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O pinion
October 28. 2009
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Poor-Performing CEOs Still Wear Silk Shorts
by J im
H ightower
Experts tell us that
America's painful re­
cession is "probably
over." T hat's swell,
but how's your per­
sonal econom y g o ­
ing?
If you're not sure, check your
underwear. Mintel, an economic
research firm, considers sales
of men's undies to be a bell­
w eth er
of
the
ec o n o m y 's ups and
downs.
When men are short
on cash, claims Mintel,
they don't buy new
shorts as frequently.
The firm expects men's drawers
to drop 2.3 percent this year.
However, you can bet that
one small group of men skew
the underwear indicator way
upwards. These are five CEOs
who've been named the "High­
est Paid Worst Performers of
2008."
Despite doing a poor job,
these executives can still afford
to don a new pair of silk shorts
every day!
The C orporate L ibrary, a
watchdog group, analyzed the
pay of 2,000 top executives to
cull out th ese "w inners:"
Abercrombie & Fitch, BJ Ser­
vices, Com cast Corporation,
International Paper, and Nabor
Industries.
C heck out A bercrom bie's
Michael Jeffries, for example.
D espite a stock p ric e th at
lagged behind other clothing
retailers during the past five
years, Jeffries has a contract
that guarantees his pay will al­
ways be higher than the com­
pensation earned by 75 percent on performance, but on a per­
centage o f the corporation's
of his rivals.
Last year, therefore, he pock­ cash flow.
Thus, even though Nabors'
eted $72 million in pay, includ­
ing a $6 million "stay bonus" to stock price plummeted 51 per­
keep him from leaving the com­ cent last year, lsenberg hit a
pany. Come on - why would he gusher with $79 million in pay.
To leant more about execu­
ever leave a sweet deal like that?
Sweetest of all though, is the tive compensation excess, con­
deal that Eugene lsenberg gets tact faireconomy.org.
Jim Hightower is a national
from Nabors Industries, an oil­
drilling company. He is paid not columnist.
Essential Tool of
Empowerment
Don’t ignore the 2010 Census
by M arc
M orial
The 23rd national
Census, which will
be conducted this
spring, is ab o u t
more than counting
the nu m b er o f
people living in the
United States.
A complete and accurate cen­
sus will ensure that your state
and community get their fair
share o f seats in C ongress,
community services, and more
than $400 billion in funds to lo­
cal, state, and tribal govern­
ments.
Clearly, the 2010 census is an
essential tool of economic and
political empowerment that we
cannot afford to ignore, espe­
cially in these tough economic
times.
I u n d e rs ta n d th a t som e
people are skeptical o f an ­
sw ering questions from the
governm ent. And since the
last census in 2000, we've ex­
perienced the trauma o f 9-11
and growing concerns about
privacy.
But I'm making this early
appeal for full participation in
th e C e n su s b e c a u se th e
stakes for our communities are
so h ig h . You sh o u ld a lso
know th at c ritical ch anges
have been made in the pro­
cess to make it easier for citi­
zens to participate.
No one will be asked more
than 10 questions. Answering
them should take only 10 min­
utes. And federal law protects
the personal information you
share.
The Census Bureau will also
work with local organizations to
ensure we do not have a repeat
of 2000 when more than 4 mil­
lion people-largely in minority,
poor, and immigrant communi­
ties- were missed.
I feel so strongly about the
empowerment potential of the
census that in May of this year,
I agreed to serve as Chair of the
2010 Census Advisory Commit-
tee, a consortium of 20
national o rganizations
charged with represent­
ing the interests of minor­
ity and special popula­
tions, including people
with disabilities and mi­
grant farmworkers.
The Advisory Committee ad­
vises Commerce Secretary Gary
Locke and Census Bureau Di­
rector Robert M. Groves to en­
sure that ev ery one w ill be
treated fairly and everyone will
be counted.
Another benefit of the cen­
sus is jobs. Funding to create
more than 2,200jobs across the
country was included in Presi­
dent Barack Obama's stimulus
package.
To learn more about census
jobs in your area, please click
on the 2010 Census Regional
O ffic e s
lin k
at
www.census.gov. Select your
state on the map provided
and then select the "regional
employment" option.
If you'd like to prepare for the
upcoming recruitment effort,
you can also find, download,
and print the Census Practice
Test.
Finally, with the 2012 presi­
dential election looming, next
year's census won't only deter­
mine the number of seats each
state receives in the U.S. House
of Representatives, it will also
affect the num ber o f votes
states receive in the Electoral
College.
With a close election antici­
pated, participation in the cen­
sus will help to ensure that
your vote counts.
Next April, taking 10 minutes
to answer 10 questions could
mean tens of millions of dollars
and greater empowerment for
you an d y o u r com m unity.
That's an opportunity you don't
want to miss.
Marc Morial is the president
and chief executive officer o f
the
National Urban League.
