December 10, 2011, my wife and I attended a party at a neighbor’s house.  Two very interesting conversations I carried with me to reflect upon after leaving the party and I will share them with you.  Both stories are allegedly accurate to the degree that the stories are truthful, as told to me.

One husband and wife, both retired, told me that General Electric canceled their health benefits with no warning.  The wife then complained that this benefit should have carried through their full retirement period but did not.

The second conversation was actually with a couple of ladies that knew each other but were not related. They both had worked for a bank that was taken over by Chase Bank.  They both quit Chase Bank due to the manner in which they had to deal with customers. They were told to rush serving their customers and push Chase product, even if it did not seem to fit the needs of the customer.  They were  allegedly “intimidated” by managers to perform such duties as quickly as possible.

My personal conclusion from both of these stories is affirming my current cynicism toward some large corporate businesses. They seem to be driven by profit only and care little for the people that work for them or their customers unless their is some real economic gain for them.  Question: at what level of the corporate ladder, going upward, are sustained gains realized for that individual?  Obviously, the front line,  low echelon workers are dispensable, not thought highly enough, hold diminished value, so as not to reward them for years of service.  Too bad this is not explained to them when they were hired.  We all know that corporate presidents, board members, and similar high ranking individuals suck up huge pay at the expense of the the individuals working for them.  Then, for what purpose should one be loyal to the corporation if loyalty is not returned in kind?  Another question arises.  Why do we keep asking the question about government regulation when, if it is diminished or missing, the corporate managers will screw their workers and customers?