Attack on CEOs: A Dangerous Strategy

[FCTP]

I am a capitalist at heart and proud to admit it.

As I sit here tonight writing this blog and listening to the television in the background, I am saddened by the liberal’s strategic move as they demonize CEOs and insist they should not make a profit because a profit is nothing but greed and greedy CEOs are bad, bad, bad. Ugh, I absolutely hate this line of thinking.

We must be very careful that we do not buy into their thoughts. This is the same tactic that has been used over and over again and is very dangerous to our society. We are on the verge of making a comeback with the new Congress in January and I am hopeful they will let Capitalism flourish again in America. If not, this “recession” will never end and the entrepreneurial spirit will leave America for a new frontier or die. Entrepreneurs cannot exist under these restraints, negativity and name calling.

My professional career of working with CEOs started at the age of 9 when my dad showed me how to manage debits and credits and answer the phones in his small air conditioning company. That is where I learned that hard work paid big dividends and helped you achieve goals and dreams.

As life went on, I continued to work hard and made my own way in life. I was given opportunities beyond my wildest dreams because others saw something in me and wanted me on their teams. I worked hard for them because of their belief in me and if I helped them, they paid me well.

When I wanted to be my own boss, I set out to achieve the next step in my career. No one held me back. No one told me what to do. All the challenge and risk were mine to hold. If I worked hard, I was able to live a good life. If I didn’t work hard, then those things I needed or wanted did not materialize because no one was going to give me anything for doing nothing.

That’s the way life is and it is a fair life indeed. Fair to those I worked for because I gave them my time and talents and they paid me for them. If they didn’t treat me right, I had the choice to leave and I did. If they treated me right, I was compensated accordingly and they made money too. That was a win win for everyone.

Sure some CEOs are greedy and let’s remember, some employees are lazy. Because a handful of CEOs are greedy does not make them all that way. If one employee is lazy, does that make all employees lazy?

Let me tell you the Number 1 trait of a CEO: they are driven to succeed. They love competition. They love the game. And, yes, they love to win. Aren’t these descriptions the ones we use to encourage others to be all they can be? Be successful! Be competitive! Be a winner!

Why then is it called “Greed” when a CEO wins and called “Being a Winner” when someone else succeeds?

When we attack the entrepreneurial spirit, CEOs will retreat and hang on to money in fear it will disappear under regulatory controls, taxes and overhead. We the people lose when the government demonizes CEOs and I’m sick of this losing game we have been playing. No one is winning here Mr. Government!

I know how hard it is to build a business and I understand the heart of a CEO. I appreciate all of them for their tasks are many and their burdens are heavy. Success comes from hard work and the majority of CEOs in America work hard for their money. I do not care that they make a lot of money. I hope they make more as our economy improves. The more they make – the more people they will employ. The better for them – the better for us!

For those CEOs out there who might be reading this blog, I send my heartfelt thank you for what you do. Thank you for…

· the vision you dreamed

· the bold future you envisioned

· the dreams you helped others achieve

· the new concepts or ideas you created

· the people you employed

· the risks you took

· the sleepless nights of worry and fatigue

· the fears of making payroll and answering calls from your banker

· the culture you created and shared with others

· the awards you and your team won

· the community you helped

· the coaching you gave

· the decisions you made

· the pats on the back

· the firings you made when it pained you to do so

· the way you climbed mountains and kicked roadblocks out of the way

· the mediations and negotiations you sat through for the good of the company

· the smart way you developed strategic alliances and relationships

· the way you dealt with the difficult clients, difficult employees and difficult times

· and most of all – for not giving up on your business or on America and the future it holds for all of us.

Please know that there are some of us out here who appreciate you and are counting on you to “kick the roadblocks out of the way” and bring America’s economy back to the black again.

It’s a big job but if anyone can do it – the CEO can!

Watch this short video clip about Greed in a society. History repeats itself, always. Let’s stop the blame game and set capitalism free!

[John Lefoot]

Great Post by all.

[Morgan Orlins]

Very well said William!

[Morgan Orlins]

Okay a quick comment. I took two minutes to watch the Milton Friedman clip.
WOW! His mug should be prominently fixed on the next Mt. Rushmore; next to Reagan, Frederick Douglass, and Henry Ford (or Edison or Carnegie).

Milton Friedman has done more to further the pursuit of human freedom in the last 100 years than anyone I can think of. He was small in stature, and GIGANTIC in impact! What an amazing man.

[michael gable]

I've seen that Milton Friedman clip before, but not lately, and it's striking how beautifully rational he is compared to Phil Donohue. I'm glad to see it again. From the goings on in D. C. it's plain that these past midterm elections were only a start, there's a long way to go to right America's ship. Thanks, Billie, for all you do.

[George Vaughn]

Billie, once again you have provided a humbling and brilliant commentary that comes from the heart. You have spoken to an issue of great importance in our communities and our country. This is why you see such an outpouring of compliments and gratitude's when you speak straight to point. Our Congress, the most powerful body politic in the world has been destroyed by the peoples choices of whom they elected to represent them. We now have a Congress and President that believe our money is their money and that they know how to spend it better than we do. Our policy makers have destroyed Capitalism and are trying to drive the final nails in the coffin in a "Lame Duck Session".
Thanks again for speaking up and making us First Coast Tea Partier's proud.

[Ernest Lephart]

This is easy, Ask the person speaking to present their financial records then you will be glad to continue the conversation. Ask them why our congressmen get a raise every year but not those on Social Security. Ask them how much money does Barry Soetoro, Barack Hussein Obama II who ever he is where ever he is from pretending to be our President make. Why is it wrong for some people but not others. How much money does Bill and Hillary Clinton make, why is that OK? Why did Mechelle Obama think she deserved a pay check for being the presidents wife? Why is it OK for George Soros to have so much money and influence? Now we see money is not the issue it is whose side you are on.

[Morgan Orlins]

FANTASTIC Billie! I too am a proud capitalist who provides jobs. Without enough profit, I CANNOT provide jobs, much less holiday bonuses. Thank you for your spirited defense of the only economic system that actually works in the real world.

Capitalism and free markets are the methods used by free people to satisfy each other's needs. They involve millions of VOLUNTARY transactions daily, and are BY FAR morally superior to all forms of socialism.

[Debbie G]

I too am fed up with this anti-capitalism ideology spreading like a cancer across this great nation!

The bottom line is that we, humans, all have a definitive amount of hours on this earth. As individuals we have the "freedom" HOW to use these hours. When government or an ideology intrudes on those hours it is theft, plain and simple. If you choose to sit on your front porch, drink beer on Friday night, and just put in the minimum hours to make it; or you choose to work 60-80 hours a week, fore go vacations or time off, and sacrifice time with family and friends the choice is yours.
I am sick of the phrase "give-back" it is a propagandist desensitization tool to promote socialism.

What is going on in this country is strikingly similar to the fiction novel, Atlas Shrugs. The society in this book hated capitalism so much that they created an "Equalization of Opportunity Board," which, by the way, has been up and running in California for decades. This book, written by a woman who grew up in Communism, should be required reading in high school.

O.K., enough ranting; Billie, thank you for everything you do.