Hardscrabble Farmer’s response to the zillionaire douchebag Nick Hanauer and his fellow oligarchs. Here is a message for Nick. Yes there will be blood. No a $15 minimum wage will not save you.
“I bought a few shirts, a few pair of pants and the rest of my money I socked away into savings…”
My wife and I had a rather long discussion about this article last night over wine. We like to spend at least one night a week where we both dress nicely for each other, prepare some of our favorite things to eat and discuss our life, the world, and whatever else comes up like we did when we first met.
My take on this was that Nick Hanauer was whistling past the graveyard. Clearly- to me at least- he demonstrates an understanding of the simmering boil out there below his Gulfstream. His arrogance and hubris was an artifact of his environment, rather than the opposite. Why he was unable, in an open letter that he must have known would receive wide reception, to tell the truth was not because he was seeking to deceive others, but rather himself. His appeal for a $15 per hour minimum wage when the pay rates for his own company top out at $14 per hour demonstrates that he doesn’t actually believe in anything he has to say, but rather that he feels it is what he must say- to protect himself should things go bad, to make himself appear to be what he is not, for whatever reason that truly motivates him, but not for any of the ones he gives. If he actually believed his own rhetoric, what would prevent him from offering his entry level employees the $15 per hour he promotes rather than the $9 he actually offers? His deception isn’t one of commission as much as it is one of omission.
When he tells us about his modest purchases of slacks and shirts, what he leaves out is his gargantuan purchases of political influence. He leads us to believe that he doesn’t really even have a plan for his massive wealth- a savings account? Really? For what exactly, future purchases of Dockers? If easing the financial situation of workers is his raison d’etre, what prevents him from giving 1/10 of his savings account to his 2,400 employees, a sum that would be life changing for them, barely noticed by a guy who only has 3 cars for all his billions? He doesn’t for the same reason he lies about the “savings account”- because he doesn’t believe it himself.
I think he is afraid, deeply, rightly so, that the future built as it has been on such fragile foundations as a feather pillow story line, might not be as secure as it once seemed. He thinks that maybe he can get out in front of the massive social unrest that he sees coming and perhaps buy him a future out in the same way his billions have bought him his shirts and pants in the past.
Surely he knows that the reason $15 per hour is the new $5 per hour is that endless rounds of quantitative easing and Fed policies of monetization of debt have devalued the dollar. Compounding the problem by throwing more FR’s at it doesn’t solve anything, in fact it only exacerbates the problem. Two years from now we’ll be talking about a $25 per hour minimum wage- that is if there are any jobs left.
I thought his parting shot to the zillionaires that higher wages for low end workers would be more millions for them was especially telling in light of the original thrust of income equality being a threat from the pitchfork wielding “crazies” as he refers to everyone not a feather pillow plutocrat. The fact that his good buddy and the source of his billions, Jeff Bezos, is building spacecraft and funding his own private NASA is telling in it’s own right. Perhaps he has gleaned some crucial tidbits of information at his annual Bilderberg retreat. I doubt it has anything with making sure the common folk get to ride to the stars, but who knows with these folks.
My wife doesn’t buy any of it. She believes that this isn’t a personal reflection, but rather a collaboration- a policy piece, so to speak- of a group of ultra wealthy, hyper influential oligarchs that simply tapped Mr Hanauer to deliver the message. Written to “my fellow zillionaires” it reads as if it were directed to an entirely different audience, somewhere far below the rarified atmosphere that “99.9% couldn’t possibly conceive”.
After the reflection of the past night, I think she may be right.
In the 4th century, just before the sack of Rome, the reigning oligarchs of that time negotiated payoffs with the Visigoths hoping to forestall the inevitable. Something tells me that in today’s exchange rate it would have translated to roughly $15 per hour.
The voting public elected the people who enabled all this disparity of wealth. You leave a bunch of money laying on the ground, somebody’s gonna pick it up.
The voting public is kept fractured and powerless by some pretty nifty social issue mind games and the paucity of good solid information
At some juncture, people are going to react. The oligarchs own the governments, but nothing lasts forever. I just want to live to see this.
