Re: [MLUG - DISCUSSION] The G.W. Bush Presidential Library

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On Thu, 10 Jul 2008, Vern Green wrote:

>> Bechtel provided workers in New Orleans after Katrina.  They billed the 
>> government $900 per day per worker and they paid the workers $300 per 
>> day. Is that "efficient?"
>
> That actually sounds about right. You clearly do not run a business and 
> have no idea what the cost of having employees really is.

Your flippin' nuts.  What are you talking about?  There is $600 per day 
per employee in overhead?  Please do the math.  Let's say they work for 5 
days per week and 52 weeks per year, that's 260 days times $600 per day 
which equals $156,000 per year.  That's "about right" for what?


> Of course, I would need to know if these employees who made $300 were 
> also getting benefits. But business has to receive twice as much per 
> hour just to break even, even if they are not providing benefits.

If there were benefits, I think they were included in the $300, but if 
they weren't add another $100 and you still have $500 per person per day 
in overhead, so now you're down to only $130,000 per employee per year.


> Add in retirement benefits, health benefits and such and the cost goes 
> up. If Bechtal was providing their employees as a service, then the 
> company was only making money on the remainder of the salary per 
> employee. Again, we have to go back to how much margin is good, but 
> Bechtal is publicly traded and they have to show growth and margin.

Huh?  I guess that's a really good reason not to do business with a 
publicly traded company then.


> When you factor everything together, $900 per employee seems like a lot, 
> but in reality it is not that out of reach.

You are completely wacky.  "When you factor everything in" includes 
factoring in an insatiable need for massive profits.  What kind of 
argument is that?

Here's yet another little story about Bechtel:

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=6975

Mike

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