Penny wise and pound foolish

This just in:  Facebook has announced that early in 2017 it would begin repurchasing $6 Billion of its own stock.  The report went on to say that Facebook has amassed a sizeable stockpile of cash in recent years, currently $26 Billion in cash and other short term investments.  FYI, Apple currently has an estimated $200 Billion in cash reserves, mostly overseas, and Google has roughly $83 Billion cash on hand.

Other notable corporations with large cash stashes include Chevron with $43 Billion, Conoco Phillips with $45 Billion, Ford with $51 Billion, Exxon Mobil with $52 Billion, Cisco with $56 Billion, Microsoft with $73 Billion, GE with $122 Billion, and Berkshire Hathaway with $162 Billion, give or take a few coins.

Most of this isn't literally green cash sitting in a bank vault somewhere, but money placed in "short term investments".  These investments offer a very modest return, but with so little investment opportunities out there today, this is the best they can do.  Oh, and they're buying back their own stock with some of their moolah, too.

My purpose here isn't to scold them for being so profitable.  I'm actually quite happy for them.  I bring this up because the new Trump administration will soon begin implementing some of their campaign promises, including major tax cuts.  Some, of course, will go to the middle class, but as most taxes are paid by the rich, they will get the lions share of the new tax cuts.

The justification given for these tax cuts is that the rich, lets call them the "investor class", will use this money to fund new start up companies (hoping some will turn out to be the next Apple or Google), and to help existing companies modernize and expand.  In theory all this investment will create NEW JOBS!

Except....the investor class doesn't need any new windfall tax cuts to fund these new businesses.  They can't even find a good place to invest what they have parked around the world right now!

WE ARE ABSOLUTELY SWIMMING IN LIQUIDITY!  All a tax cut now will do is put more money in the hands of those who don't need it, widening the income inequality that already exists, and increasing resentment and hostility between the super wealthy (the 1%) and the masses.  This is called "killing the golden goose", or a short sighted action that destroys the profitability of an asset.  And can you imagine the shortfall (deficit) this will mean to the Treasury?  It's greed, pure and simple!

Instead lets spend that money on fixing our crumbling infrastructure (highways, bridges, ports, etc), or investing in a better educated work force.  The wealthy will definitely benefit from that, too, as they....as we ALL should. 

No, I'm not trying to spread some sort of socialist message here.  I'm not suggesting we take away what the wealthy already have.  I'm just trying to head off a revolution that may be coming sooner than we think if we don't wise up.  Just level the playing field so the masses can afford to buy what the wealthy are selling.

As my daddy used to say, "A little piece of a BIG pie is better than a big piece of NO pie."

S

Jail the bankers!

What's a guy to do?  With your eye on a new truck and needing a fast buck, you decide to turn to crime.  You walk into a business, demand money, then walk out with $1000. You get caught and the judge fines you $200 and sends you on your way.  That's it.  

Hmm....at that rate you can net $800 every time you visit your local liquor store, 7-11, or Walmart.  If you need $1600, just be sure to steal $2000.  Need $3200 for your Black Friday midnight run?  Steal $4000.  The fine is just a cost of doing business.  

It's not your money....what do you care how much the fine is?  What's the downside, except for that pesky little part about eventually going straight to hell?  Sure beats working 40+ hours a week at the sawmill.

That's essentially the way our large, prestigious (?) banks do business these days.  Today's paper reported that a number of big banks have once again been fined, this time $3.3B for manipulating the foreign exchange (currency) markets while enjoying a windfall of untold billions of dollars in "profits" in the process.

In the last few years the "Too Big To Fail" banks, the ones you and I (the taxpayers) bailed out after their greed f__ked up the world's economy back in '08, have collectively paid $251B in fines for....let's just call it what it is....THEFT.  And they're still reporting record profits!  That's just a portion of what they made off their crime spree.  The rest they've already spent, some of it going to themselves as a thank-you bonus for their "hard work".

And to rub our noses in it, just know that it's the SAME banks that keep committing these crimes over and over again.  They've learned that crime DOES pay!

