Michelle Kaplan

January 22, 2012 on 3:47 pm | In General | 1 Comment

Home alone.

Another day to face. What to do. Laundry, shopping, cooking, cleaning and looking for work.
Like so many American’s I wake up to face another day at home, by myself and I’m mad.

I can’t believe how this country has turned it’s back on it’s own people. Companies are refusing to hire people, instead making the people they have work harder and longer and for less. Many companies are not paying their workers a fair living wage as well, they are not extending any benefits. Their excuse is the horrible economy – And we buy it.

The American Dream is dead replaced by the new American mantra “I’m lucky to have a job,” and I for one am sick to death of hearing the new chant.

I’m sorry I just don’t buy it.

After the statistics that were put out after the Christmas holiday I don’t believe that these companies aren’t making off like bandits.

According to the New York Times:
“In Nov. 2011, spurred by aggressive promotions from retailers, American consumers opened their wallets over the holiday weekend in a way they had not since before the recession, setting records in sales and traffic. The National Retail Federation stated that spending per shopper surged 9.1 percent over 2010 — the biggest increase since 2006 — to an average of almost $400 a customer. In all, 6.6 percent more shoppers visited stores on the Thanksgiving weekend than in 2010.” - November 28, 2011

We see companies raking in record profits while telling their employees that they will have to pay more this year for their health benefits that they are “lucky enough to have” not to mention the job that they are “lucky enough to have”. All the while I have a hard time believing that there are coddled companies that pay NO taxes the big question is, are these companies creating any jobs. Funny how there are dozens of articles touting the statistics of billion dollar profit earners, top CEO earners – where are the articles covering those wonderful huge companies that are creating jobs, isn’t this the reason these companies get these ‘tax breaks’. I would imagine the reason no one is writing about it is because it just ain’t happening. In fact it’s nearly impossible to find any statistics on the companies that are creating jobs.

I can’t help thinking that if every company as well as the super rich in this country paid their fair share of taxes, that we could more than afford health care for everyone in America. I dare even say that and a world class education.

According to CNN Money – A Service of CNN, Fortune & Money: Here are the biggies by the way, these numbers are in millions:

Wal-Mart Stores: Revenues ($ millions) 421,849.0 / Profits ($ millions) 16,389.0

Exxon Mobil: Revenues ($ millions) 354,674.0 / Profits ($ millions) 30,460.0

Chevron: Revenues ($ millions) 196,337.0 / Profits ($ millions) 19,024.0

ConocoPhillips: Revenues ($ millions) 184,966.0 / Profits ($ millions) 11,358.0

Fannie Mae: Revenues ($ millions) 153,825.0 / Profits ($ millions) -14,014.0

General Electric: Revenues ($ millions) 151,628.0 / Profits ($ millions) 11,644.0

Berkshire Hathaway: Revenues ($ millions) 136,185.0 / Profits ($ millions) 12,967.0

8.General Motors: Revenues ($ millions) 135,592.0 / Profits ($ millions) 6,172.0

9.Bank of America Corp.: Revenues ($ millions) 134,194.0 / Profits ($ millions) -2,238.0

10. Ford Motor: Revenues ($ millions) 128,954.0 / Profits ($ millions) 6,561.0

We are paid less then ever before, while working harder and longer. According to US News and World Report:

“Inequality is also on the rise; the lowest quintile of Americans in terms of income makes 3.3 percent of the nation’s income, the lowest ever measured under the bureau’s current measurement system for that data, instituted in 1967. Meanwhile, the top 20 percent of earners make 49.3 percent of the nation’s income, a near-record high.” (September 13, 2011)

We are discouraged from asking for our earned time off. We don’t take it, especially knowing what we’d be coming back to – more work.

“In the last twenty years the amount of time Americans have spent at their jobs has risen steadily. Each year the change is small, amounting to about nine hours, or slightly more than one additional day of work. In any given year, such a small increment has probably been imperceptible. But the accumulated increase over two decades is substantial. When surveyed, Americans re port that they have only sixteen and a half hours of leisure a week, after the obligations of job and household are taken care of. Working hours are already longer than they were forty years ago. If present trends continue, by the end of the century Americans will be spending as much time at their jobs as they did back in the nineteen twenties.” – The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure (1991) by Juliet B. Schor, professor at Harvard University, Senior Lecturer on Economics and Director of Women’s Studies. For more please visit: http://users.ipfw.edu/ruflethe/american.html

The sad fact is the American worker has become little more than a commodity that can be bought for less and I would bet, overall, are better educated than ever. We have been forced to accept less…and we settle for less. Our unions have been demonized by the very middle class they were initiated to protect. The middle class that basically no longer exists. There are two classes now in America, the rich and the working poor, one paycheck away from homelessness.

How many friends, co-workers, and family members have we heard over the last few years say, yeah, I have to pay more for my health benefits this year but at least “I’m lucky enough to have a job”. I didn’t get a bonus this year, but at least “I’m lucky enough to have a job”. I didn’t get a raise this year, but at least “I’m lucky enough to have a job”. I didn’t get to take a vacation this year, but at least “I’m lucky enough to have a job”.

Here are a few American’s who are lucky enough to have a job:
2010 earnings care of CBS News Money Watch: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505123_162-57343611/highest-paid-ceos-top-earner-takes-home-$145-million/

1. John H. Hammergren, McKesson Corporation (Health Industry) $145,266,971
2. Joel F. Gemuder, Omnicare, Inc. (Health Industry) 2010 earnings: $98,283,242
3. John C. Plant, TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (Auto Components) $76,841,646
4. Frank Coyne, Verisk Analytics, Inc. (Professional Services) $69,416,726
5. Thomas M. Ryan, CVS Caremark Corporation (Food & Staples Retailing) $68,079,823
6. Adam Metz, General Growth Properties, Inc. (Real Estate Investment Trusts) $66,707,460
7. Ralph Lauren, Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation (Apparel & Luxury Goods) $66,651,515
8. Michael D. Fascitelli, Vornado Realty Trust (Real Estate Investment Trusts) $64,402,468
9. Ronald A. Williams, Aetna Inc. (Health Industry) $57,787.786
10. Mario J. Gabelli, GAMCO Investors, Inc. (Capital Markets) $56, 608, 736

Yeah, I’m lucky enough to have a job.

January 16, 2012 on 9:05 pm | In General | No Comments

Robby Takac, bassist for the Goo Goo Dolls, has to pause for a split second and think, “Where am I? Oh, Grand Rapids,” he replied with a laugh. But ask him again in a few more weeks, the answer may come harder.

This summer the Goos, as they are affectionately known, will be making a whirlwind tour that includes stops in Scotland, Ireland, Japan and England. Perhaps this tour should have been called “Dizzy up the Boys.”
Continue reading Interview with Robby Takac – Goo Goo Dolls…

January 14, 2012 on 7:56 am | In Celebrity Interviews | 2 Comments

Expect the unexpected when Howie Mandel performs live. No one knows what’s going to happen – not even Howie.

Mandel’s unique style of comedy touches a chord with his audience, because he gives his listeners a chance to get a little bit closer to the child inside. He brings us down that road where playfulness and pranks rein supreme, where it’s ok to laugh, even if it’s at ourselves.

“I finally found a place for this humor, this kind of behavior,” he said. “What I once got expelled for, hit for, punished for, I now get paid for.” Taking the stage for Mandel appears effortless. It is-and it isn’t.

While some performers admit to having the jitters before coming out on stage, Mandel said that it’s just part of the ride.

“I love being on stage. The spotlight is like sunshine, it’s where I’m most comfortable.”

Continue reading Howie Mandel – Expect the Unexpected…