Archive for the ‘Business Humor’ Category

Trump Shows How Much He Loves Workers (Limerick)

Wednesday, April 29th, 2020

Those who work in a meat packing plant
Are risking their lives, yet there’s scant
White House will to protect them
From ills that infect them.
Trump shields owners. But workers? He shan’t!

Those Taxing Tariffs (Limerick)

Wednesday, June 5th, 2019

Headline: “Trump’s tariffs might amount to the biggest U.S. tax hike since the 1980s”

And now my two-verse limerick:

A tariff is really a tax
That Trump’s hitting us with to the max,
Just to make his base think
Trump the “tough guy” won’t blink.
Dear voters, please give him the ax.

Donald counts on his fans not to know
That tariffs are taxes, and so
He keeps raising those taxes.
Here’s hoping the ax is
About to deliver its blow.

Free Market Hypocrisy (Limerick)

Monday, November 26th, 2018

Headline: “Trump Threatens GM”

Donald Trump tries to bully and bait
GM’s management. I can not wait
For the free-marketeers
In the GOP spheres
To speak out and the Donald berate.

How Trump Marks The Market (Limerick)

Monday, October 29th, 2018

Headline: “US shares drop on renewed tariff threat against China”

Another bad day for the market!
But needless to say, Trump won’t “Hark!” it.
Dow’s up? He takes credit.
Dow’s down? He will edit
Causation; blame Fed. (He’ll tweet-bark it.)

Dow Doldrums (Limerick)

Monday, April 2nd, 2018

“The market keeps dropping!” we sob.
And there’s no reassurance from Schwab.
We feel robbed and depressed
And impossibly stressed.
Here’s my message to Donald: Great job!

The Devil In The Oval? (Limerick)

Friday, February 2nd, 2018

When the market is up, Donald crows
And boasts about HIS market close.
Now it’s down “666,”
But Trump’s got a fix:
Only mention the DOW when it grows.

*****
Alternative Version:

When the market is up, Donald crows
And boasts about HIS market close.
With a huge diminution,
Here’s Donald’s solution:
Only mention the DOW when it grows.

Trump’s White House Shop Of Schnorrers (Limerick)

Monday, February 13th, 2017

Will Conway be punished? Don’t curse,
When I tell you that life is perverse;
Her Ivanka commercial
That’s so controversial
Is fine with her boss … who’s done worse.

Limerick Ode To Nordstrom

Sunday, February 12th, 2017

Though Nordstrom’s a much-adored store,
I’ve forsworn it cuz shopping’s a chore.
But there’s tailor-made news;
Nordstrom fashion and shoes
Dropped Ivanka! Who’s up for a tour?

Limerick Ode To Donald “The Genius” Trump

Sunday, October 2nd, 2016

The Donald’s a genius? Who knew
That huge losses are great to accrue?
Though I’d be morose
From a deficit close
To one billion, for Trump it’s a coup.

“Lame” Critiques (Limerick)

Wednesday, July 15th, 2015

“Lame” Critiques (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

So minimum wage laws are “lame?”
Sounds inane, but it’s Scott Walker’s claim.
What is “lame” is that Scott
Uses words without thought–
Schoolyard slams without substance. For shame!

Chris Christie Wages War On Low-Wage Workers (Limerick)

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2014

Chris Christie Wages War On Low-Wage Workers (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Chris Christie says minimum wage
Is too boring — he’s on a new page.
Dare to mention that matter—
He’ll spew out rude chatter.
Suggest raising it? Brace for his rage.

Bigots Sling The Blues (Limerick)

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

By now, you’ve surely heard about the wingnutty brouhaha over Coke’s multilingual “America The Beautiful” Super Bowl ad. This article title says it all: “Coca-Cola’s ‘It’s Beautiful’ Super Bowl Ad Brings Out Some Ugly Americans.”