Fuck this guy and the horse he rode in on. Let’s hope he gets impaled on those pitchforks many times over!
The Rome of the fifth century also had de facto open borders. Britain they abandoned in 410, the same year the Visigoths sacked Rome. Charles Kingsley’s ‘Hypatia’ nicely captures the spirit of the age, right down to the lynch-mob ethnic/sectarian violence that disfigured Alexandria. I hope not to see the like of it here.
perhaps breaking down the border will lead to a civil war and the mob will spend itself out.
America’s true enemy is at the gate, your fight is over there, not in Washington.
anyone continuing to criticize the government will be dealt with harshly!
it is your patriotic duty to defend America and its rulers!
They are not worried. Narssisits each one. Only they have the answers the their answers are right. Just ask them you stupid morons.
Graining helps some with a final weight gain, but the main thing Is that being corralled changes a steer from being an athlete into being a couch potato. 🙂 IOW, some tenderizing.
Back before WW II, “aged beef” meant a steer of three to four years at the time of slaughter. Grass-fed, then the 30-60-day corn feeding.
Back in ’83/’84 I bought steaks out of Mexico that had that sort of background. Lean and yummy!
Great stuff, Hardscrabble. But no need to worry. Obama is running socialism until we have overt communism. He’s enslaved 110 million people into welfare/disability, completely removed their humanity, their souls, and made them dependent on the government. They technically exist only to consume, watch TV, eat free food, reproduce, and vote, and in many states, their are more of them than functioning humans with jobs.
Sooner or later, Imam Obama and the liberal progressives are going to run out of other people’s money, and the 110 million people enslaved by the government are going to be left to fend for themselves. Since they’re too fat and lazy to go to Washington or their state capital and confront the criminals that cut off their free shit, they’re going to come after whoever lives closest that has what they want. And they’ll clean out all the stores, pharmacies, gas stations, or any other place that has what they desire. Then they’ll come after everyone else.
This only ends one way, the same way it’s happened throughout history. It’s too late to to do anything about it now. Vote some more criminals into office? Obama/Hillary will soon be confiscating bank accounts and IRA’s, raising taxes to pay for union government drone pensions, and the almighty FSA will funded with money stolen from people that still work for a living.
The collapse is going to be biblical. People like you are prepared and ready, and will do what we have to do to protect our property and families from the vermin soulless parasites that compose this country, a voting majority, sucking the life blood and bankrupting this country, all courtesy of the biggest criminal in this country, Obama, the destroyer of this country, our future. We can only hope somebody, somewhere can stop Obama before it’s too late, but that doesn’t even seem possible anymore. Your post offers some hope, let’s hope it’s enough.
[img]http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples_resource/image/30900[/img]
[img]http://thepeoplescube.com/peoples_resource/image/30902[/img]
As one trained in biology & horticulture, having lived 25% of my life in the bush, including raising animals for milk & meat, as well as feeding my young family & other adults while creating the largest nursery in S-E BC, Canada, trust me when I say that the best beef is ALWAYS raised on grass: they are ruminants, and that’s what their gut does best.
And when they are fed grains, they get GMO corn and other crapola: forget about it!
As Joseph said above, cattle are ruminants. They’ll eat just about anything- in fact FDA standards allow for a certain percentage of poultry manure and feathers in cattle feed- but they are designed by nature to be herbivores. Grains digest at a slower rate than grasses and their higher percentage of sugars are converted into fats within the muscles (fat capes, designed to insulate cattle through Winter, occur naturally on pasture based animals).
The biggest issue with fattening on grains is the fact that almost all commercially available feeds are GMO’s, are grown with extensive use of herbicides like glyphosate and pesticides which pass into the living tissue of the animals. Most people either aren’t aware of this or simply do not care if the price is low enough.
