ItÂ’s that time of year again. Not fall, even though today is the first official day. No, itÂ’s that time when companies across the country try to extort money from their employees to donate to the United Way. Why do companies force this issue so much? ItÂ’s because then they can say they raised so many dollars for them and get a special mention in next years drive. ItÂ’s all marketing that they donÂ’t have to pay as much forÂ… they make their employees do it.

I donÂ’t mind charity drives, but I hate feeling forced into donating my time and money. Is it a donation then? Not in my mind, if forced to pay then IÂ’m not donating money IÂ’m a victim of extortion. IÂ’ve worked for companies that keep track of donations to the United Way and if you donÂ’t donate so much you wonÂ’t get a promotion or good review. They went so far as to tell the employees that. My current company is not that bad, however they do put a frown on a lack of participation, especially if you are management level. They do however hand out a sheet telling you what the recommended donation is based on your salary level.

My company makes a huge deal out of this drive. They put on shows, hold raffles, have fundraisers, and do what they call “Supervisor Stunts”. The Supervisor Stunts starts with a drive for money. They have cups set up with various peoples names on them and employees in the company drop money in to the cup to vote for which supervisor has to do a stunt. The four with the most money are the “winners”. The stunts are usually unimaginative things stolen from pop culture. A couple years ago, they did a fear factor take off where the individuals had to eat something safe, yet disgusting. In all actuality there was nothing all that disgusting about what they ate. Last year they did a take off of the old Nickelodeon show Double Dare. Each supervisor had to go through an obstacle course that was only designed to get them covered in slime, condiments, ice cream, pudding, etc.

This year they decided to open it up to all management and some of the support staff. I was strongly encouraged to participate in it this year. Why? Because with my position I am easily one of the top two people in the office that the employees would like to get revenge on. Thus, I would bring in a lot of money. Unfortunately, for them I had a different idea. Mine was more along the lines of, “I’m not donating one damn cent to the United Way and I’m not doing anything that might help raise a dime for them.”

See the extended entry for my reasons.
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Posted by: Contagion at 12:54 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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On my drive to work every day I drive past cornfields. Every day I notice how short and sickly it looks compared to years past. The ears that have managed to form are small and under developed. The drought we are in is really taking a toll on the local agricultural industry. Some of the local media has run stories and interviewed multiple farmers regarding the status of the crop.

One of the farmers stated that the quality of the corn isnÂ’t even good for silage and that he wasnÂ’t sure if it was worth harvesting it from the field, with the price of gas being as high as it is. I knew it was bad, but not that bad. I figured they could at least use the corn for feed. I tried to find a link to this story; unfortunately, I was not able to find one. For you folks out there that donÂ’t know what silage is, itÂ’s fodder from plants converted into feed for livestock through a fermentation process in a silo. The farmers use this to supplement their livestock feed, especially in the winter months.

When the local farmers feel that it might be better off for them to let the crop rot in the field because they would go further in to debt just to harvest it, you know itÂ’s got to be bad. They usually get some kind of return on it, but in the interview that I saw the farmer said in not so many words that harvesting this corn would be as smart as throwing money into a furnace. Even if they used the entire crop just as feed, at least they received something for it. Instead, they may have to purchase extra feed just to keep their livestock fed over the winter. Farmers make a living off their crops and livestock. If it isnÂ’t worth it for them to pull the crops out of the field, what will they do? How are they going to pay their bills or provide for their families?

If the drought broke today and we received a good steady rain for the rest of the year, it’s too late to save this year’s corn crop. Maybe it isn’t as bad as that one report made it out to be, but looking at the cornfields I can’t help but to think it is. Growing up in Illinois and spending times on farms, I know what good healthy corn looks like. The corn crop in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin cannot be described as “good or healthy”. Even the sweet corn you get at roadside stands and in stores are some of the sorriest I’ve seen in years.

Since I havenÂ’t seen a lot on this issue, maybe IÂ’m in the minority that is concerned about it. With harvest coming just around the corner I suspect we all will start to hear more regarding this issue, then again maybe not. It seems that unless something happens to a large urban area, the national media doesnÂ’t cover it. For now, IÂ’m just going to hope that the farmers in this part of the country fair better then I think they will.

Posted by: Contagion at 04:40 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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