AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois-based Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, part of a nationwide network of faith-based social service providers, has announced a personnel realignment in response to an "increasingly complex and uncertain government funding environment” affecting services such as child care, youth programs, behavioral health counseling, senior care, adult protection, veteran services, and call centers.

The personnel realignment will impact 300 employees, including 280 who work with the affected government contracts and 20 in administrative roles.

According to Sally Blount, president and CEO of Catholic Charities, “After careful evaluation and discussion, we have decided to reduce our footprint as a government contractor — in order to increase the time, attention, and resources we devote to the services we are uniquely equipped to offer as a private humanitarian organization. Over the last decade, navigating the government services sector has grown more complex, and funding has not kept up with the high rates of inflation. That means that many contracts no longer cover their direct costs, much less the increasing costs of administering them."

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. We see good people being laid off through no fault of their own. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? AVOIDING BUFFY THE WOKE STAKEHOLDER and CORPORATION SLAYER

Corporate politicization appears to be growing as CEO’s attempt to virtue signal to increase market share, avoid reputational damage, secure contracts, grants, and subsidies from political entities, or simply enhance their personal reputation.

However, it appears that another dangerous trend is developing. Allowing unaffiliated third parties known as "stakeholders" to influence corporate decisions involving facility location, financing, advertising and marketing, and charitable giving.

The danger lies in corrupting legal fiduciary duties that inure to the benefit of shareholders, including minority shareholders and non-control investors. All of whom have a reasonable expectation that enterprise executives will maximize value for the corporation over other unaffiliated interests and pay off their obligations to investors and vendors.

Beyond the fiduciary responsibilities to shareholders, investors, and vendors, comes the responsibilities to customers, users, and employees whose wages should be acceptable to the individuals who volunteer to accept them for services rendered. Hopefully, such wages and benefits meet or exceed industry norms for the company's location.

It is in the company's best interest to support a vibrant community, primarily through paying increasing taxes that follow increasing profits. To the extent that a company participates in community activities to generate goodwill, it should be on a non-partisan basis divorced from politics.

It is in the company's best interests to support their unions only on matters of safety and correlating increases in wage and benefits to increases in production and efficiency.

And, it certainly is not in the company's interests to engage with radical activists or agitators that polarize individuals and that lead to discord and dissention as they fight to determine how to allocate funds they did not earn and may not deserve.

Some members of the Business Roundtable are suggesting that companies should "redefine the purpose of a corporation to promote ‘an economy that serves all Americans.’ An updated statement that moves away from shareholder primacy and includes a commitment to all stakeholders."

My suggestion is that all contributions be reserved and spent locally for schools, charitable works in the community. To participate in national charities might I suggest non-controversial charities like Ronald McDonald House or Fisher House which extend support to families with children or soldiers receiving medical care.

Avoid Buffy the Woke Stakeholder and Corporation Slayer.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

CHARITIES RE-PURPOSING PARKING METERS

Another example of innovative application of existing technology.

Parking meters, originally designed to provide more parking opportunities in front of merchant establishments, has morphed into big business. For the municipalities who have an additional source of revenue without the hassle of declaring it a tax on transportation, who profit greatly from transgressions resulting in large fines, and allowing the support of a large politically-motivated union-dominated in-house administrative bureaucracy. For the outsourcing private contractors who supply meters and management services ranging from collections, credit card processing, and other administration activities to municipalities.

And, now we can observe some “out of the box” thinking as charities realize the monetary potential of re-purposing parking meters for specific charitable purposes. While some see these as little more than automated panhandlers, others see an alternative method of charitable donations that link a collection point with an observable need.

Every time I pass the West Los Angeles Parking Enforcement facility (officially named the Henry Medina Building after the first traffic officer in the history of the city's Department of Transportation to die of injuries sustained in the line of duty) which is shaped like a parking meter, I cannot help but realize what big business parking enforcement has become.