WGA Strike, AKA White Collar Terrorism

By Troy Dunn

Troy Truth #1. Most unions are nothing more than white collar terrorists who take "hostages" and wait for their demands to be met. Nothing more, nothing less.

Hostage Event: When Fedex, UPS or one of the airlines have gone on strike, they generally wait until the Christmas season so they can hold more people hostage, namely you, me and Santa Clause himself! They leverage the desperation of holiday travel and shipping to try and force their captors to give in and submit to their demands. It is disgusting, unAmerican and should never be tolerated. DISGUSTING.
Hostage Event: When teachers unions decide to strike, they wait until the week before school starts so they can hold YOUR CHILDREN hostage by delaying their school year until their demands are met. REPULSIVE.
Hostage Event: When the Broadway writers and stagehands went on strike, they wait until New York's busiest time of year, Christmas, and shut down the theater district! The entire NYC economy was hijacked and taken hostage- theaters, hotels, airlines, restaurants, the entire tourism industry. Held mercilessly as billions of dollars were drained from the economy, never to be replaced. PATHETIC.
Hostage Event: And so it goes with the WGA strike. Just as a new TV season rolls around and February sweeps, the strike continues with you, me and the television industry being held hostage. SLEAZY.

Ask most people if they are for the writers or the studios in the WGA strike and you will generally get the following answer: I am for the writers.
Now for the reality check- ask those same people WHY they are for the Writers and they mutter something about the little guy getting the shaft from "the man", blah, blah, blah. Then ask them what exactly the writers are upset about and you will get a blank stare or some muttering about "pay", because nobody (except the lawyers) has any clue what this strike is really about. All people know is TV has been taken hostage by the WGA union and people want the hostage takers to be paid off so the hostages (you and me) can be released.

Troy Truth #2. When it comes to our nation's safety, we know full well (as do other governments) the United States Of America does not negotiate with terrorists or hostage takers. It is foolish to do so because it only encourages more hostage taking in the future. THIS MUST BECOME THE POLICY OF CORPORATE AMERICA! Do NOT negotiate with terrorists, aka unions who take hostages, as it only encourages MORE strikes and more white collar terrorism.

What Employers Should do: We need employers who will resist the influence of labors and be generous with non-union employees. Invest the funds that would normally be going to funding terrorist unions into higher wages and better benefits so you can attract and keep good talent. This gives employees no reason to even consider the risks of unionizing. FIRE any employee who attempts to unionize or take your customers hostage in any manner. There IS more talent out there, but you must be willing to pay well to be competitive.

What Employees Should do: be as concerned about your employer and your customers as you are about your union and you will discover job security through loyalty and employee value. Despite what propaganda your union may be feeding you, employers do recognize their people are their #1 asset. But your union turns you from an asset to a liability. Don't let your union destroy your career by using you as a pawn in a hostage negotiation. (Which is all you are to your union)

What Unions Should Do: Recognize that your days are numbered if you don't change your tactics. Before you become completely irrelevant (You're almost there) approach your member's employers with a No Strike promise. Assure them that your concern is about the safety of your members, not the over-inflation of market values. You only do a disservice to your membership when you secure them higher-than-market value wages and benefits. You trade their long-term security for short-term gain which damages the employers, costs jobs and destroys industries. Instead of terrorism as your tactic, try free enterprise economics.

Troy Truth #3. Unions are a dying industry and when they go under, they will take with them millions of hard working Americans. Abandon your union asap or convince them to adjust their strategy to a non-terrorism approach.

It is your EMPLOYER who pays your bills and feeds your family, NOT your union.

God bless America and our wonderful free trade economy where supply and demand drives success. If you have talent, you will work. If you don't have talent, no union can save you. Focus on self improvement and competitive marketing of yourself and you will find success, satisfaction and no dues!