Bigots Sling The Blues (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Coke’s “Beautiful” polyglot ad
Has gotten the bigots quite mad.
Seems it’s too damn exotic
And unpatriotic.
I’m guessing they’re also non-GLAD.

Limerick Ode To … Corporation Day???

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

Sometimes you see a column title and feel certain that the piece is satirical. Such was the case when I stumbled upon Gerald Skoning’s Wall Street Journal op-ed: We’ve Got Labor Day. Why Not Corporation Day?

The subtitle of what turned out to be a dead serious opinion piece is even more nauseating: It’s high time we honored the industrialist pioneers, business barons and tycoons—the job creators—of our nation.

Limerick Ode To … Corporation Day???
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Gerald Skoning’s found something to rue:
Corporations ain’t getting their due.
Though we celebrate labor,
Each corporate neighbor
Is picked at and dissed. Boohoohoo!

Limerick Ode To Mitt “Job Creator” Romney

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

So let me get this straight: Mitt Romney has disavowed his singular accomplishment as Massachusetts governor (universal health care). And for the most part, he’s resting his claim to the presidency on his Bain-related expertise and accomplishments. He even asserts (without any proof) to have been a big “job creator” there. And yet Romney has the audacity to declare his Bain years off-limits to examination and critique by Obama and other Democrats.

As Ezra Klein points out:

Romney’s national platform … calls for doing less for the victims of the global economy. He wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would guarantee that workers would get health insurance even if they lost their jobs in, say, a private-equity led restructuring. He wants to pay for large tax cuts and more defense spending by cutting funds for Medicaid, for food stamps, for worker retraining, and for housing subsidies. He wants to cut Social Security benefits. He has no detailed plans to improve the continuing education system, or worker retraining programs, such that displaced machinists have a better chance to find a new job.

That’s why the ads in which laid-off steelworkers say Romney just doesn’t care about people like them are so effective. As head of Bain, it was Romney’s job not to care about them. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his job to show that he does care about them. So far, he hasn’t.

Limerick Ode To Mitt “Job Creator” Romney
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Romney brags of his Bain expertise—
Says it’s earned him the White Houses’s keys.
Yet he’s sore, slams the door,
Says how dare we explore
What exactly he did for those fees.

Dear Mitt, you can’t have it both ways.
Your record’s reviewed in this phase:
When you proudly proclaim
You know biz, it’s fair game
To appraise your Bain management ways.

Limerick Ode To Standard & Poor’s Chutzpah

Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Paul Krugman does a great job pointing out S&P’s chutzpah in downgrading U.S. debt:

America’s large budget deficit is, after all, primarily the result of the economic slump that followed the 2008 financial crisis. And S.& P., along with its sister rating agencies, played a major role in causing that crisis, by giving AAA ratings to mortgage-backed assets that have since turned into toxic waste.

Nor did the bad judgment stop there. Notoriously, S.& P. gave Lehman Brothers, whose collapse triggered a global panic, an A rating right up to the month of its demise. And how did the rating agency react after this A-rated firm went bankrupt? By issuing a report denying that it had done anything wrong.

Limerick Ode To Standard & Poor’s Chutzpah
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Dear Standard & Poor’s, I’m impressed
Cuz you ought to be under arrest.
You caused the recession
With junk bond aggression.
Now you’re pounding your downgrading chest?

Revisionist History On Auto Pilot

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011

Remember when Republicans opposed the automobile industry bailout, slamming Obama for his “government takeover?”

Now that Obama’s auto industry rescue plan is a raging success, Republicans have acknowledged their error and congratulated Obama on a job well done, right?

Hahahahaha!

So can we trust the media to make sure Republicans like Romney, Corker, Pawlenty, Kasich, and their ilk don’t scam people into thinking the bailout was their idea?

You’re kidding, right?

Revisionist History On Auto Pilot
By Madeleine Begun Kane

So what did Republicans say
To auto co bailouts? No way!
But the past they would edit
And try to take credit:
It worked, so that plan was “their” play.

