The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.60/No.12           March 25, 1996 
 
 
The Great Society  

BY HARRY RING

There is a silver lining - Last year, a reported 3.26 million U.S. employees were fired. Meanwhile chief executives at top companies received 23 percent pay increases, pocketing an average of $4.37 million. In good part their income is pegged to profits, which were boosted by the job-chopping.

A fighting alternative - According to Doyle McManus of the Los Angeles Times, Clinton and his staff have weighed how to deal with Buchanan's demagogic corporate bashing: So far, he reports, the answer is: "Let the GOPs Pat Buchanan run against Wall Street. Democrat Bill Clinton would rather run as a champion of enlightened capitalism."

No heliport? - On sale in L.A., an estate that boasts garage space that can accommodate "six stretch limos."

Bon appétit! - The Michigan Department of Public Health proudly announced that mercury and other poisons in the Great Lakes have declined and for the first time in 25 years, assertedly, it's now safe to eat Great Lakes salmon. Meanwhile, they set tighter limits on trout. If it's smaller than 22 inches, it's OK to eat it once a week - women of child-bearing age and children under 15 excepted.

Sort of like when they go to war - "The layoffs associated with restructuring are far from over and will last a long time," advises Wall Street economist Donald Straszheim. He adds: "Companies don't lay off people because they enjoy it. They lay off people because they think they must compete."

Sighs all the way to the bank - Evangelist Jimmy Bakker, who did 5.5 years for swindling followers out of millions, is back in the pulpit. He says prison changed him and he now believes "money is the root of all evil." He's embraced humility and meekness and, also, signed a contract for a book.

Sharp - Lady Fairfax, an Australian heiress, is unloading her New York triplex penthouse. Includes six master bedrooms, six fireplaces, three kitchens, eight baths - most with refrigerators and one with its own fireplace, terrace and heated marble floor. $35 million, plus $31,440 monthly carrying charges.

For the average Joe - Dale Brown scoffs at the hype surrounding Armani and other high-price Italian clothing designers. He says, "They don't really take care of the average person." Brown is general manager at Sulka in San Francisco. You can pick up a made-to-measure set of threads there for a mere $1,850 to $4,250.

Just remember the Big Macs - Wall Street Journal reports the growing demand for presidential suites at plush hotels. Like, the Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona, has two at $4,400 a night, and the price is nonnegotiable. Queried about Prez Clinton, who sometimes stays in such suites, a spokesperson sniffed, "The government does not negotiate rates with hotels."

 
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home