Capitalism: You Gotta Love It

I’m a capitalist. I have no shame of it and I embrace it. I think that anyone should be able to make a dollar in nearly any legal, moral, ethical way they can. Yeah, I put those caveats on capitalism; that’s my view of capitalism.

I do believe that prices should be allowed to go as high as the public will bear. I’m not in favor of gouging at any time, much less during times of economic stress. I’m not talking about price fixing where business owners get together and decide that they all will charge the same price for their product. Gouging and price fixing are always wrong, not to mention illegal, immoral, and unethical.

I am not capitalist enough to think it’s fine and dandy for the CEO’s of a failed company to walk away with millions in their “golden parachutes” when their employees lose their job, a paycheck, their benefits, pensions, 401’s and everything else they’ve worked for. Because a company goes under, the employee can lose not only the job and everything that goes with it, but they could end up losing their home and everything else they hold dear. Sure, they can rebuild their lives, but should they be the big losers when the CEO’s, CFO’s and all the other alphabets caused the company to fail by making poor decisions, wrong choices, or just plain greed?

That is wrong. Wrong is always wrong, no matter how it’s spun. I have little problem when the alphabets prove themselves with making or keeping the company successful year after year. They should be rewarded for their efforts. And if they negotiated a contract that gives them the so-called “golden parachute” for a job well done, so be it. But, when the company fails, the alphabets should lose too and lose big. They stand to profit the most, so should also lose the most. In fact, the more I think about it anyone, especially in upper management, who stands to gain from the success of a company, should also stand to lose from the failure.

Reagan’s trickle down economics works. The alphabets who get the “golden parachute” jobs should remember who makes their policies work. It’s you and me and the people like us. The white, blue, and pink collar workers who are the front line and do the actual job of the company. Don’t get me wrong; the alphabets earn their place in the food chain. And when the company is successful, the success should trickle down from the alphabet at the top to the newest employee in the company.

Yes, I’m a capitalist. I want people to get whatever they can in the way of pay, benefits, and bonuses. Rank and file employees are happy to get raises and better benefits when the company succeeds. Better yet, when they get those raises and improved benefits packages, let them know it’s because they have done a good job; that it’s through their efforts that the company has done as well as it has. When they know they are appreciated, they “own” their jobs, and the company becomes “their” company. When they feel they are not appreciated, that feeling of ownership doesn’t exist and they become “just another employee” who doesn’t matter.

I believe in getting out what you put in. If you put time and effort into a job, you should be rewarded for it. If you put mistakes and poor decisions into that job, you should be rewarded in kind.

Gold is a heavy metal and “parachutes” made from gold may not be the thing you want when your company is spiraling down.