The 1 % Mentality – Is It Foolish?

“Resentment is not morally superior to earning money.” 

Interesting quote. I read this citation in the April edition of Fortune Magazine. The article focused on Republican Mitt Romney’s Hedge Fund Kingmaker, Paul Singer—a billionaire who is part of the 1% (Billionaires whose fortunes balloon by exploiting the other 99% of average working Americans). His quote virtually says he does not express any annoyance at the lack of earning power by the 99% and that making a fortune is morally superior.  

Judge that for yourselves. 

According to Fortune, Singer is the founder of a $19 billion hedge fund called Elliott Management. Now, I won’t focus on Singer’s political and moral views because they fall outside the scope of this blog. However, the article affirms that he places more value on paper than he does people. This may be true if Fortune cited him accurately on another quote, which said, “Moral failing is the depreciation in paper money’s value.”  

Again, judge that for yourselves. 

Therefore, where stands the 99% in his view according to Fortune? 

Undervalued and Underpaid. 

Here is an illustration of what all this means. According to the non-profit organization Brave New Foundation, “In just the last generation the richest 1% nearly quadrupled their incomes and the average wealth of the 1% is 225 times bigger than the wealth of the typical household—the highest it’s ever been.” The organization further argued that “Three decades ago, CEOs made about 40 times as much as an average worker – now CEOs make almost 200 times as much as regular employees.” Whether or not these findings are true, it makes for an interesting and heart-wrenching debate. 

Brave New Foundation may have a legitimate dispute. In 2011, Disney’s CEO, Robert Iger was listed as one of the new CEOs who eclipsed $50 million—according to an article in USA Today. In the same year, Disney cut back 5% of its worldwide workforce due to Iger restructuring the studio for Walt Disney Co—according to an article in the Los Angeles Times. Is there justification for this?  

Judge that for yourselves. 

So, herein lies the question. Is the 1% mentality foolish? Are the richest men and women in America wise in their voracious pursuit of money at the expense of the middle and lower class workers? Is it wise for CEOs and corporate gurus to swell their accounts, while average workers slave in a sweatshop—making them rich? (…more on the sweatshop in an upcoming blog).

Here’s how I experienced the hush in the midst of this kind of hardship.

The Lord's opinion consumed my thinking. I began to have peace when I understood that materialistic things do not define me. God does. Cars rust. They depreciate. Money has wings. It flies away even before it reaches your wallet/purse. Houses settle and cracks form in the walls, floors and ceilings. Either time gets to our "stuff" or thieves do. The more you have, the more others try to take from you.

The Lord told the people He taught, "Be careful to guard yourselves from every kind of greed. Life is not about having a lot of material possessions," (cf. Luke 12:15).

I think it's safe to say, greed has destroyed America.

The Lord also has a damning conclusion for those who spend their lives trying to hoard all the money they can get, while disrespecting those who plow their fields for them. It's judgment (cf. Luke 12:20-21). In God's opinion, the 1% are foolish (cf. Luke 12:20).

Feeling Undervalued and Underpaid?

Worry not about the rich who take from the poor. They will ultimately reap everything they have sown. Every dog has his day—and that includes the 1%.

Be at peace.

Blessings.

Does Corporate Know, Does Corporate Care?

According to an article I recently read in the Harvard Business Review, the three biggest reasons employees walk away from their jobs are a lack of growth opportunities, dissatisfaction with compensation and employees feeling their contributions aren’t being recognized. 

The common thread: Undervalued and Underpaid. 

The author of the article is Sharon Daniels, Chief Executive of AchieveGlobal. In one particular sentence, she arrested my attention when she said, “Regrettably, too many managers unwittingly encourage employees to walk out because they regard them as replaceable cogs in a wheel.” In other words, managers think it is no big deal for employees to quit, because there is always someone ready and willing to take their place. The understanding is the “cog” (i.e. the tooth on a rim) means nothing. It is insignificant. The wheel is what’s important. This certainly is the ambience in much of America’s workforce.  


I’d like to add to Ms. Daniel’s observation. 

A bad economy inflates a destructive attitude that management exploits. The idea that “you’re not going anywhere and you should be happy you have a job” has become a common premise. Management hangs this threat over the heads of its employees like the “boulder” we see in the Nationwide Insurance commercial. Except, the bullying doesn’t “vanish” as easily as Nationwide’s deductible. The browbeating is relentless.

So, I would swap Daniel’s adverb unwittingly with Sidney’s adverb—knowingly.  

In conducting my own survey, I learned there are differing viewpoints on whether or not corporate is aware of the stress that lower level employees suffer. Some said yes. Some said no. Others could not decide one way or the other. However, we can determine that in many cases, corporate execs enforce strict and unfair policies they do not apply to themselves. 

Can we fairly assume the big wigs don’t care? 

If corporate did care, would not the policies change in order to ease the stressors dumped on lower ranking employees? If corporate did care, shouldn’t compensation reveal they care? Or is management  the issue? Perhaps middle managers are too afraid to engage the honchos on behalf of their subordinates. After all, the wheel is what’s important, right? Perhaps management is feeling the same pressure. The threat of being fired for not meeting or exceeding corporate metrics still hangs. 

Remember the boulder?   

Personally, I believe corporate does know and I believe they don’t care. Add corporate greed to the equation. Just an opinion—take it for what it’s worth. As long as the numbers crunch and the employees exceed in their metrics, the wheel keeps rolling. Big ballers continue to enlarge the bank, as the undervalued and underpaid continue to plow the field, with their bonuses and benefits systematically shrinking. 

