Friday’s Rambling

Last week, Circuit City Stores, Inc. announced it was closing all stores and relieving 30,000 employees of their jobs. This is not a remarkable fact, as several more companies probably will be doing the same in the coming year(s). What is surprising is what the company founder Samuel Wurtzel’s son, Alan Wurtzel, had said.

Alan previously stated Circuit City didn’t take the threat of rival Best Buy Co. seriously enough and, at some point, were too focused on making a profit in the short term instead of building long-term value.

Very strange words from a man, as the family took the money for their company and ran all the way to the bank, leaving the common shareholders to twist in the wind with what will be worthless stock.

Knowing a former Circuit City employee and avid reader of this blog, I hope he feels vindicated in honestly answering customers’ concerns while employed, instead of taking said customers on the “Full Journey” – a term store managers were directed to drill into all employees.

Doesn’t it make your blood pressure boil just thinking about the corporations interested only in short-term gains with no foresight of what that mentality has wrought? Now, and in the future, they will be paying the price for the avarice ruling our economy for the last 20 years.

Speaking of greed, for any of you unlucky enough (such as myself) to own bank stocks, it’s getting close to the time when we are able to repaper the dining room walls. The equities in our financial institutions continue to plummet. Similar to the rest of you, I thought the $700 billion was supposed to fix this problem. It seems the problem was solved when the bank officials and wise fools on the hill needed to assure their wallets were fat enough to cushion the blow of the fall.

As the weekend is upon us, please remember to spend time with others, whether it is your family, friends or neighbors. Let’s hope and pray the key leaders in the new administration be guided with a modicum of wisdom and common sense.