Wanna stop 'em in their tracks?  JAIL THE BANKERS!  Put them behind bars.  Put them on a bread and water diet.  Put them to work busting rocks in the hot sun.  Turn 'em over to that Hang 'Em High Sheriff fella in Arizona for a year or two. 

But as long as we keep electing politicians who are also profiting from this behavior (via political campaign contributions from the bankers) nothing will change.  We the sheep will still be led to slaughter. 

*this is insane*

S

"Always get married in the morning."

"Always get married in the morning.  That way, if it doesn't work out, you haven't wasted the whole day."

Ha!  That from the recently departed Mickey Rooney, who was married 8 times during his 93-year life.  Of course I know who he was, but I was never a big fan.  The childhood actor's heyday was long before I was born, and in his later years he was a successful Broadway actor, a medium I never much cared for.  Still, based on his wit, I think I like him.  :)  RIP Mickey.

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Something a bit more thought provoking:  I saw one of those "The seven most..." lists on the internet, so of course I had to read it.  (I'm a real sucker for those.)  This one was about the seven wealthiest present or former NFL players, and includes names like Joe Montana, John Elway, and Brett Favre.  Number one was Roger Staubach, worth $600M.

Roger was / is a very stand up guy, a former Naval Academy scholar-athlete who played for the Dallas Cowboys back in the 1970's.  But his money didn't come so much from football, but from real estate.  While he was still playing he worked in the off-season learning the commercial real estate business.  

After he retired from football he started his own company, hired some sharp people, and thrived.  A few years ago he sold his business for $640M, and now I learned that at that time he only owned 12% of his company.  Over the years he had given the other 88% equity interest to his employees.  

It just goes to show that you can be a good guy, reward and acknowledge those around you, and still get rich yourself.  It's such a nice contrast from those who want to pay their employees coins while they're raking off mega-millions of dollars for themselves.

Which leads to this segue:  I don't understand greed.  I know it's one of the seven deadly sins and all that, but I don't get it.  Why do some people go to the lengths they do to acquire as much as they do?

I mean, I love smoked sausage.  We had some for dinner last night.  If I was more affluent I'd have a freezer with a dozen rings of sausage in it.  And if I somehow hit the financial mother lode, I'd have a thousand rings of sausage.  And if I won the lottery, I'd own 10,000,000 rings of sausage. 

Wait....what?  Why would I do that?  It would be more than I could ever eat in 10 lifetimes.  What's the point?  Why do some people stiff others just so they can put another billion dollars in the bank, along with the other billions they already have?  Does the concept of "doing good" ever cross their mind?  With a few exceptions, I'm thinking not.  

I certainly believe in enjoying the fruits of your labor, but at some point it just gets ridiculous.  I don't understand greed.

S

Vanity

I never cease to be amazed at the gullibility of some people.  What I've noticed, however, is the divide between "educated" gullibility and "ignorant" gullibility.  An example of ignorant gullibility is the scam from the "National Bank of Nigeria" telling me my fortune is waiting for final disposition, AFTER I send them a sum of money for the last bit of legal work, of course.  Obviously they're pushing people's "greed" hot button.  I guess it works or else they wouldn't keep sending out such emails.

Educated people are probably too smart to fall for that.  Instead, those trying to get into educated wallets tend to aim for our "vanity" hot button.  I can promise you if you've ever written a letter to your Senator or Congressman, or contributed to any politician's campaign, your name is on their sucker list.

I regularly get correspondence on official letterhead from the Chairman of both the Republican and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committees commending me for my "thoughtful reasoning and civic responsibility".  They tell me I'm the kind of person Senator _____ would like to have on his Grass Roots Steering Committee, advising the good Senator on issues that affect us all.  

But first, of course, Sen. _____ must get re-elected.  Won't I please be a sport and give (pick one) $100, $500, $1,000, or more?  And as a thank you, Senator _____ will rush me a lapel pin signifying to the world what a VIP I am.  WooHoo!

(Umm....can I wear a lapel pin on a T-shirt?  After Labor Day?)

Have you been anointed like me?  Does your Senator call you by your first name?  Are you on his Rolodex?  Do you have a personal invitation to stop by and visit Sen. _____ anytime?  I do, 'cause I'm special.  (He said he would be in his car somewhere.)  

S