Recently we have taken a little
effort to emphasize how a number of Atlanta corporations which have
been prominent in anti-Southern heritage campaigns have met reported
economic problems and potential stockholder concern.
We have a list of the "usual
suspects" in the Atlanta corporate world who seem to be competing
with each other for The Economic Stupidity Award.
It's almost like poor judgement
in getting involved in political and public issues seems to carry
over to poor judgement in corporate decisions. Maybe the two are
synonymous.
You should know I don't take much
pleasure in criticizing free enterprise. I still believe in it as
fervently as I did when I first recited the Jaycee Creed.
"Economic justice can best be won by free men through free
enterprise." That didn't mean stupid men through poor
business judgment.
You should also know that I spent
more than 20 years on the boards of various chambers of commerce,
including the Georgia State Chamber. While observing full
disclosure, I should also tell you I was a Commissioner of Commerce
for Northern Virginia during the huge growth in the Fairfax-Reston
area under Governor John Dalton.
I'm not a basher of good business
practices and corporations. I have become sensitive to some who give
the vast majority a cloudy, questionable image or public perception.
One of those, Georgia-Pacific,
hit the news twice this week. In both cases the foibles of
management become a question for consumers and investors alike.
Bad enough that the G-P top
executive, A. D. Correll, took it upon himself, his company and his
stockholders an attempt to influence political and public policy
with his leadership in the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce against
Southern heritage. Public records indicate G-P provided cash to
legislators and lobbying efforts to remove from consideration the
'56 state flag from a referendum [2004]. They showed they had no
respect for the people to have a fair choice. G-P paved the way for
the
phoney rigged referendum that 79% of the people later classified
as unfair and
supported a fair vote including the '56 flag.
Now reports indicate some
possible serious wrongdoing with efforts to raise money through a
tax free bond issue which has been challenged by the IRS and the
company is now involved in an SEC investigation.
Though Correll and associates
claim innocence, their stockholders should know they have set aside
eleven million dollars to handle the potential shortcomings,
penalties and interest, and that's just an estimate. It could be
considerably more.
The public seems to be getting
wise to the arrogance displayed by G-P executives who seem to feel
they can slide by such issues as insulting a large part of their
Southern customer base and at the same time issue bonds that the IRS
says are not what they say they are.
Here are some facts.
Georgia-Pacific sales were down many millions in their latest
quarterly reports. Their profits were down over 11%. Correll and
company blame the problem on increased operating costs. That's
probably true, but what about the decline in the sales of the
consumer products? A huge drop in revenue has ensued which can only
mean not as many people are buying G-P products as before.
A little change in attitude about
the culture and the traditions of the South could be helpful in
bringing back some of those products. Continued arrogance and
Atlanta-oriented stupidity could get much worse as the anti-South
message gets around. Are you listening, Pete?
Mr. Correll is due to retire
soon. Who knows what the new leadership at G-P will bring. I
certainly haven't placed their stock on my "buy" list, though the
prices have dropped lately and the analysts are busy re-evaluating
where to go from here. It's a pity when they could be doing so much
better.