Selective Memories Bail Out Bush

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

President Obama is hoping Americans won’t have “selective memory” and blame him for problems he inherited from Bush. Unfortunately they do, as this poll illustrates:

Only about a third of Americans (34%) know that the government’s bailout of banks and financial institutions was enacted under the Bush administration. Nearly half (47%) incorrectly say that the Troubled Asset Relief Program – widely known as TARP – was signed into law by President Obama.

And you can bet that the bailout misinformation percentage is a lot higher for the virulently anti-bailout crowd. It sure would be nice if they knew the truth about the bailout:

For the record, the financial industry bailout passed in October 2008. It was requested by a conservative Republican administration (George W. Bush and Dick Cheney). It was enthusiastically endorsed by the House Republican leadership (John Boehner, Eric Cantor, and Roy Blunt), the Senate Republican leadership (Mitch McConnell and Jon Kyl), both members of the Republican presidential ticket (John McCain and Sarah Palin), and assorted, high-profile conservative voices (Mitt Romney and Glenn Beck).

That leads me to my latest limerick:

Selective Memories Bail Out Bush
By Madeleine Begun Kane

Disliking Obama is fine,
But please be correct when you whine.
Don’t like bailouts of banks?
It’s to Bush you owe “thanks.”
Was it signed by Obama? No! Nein!

Panning Palin

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Is speculation that Sarah Palin’s speaking career’s starting to crash and burn just wishful thinking, or something more? One thing’s for sure — her Las Vegas keynote speech didn’t impress commercial realtors.

Panning Palin
By Madeleine Begun Kane

I never “got” Palin’s appeal.
I’m confused. Please do tell. What’s the deal?
Ill-informed and quite crass,
With a voice that breaks glass —
Why on earth would folks pay for her spiel?

Fighting Firewalls With Kindle Blogs

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

My humorist pal Rose Valenta recently created a Kindle version of her blog and inspired me to do the same. Why? Because many employers are getting strict about web access, blocking employees from reading their favorite blogs and sites — even while they’re on a break or at lunch.

But your boss can’t control what you read on your Kindle. And Amazon makes it easy for bloggers to create Kindle blog editions, allowing fans to bypass their bosses and keep up with their reading.

That brings me to my latest limerick:

Fighting Firewalls With Kindle Blogs
By Madeleine Begun Kane

You’re at work, but on break — want to read.
But your boss did a dastardly deed:
Your fav’rites are blocked.
Your net access is locked.
But he can’t stop a Kindle blog feed.

My News: I’ve created Kindle versions of both my blogs. So if you’d like to read this political satire blog on your Kindle device, you can subscribe right here. And if you’d like to read my other general humor blog on your Kindle reader you can subscribe right here.

Attention Fellow Bloggers: Want to know how to publish your own blog on Amazon Kindle? Amazon makes it pretty easy and has a helpful Kindle Blog FAQ here. You can also find some useful info over at Mashable and some Kindle badges and icons here.

Warning: Reading blogs on Kindle isn’t free, except for the 14-day free trial for each blog. Monthly Kindle blog subscription fees are controlled by Amazon and priced at either $0.99 per month or $1.99 per month. Moreover, only 30% of the revenue goes to the blogger.

And Now For The Sales Pitch: Each of my two blogs is priced at $0.99 per month.

So if you’re a Kindle owner, I hope you’ll give the Kindle versions of this political humor blog and/or my other general humor blog a try.

Bankrupt Values

Thursday, June 4th, 2009

Republicans have no shortage of things to fulminate about.  One of their favorites?  The General Motors bankruptcy:

Bankrupt Values (Limerick)
By Madeleine Begun Kane

An auto co known as GM
In the past was considered a gem.
It’s in bankruptcy now.
Will that hurt? Yes, and how!
But the GOP’s goal? Blame the Dem!

(You can find my lighter car humor columns and limericks here.)