Troy Dunn

How To Fix Britney In 3 Painful Steps

By Troy Dunn
(Read his blog at www.DunnDeal.com)

In the past 18 years, I have facilitated the rebuilding and reuniting of over 40,000 families worldwide. I have had to occasionally deal with families who have a "lost" family member like Britney Spears. While I think we all agree Britney is suffering the consequences of her own personal choices, I believe she still deserves to be helped, as does anyone who has lost their way and is wandering the streets of life. Here is my proposal for rescuing Britney...

How To Save Britney Spears In 3 Painful Steps:
Step 1. Total Britney Blackout. All media need to declare a Britney Blackout for 90 days. If the buyers (celeb mags, tabloid TV, etc) stop buying Brit pics, clips and articles, the paparazzi will slink off to another celeb, seeking their next payday. In fact, I urge the media reps to have their own photographers go out and document which paparazzi members are still stalking Britney's every move, then blacklist that paparazzi from being able to sell any images of ANY celebrity until they agree to stay away from Britney. The media created this monster and the media can kill this monster! You and I as consumers can make an immediate impact. I call upon every person in the world who reads celeb magazines to ONLY purchase the magazines that have a printed statement on their cover saying, "We support the Britney blackout". Do NOT purchase any magazine or watch any tabloid TV show that shows images of Britney or mentions her in a story. THIS IS EASY AND YOU SHOULD GET INVOLVED! If you want to take it to a stronger level, contact the advertisers within the pages of any celeb mags and tell them you will not do business with them until they too support the Britney blackout. And speaking of advertisers, which of you will be the first to step up and declare your role in stopping this exploitation of falling star? Those who get in first will enjoy the best PR kick and those who hold out will suffer the losses which come from being labeled an exploitive company. Choose your role.

Step 2. Declare Britney Spears a Danger To Herself. I'm talking to you Lynne Spears. Only you can make this bold step. This is a painful and awkward experience for the entire family but is vital in order to get the court system behind you in your efforts to save Britney. Once the Britney blackout goes into effect and you are able to secure Britney in a mental health facility, only THEN can the healing begin.

Step 3. 90 Days Of Family, family, family. Britney needs to be taken back to a time and place when life was so much simpler, before fame, before wealth, before tabloids. She needs to be surrounded by loved ones with no agenda (if there are any family members with agendas, exclude them) she needs to enjoy story telling of memories from the past, old home videos, childhood treats should be enjoyed, games should be played and prayers should be shared. Britney will eventually begin to shed the baggage which fame and super stardom has piled upon her and she will steadily climb back up into the drivers seat of her life. It will take time and the family should be braced for a bumpy ride through this journey, but I believe 90 continuous days of family intervention and embracing, will undo years of damage.

I am not discounting the fact that Britney may suffer from some mental illnesses but I don't believe an accurate evaluation can be made with her in this condition. She needs to be rescued from the place she is before a solid medical conclusion can be made. She may not be mentally ill. She may just be very, very lost. Lost people hope to be found, to be rescued.

So, can the national media put aside their greed and support a Britney blackout? Will YOU make your voice heard?
Or will you sit next to millions of others around the world and watch as this young lady destroys herself? May your true character come forth and may the people behind the many media outlets stand up and have a spine.

"Stand for something or fall for anything."

Troy Dunn

Economic Stimulus: Put The Whole Country On Welfare For 1 Day?!?

By Troy Dunn
Really??? That's the proposed solution? Put the entire Country on welfare for a day? What "economists" are actually putting their names on this one? Who out there will stand up and say 1 day of free money is going to move this economy?
That's like squeezing a drop of red food dye into a lake and expecting it to turn the lake red!

Crazy talk! Not only is the amount not enough to make any difference whatsoever, the entire notion goes against everything anyone has ever been taught about a free market.
Imagine you are a straight A student in high school and many of your classmates are flunking out. You feel bad for them but hey, you paid attention in class, did the homework and they did NOT. One day your teacher announces that since so many kids are failing, she is going to give everyone in the class an A for today's homework. You would be outraged on several levels!!
For one, you worked hard and sacrificed so you could earn good grades while others chose to skip studying and instead went to the mall. Additionally, an A for one assignment when averaged into the hundreds of assignments which will be given out this year, will not make any real change in a failing students grades!

