#politics

Supervisors in the US are told each year to rank the BTC expats in the USA high and push down the American workers. Happening in Houston, Midland, and Carlsbad.

Why is song or whatever they now call it becoming dumping ground for id--ts flunk out of VP jobs elsewhere?

As I reflect on 9/11 I can’t help but think about how the executive class is destroying America with their greed.

"We The People" are the su-kers!

Both the Democratic and Republican parties share responsibility for the structural issues within the U.S. health insurance system. They have shaped it through entirely different ideological approaches and legislative actions. Rather than a singular party being solely to blame, experts generally view the current system as a product of decades of bipartisan compromises, corporate lobbying, and conflicting political philosophies.

Health insurance is simi-legal fraud. From an economic perspective, critics argue that the private health insurance industry acts as a heavily bureaucratic middleman that adds cost without adding medical value. Health insurance is profit-driven. While health insurance companies operate legally under strict federal and state regulations, many of their standard business practices are deceptive and predatory to patients who pay premiums only to face denied claims or massive, unexpected bills. The underlying tension exists because private health insurance companies operate as profit-maximizing corporations, whereas consumers view healthcare as an essential, life-saving need.

Several systemic corporate mechanics shift financial risk and administrative burdens onto patients. This framework gives insurance companies a perverse incentive: to increase total profits, they must allow overall healthcare costs to rise, as a fixed percentage of a larger number yields a higher dollar return.
• The Illusion of Coverage (Deductibles & Out-of-Pocket Maxes)
• Claim Denials via Prior Authorization
• Narrow Networks
• The Complexity of "Explanation of Benefits" (EOB)

Dear Cisconians, this is the first time in my long career that I have left the company without having secured another job. The moral decline is inevitable. I was part of it; I started doing the absolute minimum and found that I could still deliver the same or better results than 90% of my colleagues. One day a manager will blabber about "Cisco Values," only to completely disregard them the next day. Good people are leaving, while the mediocre ones stay and play politics and produce AI slop. With every fu--ing layoff, more and more people start to pretending activities, commenting on tickets, pushing spreadsheets, and organizing meetings... Only a minimum number of people are getting promoted; it is a complete career disaster, and the longer you stay, the more your salary is behind the actual labor market. Good luck to you!

https://www.portlandmercury.com/news/meet-the-candidates-for-city-council-district-3/

Dear DW,
If you want to influence government, then bribe them yourself. Asking employees for donations for politics when you can’t give proper raises is both tone deaf but also just ignorant. Your structural savings are starting to materialize how exposed the company really is… keep going!

Capitalism relies on open competition and consumer choice, whereas crony capitalism relies on political favoritism and government-business collusion.

Core Differences

• Capitalism (Free Market):
  • Businesses succeed by offering better products, lower prices, and real value to customers.
  • Profits and losses depend entirely on market competition.
  • Inefficient companies fail and exit the market.
• Crony Capitalism:
  • Businesses succeed through political connections, lobbying, and government favors.
  • Companies secure special subsidies, tax breaks, bailouts, or protective regulations.
  • Inefficient or failing companies survive through government intervention.

Economic Impact

• Innovation vs. Lobbying: Free markets reward innovation. Crony systems reward lobbying and political influence.
• Barriers to Entry: Capitalist systems encourage new competitors. Crony systems create high regulatory barriers that block new entrants to protect large, established players.
• Public Cost: Crony capitalism wastes public funds, distorts prices, and breeds corruption

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/do-not-post-grand-jury-finds-10-million-hope-florida-funds-misappropriated-no-one-charged

A Florida grand jury found $10 million from a Centene settlement was misappropriated and ultimately used for political purposes.
The money moved through Hope Florida and nonprofits to political committees and the Republican Party of Florida.
The grand jury found insufficient evidence to charge anyone and recommended changes to state law.

If you are in H1b, start your search early as 60 days grace period is questionable and we are almost year end. The hiring might get stopped due to Holidays.
Choose your tenure wisely in this sinking ship.
Oracle might get better in next few years and you can join back. Its not wise to stay anymore with such low pay, more politics and insecure positions.