Another factor that ought to matter to price conscious shoppers is that a grass fed/finished animal offers more protein per pound than CAFO beef. It takes fewer ounces of protein to satisfy hunger than fat laden meat does. It also digests better, tastes sweeter and has far lower levels of bacteria. You can also add in that grass based herds are almost always raised by small producers under intensive management- they must concentrate on soil quality to improve forage, spend more time with their herds by rotating them regularly across pastures allowing them to notice health and welfare issues on a level that cannot take place at a CAFO.
Desertrat,
The type of beef you like is still the type raised in New Zealand. My wife did not eat beef for 30 years in the U.S. (and I was eating very little) but started eating and enjoying it again since we have been in NZ. Steaks taste the way they tasted in the U.S. 50+ years ago.
Oh, by the way, farmers are allowed to sell their raw milk products here too! 🙂
A steak house in Wellington called “Crazy Horse” ( http://www.crazyhorsethesteakhouse.co.nz/ )
sells both grass feed and grass fed/grain finished beef depending on the cut and what you, the customer, want. Even the grain feed is non GMO and does not include all that other S*** that comes in “feed” packages from places like Purina.
I believe the Hanauer guy is a royal asshole. That said, Hardscrabble has, in my opinion, said some things that simply do not hold up to scrutiny.
First, HF talks about why he does not just increase the wages of his own employees. That does not show an understanding of business mechanisms and the law. There are at least two basic reasons why he simply cannot raise wages unilaterally – one is a commercial reason and one is a legal/fiduciary reason.
First, the commercial reason is if a company unilaterally increases wages, then it takes a severe risk of sending itself broke. Either profits will fall, or prices will rise. If everyone is forced to raise wages, a steady state might be possible, depending on international competition. And thus it makes sense that he would advocate for wages being legislated to increase as opposed to doing so unilaterally. To go it alone is to court commercial disaster.
Second, although he is CEO of his family company, that does not mean he owns it – he only owns part of it. He cannot act as though it is his personal empire, unless the shares it have been structured very, very carefully by the founder in order to ensure Hanauer ended up with total control, and this is rare and unlikely. He is almost certainly accountable to the family board. If that is the case, he has a moral and LEGAL obligation to act in the best interests of the shareholders. Most probably, raising wages because of his personal beliefs is NOT an option, even if he owns the vast majority of the shares personally. He would be screwed on many fronts if he did that, as it is illegal to take decisions that disadvantage minority shareholders. HF basically says that he can take that decision unilaterally – in fact he cannot do that. End of story.
HF says that Hanauer implies that he has no plan for his savings. That flies in the face of everything Hanauer says – he invests regularly in new enterprises. That is generally a worthy activity. In my opinion.
HF talks about Hanauer being worth billions. I cannot find that number stated or supported anywhere. I find numbers of some hundreds of millions to a billion, but I stand to be corrected. No where can I find any indication that he is a multi-billionaire. He founded a company that was sold for billions, but that is not necessarily what was his share. But in any event, the likelihood of much of that his wealth being personal cash is slight, in my opinion. Most of his wealth would be the value of his investments held in either stock or in investment vehicles – he would do all possible not to crystallize capital gains so as to avoid the tax implications. Even if he held the cash personally, there would be no mechanism to pay that money to his employees.
HF says “Surely he knows that the reason $15 per hour is the new $5 per hour is that endless rounds of quantitative easing and Fed policies of monetization of debt have devalued the dollar.” I think that is giving Hanauer way too much credit for intelligence. Hanauer may be rich, but he gives all indication of being an idiot.
As example, Hanauer has as his basic premise that if you pay folks more, then they will consume more, and if they consume more then jobs will grow, profits will grow, business will flourish, etc. This of course is bullshit. Simple economics dictates that the more something costs, the less of it will be used. And even if his premise was correct, why $15 per hour? Why not $50? Why not $500? Why not $5 million per hour? The more the better if his argument is true. The fact is, the more expensive the product, the less of it will be used. At a minimum, wage increases will see employers strive ever harder to reduce labor content in their processes. And higher wages will without fail increase foreign competition and reduce jobs from the economy.
