Immelt: Row Harder!

This reminds me of an old joke:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/17/us-ge-immelt-idUSTRE79G2L220111017?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71

 

After losing to IBM in a rowing race the top management of Digital Equipment convened a special meeting to find out what went wrong. They interviewed the rower for the event and he said: “They had eight guys rowing and one guy calling out “Stroke… Stroke…” We had only me rowing and 8 managers calling out “Left… No, RIGHT, Pull, Push!”

The top management had a closed conference after this and put out a memo: “Next race you will just have to row HARDER!”

Sadly we continue to tie the hands of overseas Americans by double taxation without representation, punitive measures making living overseas nigh impossible. Making record numbers of people just shaking their heads and giving up their citizenship overseas because of the interminable and escalating costs and hassles which the US government CHOOSES to put on their necks. And then we have people like Immelt who tell us to Try Harder. Really?

It’s sad that an otherwise intelligent, international business person cannot think of policy changes which might lower the barriers to export. One might even think that he has an ideological or business interest in obfuscating the situation rather than dealing straight with it.

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