I honestly can’t fathom what sort of su-king up, political maneuvering, or just plain lying has to be done for anyone to still to have any belief that he is at all qualified for his role or isn’t hurting the company. His teams despise him and have to work behind the scenes just to get anything done as he lacks any strategic direction with zero market experience. And if his lack of skill wasn’t enough, it’s his poor character and how he speaks down to folks that is the worst. It has to be fixed!

I've seen many people make huge mistakes, and I've seen who faces the music and who doesn't. It's not about the severity of the error, but about who made it. Some people are untouchable. They can do no wrong and they know it. When people say nobody is safe, that's not true. There are favorites who can do anything and still avoid being reprimanded not to mention laid off. Knowing the right people pays off here, with interest.

Is this a meritocracy or a friendship club? It's a rhetorical question, by the way.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/h-1b-holders-spouses-would-lose-work-permits-in-new-trump-plan

My alert went off this morning. Good times for another executive. From publicly available information…

Chris Koster, Centene’s General Counsel:

2023: $4.84M
2024: $5.06M
2025: $6.51M

On August 18, 2026, Koster sold 47,603 Centene shares for roughly $3.11 million. $16.4M in three years. Cha-Ching sir! Here are the stock trades:

https://www.nasdaq.com/market-activity/insiders/koster-christopher-1108982

Not bad for the top lawyer at a company whose business is largely administering taxpayer-funded healthcare.

Koster went from county prosecutor → Missouri Senator → Missouri Attorney General → Centene executive.

So basically, decades in Missouri government followed by millions a year at one of the country’s largest Medicaid contractors.

At least someone figured out how to make Medicaid profitable. But sure, keep cutting the people doing the actual work. That ought to fix the margins. And congrats, Chris. Don’t spend it all in one place.

There are just too many people between the work and the results. Managers of managers, directors of nothing, and their only real skill is creating more meetings and more politics. They think they're helping, but they're really just slowing everything down. Get rid of them in the next round of cuts and we'll all be better off.

First, this company doe not have "lay off". Instead, they do PIP. I think you all know the drill. They would say something BS and label you as "To be improved". Then your manager will tell you" Oh so sorry, but we have to put you in PIP. This is to help you. And they let you go at the end of PIP.

You probably ask why? Because this firm has been doing this for decades, and it is the cheapest way to let people go considering all the risks.

And they love hiring people with bureaucratic mindset. As long as you are good at politics, you should not miss this place. I believe you will shine here.

NOT FOR ME. Peace out.

Also, more layoff, sorry more PIPs are coming. Be prepared crewmembers. You know, it is in the memos.

Not sure why SLT cannot see their sh---y politics and zero value add to the organization.

Shannon bell wake up.

https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/upheaval-at-fannie-mae-raises-stability-concerns-57535616

• Have an exit strategy
• Dont get baited with gaslighting tactics from old employees. They attempt to trigger you so that they can stay as Good in assessment
• Show meaningful value in your assignments, quantify and use behaviors
• Create a process or system that stands the test of time and provides value
• Dont get caught up in politics, the chosen ones are blessed. Pray that they do well. If you dont get promoted, move on, It just wasnt your time or moment.
• The companys job is to create value, if it cant do that, stock price goes down and we all can get laid off
• Every company is facing the same pressure, find something that makes you happy outside of work.
• High salary, 401k, pension, and benefits. No one leaves a loser after 15 years.

In Finance they declassified 15 execs to protect them from the two strike rule. Now they are competing at 28-29 level and can avoid NSI. Guess how they selected which execs were declassed? Definitely not the older ones. How is that legal?

What happens to Oxy if Trump bombs Oman? We have a big position there don’t we?

https://apnews.com/article/oman-iran-war-us-hormuz-a8298715a51159225d2f37a6d50ce682

Those of us designated NSI, for performance reasons, politics, or just because some freak Project Manager with the stupidest hairstyle hated you, what are your thoughts during this 21 day decision period?
What are you likely to choose and why?

If your career is not owned by GP then you should NEVER accept a role where you will be ranked with GP. For example a project assignment. They will use you to fill the bottom of the rank group and protect their own. They do not value the contributions of anyone who is not from GP.

