‘Deer in the Headlights’ — They’re Not!

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Supposedly ‘Uncertainty‘ is the new Corporate buzzword.

‘Uncertainty‘ is the Mantra that keeps them FROZEN with inaction.

Well I guess, a lot depends on what kind of ‘Action’ — were looking at.

America’s Corporate Cash Cushion

Jonathan Cheng, WSJ Market Beat — Sep 17, 2010

The Federal Reserve put out its quarterly report on fund flows today, which shows corporate balance sheets more or less flat at $1.845 trillion, compared to $1.847 trillion in the first quarter of 2010.

[…]

“Companies weren’t stuck like a deer in the headlights because of regulatory or political uncertainty,” he said. Instead, he says corporate directors have been spending on capital expenditures, M&A, and buybacks and dividends.  [ … according to Anthony Carfang, from at Chicago-based corporate treasury consultancy Treasury Strategies.]

Dividends and buybacks, like the ones announced after market close yesterday by Texas Instruments, are on the rise […]

Be afraid, be very afraid, people — Or so the Corporate Speakers are telling us.

Corporations are so Frozen with Fear, that they are boosting Dividend Earnings of their preferred Shareholders. And Corporations are Buying Back huge volumes of shares — in their own Companies — back from the public, who really are, too afraid to invest, in shares with prices so LOW.  

Yep.  Those Corporations are just shaking in their boots!   Or so they say.

No Wonder — they CAN’T hire back the folks — they’ve layed off — It’s all that Uncertainty of what their Economy will eventually do.   They Broke it Borrowed it — They own it!

Wooh Scary!  So much Cash — So few Consumers.

What IS a little old Multi-National Corporation, To Do !?

CNN Money: The 2010 Fortune 500

What WILL they DO will all those Extra Billions, just sitting there on a shelf —

Hmmm?  Besides Buying Back their own Stock, Maybe they can invest a Million or Two in supporting their favorite Candidates, too?  Thanks to the recent Citizens United decision, it is now easier than ever for Corporate Interests, to ‘Ease their Fears’ by making such strategic investments;  

Investing in Politicians and Causes is easier — than investing in People and a Country, now isn’t it?  

From the Corporate tunnel-vision perspective, this is undoubtedly true — and if the ‘Law allows it’ — What the Hey!   Best to Strike while the iron’s hot.

That’s IF Corps AREN’T TOO AFRAID, to Act.   Too afraid, to dare Tilt an Election …  to drop a Mil-or-two on their favorite Politician.

Why Invest in a People or a Country — when you can run them BOTH, from behind the scenes?   Just press Speed-dial.

Good Question  — from a Profit-Maximization point of view.  Who says Corporations are Not People, too? — They’re just looking out for their own Self-Interest.

The following writer describes the stalled Economy, and the “Kick-starting” dilemma, much better than I could, so take a few seconds, please:

There’s a near universal consensus that we have a massive systemic employment crisis in America.

[…]

The problem is clear: America’s engine of job creation is breaking down. The private sector plainly isn’t creating enough jobs. The solution to this must come on two fronts.

[First] Most importantly, government has to step in as it has done during other major recessions and depressions to fill in the gap with direct job creation. Unemployment has created a massive hole in the economy. Only the government has the resources and tools to create the jobs we need, thus priming the pump to get the private sector job creation engine running again.

[…]

The Second front requires our nation to ask and expect more from the private sector itself — particularly from large corporations that should invest resources back into the communities that sustain them by creating quality jobs.

When the financial markets crashed in 2008, the American people, acting together in the common interest, bailed out some of America’s biggest corporations. We put $23 trillion on the line to save the “too big to fail” corporations that irresponsibly got us in this economic mess.

[…]

What we do know is this — government (Republicans and Democrats together) acted boldly because they believed a threat to us all required collective action to benefit the entire American community.

How have the corporate interests repaid America for this? In many enraging ways: by lobbying against affordable health insurance for ordinary Americans, fighting against regulations which would prevent another financial collapse, and blocking spending that would help create jobs on Main Street.

[…]

Right now corporations are richer than they have been in more than five decades. Taken together, American corporations have $1.6 trillion in cash on hand, and those reserves represent the highest percentage of assets since 1964.

Given this unprecedented greed, our economy faces a catch-22. Companies won’t spend and invest in America until our economy gets back on its feet. Unfortunately, the American economy can’t get back on track until companies start spending rather than hoarding money […]

Corporate Values, Community Woes

Deepak Bhargava, Huffingtonpost, Oct 8, 2010

Executive Director of the Center for Community Change

And who says Corporations are Not ‘Rational Actors’? — They’re just fighting for their own survival — using whatever means available … whatever weapons they find in their toolkit — EXCEPT for the CASH! —  That they must NOT touch!   That.is.their.Gold.    Even if that Gold, was bankrolled by American People.

Corporations today, would make the Dinosaurs proud.

Mammals, however, Beware.  

Those Headlights barreling towards you from the horizon, may be too preoccupied, to Hit the Brakes.

That — or they’re Just Too dang Afraid!  to take Action.  … The Poor Babies.

‘Uncertainty‘ has them FROZEN —  with Inaction, yet still firming gripping the wheel.

Americans, Beware.

The Deer in the Headlights, may just turn out to be — US.

Don’t just Stand there — VOTE!