Enabling for Failed Policies
In resp o n se to B aruti
Arthuree’s fervent defense of
Sen. Ron Wyden and his un­
usually personal attack on
me (Wyden Does Fight for with black businesses and to
M inority Business, Oct. 7 pay him back for his personal
opinion piece), I want my re­ support of Baruti’s family busi­
sponse to be more of a con­ ness. Business owners who at­
structive dialog rather than a tended under any other p re­
public squabble over my an­ tense should know that we were
gry black man syndrome: a all just props in a scripted play
teachable moment, as they to pay Wyden back. Neverthe­
less, my subsequent article
say.
At first, I could not under­ meant no disrespect to his fam­
stand why Baruti was so an­ ily or business, and I apologize
gry about my challenge to if they interpreted my actions
Senator Wyden. But then he that way.
However, Baruti should be
explained to me that by writ­
ing the article I had insulted aware that there is no shortage
his family and company by of white controlled black lead­
taking advantage of his per­ ers in Portland who are willing
sonal invitation to an event to prostitute the misery of black
which was designed to high­ people for their own selfish in­
light Wyden’s support of his terest. He also might not under­
stand that some blacks in Port­
business efforts.
Now it all made sense. The land are paid well to distort the
m eeting with Wyden was plight of blacks by intention­
staged, not to determine the ally lumping them in with mi­
desperate needs o f black norities and white women. For
businesses, but instead as a corporate and political interest,
media event, photo op, to some black agents are easily
show case Wyden m eeting persuaded to disguise and ma­
nipulate the data to show false
or misleading participation of
blacks on projects. And in some
circumstances, when it comes
to blacks, they withhold the in­
formation altogether.
In the case of politicians, they
are very good at creating cover
An ongoing series of questions and answers about America's natural healing profession
for their failed policies by su­
better to
THE
SPINA COLUMN
Dr. Billy R. Flowers
Part 8. CONSTIPATION:
The backing up of body’s sewage system.
: Nothing has ever really
helped my constipation.
What can Chiropractic possi­
bly do?
: As a natural form of heal­
ing, there is much a Chi-
•opractic and the improved
ifestyle we recommend can do
to remove the immediate dis-
ress and long term health haz-
irds of constipation. But be­
fore we begin, you should un­
derstand that constipation
:akes two approaches. The first
is the tight, sometimes painful
feeling in the lower back area.
The second and more insidi­
ous type is what we call “hid-
Jen constipation." This is
when we seemingly move our
I
bowels regularly, but never com­
pletely eliminate everything in
our colon (large intestine). This
causes the colon to back up and
spread toxic poisons through­
out the body. This can lead to
everything from sinusitis to al­
lergies to arthritis.
Chiropractic can help to allevi­
ate this problem by gently turn­
ing nerves back on in the colon
and small intestine. It is not un­
common for a patient to have
two, three or even four bowel
movements after the first ad­
justments on his or her spine.
A man with FBSS (failed back
surgical syndrome) went home
and had 12 bowel movements
that night. And he claimed he
w a sn ’t even c o n stip a te d !
Whatever questions you might
have about health and healing,
you'll find that Chiropractic is
often the answer. Call us for an
I appointment today.
Flowers* Chiropractic Office
2124 NE Hancock,
Portland Oregon 97212
Phone: (503) 287-5504
perficially supporting social
programs, while neglecting or
ignoring economic policies that
would make blacks less depen­
dent on those same programs.
A key point in this discussion
is the fact that my article fo­
cused only on black people,
while in contrast, Baruti talks
about m inorities and w hite
women. They are not the same.
In this context, his contention
about ODOT awarding 59 per­
cent o f stim ulus projects to
w om en and m inority b u si­
nesses, if not so serious, would
be laughable.
In regards to other assertions
Baruti makes, TriMet’s success
in hiring black people is in fact
the result of a very good gen­
eral manger and in part because
a number of angry black men in
the National A ssociation for
M inority C ontractors which
sued the agency several years
ago. I would challenge anyone
to show any d o c u m en ted
record of Wyden’s effective in­
fluence.
And with regards to jeopar­
dizing any recovery efforts by
holding up federal funding, one
should note that blacks have
suffered economically in a pros­
perous general economy for
years with no outcry from the
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broader community. Further­
more, there is no real evidence
that blacks are participating sig­
nificantly in the current stimu­
lus efforts.
In that same vein, one of the
reasons I focused on the con­
struction industry is because it
is area I know something about
and where discrimination and
racism is most blatant. It is also
a clear barometer of the tragic
conditions facing most black
people in the larger economic
picture.
The irony is that many clam­
bering about the angry black
man, owe their diversity jobs,
offices, positions and consult­
ant contracts to the very exist­
ence of these angry black men.
Make no mistake, there will be
no unity until black people stop
getting the short end o f the
stick, and the politicians, power
brokers and their surrogates
stop enabling our demise. This
is the real source of divisive­
ness.
To those who say we must
not criticize our public officials,
challenge the power structure,
or disrupt the status quo, and
instead should settle for a few
hand outs and social welfare
program crumbs, I say that is
ridiculous. Most black people
believe in their hearts - No jus­
tice, No peace.
James L Posey
Northeast Portland
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