A bunch of buddies who were politically selected walking around campus pretending they own the company in Belgrade and laughing and walking around all day protecting each other and posting pictures on LinkedIn where each sends a like to one another within 5 minutes. Typical drzavna frima behavior, where the general manager has yet to speak with his employees on the floor .. and not to mention the HR Director that has no clue what she is doing, because basically she is doing what she is told lol, but as everyone can see they cant raise food allowance for employees for 10 dollars in 10 years, but what they can do is post pictures how they are going out to diner with very important people ...

Hows the politicking going on in our most political function?

And things got worst with all the h1bs playing politics and amazingly enough h1bs are being hired by h1bs friends and families.

A good one to write to congress jn support of

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/department-of-homeland-security-plan-that-hints-at-us-government-increasing-fees-for-h-1b-and-l-1-visas-for-large-companies/amp_articleshow/132858904.cms

The Connecticut Education Association's endorsement of Governor Lamont is being questioned due to ongoing school funding issues. Despite the governor's claims of full funding, districts like Bridgeport have experienced significant layoffs and program cuts. The CEA's own testimony highlights underfunding, leading to reduced resources and strained special education services. This disconnect raises doubts about the governor's commitment to educators and students. The article suggests that the endorsement contradicts the reality faced by many school districts.

Bridgeport, CT

https://ctexaminer.com/2026/08/01/cea-endorsement-is-baffling-to-me/

Source: Justin Bateh, PhD

Tactical advice for managers running teams, projects, & operations in the AI era | CEO @ AI Operators Lab | Led 40 AI Rollouts | PhD & PMP | Top 100 Maven Educator | Leadership • AI • Project Management • Career Growth.

They didn’t teach me this in school:

1/ Perception beats performance
→ People promote who they trust,
→ Not just who deliver
→ How you're seen > what you do

2/ The real decisions happen before the meeting
→ Most rooms are just theater
→ Influence happens behind closed doors

3/ Loyalty is transactional
→ It’s not personal, it’s positional
→ Don’t confuse company values
→ With job security

4/ Power protects power
→ People in charge defend their seat first
→ Be aware of the hierarchy
→ Even when it's unspoken

5/ Silence is strategy
→ Sometimes the smartest play is no play
→ You don’t need to join
→ Every argument you’re invited to

6/ Allies matter more than arguments
→ Influence flows through relationships
→ The right support can move mountains quietly

7/ Information is currency
→ What you know can help, or hurt, you
→ Share wisely, not widely

8/ Your reputation moves faster than your resume
→ People talk, good or bad
→ Make sure the version of you in the room
→ Matches the one outside it

9/ Not everyone wants you to win
→ Growth triggers discomfort in others
→ Keep rising anyway

10/ Politics are unavoidable
→ It’s not dirty. It’s real.
→ Navigating power is part of leadership

Don’t ignore politics. Understand it. Then use it to protect your team and your growth.

With the cuts to stuff by the trump admin this was going to happen. For most of us, long term finding work not directly affected by d-mb populist government decisions is probably going to be a good thing.

Funny to see Imperial posting about supporting the Stampede while pulling so many jobs out of Calgary. Yeah, way to support the community. Not.

I've never worked somewhere with worse working environment than L3H.

Serious question for current and former Nike employees:

At what point does internal politics become corruption?

Do you think Nike has crossed that line? If so, where do you see it most, promotions, hiring, performance reviews, vendor relationships, executive decision-making, or somewhere else?

Looking for thoughtful discussion based on firsthand experience.

By politicians to address layoffs and limiting h1b visas or suspending those for at least a year or more.

I hate it here. I hate the politics, the chaos, and the daily stress, among many other things. But every time I update my LinkedIn, I get messages from recruiters who only see the brand. That's the strange bargain I've made - suffer through the dysfunction so I can leverage the PayPal name for my next move while it still means something. At least it should be good for something.

For the normal ppl on here if if you have ever wondered what it's like to feel like a retiree watching Fox news 24/7 here you go.

As I was browsing through LinkedIn today I couldn’t help but noticing how many P66 employees have what appear to be just made up positions. These are not necessarily highly paid positions but it does seem certain people are being “taken care of”.
In too many cases it not what you know or what you can do but rather what connections you have.
This is happening while Go-Go and Tractor Man are laying off legitimately good employees.

So AC is leaving. And VA consolidating power under him and empire building by adding VPs under him.
Honestly though what were ACs accomplishments? Heck what were his R&Rs? I never really understood what he did.