I don't know if they show it up your way, but they had a story on 60 minutes, a tv program here, on all the things SAS, the statistical software company, does to take care of their employees.

The CEO commented that they couldn't do half of what they do if they were a public company. He owns the whole thing, so they can look long term.

PF

>SNIP
>>
>>Companies rationalize, “We owe efficient management and a good return on investment to our investors. We must hold down labor costs to be competitive”!
>
>Tom,
>
>I used to say to myself... "yea, right, only trouble is they never consult with the investor first, so it's really just an excuse to do whatever they wish".
>But then I came to realize that they *DO* 'consult' the investors... well, the big institutional investors who actually FORCE 'consultation' on them!
>
>If you asked **individual** (not institutional) bank stock investors, for instance, if the 1.5% profit obtained from SERVICE FEES is worth continuing I'd bet that the vast majority of them would say "h*ll NO - I pay more in service fees than I get as dividends!".
>But the institutional investor says KEEP THE FEES - every iota of a percent matters to me!
>
>cheers
>
>>
>>All this being said while the CEO has a $120 million Golden Parachute.
>>
>>Tom