So my wife was given a promotion. Yay! It was submitted last August. We couldn't wait. One step away from a VP. And our enthusiasm wasn't just because of the title of course, but the raise. I held off and waited to readjust our budget. How much would it be? I didn't want to get my hopes up, so in my typical manner, I assumed low. Nonetheless, I waited to see before making any big plans for the future.
So we waited. And waited. And waited. September came and went. Then October. November and Thanksgiving. Then it was my birthday, her birthday, and the Christmas season! Still no final word on the promotion.
Then came the New Year. Nothing. And we waited. Pretty soon it was going to be the annual review, when the employees are notified every year that they would not be getting much of a cost of living increase.
And then she was in her annual review. And guess what. She was given a cost of living increase! Oh, and her promotion. See what they did? They held out until the annual review, gave her a few pennies more than everyone else for the less-than-cost of living increase, and dumped a boat load of extra responsibility on her, more or less for free. Brilliant. And all of this only a day after her company's CEO was on FOX News gushing over the company's record breaking year.
Again, if this becomes the norm, then kiss the GOP, Republicans, their tax cut, and any hope to resuscitate any fealty to Capitalism goodbye. I know a lot of companies are running around throwing out bonuses here and there. Those are nice. But they're pittance. The proof will be in the long term pudding.
If the market continues to produce crappy products, crappy services, dwindling quantities and all the while CEOS and upper management screw over their employees while pocketing exponentially growing amounts of wealth for themselves, expect there to be a backlash. Not just in the ballot box, but in society's way of thinking. Why do so many youngsters have such a low opinion of Capitalism? I give you exhibits A through T.
Capitalism is merely a means to an end. If the end becomes one of a growing number of people being shellacked for the sake of a dwindling few, then assume its days are numbered. I'm not saying it's good or bad, but it's the way of things. If Capitalism fails to deliver on its promises, then it will go the way of any other human idea or movement in history. It's time will come to an end.
Ok, let me just say that sucks and I would definitely recommend your wife go get another job or push back for the raise she should have.
ReplyDeleteNOW...
Well I'm going to shorten a long thought into a parable. I've seen it said, and it's pretty accurate IMHO, "greed is to capitalism as lust is to marriage."
So let's run with that metaphor for a minute. We've seen for decades now the consequences of the dismantling of the societal underpinning of the Christian & Catholic view of marriage, right? Now you and I both agree that there have been a LOT of downsides to this. We might even go so far as to call it a disaster, right? So imagine if someone said, "Ok, I'll give this Catholic marriage thing a try. But if I don't lose weight in the first year - or if my wife doesn't cook me dinner every night - then Catholicism has failed to deliver on its promises."
Now from there you can hopefully see some of the complication in this issue. Surely we can all agree that the Christian & Catholic model of marriage and relationships doesn't guarantee happiness or promise utopia, right? But what would you and I tell this hypothetical example guy? "it's better than the alternative. the odds favor you having a better life this way. it won't be perfect, but it will be good." Or something along those lines, right?
Yeah, that's shitty of the company and I'd look for work elsewhere. But it should no more invalidate capitalism than one abusive marriage should invalidate that institution. But I will say that I do get that it would be hard to believe in marriage if you were stuck in a bad one.
I also must say - not talking about you here this is just a bit of venting - that it does bug me when I see online people who will make any excuse for socialism even as it wrecks country after country (or the countries that did have it phase it out). Yet if even the SLIGHTEST thing goes wrong with capitalism, it's time to burn it all down.