Re his family bedding company, they are already large importers of goods. A higher wage base will increase that without fail. It will result in loss of jobs for sure and certain. It is clear that the guy is no Einstein. It is far easier to take risk when you are born to serious wealth, and that is what has happened to allow him to do what he has done in business.
I do not mind skewering that asshole Hanauer. But let’s do it based on the facts. And fact is he is not a multibillionaire (best I can tell), he cannot increase the wages of his employees based on his own personal beliefs as he is not the sole owner, and the bulk of his wealth would be share value/investments and not personal cash.
I personally believe he is an idiot that believes what he is saying re increasing wages being helpful, but being just smart enough to know he cannot do it unilaterally. I also believe these articles give him a forum to toot his own horn, brag about his investment acumen, twist the facts (the company I founded sold for X gigabillions knowing full well he did not own the company outright), and try to portait himself as a great and progressive business leader.
Sometimes things are just as they seem. In this case, the guy just seems to be an idiot born with a silver spoon up his ass.
IKEA to Raise Minimum Wage at U.S. Stores
Minimum Hourly Rate to Rise 17% for Retail Workers
Swedish furniture giant IKEA International A/S on Thursday said its U.S. operation will raise the minimum wage for its retail workers by an average 17%, starting next year.
The change will increase the average minimum hourly wage in U.S. stores by $1.59 to $10.76, a move that will affect about half of IKEA’s retail employees in the U.S., the company said.
The increase is based on a living-wage calculator, which takes into consideration housing, food, medical and transportation costs, plus annual taxes, the company said, noting that the hourly wage will vary based on the cost of living in each IKEA U.S. location.
All 38 existing U.S. retail locations, as well as IKEA’s three new locations scheduled to open before the end of 2015, will adopt the new structure, the company said.
IKEA said the wage boost won’t result in higher prices at the retailer, known for its build-it-yourself products and blue-and-yellow superstores.
IKEA’s move comes amid a broader national debate about the minimum wage, sparked in part by a push from President Barack Obama. He has pressed Congress to increase the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour from the current $7.25, positioning it as a key issue ahead of the midterm elections.
Opponents to the measure, including Republicans as well as many business groups, say it would present a drag on the economy and lead to job losses.
Earlier this year, Gap Inc. GPS +0.61% said it would raise its minimum hourly rate for U.S. employees to $9 in 2014 and $10 in 2015.
Meanwhile, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT +0.57% has said it wouldn’t oppose an increase in the federal minimum wage, though it remains neutral on the issue itself.
Net worth of $1 billion.
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-businessmen/ceos/nick-hanauer-net-worth/
Admin – that is the highest amount I found. Not billions. National journal says several hundred million.
Hanauer is such a dick I have read where he has said “when Bezos and I started Amazon”…
Hahahahaha!
We will see what happens but I don`t think the current Glen Beck–love Harry Red ,Nancy Pelousy and Georgr Boob is going to fly. I not only want to win but I want to get even. Correction REVENGE.
Ikea’s increased wages will cost it about $15 – $20 million on around $3 billion in sales, based on my calculations.
@Hardscrabble
Thanks for weighing in on Hanauer ‘s self-serving, haughty, condescending drivel.
I honestly missed his pathetic article in Politico.
We were up at the farm, where I spent the whole weekend outside tending to my new garden and tidying up the landscape.
Your post piqued my interest, so I just read it on ZeroHedge link.
I cannot stand Hanauer and his ilk. Quite honestly, I had never heard of him before. But now that he has emerged from the crony capitalist hide-out, I suggest the Philistines track down his numerous addresses and location of the Gulfstream. He does not deserve a clean getaway. What a snotty jerk. It would be poetic if the mobs smothered him with one of his family’s down pillows. Wouldn’t that be poetic?
This putz honestly believes that raising the minimum wage to $15 bucks an hour will cure what’s ailing the middle class. Are you freak’in kidding me?
How on earth will tens of millions of Americans who worked their way up – once earned over six figures, hang onto their under-water homes, pay for commuting costs, food and crappy healthcare on $15 an hour?
