Sunday, April 17, 2016

“The Moral thing to Do” The disconnect between Big Money and the People


In the latest display of the People versus Big Money, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam called on striking Verizon employees to, “look at the facts” and “partner with us in creating a sustainable, competitive, and profitable company.”

By “partner with us” I can only assume he means, “sit back while we move your jobs out of the country and cut your benefits while the exec’s continue to rake in huge bonuses on top of million dollar salaries.”

Is this guy for real?

McAdam, who, I might point out, made a whopping 18.3 MILLION dollars last year, thinks the people protesting to keep their jobs and benefits need a reality check?

While I agree with McAdam’s that changing times call for change in business, the company shows profits up nine percent from last year. True, this is down slightly from the prior years profit margin, but it’s still a significant profit that awarded McAdam a hefty chunk of change. Furthermore, McAdams argues that landlines and DSL are in decline, which is true, but he doesn’t mention that Verizon’s FiOS Broadband business continues to grow steadily and makes up an increasingly large percentage of the wireline business.

McAdams even writes, “We’re generating the profitable growth that allows us to invest in America.” so tell me again why the workers who contributed to the success of the company should be called upon to make sacrifices while the CEO makes millions off of this profitable growth?

The point is, while Verizon may be paying taxes and providing jobs for Americans, there is no denying the disconnect between the 1% and the working class in our country. A profitable company with healthy profit margins should be rewarding more than just the company executives.

When Bernie Sanders refers to big corporations “destroying the moral fabric of this country,” He’s right.

The “moral fabric” of this country is based on corporations having integrity and loyalty to the workers who made it possible to succeed. Instead we have corporations who call upon their workers to make greater and greater sacrifices even as the top tier executives reap financial benefits unfathomable to the average American.

McAdams is right about one thing, though. It is dangerous when “rhetoric becomes disconnected from reality.” But in this case it isn’t Bernie Sanders or the Verizon employees who need to be called to task.

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