I love the comic strip Dilbert. Dilbert is really brilliant. He is protrayed as an electrical engineer assigned to a cubical at the office. It is a satire on the absurd decisions that management makes.
The classic Dilbert strip is when he competes with a monkey to keep his engineering job. Alas, Dilbert wins the competition and dances a jig. It is a hollow victory because the pointy haired boss decides to promote the monkey to upper management. So Dilbert loses again and the situation got worse because there are now more monkeys at the top.
Imagine that. Monkeys running an organization. What else could explain why we are bailing out many of the recognizeable companies in America?
Six months ago gasoline was costing $4.11 per gallon. It turns out that there were speculators bidding up oil futures. Now gasoline has fallen to 1.67 per gallon. U.S auto companies could not sell the big SUV's at $4.11 per gallon so they began to target "hybrid" cars as the automobile of the future. You can pay a $4,000 premium for a hybrid car but because gas have dropped so far, people are avoiding hybrids. Car executives are asking Congress to put a huge tax on gasoline to get it back up to the $4.00 per gallon range forcing people to buy hybrids. I don't make this stuff up. We will again be faced with high gas prices by our government so car companies can sell their product. Monkeys are in charge of zoo. Why can't we build quality cars that get good mileage using alternative forms of energy that people really want?
Our government (which is us) is bailing out the auto industry as a reward for their incompetence. There is no good plan for long range profitability and we will continue to bail them out, We will help pay all retiree health and retirement benefits and guarantee jobs for life! The legacy we leave our kids is to pay the debt that never got repaid by the auto companies. Is this a great country or what?
Most people who have worked in business can identify with Dilbert's plight. The wrong person gets promoted. Management makes decisions that defy belief. The last person to be consulted in business is the person doing the job.
So I wait the next Dilbert comic strip. He will forced to carry out decisions made by monkeys at the top. Talk about reality! Wait, I just realized. That isn't funny.
Love,
Dad