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My guess is that you stand to make more money long term by trading with everybody. War profiteering is great money today, but I don’t think the Koch brothers t

My guess is that you stand to make more money long term by trading with everybody. War profiteering is great money today, but I don’t think the Koch brothers take the stereotypical quarter-by-quarter approach to capitalism.

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
but I don't think the Koch brothers take the stereotypical quarter-by-quarter approach to capitalism. No, no they don't. Their focus is much more towards long-term growth and development (and long-term sustainability, which includes treating workers well and helping them succeed) than quarter-by-quarter results.
- ethbro 7y ago
  Exactly. Whether you agree or disagree with their position, they're not Wall Street style, short-term optimizers.
- gaze 7y ago
  They've put massive efforts into destroying unions. They've funded mike rowe, who goes on tirades against osha. They don't care about workers at all. Then there's the consequences of these efforts such as https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/17/koch-compliance-georgia-pacific-plants-have-troubling-health-and-safety-record# https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/17/koch-complianc...
  - HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
    They don't care about workers at all (Full disclosure: I know several people who work at different Koch companies) From what I've heard and experienced, there is a very different culture between the founded-by-the-Koch-brothers companies and the bought-by-the-Koch-brothers companies, mostly due to the fact that the upper levels of management were retained and kept their old ways- there is a huge difference in mentality between the old managers and bosses and the Koch ones. When it comes to injuries, Georgia Pacific was quite the beleaguered company before the Kochs bought it, too. [1] They've funded mike rowe [sic] who goes on tirades against osha [sic] To be honest, I haven't really heard about Mike Rowe, so I looked him up. A Forbes article from three days ago [2] talks about Mike Rowe and how he's working to change the perception that skilled labor is bad. In my opinion, this is good! Not everyone wants to go to college- it's not necessary to make a living (though it will likely be more physically demanding). Do I think that OSHA is a good idea? Yes. Is Mike Rowe also doing a huge favor to the morale of those who don't want to go to college? Yes. Do I agree with everything Mike Rowe has ever said? Probably not. [1] https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/03/10/story1.html https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/03/10/story... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyberk/2019/06/28/mike-rowe-uses-celebrity-influence-to-grease-the-wheel-for-skilled-labor/#503b6e50289b https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyberk/2019/06/28/mike-rowe-...
    - gaze 7y ago
      What Mike Rowe is doing is quite subtle https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/mike-rowes-dirty-job/ https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/mike-rowes-dirty-job/

HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago

but I don't think the Koch brothers take the stereotypical quarter-by-quarter approach to capitalism. No, no they don't. Their focus is much more towards long-term growth and development (and long-term sustainability, which includes treating workers well and helping them succeed) than quarter-by-quarter results.

ethbro 7y ago
Exactly. Whether you agree or disagree with their position, they're not Wall Street style, short-term optimizers.
gaze 7y ago
They've put massive efforts into destroying unions. They've funded mike rowe, who goes on tirades against osha. They don't care about workers at all. Then there's the consequences of these efforts such as https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/17/koch-compliance-georgia-pacific-plants-have-troubling-health-and-safety-record# https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/03/17/koch-complianc...
- HeWhoLurksLate 7y ago
  They don't care about workers at all (Full disclosure: I know several people who work at different Koch companies) From what I've heard and experienced, there is a very different culture between the founded-by-the-Koch-brothers companies and the bought-by-the-Koch-brothers companies, mostly due to the fact that the upper levels of management were retained and kept their old ways- there is a huge difference in mentality between the old managers and bosses and the Koch ones. When it comes to injuries, Georgia Pacific was quite the beleaguered company before the Kochs bought it, too. [1] They've funded mike rowe [sic] who goes on tirades against osha [sic] To be honest, I haven't really heard about Mike Rowe, so I looked him up. A Forbes article from three days ago [2] talks about Mike Rowe and how he's working to change the perception that skilled labor is bad. In my opinion, this is good! Not everyone wants to go to college- it's not necessary to make a living (though it will likely be more physically demanding). Do I think that OSHA is a good idea? Yes. Is Mike Rowe also doing a huge favor to the morale of those who don't want to go to college? Yes. Do I agree with everything Mike Rowe has ever said? Probably not. [1] https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/03/10/story1.html https://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2003/03/10/story... [2] https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyberk/2019/06/28/mike-rowe-uses-celebrity-influence-to-grease-the-wheel-for-skilled-labor/#503b6e50289b https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyberk/2019/06/28/mike-rowe-...
  - gaze 7y ago
    What Mike Rowe is doing is quite subtle https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/mike-rowes-dirty-job/ https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/09/mike-rowes-dirty-job/