COMMENT: Getting Educated
by Rick Reiff
IF IT ISN’T BAD ENOUGH THAT THE IMPLOSION OF ENRON IS AN EMBARRASSMENT TO the cause of capitalism, the company has added insult to injury with corporate doublespeak: It is referring to thousands of now-former workers, their pension holdings in Enron stock virtually worthless, as alumni.
Enron’s intent in calling fired workers alumni certainly was not to offend but to encourage and shore up its former employees’ self-esteem as they hunt for new jobs.
But please, alumni? What does that make their lay-off notices,diplomas?
Mad Musings
PLUMMETING GAS PRICES (BELOW A BUCK A GALLON NOW AT MANY OC PUMPS), would seem to shoot a hole in the conspiracy theory about price-manipulation that arises every time there’s a spike in fuel costs. But conspiracy theorists never die, they just conjure new theories. So here are a few I offer to explain falling gas prices:
n It’s a plot by auto companies to encourage us to log more miles so we’ll have to replace our vehicles more often.
n It’s a plot by retailers to free up some dollars so we’ll buy more gifts this holiday season.
n It’s a plot to make sure we have enough money to spend on high electric bills, a result of the long-term contracts that Gov. Gray Davis was forced to negotiate because of a conspiracy by Texas power producers.
n It’s a plot by Middle East oil producers to lull us into a renewed false sense of energy security and discourage efforts to make America more energy self-sufficient.
n It’s a tactical ploy to discredit conspiracy theories so it will be easier to raise gas prices in the summer, when more people are driving and it’s more advantageous to charge as much as possible.
Uh-oh, some of this is almost starting to make sense to me
Silent Night
ARE THE LIGHTS DIMMER THIS HOLIDAY SEASON?
It seems some people aren’t putting out the lawn displays this time around. Or maybe it’s just the prism through which I’m viewing things, with the aftershocks of Sept. 11, the heightened fear of domestic terrorism and a war to deal with, the terrorists all casting a pall.
Of course, there is still much to be thankful for. In some ways, we’re appreciating more those basic things we possess individually or collectively,health, jobs, freedom, friends, family, faith.
The war in Afghanistan has gone remarkably well. The national economy, though now in a recession, sees light at the end of the tunnel. Most economists are predicting only a mild downturn, followed by a recovery sometime around the middle of the New Year. In Orange County, there will be slower growth but possibly no recession at all, says the Chapman University forecast.
There is much uncertainty and many challenges ahead, at home and abroad. The lights in the world are dimmer this season, but the light of hope still shines.
Happy holidays.
, Rick Reiff
