people won't pay that much?" "I'll go on strike," he said, "and shut down the shop." I left shaking my head, planning to get my hair cut somewhere else. (This isn't a true story. It's too ridiculous to be true. Right?)
GM & DELPHI---Insanity: Expecting to spend almost $70/hr. pay for hourly auto factory workers and still be competitive. Even though the US auto makers are making progress, competitors are making progress even faster. Today's WALL STREET JOURNAL showed the hourly costs of Delphi at $67.79, of which $25.58/hr. was wages, etc. and $26/hr. was due to legacy health care, pensions and retiree costs. GM's costs have been publicly posted as being slightly $70+/hr. No wonder these jobs are disappearing and being replaced by import auto factories with a whole new group of workers,paid nearly as much per hour, but without these enormous legacy burdens. Even as GM's Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet cars get good quality reviews, Consumer Reports has chosen its 10 best for 2006: 5 Hondas, 2 Toyotas, 2 Subarus and 1 Nissan-all Japanese-owned makes. The faster GM goes, the “behinder' it gets! Delphi's UAW union solution--strike and shut down its own plants and GMs. (Anybody for a haircut?)
GEORGE W. BUSH & staff---Insanity: Bush “staying the course” too stubbornly, and not changing out a meaningful number of important staffers-and still expecting support from either Congress or the American people. It ain't going to happen, W-get real! The mounting clamor for Bush to replace staffers continues to grow. I concur with the need for new faces, new thoughts and new ideas. Further, changes like the Andy Card replacement with Joshua Bolten are not “meaningful enough” but still need to be made. The daunting list of problems cited in a recent issue of THE ENTERPRISE will not be solved by “more of the same.” Even good ideas have become tainted by the “Insanity” of pursuing prior unsuccessful avenues. The mishandling of matters like the Dubai Ports deal, the Cheney hunting accident, etc. simply reflect the insular hubris present in the (experienced, smart, but burned out?) Bush senior staff was experienced, knowledgeable and impressive when he first selected them.
Now is the time for a change and for some Draconian actions to mitigate the effects of past “Insanity.” Until some changes are made, outcomes will not change. Listening to President Bush speak recently, I marvel at the disconnect between how much I like what he says (and seems to sincerely believe) and how dismayed I am at what his administration ends up doing. The fight over Immigration policy typifies the national confusion about “what to do” about one of our huge problems. There are several reasonable proposals bouncing around Congress-if only our fragmented government can find a place to agree on actions incorporating the “best” of them.
We are at a turning point in “taking control of our destiny” as a culture, as a society, and as a country. We can only hope that enough “noise” from us “little people” will eventually be heard, and that rational behavior will start to appear. In an election year, this may be too much to hope for…but hope is what we must cling to. And clinging IS the right word...
Best, John
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