jps wrote in message
...


My money is invested in my business -- the same business that covers its
employees with exorbitantly expensive medical insurance, workers comp,
social security and medicare taxes, etc. Our 401K doesn't include our
own stock.

The folks who run publicly traded companies are on a nasty treadmill
that rewards foolish short term thinking.

jps

I owned and ran a privately held company for years that operated exactly
like yours, as described in your first paragraph. In 2000 the company was
purchased by a large, public company and all the rules changed. Positive
quarterly reports became more important than producing a quality product. I
realized after a while, however, that the senior management and board of
directors were under immense pressure by outside analysts and investment
managers of 401k and other investment plans to meet the quarterly numbers.
These people in turn are under pressure by the individual investor to manage
their portfolios for max returns. Collectively, all the "small" investors
(via 401k and other retirement accounts) who probably have no idea where
their money is invested, or what product the company makes, have only one
interest - how much money are they making.

So, it's a vicious circle.

Fortunately for me, I was able to exit stage left, as it became more and
more frustrating to convert a labor of love into the big company "corporate"
style.


Eisboch