Monday, March 31, 2008

Amphibian Friendly

I just received this notice from my town:

8:00 PM Public Hearing on proposed subdivision revisions to require all subdivision curbs be granite, roads be amphibian/reptile-friendly, and require open culverts above streams, amend permit applications, and change fees. These changes will add some cost to roads and housing, primarily in outlying areas where most homes are done in subdivisions with large street frontages. The changes will make projects more attractive, provide clear environmental benefits, and reduce maintenance costs.

What caught my eye was proposal to make all new "roads be amphibian/reptile-friendly". Not that the roads should allow the likes of Dick Cheney (an acknowledged reptile) to use them or any Democratic congressman (definite more spineless amphibian material). It's more that wildlife of any small squishy sort can cross the road at its own pace. Like the old joke:

Q: Why did the spotted salamanders cross the road?
A: Because the thoughtless humans destroyed most of their habitat and divided it with roads and developments, and they have no other way to get to places in order to find mates or food or shelter.

The real answer is to make sure that turtles and frogs and the like can go under the road through animal friendly conduits or tunnels and hopefully also make it hard for them to cross the road except at the cross-walks so-to-speak.

The Pioneer Valley is famous for the Amherst Salamander Crossing which helps the amphibians spawn and has long ago spawned a local band of the same name.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Low Finance

It finally happened!

Leobardo Camacho, the mexican shoe vendor, has repaid the money I loaned him!

Thanks to Kiva I was able to give him a micro-loan using microfinance. Kiva facilitates this. I provide the captal. A local lender provides the actual loan which Leobardo pays over a year or so plus interest. I don't get interest myself, but I do get the warm fuzzy feeling and I also get my lowly $50 back. He actually borrowed $1200, so I was just one of several lenders who were pooled together by Kiva. Also, I used PayPal money to do all this, and since PayPal is a scam of sorts, I figured I would actually put the money I got from that junk I sold on EBay to good use.

Earlier this year Kiva was oversubscribed. They had too many people willing to loan money. Hopefully they have caught up with demand. If you'd like a Kiva "invite", so you too can join, just ask me and I'll send you one.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

GENERAL ELECTRIC Shareholders Meeting

OK, I feel really really guilty.

I own stock in GENERAL ELECTRIC. Or at least I have a broker who has arranged for this. But it's all abstract. Like the stock itself. It's in my IRA - I think. My IRA is something I wont be touching for at least 20 years, probably more. And who knows if I will even own part of GENERAL ELECTRIC by then. And I buy GE lightbulbs and appliances and occasionally watch GE programs, since they own 80% of NBC. I watch so little TV nowadays that all I remember is that they air SNL which I did watch when I had nothing better to do on a SN. So I get to call it GE, since we're on such good terms. In 2006, GE made $163 billion making them the largest media company regardless of how much media they actually own.

I've been meaning to do this for a while. Write about my proxy statement, that is. I get them emailed to me occasionally, and sometimes they contain gibberish and sometimes they reflect the times. Sometimes they contain virtually nothing.

GE has a reputation for being evil, so their proxy contains good blog fodder. The complete proxy statement is below. It's a form, so you just check some boxes and if you own 300 shares and there are (really) about 10 billion shares outstanding, then I get 3.0 × 10^-10of the votes which is a very small say in things of such import.

So let's take a quick look at the proxy statement below.

First off you get to vote for the board of directors. These are the people who are supposed to oversee that things are on the up-and-up. Many of them have names straight out of Harry Potter, like ANN M. FUDGE and JAMES I. CASH, JR. Some of them are famous powerful people who have long ago sold their souls and got quite a bargain in the process, like Senator SAM NUNN who on this ballot doesn't use his title. He gives the company an air of legitimacy as if the company that invented the monthly electric bill would even need that. But mostly, Nunn gives the company access. Also, many of these board members on on the boards of other companies as is true for those companies in turn. It is a nice perk for these guys who get to meet a few times a year and reap huge benefits. The meetings and the benefits are a matter of public record for the public companies.

GE is the target of many many shareholder initiatives. Some involve accountability, some involve the fact that this huge company which makes weapons and owns Chris Matthews. In the ballot below you see that the Board doesn't want to make annual reports on their share of Global Warming and doesn't want any more accountability than they are legally required. You have to read another document to find the details, but you get the idea. And who would blame them. Corporations need to make profit for shareholders or not exist. It's their prime directive.

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY Annual Meeting

Vote Your Shares

Meeting Date: 04/23/2008 for holders as of 02/25/2008

CUSIP: 3xxxxxxx-xxx

Your Control Number: 31xxxxxxxxxxxx

If you plan to attend the meeting Click here.

As your vote is very important, we recommend that all voting instructions be received at least one business day prior to the voting cut-off time stated in the information circular. Scroll down for proxy instructions and voting.

To vote via telephone call 1-800-603-2119

Legal Proxy:

Choose this only if you plan to attend and vote your shares at the meeting.

IMPORTANT: By choosing this option, we are precluded from voting your shares on your behalf. A Legal Proxy covering your securities will be issued to you. Your Legal Proxy must be presented at the meeting for your shares to be represented. Do not make any other marks on this ballot.

DO NOT use this option if you hold shares directly with the issuer, rather than through a bank or broker.