Is Corporate America Undermining Obama?

I watched Obama's press conference and signing statements this morning, and the next thing I know major corporations announce huge layoffs.

I think the layoffs were going to happen no matter what. Firing people is generally the last thing companies do, which is why unemployment tends to be a lagged indicator of economic performance. Also, it takes a WEE bit of time to figure out who's going
to get the axe, and why.

We're nearing the end of the month, we're a month removed from Christmas, and today is Monday. That's pretty much a perfect storm for announcing layoffs.

I can tell you that while some execs have an opinion on politics, none of them
really give a shit who's in the White House. Maybe the CEO of WalMart or Exxon does (I don't know),
but most senior execs I've dealt with actually fear layoffs. It generally means that those execs failed.

I mean, just look at it - there hadn't been a single layoff until Obama took office. Everybody had jobs until last week.

The corporations obviously tanked it to sink Obama.

adjusted to this new, lean, miserable economy. They kept digging a hole for themselves.

They didn't prepare, and seek economies for what was obviously coming, in the past year incrementally, so they're doing a fast hack job on the most obvious, high-cost item: personnel. Infrastructure will be next, it always is. When horizontal cuts are insufficient, vertical cuts follow.

Of course, if they fired a few worthless VPs, they could probably retain no small number of workers.

You've hit the nail on the head.

It's their greed.

It's not about "top talent". (nice catchphrase)

It's about "cheapest labor". (just wait until quality issues take the forefront; I've already stopped buying from certain brands due to how poorly the product was manufactured. Off by, what, 2mm for one item too... where was QC? Oh, that's too expensive.)

Repercussions. QC and support are not inherently evil or anything else.

They've been undermining things since Bush's time, Reagan's time, and depending on the chart one reads (and there are a few), Clinton's time too. At least Clinton balanced the budget; that much is irrefutable.

Rush is a big, stupid un-American ass.

are undermining the United States.

No planing, no accountants calculating cost or savings associated with layoffs.

:tinfoilhat:

You're acting like layoffs are some new invention. That isn't the case. Something like 700,000 - 2,000,000 people were thrown out of work before Obama was even elected. Are you living under a rock?

Answer: No, you tinfoil hatted idjit.

Is the corporatocracy pissed off that the country did not gratefully approve of their (fascist) governance behind the faces of Bush and Cheney? Are they assuming that if we are brought to our knees we'll start to see things differently?

Is it possible to induce a recession? Perhaps by secretly agreeing to begin a massive coordinated wave of layoffs?

It seems like quite a coincidence that a "recession" and an enormous corporate bailout without much accountability just happen to take place in the last six months or so of the solidly corporatist Bush administration.

So many conspiracy theories, so little time...

...has nipped the last $350 billion of that so the big banks are pissed and are keeping a lid on credit and lending

Is the corporatocracy pissed off that the country did not gratefully approve of their (fascist) governance behind the faces of Bush and Cheney?

What corporatocracy? Who, what and where? Define your term.

Are they assuming that if we are brought to our knees we'll start to see things differently?

Yes. Because that's what corporations like to do. Put themselves out of business to prove a political point. It's in every MBA course.

Is it possible to induce a recession?

I don't know. Why don't you try actually defining some of the terms you're using. Do you suspect that an individual induced a recession? Are you suggesting some group induced it? Stop asking questions and try making some assertions if you believe this.

t seems like quite a coincidence that a "recession" and an enormous corporate bailout without much accountability just happen to take place in the last six months or so of the solidly corporatist Bush administration.

Yes, I can just see the Lehman Bros. board meeting back in June - "Gee, why don't we go bankrupt. That's an excellent strategery. Yes! Why bother making money when we can ALL BE BANKRUPT?!?"

A True Believer. :party:

Try getting beyond hyperbole and answer the damn questions, if it do please ya.

But a True Believer who responds with pure emotional outrage when his religion is questioned.

Until then, adios.

trying to figure out how to keep their company from going the way of Circuit City to be trying to undermine Obama. The fact is, his success--or lack thereof--will determine the viability of much of corporate America.

Can we find individual, anecdotal evidence where someone isn't on the same page and, in fact, wants this effort to fail? Probably. But by and large these companies are "all-in" if they want to survive.

:shrug: