If we travel back in history we remember Teddy Roosevelt as the nation's leader who put his presidency on the line in the early 1900's to break up massive monopolies which threatened the welfare of the everyday consumer.
Today, however, I would think that Roosevelt is doing the proverbial "turning over in his grave" routine as we are bombarded by merges, or potential merges, that put big businesses in cahoots with each other, thus endangering the competitive balance that has made prices competitive for the consumer market.
The most recent merger was a big one. Delta Air Lines and Northwestern Airlines agreed to a $5 billion joining that could produce as much as $35 billion in revenue a year. That sounds wonderful for the upper level management and the stockholders. But for the common everyday traveler this could spell doom. Seat prices, already elevated by the growing cost of fuel, could become even more costly as the merger manages to eliminate some of the competition.
However, there are other pending mergers that concern me greatly. Perhaps the one that concerns me most is the joining of XM Radio and Sirius.
As an XM subscriber I am fretful about what this merger might mean. I love my XM Radio. In fact, its one of the real consistencies of my life. If I am in my car, XM is on. Honestly, I cannot remember the last time I had anything but XM coming through the speakers. Thats right, no AM, FM or CD has polluted the music and comedy that comes through my speakers from XM.
Now I sit back and wonder, "what will become of my XM Radio when it merges with Sirius?"
My second concern in the world of merging is the desire of Microsoft to take over Yahoo. I am a Yahoo fan. Yahoo is the source of much of my email and has continually been my homepage since I became somewhat computer literate. I don't like Microsoft and really don't want it messing with my Yahoo.
Finally, it now appears that Arby's has purchased Wendy's. Don't mistake my feelings here. Unlike my feelings of disdain for Microsoft, there is no hatred of Arby's or Wendy's. In fact, when it comes to roast beef, I firmly believe that nobody does it better than Arby's. And Wendy's has by far the best chili, fresh salads and baked potatoes of any of the fast food eateries. I seriously hope that the merger doesn't lead to this new entity screwing up what is good about each of them separately.
The idea of bigger is better has long been a way of thinking in this world. But based on these business mergers, or potential business mergers, I am anything but sure about that idea.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Déjà vu All Over Again!!
Yogi Berra has long been noted for his somwehat twisted famous quotes. These statements have ranged from such notables as "You can see a lot just by looking" to "Nobody goes there anymore…. its too crowded." I have, many times, laughed at the convoluted fashion in which the New York Yankee great would twist his words in a way that seemed crazy, but ultimately made a lot of sense.
One of my all time favorite Yogi Berra utterances was "It déjà vu all over again." I was reminded of this recently as I watched debate concerning the Democratic Party and its dilemma concerning the contentious nomination battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. While Obama has won 28 state primaries to Clinton’s 14 victories, the race is still very close. He presently leads in the delegate count by about 150 and in the popular vote by around 700,000. Polling shows Obama with a slight 49-47 percentage point edge over Clinton.
I, like many, feel that Clinton cannot win the nomination based on primaries. Who would have thought, last fall, that Clinton would be in this position? She was seemingly ordained as the Democratic candidate in-waiting. Nobody appeared worthy as an opponent within her own political party. And, then came Barack Obama. He captivated audiences, attracted people back to the Democratic Party in droves, and was compared by the Kennedy family as a near-reincarnation of John Kennedy. He was even endorsed by a former Bill Clinton cabinet member Bill Richardson who said Obama was a "once-in-a-lifetime leader." And, most importantly, he began winning primary elections and stomping across the remains of a Clinton candidacy.
Still, the Democrats face a quandary in choosing a presidential candidate. Unlike the Republicans who use a "winner-take-all" strategy in most of their primaries, the Democrats use proportional delegate division based on percentage of votes won. Thus, while Obama has won 28 primaries compared to 14 for Clinton, she has won big states and thus has stayed statistically very close to the front-runner.
This leads us to Yogi Berra. His comment, "It’s déjà vu all over again," haunts the Democrats. I say this because the Democrats, in addition to electing delegates to its national convention, also have something called Super Delegates. Super Delegates includes Congressmen, governors, mayors, and party leaders within the political party. They number 795 and account for about 20 percent of those that will be voting at the Democratic Convention in Denver. These folks, seeming mightier than a "regular" delegate, are awarded voting privileges at the national convention with no-strings attached. Their job is to see that the Democratic nominee is the "right" candidate for the party.
