Corporate chieftains are giants, even geniuses – right?
Years ago, laissez-faire ideologue Ayn Rand hailed them as society’s supermen, comparing them to Atlas, the mythological Greek god who “holds the world on his shoulders.”
But look, here comes one of her modern-day gods now – Timothy Wentworth! He stands astride Walgreens, the multibillion-dollar drug store conglomerate. Last month, Wentworth demonstrated his corporate prowess by offering a stunning insight. He noted that, with shoplifting on the rise, chains like his had reacted by moving much of their merchandise into locked display cases. But the ever-alert Big Boss has now deduced that this impacts sales, “because when you lock things up, for example, you don’t sell as many of them.” Wow… pure genius!
Did I mention that Walgreens pays Timothy $13 million a year? Or, that his monopolistic chain is closing some 1,200 of its “less-profitable” stores, which will leave entire communities with no pharmacies to meet their crucial needs?
My point is not to disparage one silly corporate boss, but simply to say: Hey, why are the so-called “leaders” of both of our political parties kowtowing to the painful ignorance, arrogance, and avarice of the most self-serving group of egos in the world: Billionaires! Look at them – Elon Musk is a jabbering jerk, Mark Zuckerberg is a pathetic whiner, and Jeff Bezos cluelessly floats around on a garish yacht he financed by underpaying and mistreating his workers.
These are our giants? What about schoolteachers, family farmers, mechanics, cooks – and other everyday people who really make things work? America needs to start listening to them… and reinvesting in their genuine genius.
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