In the Seattle Times October 7, 2018 business section’s, “Speaking of Business” feature (a weekly roundup of quotes from the week’s most popular stories) were a couple examples of the above headline.
“We listened to our critics, thought hard about we wanted to do, and decided we want to lead.” Jeff Bezos on Amazon’s raising it’s starting wage to $15 an hour. Amazon got a lot of praise and then the Seattle City Councils admitted Socialist declared Mr. Bezos evil because he’s still rich. Others jumped on board because the wage increase came at the expense of stock grants, which were eliminated.
“It’s been a little like watching the air going out of a balloon.” Richard Lattanzi, steelworker and mayor of Clairton, PA on the unmet expectations of higher wages and better benefits due to tariffs on steel imports. The workers initially cheered because they felt the tariffs would raise all boats but now feel it’s only raising company profits not wages (correct based on other reports).
Everybody has an agenda. From the shop workers to middle-management to executives and especially the politicians. I don’t think this is different from past eras. One of my first jobs, in high school, was cleaning a warehouse a few evenings a week. I lost the job when the manager had a friend become unemployed and he got to take over the minimum wage, part-time job.
Every decision we make has repercussions, some good and some not so good. Being in business is often like raising kids. You better make sure you think through how others will perceive “what’s in it for me.”
“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers.” Ronald Reagan