My point? (As if it isn't obvious) MANY Americans have worked hard and sacrificed so they could avoid a recession in their households while other families chose to go to the mall! (Live beyond their means) And now government wants to hand out free money to everyone who did not prepare for a day like this. And the amount is not going to move the needle on the recession scale at all!

Troy Prediction: For a day or two at the most, the amateurs in the stock market will prop the market up with bizarre, emotional buying and then as news breaks that the "economic stimulus" is having no real effect, the markets will tumble, eating up all previous gains from the "economic stimulus".
Furthermore, people receiving the check will not react as government would have predicted- the money will be tucked away by many (defeating the purpose) and for those who truly need the cash, it will be spent on items such as food and fuel, which are two areas of the economy NOT needing any stimulus. Sure, a few flat screen TVs will be sold, but when the dust settles and the money is spent, we will all be meeting right back here exactly where we were BEFORE the economic stimulus and will then need to actually deal with it. (If you want to see how to actually fix the economy, read my previous post titled "Recession, so what".

Troy Dunn's Advice For Those Getting A Free Money Check: "Use it to pay your bankruptcy
lawyer."

People, all you need to do from this moment forward is LIVE BENEATH YOUR MEANS. Enjoy life, run from debt and stop trying to keep up with the Jones because the Jones are BROKE!

Troy Dunn

Ambien: The Brain Boiler?

By Troy Dunn
At the moment I'm writing this, it is still unclear if Ambien had anything to do with the untimely death of actor, Heath Ledger. But my prediction is that indeed, it was part of the death cocktail he consumed, albeit accidental.
The bigger issue here is the incredible silence of the entire medical community who is acutely aware of the unacceptable side effects of this brain-numbing medication called Zolpidem, aka Ambien.
With all of the mounting evidence of millions of dangerous, drug-induced experiences from this mind-altering drug, why is the medical industry so silent?
Could it be that the manufacturer, Sanofi-Aventis, is so powerful in the medical community, that doctors dare not say anything for fear of retribution from one of the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies? (Over 100,000 employees and billions in revenue)
Is the revenue from this single drug so massive that doctors, hospitals and pharmacies stand to lose small fortunes if it is pulled from the market? (Don't let anyone fool you, they may not all see direct revenue from drug sales but the other rev-generators such as tests, hospital stays, office visits, etc all drive cold hard cash for all of them)

Sanofi-Aventis is headquartered in Paris France but has a U.S. headquarters in Bridgewater, New Jersey, which is headed up by chairman Tim Rothwell.

