Business Statistics to Ponder

Here are two statistics to ponder:

1.  The Average American Worker admits to wasting 2 hours of work time on the Internet each day.
- Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Page-a-Day Calendar, June 26, 2012.

2.  In 2005, the average CEO earned more in 1 workday than the average worker earned all year.
-Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Page-a-Day Calendar, June 28, 2012.


If the average American Worker admits wasting 2 hours on the Internet what about the workers that didn't admit to anything?  And if that is the average, consider the thousands of American workers who did not have access to the Internet while they were on the clock, such as Postal Workers and retail sales clerks.  Average-wise, that would give the ones that did more than 2 hours on the Internet daily.

Then imagine if you could get all the workers to take a loyaty oath saying they would not get on the Internet, accept for official business, imagine how much production would go up;  At least 25%.

Another statistic is that the average worker's pay has been decreasing the same time the average CEO's pay has been increasing.  So, overall this means if the average worker gives up his Internet habit he can raise his CEO's pay about 25% and maybe the leap in profits the CEO can buy that 2nd jet, yatch, or island he has always wanted. 

And the worker can have the satisfaction of honestly giving his all to his job without cheating - he is  getting a satisfaction money can't buy and the CEO is getting a satisfaction money can buy, so everybody is happy!

Thanks-Taking

Charles Curtis (1860-1936)

While Thanksgiving is still lingering (in the refrigerator) here is another thought on the subject: Remember the stories of the first Thanksgiving?

The Pilgrims came over on the Mayflower to be able to worship their own way and for a better life for their families. They were some of the first immigrants. They still come today trying to make a better life for their families.

They had a hard time living in the on the edge of wilderness, killing wild game and eating whatever they could scrounge up. They were on the brink of starvation and then the neighboring Indians came to their settlement with food which helped them survive. That was something to be Thankful for.

That was a happy story wasn’t it? It ended on a happy note. Wait! That wasn’t the ending.

In time the white man decided it was OK to take the Indians’ land because, after all, they were heathens and of course Christians deserved more than heathens and savages.

Speaking of Indians, the original care-takers of America, only one has been elected to the executive branch. Charles Curtis (1860 – 1936) was the only Native American descendants, Vice President (1929-1933). Now we are in our 44th Presidential term. I don’t have the number, but I would think there had been close to that number of vice presidents terms. That is saying that about 1/88th of our executive branch, since the beginning were descended from Native American Indians.; in other words one.

And also the same can be said about Afro-Americans. Well, not really. Obama is one half black. So, only 1/176th of the elected Executive Branch has been black.
The rest have been white.

We think our shit don’t stink don’t we?

Black or Green Friday?

Today, the Friday after Thanksgiving, has been named Black Friday because in many cases it is the day hoards of people go Christmas shopping and because of all the shopping frenzies it is the first day a lot of the merchants' books come in the black. Up until this day they have been operating in the red.

With the urgency of Christmas shopping in the minds of the public the merchants do what they can to entice shoppers to visit their stores instead of their competitors. Some open their doors at midnight and give prizes for the first 100 or 200 shoppers and some open their doors at 4:30. They all have some things on sale but I would think others are marked up to offset the sales ones they are losing money on. When they do all this, I think the greed factor is added to the recipe. Every merchant wants it all and all the customers want to beat their fellow shoppers to the best deals. I think I remember a couple of retail stores where people were bodily harmed during Black Friday... last year in the news one lady was crushed to death by the opening door stampede.

Maybe we should call today Black & Blue or Green Friday.....or Greed Day.

Weekend News

Some place in Cherokee County, Georgia, near Canton, an old gold mine shaft was discovered in a front yard. The heavy rains we have had lately eroded away the topsoil of a front yard and a mine shaft was uncovered. Looking down the dark hole you can see timber supports. Yep, it is an old mine.
It reminds me of my great-great-great grandfather Eugene Hargraves/Job Tyson (1798-.
Eugene went to Franklin College in Athens, Georgia. He excelled in Latin. Franklin College would soon change its name to the University of Georgia.
Gold was discovered near Dahlonega, Georgia, in 1832. The Dahlonega area was north of the Chattahoochee River in Georgia, therefore it was protected by a Treaty with the Cherokee and Creek Indians. It was their land. No white man could live in the area, with a few exceptions.

To make a long story, gold was gold and the treaty was void and the Indians were removed to Oklahoma via the infamous “Trail of Tears”.

