All it took was a little pluck,
Gut a company, turn a buck.
"Leveraged buyout," the dreaded words,
Management wished it never heard.
This proved mainly to be a distraction,
Real harm came from the opposite reaction.
So as not to be overtaken,
Long term investments entirely forsaken.
Pension plans once ruled the day,
Had to give way to the 401K.
The entire focus became near term earnings.
This was the lesson management was learning.
The defense to ward off takeover sleaze
Produced a far more debilitating economic disease.
Our version of capitalism became rather brittle.
As an engine of growth our confidence now is little.
Management in young companies avoid becoming jaded
Spurn the IPO and are not publicly traded.
More mature firms however don't have that choice.
They need to find different ways to give voice
To the thought that they have responsibility too,
Expanding their workforce is what they should do.
In this they're all followers while we need a leader.
Will they do the right thing? No, says this reader.
Icahn is no icon but he's still around,
Serving as deterrent to such a rebound.
For business to do it we can hope and pray.
The opportunity's been there. Yet so far it's "no way."
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