At this critical time in U.S. history, the American working class is under a mountain of stress and anxiety. According to a 2011 Survey Summary conducted by the American Psychological Association, “more than one-third (36 percent) of workers said they typically feel tense or stressed out during their workday and almost half (49 percent) said low salary is significantly impacting their stress level at work. Twenty percent report that their average daily level of stress from work is an 8, 9, or 10 on a 10-point scale.” 

Is there a silver lining?

Is there really a Hush in the Midst of this kind of Hardship? 

Of course, there is. Be encouraged. 

I learned to embrace the hush when I finally embraced the truth. The truth is judgment awaits all oppressors. It is called the law of sowing and reaping, which is the Biblical version of the reciprocity law (cf. Galatians 6:7). Some call it karma. Whatever you serve, you’ll soon have to swallow.  

God has promised to judge the rich who defraud their laborers (cf. James 5:1-5). Although corporate does not care, the LORD does. Be at peace. 

Blessings.

They Can't Pay You What You're Worth

How many of us place our worth on how much we earn? 

This snare is easy to fall into, because we live in a world that places value on a dollar amount. The highest paid secure the best benefits. The best accolades. The widest range of respect and more than an honorable mention. So, we chase the American Dream—nearly killing ourselves in the process—because the world has taught us the more "money" the more "value."

Now, I would be lying if I said I could care less about making more money at the workplace. Who wouldn't want a truckload of Benjamins? I'd even settle for a vanload. I think we all would like to live comfortably. And I believe most of us in the working class would be satisfied with enough to offset the rising cost of living. Maybe take a trip here and there. Upgrade the wardrobe. Keep the refrigerator filled. The gas tank filled. Have enough to be able to help another in need. When we work as hard as oxen plowing a field, yet struggle to meet basic needs, we may begin to think the organization doesn't care much about our value. The organization dumps more work, more rules and restrictions, but it holds back the money. Seems the organization is getting over. It's taking advantage of the lowly staff worker. It won't pay us what we are worth. It ignores our value.

Let me encourage you. Your value goes beyond a piece of paper. I felt the Hush in the Midst of Hardship when I realized the organization can't pay us what we are worth. We are worth more than money can buy. According to the Scriptures, every human being—staff worker, middle management and up—is created in the image of God (cf. Genesis 1:26).  And every individual is unique. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds and the like cannot replace the precious life of people. We cannot possibly place a dollar amount on how much we are worth to God. Money comes and goes. In fact, it is spent before we even receive the check. No matter how much money the company pays or doesn't pay, it can never replace the worth of a human life.  

So, when you feel your blood boil because the company is browbeating you and will not pay you what you are worth, remember this: They can't pay you what we are worth. You're priceless.

The Hush in the Midst of Hardship. Be at peace.

Blessings.

Are We Stuck or Are We Placed?

“I hate this place.”

These are glaring words. Perhaps you have heard a disgruntled co-worker express this emotion. Perhaps you have expressed it yourself. Honestly, I have barked these words numerous times. Lord knows the stress that builds from working at a dead end job—where you feel undervalued and underappreciated—is enough to raise your blood pressure. A lack of fairness, micromanagement and the outpouring of department bullying heighten your displeasure. And the fact the organization doesn’t care about its employees validates the feeling.

           

You want to give your superiors their walking papers. You imagine, “There has to be something better than this. Something has to give.” The words of Johnny Paycheck bounce off the walls of your brain, “Take this job and shove it, I ain’t working here no more.” But, an unstable economy and the lack of jobs force you to stay the course. You hate the workplace, but you can’t escape what seems to be a deathtrap—a bottomless pit. You feel stuck. If only God would change the landscape, circumstances would be so much better, right?

           

There is hope, my friends. There is a way to find peace in a stressful work environment. Through hardship, I have learned to ask God to change me, instead of changing the setting. That meant I had to swallow a few kegs of humility, of course, but it was a small price to pay for serenity. That request has helped me find the peace I need. My hope is that you’ll find the same.

Could divine order be the reason you seem “stuck” at a job you detest? Have you ever seriously thought about that possibility? I assure you, this outlook will help you see your circumstances from a distinctive angle. If divine order is the case, then God has placed you at your job for a specific purpose. Herein lies the difference between your feeling stuck and your being placed. 

           

To be stuck means to be at or come to a standstill—blocked, checked or obstructed. Sounds depressing, doesn’t it? The relief of progress is nowhere in sight. However, to be placed means to be put into a particular place or position. The first is an obstruction. The latter is an opportunity. When God places you in a position, no manager, no supervisor and no department head can block you from progressing further. In other words, being stuck is not a reality when God is at the helm of your career, steering your ship in the direction He wants you to go. So, how do you reach your divinely ordered destination?

You let Him drive.

The Hush in the Midst of Hardship comes when we see ourselves placed at our jobs, instead of feeling stuck at our jobs.

Blessings.

Greetings

Welcome to my latest blog - The Hush in the Midst of Hardship. Hush refers to peace and serenity. It's poise under pressure. Hardship is self-explanatory. There is no question that our American economy has strained the best of us. Millions have lost jobs. The rich continue to flourish. Those of us who are blessed to still have a place to work are struggling to survive. Alongside the struggle, many hardworking Americans also suffer from the whims and the whips of the workplace. The more we give, the more the workforce demands. The system wants more with less. Pressure mounts. Companies raise the bar on performance, add more weight to the bar and expect the working class to take it with ease. After all,  we are "lucky" to still have jobs, the system says. Nevertheless, we are still:

Undervalued and Underpaid.

I intend to use this blog as a source of encouragement and healing. Prayerfully, I will maintain at least one article of encouragement per week and offer some thought-provoking dialogue. Lord knows, we all need a shot in the arm every now and then. I am looking forward to sharing and prayerfully, my readers will do likewise.

Blessings