Re: Insipid New York Times editorial

[RC Macaulay]

Jed wrote.. >Ford, for >example, is now offering a hybrid which gets 30 miles-per-gallon, which is >almost as good as a 1995 station wagon. Thomas Friedman, a columnist for the Times, in today's op-ed section writes " virtues that propelled ( Lance) Armstrong fading in America". The article says the focus is fading. Interesting that he commented on oil , writing... {And if you were President, and you had just seen more suicide bombs in London, wouldn't you say to your aides: " We have got to reduce our dependency on Middle East oil. We have to do it for our national security. We have to do it because only if we bring down the price of crude will these countries be forced to reform. And we should want to do it because it is clear that green energy solutions are the wave of the future, and the more quickly we impose a stringent green agenda on ourselves, the more our companies will lead innovation in these technologies} The entire Friedman article is a good piece of journalism and worth reading . It does not cover one of the most compelling tasks for the nation. Reformation of the selection process of the CEO of our major corporations. At present the CEO is selected by Wall Street.  An example is the tragedy of Hewlitt Packard  ( HP) . HP personifies the insanity running rampant in our leading corporate entities. The CEO is selected to please Wall Street's quarterly projections. Nothing else is important ,. Do whatever it takes to make the stock price rise THIS QUARTER, the future be damned. This is the mandate given the CEO. No wonder they demand a pay package up front with stock guaranty options. They know it can't be done so why not just play the game.  Compare HP ( the printer was their cash cow) and Brother ( the old Nippon Sewing Machine Company dating  from year 1909).     Look at sales both in US and worldwide and notice Brother has stolen the thunder from HP plus leading HP in new technology. The people inside HP tried to warn the CEO ( Carly the dunce in panty hose) but money won over business acumen. It actually didn't start with printers, it started with the merge of Compaq which was insanity. Compare the HP model with the Dell model for understanding the difference in CEO styles. Examples in the energy industry ( no further need to kick a dead horse, Enron)  are El Paso and Reliant. The CEO's do the will of their master Wall Street. How these two wonderful, asset rich and extremely profitable companies could fall to such depths is a story of seduction that is both tawdy and debaucherous. The American business model is now shaped and dictated to by Wall Street not Main Street. Nothing else matters. Friedman may try to put words in the President's mouth but nobody is listening to what Bush says anymore. Someone asked an old timer in Key West about the inrush of people into the keyes and the construction boom and when is it going to stop ?.. he remarked.. nothin a darn good hurricane wouldn't take care of. Which begs the question.. is this what the leaders of our nation are waiting for? .. the perfect storm? Richard