What are THEY thinking?

Recent news reports have touched on spending habits of some of the recipients of bailout money.

For example Northern Trust received "bailout" money. Yet they continued to sponsor a PGA Golf Tourney. How could this be a problem? I really like golf.

When criticized for taking "bailout" money and then spending money on sponsoring golf tourneys Northern responded by saying, "we did NOT use any of the "bailout" money for the tournament.

What?

Please keep reading.

Big businesses have budgets. It is obvious they do NOT see the entirety of their own business as we "the little people" would. They see their business budget like a sliced pie. But each piece of the pie has nothing to do with the rest of the pie.

If I say "I am broke", I mean I do not have any money. I do NOT mean except for the $500 in my wallet.

When these "very smart people" claim they need a "bailout" they obviously mean they have money for parties, concerts, golf tournaments, corporate jets, multi million dollar salaries,...... whatever, but no money to keep their business running.

Okay,that said get a load of this. Northern Trust earned $794.8 million, or $3.47 per share, in 2008. THEY ARE NOT BROKE!!! They are prospering quite well!

AND THEY GOT BAILOUT MONEY!! Crap, where is my "bailout" money!! What a joke.

Despite remaining profitable, Northern Trust announced in December it would cut 4 percent of its staff, or about 450 jobs. What?

That is correct. A profitable company is making a 4 percent cut in its staff. Why? Maybe to contribute to the unemployment lines. I don't know why they are trying to fix something that is NOT broken. They are making money just the way they are.

Northern Trust is a typical large company, NOT the exception.

Get a load of this.

Most of you know I work for the postal service. I have an associate who has told me his post office has paid out $12,000 in grievance loses since October 2008. Why? Because he cannot hire employees to fill vacant positions (there is a hiring freeze). Crossing crafts is against the National Agreements with the postal unions and to get the mail delivered he must cross crafts. Then a grievance is filed, he must then also pay employees who did not do the work, because other employees outside of the craft were working where they should not be working.

This just keeps repeating; this is nuts! How can it continue? you might ask.

Check this out. Because the money paying for grievance settlements comes from a "different" part of the budget. Does this sound familiar? The Postal Service does not see itself as a "total" company just like other huge companies. Apparently the Postal Service has become very successfully in modeling itself after the private sector.

My brain does not work like the above mentioned. What are THEY thinking?

What I'm wondering.....er

I mean.

What I'm Thinkin'

Sincerely,

Timothy James Maki