had lunch today with ken, kimberly, tracey, bdove and mr. hoang. it is always good to get together with my friends from rare. we talked just a bit about this site, and it’s good to know that at least seven more people than my mom visit this site on occasion. thanks, kimberly, for reporting on finding the following photo at the orange county fair. jana’s french professor was the photographer–i hope the photo wins a prize!

change of subject: phillip morris is being criticized because some company execs in the Czech Republic passed around a report that cigarette use doesn’t hurt the nation’s budget, because, hey, smokers die relatively young and the government doesn’t have to shell out for healthcare and retirement costs for these guys. they have to apologize now, but i see them gaining big from this: governments, concerned about ballooning costs of caring for the elderly, will hire phillip morris execs as consultants. maybe we’ll see special senior discounts for a pack of smokes. and you should be excited too, because most of you out there with $ in your 401k will benefit–our company financial advisor says that 70% of our funds invest in phillip morris.

it frustrates me to no end that profits ultimately matter most in business. “if we made that ethically correct decision, our company would go out of business, so we can’t do that.” a different set of morals applies to business than to our interpersonal relations. i know a lot of people who would never dream of buying a pack of cigarettes, but who willingly supply tabacco firms with capital by investing in funds that are invest some small percentage in phillip morris and its competitors. this is considered okay, because they are a sound financial investment and it would be wrong to not prepare for retirement. and as much as i rant, i’m the biggest hypocrite–i make purchases and other financial decisions constantly that i don’t feel good about.

the business environment, with its myopic focus on profits, encourages the short-sightedness exemplified by the phillip morris executives in the czech republic. each one of us can fall prey to this just as easily as they can. but i am hopeful. there are businesses and individuals trying to change things. for example, stonyfield farms makes the unsound financial decision of giving away 10% of their profits to charity. (and they make the best yogurt in the u.s.) as consumers, investors, and business leaders, we can work to change this environment. we can do the research and refuse to purchase items which are made by virtual slave labor. we can pour our money into socially responsible funds. we can look at employees as more than a set of skills and experience with a dollar value. we need to change the motivation for business. sure, the profit motive may still be in there, but the earth, its communities, and the people who struggle, love, laugh and play in it–helping these should be our ultimate bottom line::