We were able to pay for our crappy mortgages when we had good jobs. The banks tanked the economy when they got caught stealing $13 trillion from pension funds in the MBS fraud scheme.
This guy is clueless. And, just goes to show you that the secret to success is who you know, not what you know.
From now on, I would prefer it if these crony capitalist scum bags simply had the good manners to shut the hell up. The damage has been done. We do not need their condescending advice.
Pitchforks indeed.
“overthecliff says:
We will see what happens but I don`t think the current Glen Beck–love Harry Red ,Nancy Pelousy and Georgr Boob is going to fly. I not only want to win but I want to get even. Correction REVENGE.”
What? Is Glenn Beck saying positive things about Harry, Nancy, etc.???
I had to stop listening to him about three years ago when I noticed a marked change in his tone/direction (almost overnight, literally). Frankly, I think he has been compromised and has either joined the dark side or, at very least, is being held at bay due to unknown leverage being used against him.
Llpoh-
I think you confused a lot of what I said that were shots at Hanauer as being my own solutions to the problem, like raising the wages at his own company. I understand that he cannot unilaterally raise his employees benefits even as a CEO, but I think it takes some industrial sized balls to make that suggestion as a National policy when he hasn’t implemented it in his own house. I would dare say he has more pull at Pacific Feather than in Congress, but otherwise I am a practice what you preach kind of guy. It is tantamount to me advocating veganism while operating a cow/calf operation- there’s something inherently misleading about that kind of rhetoric. Of course I probably wasn’t clear enough when I inferred that I don’t think he actually means it, but rather wants to be seen as being sincere when in fact his real interest is increasing his own share of the pie.
And you are correct about “why not $500 per hour?” if stimulating the economy is the goal. Of course the logical conclusion to that kind of policy is a lockstep devaluation like the kind we’ve seen as a result of QE. Ikea’s raising wages “17%” sounds awesome, but that raise translates into less than a half tank of gas a week- not much return for the value implied.
You and I are far more on the same page than you imagine, I was simply pointing out the hypocrisy, hubris and beguiling manner of his epistle.
HF thanks for bringing this to my attention.
I love this continuous screaming for minimum wage increases, as if this betters the lives of the working poor in this country.
What it will do is reduce the number of available jobs (look to states that raise the minimum alone, Michigan has ALWAYS had a dramatic job loss following the mandate) , price most youngsters out of jobs until way past college, increase costs on the majority of us that have learned skills to get our wages out of the minimum wage area, AND, which I personally find the most ironic/bordering on hilarious result will be that the increase in minimum wage will knock hundreds of thousands of people – if not millions – off the gubment tit.
This will increase their mandatory contribution to O’care, in most cases from zero costs to a large percentage of their gross It will knock many off food stamps completely and if they live in Section 8 housing, the raise will be gobbled up by their increased taxes and the 25% of GROSS that they pay to their landlords. And once off the food stamps, the free phones and many other free shit goes away too. How’s that raise looking now you screaming tools?
Simultaneously this will increase unemployment and welfare, as those that can add figure out they actually had a reduction in their standard of living and get fired AND increases costs/inflation on the shit we need and use everyday. Just the unimportant stuff like food, insurance and energy, as we all know, that stuff doesn’t affect our economy in the least.
I imagine September and October will be a flurry of these Utopian Socialist laws coming out of Washington. The plebes won’t have enough time to learn of the disastrous results of flooding the market with legal minimum wage workers (amnesty) AND raising the cost to hire them prior to the election.
Blue skies are surely ahead.
And this rich and clueless asshole will someday learn just how clueless he truly is. Sadly, so will we.
Are they afraid? Their OWN preparations make the undertakings of the (redneck preppers’ as Jewish Hollywood likes to depict them) awakened middle-class look like kid’s play:
Dangerously Rich: Billionaire Super Security
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V14G8ENQxKch
Let’s try again outside the rhelm of the controlled, censor-happy, Jewish “youtube”
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/yt-HquUL5twUQA/dangerously_rich_billionaire_super_security_2012_part_1_2/