How to Destroy a Company

 Some 25 years ago I described how telecom, voice calling on copper, would collapse. Since then I have seen how one entity, Verizon, a former employer, has managed to consistently snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory.

In my opinion the main reason is that they have no idea what business they are in.  They keep trying to get in the media business. I was in the media business, at Warners, and the people there are creative risk takers, who know when to hold them and when to fold them. Telephone types come from a environment of pretenders in business. Historically the telecom business had defined profit as percent return on invested plant. All expenses were covered. The real world does not work that way.

The current and prior two CEOs come from a world not akin to the core business. One wanted to be a media king, think Yahoo, and how did that go. The next came from the hardware business. Verizon is in the service business. Ultimate mismatch. The current is a Silicon Valley type, with a company invested in pole climbers. 

The main problem is a Board who present well to the WOKE world but lack the ruthless world of competitive network services. They waited too long to the last CEO to get ousted. I suspect the current CEO will try to use his rule book but this will also fail.

After forty years of stock holdings, I sold everything off today. I suspect Verizon may get bought out directly or after a Chapter 11 filing. Pity. 

Rare Earths: Not so rare!

 One of the largest deposits of the rare earths is in the US. Namely California. Some fifteen years ago I wrote a long note regarding this issue. The only reason the US relied upon China is that California closed the rare earth mines due to environmental concerns. 

So what do we do. We go to Australia. As DW notes:

 US President Donald Trump and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Monday signed an agreement on Australia's rare earth minerals. The agreement comes as China puts new restrictions on rare earth exports, prompting Trump to impose an additional 100% tariff on imports from China from next month. "In about a year from now, we'll have so much critical mineral and rare earths that you won't know what to do with them," Trump told reporters at the White House. Trump was hosting Albanese this morning at the White House and the leaders signed the document before the media. Albanese described the deal as an $8.5 billion pipeline "that we have ready to go."

 We end up paying Australia to dig holes in their land, leaving California untouched. Think about it.

 

Socialism 1920

 From The NY Times, July 5, 1920 

Here is the Socialist ticket: 

For Governor—JOSEPH D. CANNON.

Lieutenant Governor— Miss JESSIE WALLACE HUGHAN

Secretary, of State— CHARLES W. NOONAN

Controller—PHILIP RANDOLPH.

State Treasurer — HATTIE F. KRUGER 

All candidates of the Socialist Party, when elected to office, will vote and work for the adoption of such  measures as the following, not only for the immediate relief of pressing evils, but also as preparatory to the full realization of the Socialist goal. 

1. Legislation which will enable municipalities to acquire land, construct dwellings on public account, and lease them at rents calculated to cover cost of upkeep and replacement, but without profit, thus solving the now growlingly acute housing problem. 

2.’ Establishment of a comprehensive system by which the State in conjunction with municipalities and co-operative societies shall deal on a large scale In food and other necessaries of life, buying directly from the producers and selling directly to the consumers at cost, thus eliminating the capitalist middlemen, stimulating production and diminishing the cost of living:. 

3. The rapid extension of State and municipal ownership and operation of transportation and storage plants, of lighting and other so-called public utilities and of industrial establishments beginning with those which, are already most largely monopolized and those which have to do with the production of the prime necessaries of life. 

4.’The conservation by the State of the forests, mineral deposits and source's of - water power which it still owns, the reclamation of such as have been voted away, and the exploitation of these resources by the State, not for profit, but for the production of raw materials and power to be sold at cost. 

5. Legislation which will clearly exempt labor unions and farmer associations from prosecution under the so-called anti-trust laws, and will assure them of the right of collective bargaining in the sale and their farm produce respectively. 

6. Legislation guaranteeing labor the right to organize and strike, free from interference by the courts through the power of injunctions. 

7. Repeal of the war emergency concerning military service and military training in the schools, and repeal of the so-called criminal anarchy law, which has been demonstrated to be in practice a law for the suppression of free speech and for the promotion of spies and provocators. 

8. Amendment of the State Constitution and of the laws governing municipalities in such manner as to introduce the principle of occupational as well as geographical representation in legislative bodies and administrative boards: to introduce the referendum and the power of recall 

I have a personal link, Hattie Kruger was my Grandmother. So none of this is new. But just look. New York did public housing. How has that worked out. Crime and Crumbling buildings. Public transport, think MTA and AMTRAK, also coslty crumbling failures. 

Perhaps we have been there already.  