The scary part of this is it reminds me of the smoke-filled back rooms of political machinery days of Tammany Hall and its ruthless manager, Boss Tweed. This political machine that dominated New York City politics for close to 60 years, determined what was best for the city, the Democratic Party and the election process--the voters be damned. Now, "Its déjà vu all over again." The Super Delegates, while operating in much more open circumstances than Tammany Hall might have, is potentially going to determine the Democratic nominee regardless of who wins the popular vote in primaries.
Hillary Clinton is waiting for this to happen, Hillary Clinton is hoping and praying this will happen. Hillary Clinton pleads, seemingly on a daily basis, for the Super Delegates to stand with her and swing their considerable power her way. If enough of them do so, they will likely overturn an apparent decision by common, everyday members of the Democratic Party. In making such a decision, the Super Delegates would be acting like a political machine of old—ignoring the wants, wishes and desires of the electorate. And that, would be "Déjà vu all over again."
Or as Yogi Berra might say, "It ain’t over till it’s over."
One of my all time favorite Yogi Berra utterances was "It déjà vu all over again." I was reminded of this recently as I watched debate concerning the Democratic Party and its dilemma concerning the contentious nomination battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. While Obama has won 28 state primaries to Clinton’s 14 victories, the race is still very close. He presently leads in the delegate count by about 150 and in the popular vote by around 700,000. Polling shows Obama with a slight 49-47 percentage point edge over Clinton.
I, like many, feel that Clinton cannot win the nomination based on primaries. Who would have thought, last fall, that Clinton would be in this position? She was seemingly ordained as the Democratic candidate in-waiting. Nobody appeared worthy as an opponent within her own political party. And, then came Barack Obama. He captivated audiences, attracted people back to the Democratic Party in droves, and was compared by the Kennedy family as a near-reincarnation of John Kennedy. He was even endorsed by a former Bill Clinton cabinet member Bill Richardson who said Obama was a "once-in-a-lifetime leader." And, most importantly, he began winning primary elections and stomping across the remains of a Clinton candidacy.
Still, the Democrats face a quandary in choosing a presidential candidate. Unlike the Republicans who use a "winner-take-all" strategy in most of their primaries, the Democrats use proportional delegate division based on percentage of votes won. Thus, while Obama has won 28 primaries compared to 14 for Clinton, she has won big states and thus has stayed statistically very close to the front-runner.
This leads us to Yogi Berra. His comment, "It’s déjà vu all over again," haunts the Democrats. I say this because the Democrats, in addition to electing delegates to its national convention, also have something called Super Delegates. Super Delegates includes Congressmen, governors, mayors, and party leaders within the political party. They number 795 and account for about 20 percent of those that will be voting at the Democratic Convention in Denver. These folks, seeming mightier than a "regular" delegate, are awarded voting privileges at the national convention with no-strings attached. Their job is to see that the Democratic nominee is the "right" candidate for the party.
The scary part of this is it reminds me of the smoke-filled back rooms of political machinery days of Tammany Hall and its ruthless manager, Boss Tweed. This political machine that dominated New York City politics for close to 60 years, determined what was best for the city, the Democratic Party and the election process--the voters be damned. Now, "Its déjà vu all over again." The Super Delegates, while operating in much more open circumstances than Tammany Hall might have, is potentially going to determine the Democratic nominee regardless of who wins the popular vote in primaries.
Hillary Clinton is waiting for this to happen, Hillary Clinton is hoping and praying this will happen. Hillary Clinton pleads, seemingly on a daily basis, for the Super Delegates to stand with her and swing their considerable power her way. If enough of them do so, they will likely overturn an apparent decision by common, everyday members of the Democratic Party. In making such a decision, the Super Delegates would be acting like a political machine of old—ignoring the wants, wishes and desires of the electorate. And that, would be "Déjà vu all over again."
Or as Yogi Berra might say, "It ain’t over till it’s over."
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