2 points make a line… 3 points make a trend.  I’m going for a long trend… Yea, I’ll get this thing written and published on Wednesdays if it kills me… which would ultimately stop the blog being written at all… Circular logic, sweet!

Oh the Inequity

The CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield CEO recently had his severance package cut in half due to a ruling by the Maryland Insurance Commission.  Due to a law on the books regarding not-for-profits, poor William (the CEO) will only get $9 million dollars.  I’m trying to feel bad.  Trying really hard.

Promises Not Worth the Paper They are Written On

GM dropped the big one yesterday, announcing that health-care benefits promised to retirees and their families would be discontinued at the beginning of the year.  In its place, GM is going to provide a monthly payment of $300 in lieu of the previously agreed to benefit.

Now don’t get me wrong.  I do feel for GM and the business downturn that is threatening their future.  They are on the verge of going under, with lots of blame to go around.  Market decisions, competitive pressure from around the globe, management missteps, and the rising cost of oil are just some of the reasons they are having difficulty staying afloat.

But the group that deserves no blame are the workers, especially the retirees.  The ones who built GM into the number one manufacturing company in the country, in the world.  The ones who worked hard every day building cars before the era of automation, computerization, and robotic welders.

And their only crime?  They bargained in good faith.  They believed in a promise, a contract, a pact, a bond.  Had they known that their company would change the rules decades later, they could have chosen  another company to sell their talents to. So, GM get’s the benefit of their hard work (and more importantly their decades and decades of tenure), and then says “sorry, here’s 300 bucks, good luck to ya.”

Happy Anniversary… to me

A year goes by quickly!  Tomorrow will be the anniversary of my first blog.

Knowing me, I’ll forget to write something…