Yes, Perry, I saw that program. It helped to confirm some of my thoughts about "the system" (publicly-traded companies) actually working against what's really good.

Thanks for the reminder.


>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