Guest Poet: The Right Payroll Priorities

Another poetic gem from TMV’s favorite poet, Michael Silverstein, aka Wall Street Poet:

Hard times are coming for many U.S. companies. In order to stay afloat they will have to cut payroll costs. There are two choices when doing so. They can fire 200 workers whose average pay is $50,000 a year. Or halve the salary of one $20 million a year CEO. Each choice saves $10 million but has very different consequences. Keeping 200 workers on the payroll maintains production, supports 600-700 worker family members, and boosts spending on basics that benefit the overall economy. Cutting a CEO’s take inconveniences one trophy wife, undermines the expectations of a budding trustaferian, and reduces sales of Lexus cars and Louis Vuitton handbags. It’s your economy. Choose…

The Right Payroll Priorities

In perilous times to stay afloat
And not let sink the corporate boat
A firm must end its spending gluts
On overhead must make deep cuts.

What’s necessary is the will
To chop the biggest spending bill
The payroll needs a redesign
To maintain that old bottom line.

To do the job, the least to lose
The path that common sense says choose
Preserve the jobs of working joes
But halve the take of CEOs.

It’s not a hard arithmetic
It ain’t a B-school conjure trick
By fairly allocating pain
Both company and nation gain.

Copyright 2007 Michael Silverstein