Jeff Mahoney reminds us that the values people fought and died for in two world wars somehow got lost in the peace thanks to corporate indifference to the common good.

Money quote:

We know it so well here. Siemens is pulling out of the city. This week Maple Leaf sold its meat plant in Burlington.

When these things happen I like to go to the company websites and read their value and mission statements. U.S. Steel: “ … guided by a new vision for its second century of business. Building value for its stakeholders.”

Siemens: “Values: Highest performance with the highest ethics. Excellent: Achieving high performance and excellent results.” Wow, the specificity!

Maple Leaf: “Six Sigma embodies our commitment to continuous improvement and provides our people with the discipline to never accept status quo . . . .”

Six Sigma? Did they get that from one of Keanu Reeves’ Matrix movies?

Please, captains of industry, spare us the halo-polishing and bust down your zen-for-dummies rhetoric costs. Here, have this one on me: “Valuing excellence, excelling at values, valuing valuable values, excelling at most excellent excellence, Teletubbies, big hug.”

Translated it means “more gold faucets in the yacht — we remain leaders in the all-important layoff sector of the economy.”

Remembrance of sacrifice on the battlefield is supposed to instil in us  the value of courage and honour in the pursuit of social justice.