The aristocracy.

History does not repeat; it rhymes……

“As complex as these problems were (military overreach, crushing taxation, private armies, unchecked self-dealing), a ruling class more responsible than the one prevailing at Rome might have successfully mediated them. The process of enrichment and heightened political importance rendered the Roman order chauvinistically arrogant and unaccountable for their actions. Many high-minded aristocrats perceived the need for institution of better means of redress and political reform, but their efforts were blocked”……

Sorry Marty but America hasn’t failed us, we have failed America by refusing to see what has been happening in front of our eyes. Shades of JFK…

What is needed is for voters to demand of their reps a comprehensive review of the regulatory environments and begin to once again teach government in schools. This is the true moral failure Marty – even middle class investors who saw their portfolio increase during the boom times had nothing to say.

Not all in the middle class are eating rice and beans and collecting cans on the street to make ends meet; but it’s a time worn technique of politicians and news outlets to interview a few middle class families who comment on how tough it is now and then show pictures of gas at 23 cents per gallon and Art Linkletter on his TV show. Pretty soon everyone’s crying out for these halcyon days, decrying gay marriages, calling for the legal definition of a family, wanting to erect a wall around our country, and demanding that our government ban foreign imports!

But recruiting will survive because frankly so many companies are just soooooo bad at it. A CollegeRecruiter thrives because Rothberg knows this and offers products and services that are logical and simple to use. Marty does well with PCR because it really is simple, doesn’t cost and arm and a leg and his service is second to none.

Recruiting will thrive if for no other reason that a few more companies will begin to realize that being smart or working at a company iwht q recognized name (kind of like Pepsi or GE for HR people) isn’t enough to be successful. I mean how many HR leaders on Wall Street came from companies with names “we” revere and believed they were Strategic Business Partners? Nice job, Strategic Business Partners!

Recruiting will thrive because more companies will now demand that their recruiters do a better job at analyzing the DNA of candidates and assessing the more fuzzy factors like risk, decision-making, and judgment. Guess what? Lots of existing recruiters won’t be able to cut the mustard and will need to move into other areas (hey, perhaps some schools will finally develop degree programs in recruiting).

Recruiting will thrive if companies demand more from recruiting while at the same time measure the performance of the C-team with recruiting and development metrics.

Sorry Marty but America hasn’t failed us, we have failed America but refusing to see what has been happening in front of our eyes. Shades of JFK…

Everytime something bad happens, they are wiped out, and nobody says boo. Shareholders have come to expect it. Everytime something good happens, somehow the benefits never travel to the shareholders.

Capital gains tax on stock trading should be eliminated. Cash to Dividend ratios should be mandatory w/o vote of shareholders, and no exec bonus should either be paid for single-year performance(s) or made without clawback if the profits were illusory.

(Martin) I used to be a Republican. I think HW Bush was one of the better presidents of the 20th century. Somewhere in the eighties the Republicans realized that they could harness majorities by becoming the stupid party- i.e. the party of not just ignorance, but a party that embraced ignorance, magic thinking, and classicism at every level, and so they did. They thought America’s strength was god-given and inexhaustible; and they were wrong. America has failed morally- through torture, environmental and energy policy, by disconnecting rewards from production, and by the criminal (truly) and disgusting creation/neglect of a permanent underclass within our urban centers and rural expanses.

America is now the place to fail upward. If you are a CEO that runs a company into the ground, no worries since you are about to get a better job. Generally speaking, if you sit on your ass for a living, you are probably overpaid. We have created an ugly two-class system that will lead to our undoing for real if we dont bring the extremes back toward the middle- and I say that from the fortunate side of the fence (for the time being). As to the bailout, most of the people I speak with say the same thing- nobody minds paying taxes if we get value. Most people would rather suffer some losses themselves rather than see fat cats rewarded again for failing.

This gang conducted class-warfare for 40 years with little letup, and I’m afraid that they are going to reap what they have sewn. I only hope that the forces now unleashed are moderate and long-acting rather than sudden and short-lived.

As I tell folks, this can get ugly beyond imagination or it can be a new Pax Americana…….the chances look about even……..

Martin’s post was a laugh, I don’t quit understand it but I like it.