Thus the term “Indian Giver” was invented. You would think the term Indian Giver would refer to habits of Indians who gave and demanded it back. It is just the opposite: “Old Hickory” was instrumental as an Army general giving the large area of land in north Georgia and the western Carolinas to the Indian nation, only as president ordering to be taken away. At the time, the “Indian Giver” was “Old Hickory”.

The State of Georgia conducted a lottery of land abandoned by the Indians in north Georgia. Some of it were land lotteries and some were gold lotteries.
Eugene H. Tyson won a parcel of land on the gold lottery. The land he won to mine gold on was on Kellogg Creek in Cherokee County, which according to the maps went as far south as their home place, which is on what is presently near the intersection of Hwy 92 and Bells Ferry Road.

It has been handed down that he made a good living mining for gold and of course it has also been handed down that he buried a large amount of gold on his land.*

*I would not doubt that the developers of the subdivision Tyson Estates in the area farmed that rumor.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Chris Rock has been hitting the TV interview circuit plugging his movie GOOD HAIR.

He noticed that his daughters were spending much time and money on their hair. He begin to look at the hair business more and found black women are the biggest market of hair products. Black women, head-count percentage wise, make up about 20% of the hair market, but spending-wise, they make up about 70% percent of the market.

Chris found that many are buying human hair wigs. The best selling human hair is long black hair, found typically in Indian and Asian countries. They are willing to pay thousands of dollars for a good mane of hair.

In India many churches, temples, or what other religious institutions they have in India have been pushing for the female part of the congregation to do what is right and donate their hair to the church, who, in turn sell it to whomever is willing to pay the highest price. It appears the church staff benefits materially for these females charitable generosity. But the families that donated their daughters' hair remain poor.

Chris was appalled that black women would go to so much trouble to look like white women.

I agree! Chris Rock said, in so many words, “Be yourself! Do your hair so you will like it! If you feel good about yourself everything else will work itself out.”

On the other hand, I heard somebody else say if you see an opportunity seize it!

I am emotional moved by that advice. I would like to help the poor Asians and Indians in some way will live on and keep giving.

I know! I think I will give them free haircuts!

If I Ever Win the Lottery

I was wondering what if I won the Lottery. Just what if. Hmmmm.

Our house is paid for, so I can’t pay off what is already paid off. But my two sons owe money for their houses, so that would be the first thing we would do.

Anna could sing “take this job and shove it!”

And, maybe the third thing we would do would be to get us a nicer house out in the woods someplace. And maybe a cabin in the north Georgia mountains.

And that is about it for now.

Then put the rest up for a rainy day.

That sounds nice and moderate but who am I fooling? Once I get a taste of a big supply of $$$$ I would demand more and more things, and be as greedy and materialistic as the next person.

The more you get, the more you want.

Greed

I am retired from the Postal Service. I worked with them for 33 years. About half the time I was a data technician in the time keeper's office in Atlanta and the other half I was mostly a scheme examiner at the Marietta Post Office.

Postage went up 2 cents effective Sunday, from 37 cents to 39 cents. Do they need the money? No. This is the first time in years they are not in the red.

Of course, when I heard that they were finally turning a profit my first thought was, "Is it because I left?"

Ironically, one year they were in the red so many hundreds of millions of dollars and it just so happens that was amount of bonuses handed out to supervisors and management that year. It was their way of patting each of themselves on the back in a meaningful way.

I never could figure that out one out... for the line employee they are expected to do their job for the pay they receive, nothing more. For management, who are supposed to be the company men, you have to bribe them with bonuses to do their job.

It reminds me of the first Federal Loan Delta Airlines got to help bail them out of the red, the first order of business after they receive the money was to give all the high up executive officers huge bonuses.

Does the word GREED come to mind?

Yesterday I bought 16 - 2 cent stamps to supplement my remaining 16 - 37 cent stamps. While transacting the deal, the window clerk, who knows me, told me the Marietta Post Office will have to send back to Atlanta about 40 clerks, which is about 25% of their clerk work force. Two of those being sent to Atlanta will be window clerks where I bought my stamps. I had to stand in a line going out the door, with 6 clerks waiting on the line. It will soon be only 4 clerks - the line is sure to be longer.

I think with mail processing mostly automated now and with emails they don't need as many clerks. That is why they feel the work force should be cut down, and shifted to someplace with maybe a heavier workload. But as far as I know the supervisors are not effected. They figure it takes a supervisor to oversee every 10 to 20 line workers. Shouldn't at least two, maybe three supervisors be transferred to Atlanta as well?

It doesn't work that way. One hand washes the other.