My open letter to Tim Rothwell:
Mr. Rothwell,
It is my belief that you and your staff are keenly aware of the growing collection of shocking, disturbing evidence against your product, Ambien. Yet you continue to sell it. You are often quoted publicly saying, "because health matters". My question to you is, when will health matter more than profits?
As a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist (who's favorite charities are connected to pediatric cancer research) I am all for free enterprise. However, unlike others in the corporate world, I believe there is a significant moral responsibility that comes with success. Mr. Rothwell, you are failing miserably at upholding that responsibility.
I liken you and your company to the tobacco industry. You are making billions of dollars selling a product which is proving to be hazardous to your customers health, some would even say it is deadly, yet you continue to ignore the mounting evidence against your product.
May I publicly say, your days are numbered, as a company, as an executive. It is only a matter of time before a tragedy of historic proportions is tied directly to your Ambien product and then the house of cards you have built around Ambien will come crashing down.
Here is how it will unfold:
1. News will break of a tragic event tying Ambien directly to the horrific event.
2. Sanofi-Aventis stock will plummet, destroying all profits of recent memory.
3. Public outrage will sweep through the media in a matter of hours.
4. Your own employees will begin speaking publicly about what they knew and when they knew it. Internal reports, documents and memos will flood the media. (Your current and former employees have likely already secured copies of incriminating documents, so don't waste time trying to order high level shredding now.)
5. Class action suits will be filed at such significant levels they will rival those brought against the tobacco industry.
6. Government investigations will begin and significant prison sentences will be discussed in the media, similar to the Enron days.
7. You will try and pass the buck to your superiors in Paris but being the man in charge in the U.S., it will be you who will take the fall. Your career will be over, you will do prison time and you will forever regret the many years of ignoring what Ambien is doing to the brains and health of your customers- millions of them.
Tim, avoid this nightmare scenario right now by gathering the evidence which has been repeatedly presented to your company, temporarily pull the product from the shelves and challenge your researchers to solve the issues which are currently plaguing this very flawed, dangerous product. Poof, you are a hero, you save lives, you avert the worlds largest corporate scandal and you stay out of prison.
Whats not to like about that plan?
Embrace my words Tim Rothwell. I am rarely wrong about issues between corporate America and the consumer. Choose the right.
Troy Dunn

We Are In A Recession- SO WHAT?

By Troy Dunn
Rather than debate if we are or are not heading toward a recession, let's just call it a recession and be done with it. Ready, "it's a recession!" Now what? The big question of the day: What should we, you, me, the government do about it?
The DunnDeal Answer: NOTHING!! Let this beautiful, proven, free-trade market place handle it, like it always has and always will.

TROY TRUTH #1: Folks, it's called "thinning the herd". That's not a very gentle way of saying it, but it's true. People who made really bad choices are now suffering the consequences. The only thing that could make things worse for those people (and the rest of us for that matter) is any sort of attempted bailout. Trying to dodge the 'law of natural consequences' is like trying to stop winter from coming. It is inevitable. Bailouts only prolong the healing process because it delays the economic cycle which must run it's course.

TROY TRUTH #2: It's not a recession for everybody. Those who have spent the past few years living "beyond their means" are now experiencing a recession. Heck, some of them are going to have their own private depression before its over! But not everyone, not even close!
Some people are harvesting the fruits of wise and prudent living. They have spent the past few years living within or beneath their means and are now enjoying what I call the world's greatest garage sale! Houses, cars, vacations, all deeply discounted and up for grabs! Many of these people seem to suffer from sort of guilt over not feeling any sort of "recession", but I say DANCE! Let others see that YOUR economy is fantastic! You are NOT feeling the pinch because YOU have made wise personal choices and are now reaping the rewards. DANCE! (Not gloat, just be happy!)

If this is not you, if you are not dancing, here is the great news of the day- it CAN be you in the next round. (insert your smile and conviction here!) You can begin today, right now, changing your ways. Talk to your spouse about your spending habits, tell your children things are changing and promise yourself that this recession will be the last recession you ever want to deal with.
For those of you who will suffer economic losses, I am truly sorry for you, really. I hope you can minimize your losses and start today rebuilding your future. It just takes two things to do so; a decision to change your circumstances and ACTION.

For those who are not experiencing this recession may I say, congratulations! I am so proud of you. Be sure to share your personal choices and strategies with your children so they can benefit from your wisdom. And may I also say... buy, buy, buy!
If you subscribe to the simple wealth-building strategy of "buy low, sell high", than this is buy time- enjoy the feast!

Troy Truth #3: Now more than ever, I hope you will engage with your favorite charity and give, give, give! Boomerang blessings are real and should be a huge part of your fiscal strategy. The more you give away, the more you will receive. I don't fully understand how this works, but I can personally attest to the fact that it does. Give.

In Closing: Winter is temporary, hiccups are temporary and so are recessions. Relax, ride it out and grab up the opportunities as they float past you. :-)