I’ve been in the printing industry for nearly 20 years. During half that time I sold commercial printing for a large printing firm. I was worked nearly to death; selling, managing my accounts, standing by presses 24-7, and who got rich? My employer. Finally my employer sold out to an even larger company; why? Greed. They let their entire staff, some 25 year vets go, and management retired like fat cats.

You don’t like printing in China. You say the workers don’t get rich, but the owners do. What is the difference here?

For the past 11 years I’ve been a print broker, mostly in China, and my clients have been very pleased with the results.

You are sorry the printing industry in this country is suffering. Why are they suffering? Because in many cases they don’t take “pride” in their work like they used to. Because big labor forces companies to pay people for work that is often sub-standard. I’m sorry, too, because I used to use American printers until they 1) became too expensive and 2)I had to attend too many press checks and bindery checks to be sure the operators got it right. Should I need to do this? In this case yes, because if I didn’t, the finished product all too often did not come close to the proofs.

For nearly 10 years, at the initial request of my clients, I’ve been printing in China. The Chinese know manufacturing, and have invested in good equipment. Their people are highly skilled and take pride in their work. I’ve never attended a press check (though I’ve visited their clean factories), yet in all these years I have had less than a handful of complaints about the printing quality. In every case, the printer re-printed the job immediately at their own expense.

I hope the printing industry in this country takes notice and turns itself around, so they can once again compete with China. It is analogous to the car industry; when cars were expensive “schlock,” consumers looked overseas to buy. I think the auto industry is changing, so there is hope that American workers will quit watching the clock and pay more attention to increasing their skills and productivity.

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There actually ARE some people out there who earn seven figures by hard work, dedication and taking chances that most of us would never take. I have a great deal of respect for anyone who would open his/her own business whatever the size; if successful, they provide employment for the rest of us. It’s a win-win situation. Having said that, I am fully and completely aware that many people earning huge salaries do not deserve them and have not earned them. Some are even crooks, like Mr. Madoff. I know many people who lost their jobs because of him and institutions, including community service and charitable institutions, who are suffering because of his scam. Your evaluation is right on when it comes to those people.

The uplifting story goes back several years. It has to do with the guy who invented Polar Fleece and then went out and mass-produced it. This was someone who actually EARNED what he made. He had several hundred (perhaps thousand – I’m not sure) employees, until … his plant burned down. What he did was continue to pay his employees their salaries while rebuilding his plant. I saw an interview with him in which he asked the question we all seem to be asking nowadays when it comes to all the super-rich people in this world, “How much money does one person need?” He pointed out that, without their salaries, his employees wouldn’t be able to pay their mortgages or rent or feed their families, and as for him, how much money did he need? He was not in danger of being out in the street.

I’m convinced that such people are out there now, as well; I only wish they’d make themselves known a little more.

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Note from Bill Ruesch, You can check the right side bar of my blog and buy the book “Who Moved My Cheese” if you don’t have it.

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excuse me BUT … how did i share in making this mess? I know how I will and AM paying for the mess but personally and specifically I did NOT share in making the mess. I have always lived within my means, ie: if i don’t have the money don’t buy it. paid my mortgage off in 15 years, sacrificed new furniture and stuff along the way, raised my kids, paid their way, paid my way. worked since i was 14, paid my insurance, added to my 401k, paid my taxes, all that jazz– how in the world do you REALLY think i am responsible for making the mess. GREED and GREEDINESS without care for the morals of what was being done is what caused this. Total thoughtless selfish behaviour. in my humble opinion.

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1. In 1970s and 1980s when Japanese cars became successful in the US market, the policies of MBAs, especially “the best and the brightest” was that the US auto makers did not have to make a better car, rather they could market the less quality cars better.

2. In the 1980s marketing, led by MBAs and business school ideology, acted on the basis that quality of product did not matter, it was how the product was marketed. Specifically I remember hearing the VP Marketing of Anheuser Busch say exactly that and I remember myself saying “So that’s why Bud tastes so bad.” We got the “Pet Rock.”

3. In the 1990s the MBAs figured out that why bother having a product. A business plan and venture capital was enough, kind of like “Conceptual Art” in the 1960s. And so we got the internet bubble and bust.

4. The latest one led by CA, instead of trying to convince VC for money, pass an initiative in an election and get your hands on public money, no accountability, i.e. stem cell initiative and sure enough these guys have been spending money with no accountability and I am sure that we shall [see] more of this with “green businesses.”

5. Now we have elected employees with their “stimulus plans.”
Congress people can identify with the “poverty of not being able to buy a third luxury car” but they have no understanding or empathy for people making $50,000 a year who lose their job and house. Even this cash for clunker program the people buying the cars are just delivering
the money to real recipients. When the banks got money instead of finding ways to loan it and get the money into the economy they made getting a loan more difficult and gave themselves bonuses as if they had worked for and earned this money rather than being on public welfare.

6. There are good business execs in this country but there also too many bad ones, and most are MBAs, who view the corporation solely as a tool for their personal benefit. To most MBAs quality of product, reltionship of the corporation to the town or country or community are unimportant things and easily expendable especially in business school ideology.

7. Printing as a business sector especially in marketing materials is going to get a lot smaller. Its sad because printing and printers have played a major role in the development of a free society over the past 300 years with many good printers standing up for freedom of speech. Also as Marshall McCluhan has pointed out, printing was a major factor that enabled the development of science. But right now its an expense that is easily cut from the corporate budget and replaced by publication on the internet.

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The company LOST 1.1 billion dollars AND paid the CEO 14-16 million dollars!

I agree that a CEO’s compensation should, in some way, be adjusted to a companies success/failure. That’s what contracts are for. If it isn’t in the contract the corporate lawyers should be fired for leaving it out and not protecting the company and share holders.

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