Taking Your Own Advice

 In PJ Media the Wrestling Lady in DC noted:

 “Two weeks in, millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal,” McMahon emphasized. “It confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary, and we should return education to the states.”

 But it did not stop her from "advising" Universities how to do their tasks. Perhaps this is nothing more than the "blind leading the blind"

Another Simple Calculation

 I was thinking about MIT and foreign grad students. Consider the following:

1. 40% of the grad students are foreign

2. There are about 5000 grad students so that is 2000 foreign students

3. Half of them are PRC students or 1,000 students from the PRC

4. All grad students are funded by some form of research, almost solely from the US Government

5. The student costs paid for at $60,000 tuition and $40,000 support, or $100,000 per student per year

6. The PRC students are thus supported by we the Taxpayers for $100 million per year

7. When I was there in 60s we had no USSR students

8. The PRC students are there under the rubric of the US State Dept viusa program

9. The research grants do not restrict who is supported

Now think about this. 

Threats: Cutting one's nose to spite one's face

 This ludicrous "Compact" that the folks in Washington issued will, if implemented against Universities, will destroy American excellence. Consider the opening paragraph:

American higher education is the envy of the world and represents a key strategic benefit for our
Nation. In turn, the U.S. university system benefits in a variety of ways from its extraordinary relationship
with the U.S. government. These include (i) access to student loans, grant programs, and federal contracts; (ii) funding for research directly or indirectly; (iii) approval of student and other visas in connection with university matriculation and instruction; and (iv) preferential treatment under the tax code. To advance the national interest arising out of this unique relationship, this Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education represents the priorities of the U.S. government in its engagements with universities that benefit from the relationship. Institutions of higher education are free to develop models and values other than those below, if the institution elects to forego federal benefits

 This is a clear threat. Do what we tell you or we will bankrupt you! Who in their right mind would do this. Yes Universities have their childish problems. Yet this is more than throwing the baby out with the bath water, it a Hammas like act of execution.

There is a tool that works, namely via funding. If one wants to limit foreign nationals in Grad school, funded under Government contracts then put that in the contract. Namely only US citizens. 

Visa controls are already in place. Why burden the University. If the R&D funding delimits foreign nationals then clearly the system will act accordingly.

In my opinion the issue is getting more US students in Grad school. Is a PRC student really better than any US student? If they are blame US education. If not, then fix it via funding.

This clearly is one of the most egregious documents I have ever read. In my opinion it reads like it was written by some Community College drop out trying to get revenge.  

An Interesting Observation

 MIT published the statistics on international students. It is interesting in that:

1. 12% of the undergraduates and 40% of the graduate students are foreign.

2. Of the grad students 25% are from the PRC, and totals 1,000 from PRC in both grad and undergrad.

In my time I don't think we had a single USSR student. 

In addition, are the US students that poor that they cannot get admission? MIT funding is mosl;y from the US Government and perhaps one should be focusing on training ad educating US citizens first.  

MIT Demands: Sounds Familiar

 In The Tech there is a great discussion of the demands the Government is placing upon MIT for funding. Simply stated they ask

1. Admission etc predicated solely upon academic performance.

As we had discussed before this makes eminent sense.  No essays, no pictures, no "save the world" interns. Just grades. 

2. Eliminate Campus organizations that create a hostile environment

In my days, SDS was a player seeking to destroy the campus. Campus organizations frankly should be few and far between. The amateur radio club may make sense, the amateur railroad club, etc. 

3. Free tuition if endowment greater than $2 million per student, except for students from "wealthy" families

I never paid tuition, through my PhD.  Scholarships, fellowships, teaching fellowships. All performance based and for the most part Government financed.

4. Freeze tuition rates for five years

This is sticky. First the rates are obscene. But they are artifacts not real. 

 Now 1 above is fine and I have noted this. 2 above may be a bit sticky since I never belonged to such an organization and back in the day SDS for example was not a Campus supported on.

Number 3 is a bit of a push, schools have gotten themselves in this mess with their crazy tuition support rules and over priced tuition.

4 may make sense since it is bloated as is. 

What is Priority Mail?

 Priority Mail is in my opinion and my experience a scam. It is nothing more than a fancy envelope, a tracking number, a high price and a letter that gets no where or worse to the wrong place! Not once did they ever deliver as they promised, not one single time! Many were lost, mis-delivered, delayed etc.

If we are closing down the Government I suggest the USPS first. Let Amazon deliver mail. They seem to get 90%+ of my packages on time. Next day even. Try that at the USPS.