To tell it, there have been at least two callers to MoneyTalk this
weekend with the similar query (paraphrased), "Bob, should I borrow
from my home equity in order to buy mutual funds?" The ever prudent
Brinker naturally dismisses such intemperance, albeit the frequency
of these calls may give us pause.
Kudos to Brinker for deftly dispatching caller Mark from NYC to
the failed caller ash heap. In a thinly veiled attempt to advance
what the latest Barron's would term class warfare paleo-
liberalism which loves jobs but hates employers, NYC Mark,
with the linguistic legerdemain befitting a talking weasel, used
the UPS strike and Brinker's program to advance a well worn and,
by now, tired case for an end to free markets and re-distribution
of wealth.
This despite the fact that wage restraint is, as Brinker acknowledged,
a prime factor in the bull market, the beneficiaries of which now
constitute a large swath of the American populace. Indeed, Barron's
cites a recent Teeter poll wherein 53% of surveyed Americans reported
$5000 or more in mutual funds. The percentage of capitalists across
all income groups is apparently at record levels(18 Aug Barron's p.28)
even while union participation hovers at only 14.5% of the workforce.
The Teeter poll asked only whether the respondents had money in mutual
funds. Were pensions and 401-k programs and the like included in this
poll? If they were not, then the numbers and weight of broad based
American capitalists would doubtless be considerably higher.
In any case, Brinker would have none of NYC Mark's cliched' liberal
palaver or mealy mouthed obfuscation. Brinker wondered aloud about
Teamster handling of scores of billions of dollars in union pension
funds given its notorious past and well documented links to organized
crime. Indeed, he favored UPS corporate management of the pension
fund over Teamster control. Brinker also cited the propensity of many
Americans to seek part time employment over full time jobs and
welcomed increased competition to UPS. This strike has already
galvanized the competition and probably forever changed their
clients' psychology in employing but one carrier. Therefore, it
is plausible that UPS and all those striking workers presently
disallowed by Ron Carey to vote on the UPS pact will be
facing a significantly down-sized company in future.
Once again, Brinker punches through the masque with blazing insight. |
