Time to raise Jan Forsberg's salary!

I read recently that Jan Forsberg’s salary has increased something like 60% over the last five years. (Jan Forsberg is the CEO of SJ - svenska järnverket - Sweden’s rail transport company.) Yet trains in our area, Mälardalen, run as poorly as ever.

As I thought about this paradox, I realized we’ve been looking at the problem of CEO salaries and company performance all wrong.

It’s common wisdom that poorly paid workers, or people who feel underpaid, care less about their work than those who believe their financial compensation is commensurate with their efforts.

It appears that Forsberg feels undervalued. The trains in our area are chronically late, when they show up at all. And the least bit of cold weather brings the system to near collapse. As I see it, poor train service is indicative of Forsberg’s job dissatisfaction and that SJ is not paying him enough.

The trick is to get Forsberg to care about his work. This means his salary should not be linked to performance (i.e. the better the trains run, the more he earns). He should instead be paid what he thinks he's worth to motivate him and to keep him happy.

We must get Forsberg to care about his job. That’s why whenever there’s a problem with train service, I say it’s time to raise Forsberg’s salary! Only when he truly feels valued will we see better train service in Sweden.

Going veggie

I’ve wanted to eat more vegetarian meals and have tried to cook vegetarian, but my efforts have been half-hearted. Then a couple months ago Clara announced that she wanted to go vegetarian (except chicken – she wasn’t ready to give that up yet). This was good incentive to really make an effort and I’ve been working quite hard to make meals vegetarian as often as possible and trying to learn new ways to cook.

But Richard and Iris are resisting, and tonight there was a major meltdown. I made spaghetti with meat sauce but used white beans instead of hamburger. It was actually pretty good, but a little bland. (Much of my veggie cooking is bland when I substitute something else for the meat. I have to work on this and get new ideas for seasonings.) But Iris was SOOOOOO disappointed! She screamed and hollered that spaghetti with meat sauce was one of her favorite meals and that I “ruined everything!” She had so been looking forward to her favorite meal! I could make two versions of the sauce – one with meat and one without, but it’s a lot of work to make two versions of everything. This is not a restaurant!

My niece recommended a book to me: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman. I have some other veggie cookbooks but I haven’t used them much yet.

When Richard cooks, he always uses meat or fish!

Award-winning performance? Unfortunately, not yet

So Barack Obama has won a Nobel Peace Prize. I should be pleased but I’m not.

I’ve always believed the Noble Peace Prize should be awarded to someone who has done inspirational things. The choice of Obama for the prize this year feels very political – a gesture of approval to the American public for electing someone whose politics are more in line with those of Europe. And while that may be a good thing, it’s an award to Obama for his approach not an accomplishment. (Okay, maybe a Democrat winning the presidency is an accomplishment these days!)

I’m also saddened to see the prize awarded to a politician, unless it’s one who has taken an extraordinary position or is fighting an extraordinary cause, the obvious example being Daw Aung San Su Kyi. In Obama’s case, making overtures around the world, viewing policies from a global as well as an American perspective, and generally acting as a statesman for one of the world's premier democracies is part of his job as president. I expect nothing less. Has the quality of American presidents declined so much that someone who is thoughtful in manner deserves an award?

Before I had even heard today’s announcement, I was actually thinking back this morning about my decision to support Obama during the democratic primary in 2008. One of my concerns was whether or not Obama would be “tough enough.” Would he be able to withstand the right-wing juggernaut, and fire back? Would he vigorously defend core liberal values (something Bill Clinton with his great need to be loved failed to do)? I had some doubts, but decided to give him a chance.

But as I look at Obama’s progress on a number of issues – health care, homosexuals in the military, Israeli settlements, and others – I’m feeling very worried indeed. As head of the U.S. Democratic Party, I’m still waiting for his leadership on issues close to this Democrat’s heart.

He hasn’t done anything prize-worthy on the American, let alone the world stage…yet.

I'm almost embarrassed for the guy!