My usual early-morning scan of the news sites turned up something that could possibly, maybe, conceivably be considered good news.
After rising for three months in a row, planned job cuts plummeted to 34,768 in August, the lowest level since June 2000 and down 17% from the previous month, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Compared to a year ago, downsizing activity dropped 55% in August, and job cuts have eased 65% so far this year compared with the same period last year.
Wow! Shitcanning has dropped to its lowest level in better than 10 years? That ought to be cause for celebration, right?
So why am I not celebrating?
Well, elsewhere on CNN, I found this little gem.
(CNN) -- A new report may add salt to the wounds of America's jobless. It seems many of their former bosses are profiting at their losses.
According to the report "CEO Pay and the Great Recession," chief executive officers of the 50 firms that laid off the most workers since the start of the economic crisis earned nearly $12 million on average in 2009. That's 42 percent more than the average pay of CEOs at S&P 500 firms as a whole.
It's a tough job, but I guess somebody has to do it. What I can't figure out is the seeming contradiction between the two articles. If a CEO can make more money by shitcanning as many workers as possible, why has shitcanning dropped to its lowest level in more than 10 years?
You tell me. That's what today's poll is for.