Thursday, January 22, 2009

If they don't have bread, let them eat cake!!

Quick! Whose were these famous last words that triggered the French revolution? Who was sent to the guillotine for saying this?

- Marie Antoinette - the French Queen!

And again, quick! Who has Marie Antoinette reincarnated as, in this life?

Guess? Can't guess? Are there too many top executives in America who fit Marie Antoinette's utterly tasteless, utterly stupid, utterly self-centered, utterly crass and utterly greedy life style?

Here is a hint:

- Guess who, while cutting off his employees lifelines by laying them off work by the thousands in order to "save" the company, was simultaneously spending $1.22 million of the same company's money in refurbishing his office?
- Guess who had the company pay $87,000 for an area rug for his tender left foot in his office?
- Guess who needed another area rug for $44,000, for his other tender foot?
- How about a mahogany pedestal table for $25,000?
- What about a 19th Century Credenza for $68,000? A sofa for $15,000? Four pairs of curtains for $28,000? A pair of guest chairs for $87,000? A George IV Desk for $18,000?
- How about the ultimate slap on our faces - the $35,000 toilet bowl, paid for with our retirement savings?

And on and on, until the bill came up to $1.22 million?

Ah! Got it now, did ya!

Looks like Madame Antoinette didn't learn even after being guillotined in her previous incarnation. Reborn as the asinine Mr. John Thain, CEO of the sunken Merrill Lynch, Johnny boy had the tremendous gall to spend $1.22 million on trivialities whilst laying off hard-working Americans who worked for him. He actually committed crimes of commission worse than poor, stupid Marie Antoinette's crime of omission.

At least Marie just sat in her ivory tower and didn't realize what her people were going through.

But John? Oh John! Don't you understand? Didn't the people's wrath teach you anything at all? A whiff of honor? Some integrity? A dash of empathy? A small modicum of decency? No?

Well, John - Did you know that an honorable captain sinks with the ship? That is why he is CAPTAIN. He saves all his people even when he goes down.

Not you, Johnny! You sunk your people while you feathered your nest.

3 comments:

Nipun Shrivastava said...

Thain - all pain and no gain...
At least, no gain for ML employees or US citizens...

Talk about CEOs having vision...

Anonymous said...

hi... just visiting my namesake :)
you write well too.
the wonders of random chance!

Jaya said...

Thank you Janani. Its a small world, ain't it? :)