General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Krugman: When a business owner complains about being unable to find workers, ask how much he pays. [View all]TahitiNut
(71,611 posts)On top of that, executives at the Fortune 2000 are held by their nuts by the investment bankers and other Wall Street types. THOSE people truly regard employees as fodder ... a COST. The focus on the stock market, the availability of investment capital (nobody thinks about corporate bonds anymore), and the "Quick Ratios" that measure "productivity" in terms of direct labor employee compensation (NOT executive overhead pay!) are symptoms of a CAPITALIST attitude that regards Labor as an "evil" (even though it's labor that CREATES wealth).
Once upon a time not really that long ago, we regarded investment in corporate stock as a long-term method to preserve the value of capital -- not some roulette wheel for instant riches -- and we evaluated stock on the basis of fundamentals. No more. Folks who "play the market" don't even know what that means. (Warren Buffett does.) It's about the quality of the product and the reliability of the processes that create the product and the longevity of the work force and the operational background of the executives and the education and training of the workforce and how all that compares to both the market and the competition, foreign and domestic. Why? Because it was about the long term! It was NOT about the "quick kill"!! Companies once invested in on-the-job training! Because of that, they hired employees with a track record of LEARNING. Now, they look for "plug-and-play" workers who're already experienced in some proprietary (i.e. vendor's) technology and without an interest in advancing to a level where they did other things. (God forbid any insecure, wet-behind-the-ears MBA hire someone who might be able to do his job! Better!)