A Tip to Tom Campbell

Here's my exchange of ideas so far with Prof. Tom Campbell, leading
Republican candidate for California Governor, on a topic that's
very relevant to us in the current day - our jobs! I still believe that
the employer is in a much better position to protect the jobs of
its employees than the employees themselves. Your thoughts
are welcome!

Extracted from:
http://campbell.org/economy/#comment-22263668

v pendyala 3 weeks ago

Tom, I attended your very insightful and visionary keynote yesterday morning at SIPACON. One idea I wanted to share with you is that there cannot be a bigger loss to the economy than leaving educated, qualified workers unemployed. Recovery lies in designing ways to harness their skills more than infusing printed money into the downward stream. As can be concluded from your keynote as well, the latter only inflates yet another bubble. A better alternative is to bring legislation to make employers take better responsibility of employees' careers. You may like to consider this in your agenda. Vishnu Pendyala

TomCampbell 6 days ago in reply to v pendyala

Many thanks, Vishnu, for your kind words. The loss from under-employing our workforce is, indeed, extreme. I'm not completely clear, however, on what you are suggesting for laws to require employers to "take better responsibility of employees' careers." My approach would be to lower the costs that government imposes on hiring people, especially in California. Lowering the payroll tax, as soon as we cut government spending enough to afford it, would be an obvious choice at the federal and state level. Other than that, I have some hesitation about imposing obligations on employers that would tie employees to that employer, and if the obligation did not come with a parallel obligation on the part of the employee, it would be an additional burden on the employer. Your further thoughts are most welcome.

v pendyala 2 days ago in reply to TomCampbell

Thanks for your reply, Tom. Currently, for an employer, the most expensive and the easiest to cut-down resource seem to be employees. The resulting stress on the remaining employees, who have to cover for the laid-off employees, could be quite unproductive to the company and eventually to the society and the economy. IMHO, an “economic bubble” is a result of greed that causes prices and paychecks to inflate beyond what’s backed up by goods and services. Greed is to economy as a blood clot is to the heart. Both clog the free circulation of essential currents. So, my suggestions are to:

1) Make it mandatory for the companies to first explore ways to remove the “greed” factor from the employees remuneration and spending, before jumping on to layoffs. These could be by way of pay-cuts where appropriate, cutting-down non-essential expenses and supplies, voluntary surrender of accrued leaves, furloughs, etc. Layoffs should be the last resort. Greed is often incorrectly justified by motivation to work, but true motivation may lie in helping a co-worker to have his job and support a family.

2) Encourage companies with 50 or more employees to form an employee welfare committee drawn from and accountable to the employees to look into any unfair layoffs or career issues – something short of a union, but better than leaving employment entirely to demand and supply forces or whims and fancies of the managers. Company’s HR department may not be very effective here because they report to the management. Ideally, employers should guide, coach, and help employees to be of better use to the world and in a sense, take responsibility of employees careers. I believe there are companies which already do these and are still successful with their bottom-lines. Radical change may not be possible, but at least a thought in that direction may help in the long run.

Cooking Tips

• For chapaties, mix whole wheat flour with milk / whey from the curd. The chapaties / rotis / parathas would be softer that way.
• Replace oil with curd wherever possible for less fat and better taste.
• Make dosas and idlis after mixing curd in the batter.
• Replace ranch dressing with curd, salt, and pepper on salads.
• Fry sprouted chana with onions and mix with canned tuna - a healthy and tasty snack for the evening.

CA-1

• One of its kind drive. Don't miss it.
• Driving from North (say, from San FranciscO) to South is best because the ocean is just beside you.

Crater Lake

• The area from Lake Shasta to Crater Lake is really one of its kind: Sundial Bridge: Turtle Bay Exploration Park, Mount Shasta, McArthur-Burney Falls (One of the best CA State Parks, IMHO, particularly if you can go to the bottom of the falls), Lava Beds National Monument , Lassen Volcanic National Park - Don't miss any.
• Remember to carry water and food when you drive. These areas are not as better served as some of the other places we often visit.
• These places can be covered with minimal walking as well - just in case this is a requirement for you.

San Francisco

• Explore Stairway Walks in San Francisco.
• Get in touch with some good hiking groups. They may be able to tell you where to find free parking.
• Twin Peaks is a hidden gem, offering excellent views.
• Get your cartoon done on a sidewalk near fisherman wharf.

Napa

• St. Supéry offers self-guided, free, educative tour of the wine-making process. Some may find it better than the paid tours offered by others wineries in the Napa valley.
• Explore wineries offering deli and picnic-spots. V. Sattui Winery is one such. Their deli is quite innovative and their picnic area matches the taste.