My Job, Your Bonus

Wow, apologies for the light summer posting. . .

Thank the Gods of Kobol we have the best media on the planet here in the good 'ol USA, so that our greatest King of all time can receive the worship and adoration He deserved!!!!

Seriously, Michael Jackson was a great entertainer and artist. Like the best ones, his tortured life somehow birthed incredible art.

A funny story . . . when I was a morning DJ at a radio station in Kearney, NE in 1987, we were giving away MJ concert tickets. My show was the highest rated during that time because of those tix, not my talent, LOL

Did you watch the service? I don't know what grossed me out the most . . . a funeral at the staples center, people screaming like after getting tix like the beatles were back from the dead and together, or the red carpet for pictures before the service. (h/t/ americablog. )

It's not like our economy is on the brink or anything. Or North Korea firing off missles, or that our national security structure was under cyber attack . . . .

LOOK OVER THERE! SARAH PALIN IS DOING SOMETHING!
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I wanted to talk for a second about what might be an interesting bit of data . . . an ex-employee of my old firm released the names and dollar amounts for top exec bonus' for 2008. He/She was plenty pissed.

Know something interesting? The amount paid out to the the top dogs in bonus' is just about the same amount as the payroll of all employees terminated.

You see . . . gotta keep the gravy train rolling at the top when overall firm revenues are down.

How many other companies are the same? How many cuts were made in exec bonuses rather than staffing? Not many.

Hard to know with private companies. Public corps maybe . . .

-Prodigal Son
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Finally a quick list . . . spending you cut out when out of work and busted . . .

Entropy is still ALL POWERFUL!

-Doctor visits (except kids)
-Dentist visits (sorry kids, brush, brush!)
-Zoo and other family memberships
-Utilities awareness, NUFF SAID!
-Family vacation
-Church tithes
-Baby sitting
-Charitable giving
-Yearly high pressure house wash
-New kids crocs (other shoes in posession are fine for now)
-Cable TV
-Annual flowers for yard beds
-Healthier, but more expensive food
-Name brand frakkin' anything!
-Latest cool toy
-Eating out
-Wife's laptop repair (screen went out)
-Mower maintenance
-Dry cleaning
-Car oil changes
-Watering the lawn
-Watch band broken
-Extravagant date nights for me and wifey

Ya know, you really can live without a lot of stuff. This new reality is something I will continue, as well as a lot of Americans. I have some debt like the car, and credit cards I will pay off ASAP. Then, the service economy can fend for itself. I have even reconsidered our retirement strategy and kiddos' college, etc.

To hell with the Joneses. Turns out they worked for Goldman Sachs

-PS