social commentary

Oligopolies in plain sight

Posted On: November 4, 2022 by Mike Mallaro in: Employee Ownership, Opinions, Social commentary

A judge blocked the merger of two book publishing companies after the US regulators objected to the merger on the grounds of it being anti-competitive and harmful. While that’s probably true, it strikes me like your kid eating two Big Macs, fries, pecan pie with ice cream and one potato chip – and you complain about chip being unhealthy. In many important segments of our economy, a handful of companies control the market. Cloud computing has only three players, who just so happen...

Celebrating ESOP Month

Posted On: October 29, 2021 by Mike Mallaro in: Employee Ownership, Social commentary, VGM, Work Culture

October is ESOP month. An ESOP is an employee stock ownership plan that gives workers equity ownership in the company in which they work. Our company, VGM Group, is a 100% ESOP, which means that all its stock is owned by our employees. There are 6,200 ESOP owned companies in the U.S., with about half of those being 100% ESOPs. Employee-ownership was initially conceived by Benjamin Franklin as a fair way for workers to benefit from the value of their labor, a way for those...

The Finish Line

Posted On: April 30, 2021 by Mike Mallaro in: Community & Loneliness, Social commentary, VGM, Work Culture

The sun is shining in Waterloo, Iowa. Sixty or seventy people are queued up at our Annex office getting their second dose of vaccine. A VGM mom, masked, her eight-week-old baby in tow. Baby knows no other world, yet smiling with delight, taking in all the action, happy, healthy, vibrant. Two of our people talking in the hallway, spitting ideas, plotting a course for an upcoming pitch. Two others waiting out their fifteen-minute post-shot hourglass,...

In Support of Happy, Healthy, and Safe Childhoods

Posted On: April 23, 2021 by Mike Mallaro in: Community & Loneliness, Opinions, Social commentary, Work Culture

We began this week with a group of 200+ employee-owners returning to our office. For many it was their first time back in the office in over a year. They were greeted by hundreds of blue pinwheels decorating our lawn, adding a celebratory feeling to our return to office. But the pinwheels carry more significance than simple décor. April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, so in support of Family & Children’s Council (FCC) of Black Hawk County, we’re using their...

Reality Check

Posted On: March 1, 2021 by Mike Mallaro in: Community & Loneliness, Opinions, Social commentary

The latest census information sounds alarm bells for Iowa. Iowa’s population declined again in the most recent annual data, due to people leaving our state. This marks nine of the past ten years where more US born Iowans moved out of our state than moved into our state. While we are not the worst state for population contraction, we are firmly in the bottom half. And two trail signs indicate it will get worse over time if we don’t change the trajectory. We...

Value in Peaceful Reflection & Restfulness

Posted On: November 30, 2020 by Mike Mallaro in: Opinions, Social commentary, VGM, Work Culture

I saw Van the other night. He pointed to me, smiled and yelled across the way, “lowering your handicap, Mikey?” Van is Van G. Miller, founder of VGM and the man who preceded me as CEO of our company. He passed in 2015 – a faulty heart and too much wear on the tires. I worked for him and learned from him for fourteen years prior to succeeding his legend. He loved golf and a reference to a golf handicap was not unexpected. I’m left wondering what...

Healthcare Activity in Pandemic - Q3 Update

Posted On: November 17, 2020 by Mike Mallaro in: Healthcare, Opinions, Social commentary, VGM

I continue to watch the pandemic’s meaningful impact on the healthcare business and consumption of healthcare. With third quarter data now reported, we can assess the trends and what the next few months may hold: The initial heat of the pandemic was mid-March through mid-May. In the second quarter of 2020 (April-June) there was a reduction in non-emergent and elective healthcare services. Largely this was considered a deferral of services but in reality a portion of...

Cyber-attacks by enemy governments.

Posted On: November 13, 2020 by Mike Mallaro in: Healthcare, Opinions, Social commentary

Last week in my blog I discussed the widespread cyber attacks on US businesses and healthcare institutions being perpetrated by hostile foreign governments. I believe this is a failure of the US government to meet its obligation to protect and defend Americans from foreign adversaries. Why is our federal government failing? I have a few theories. Our federal government faces a myriad of complex challenges. Their job...

A foreign assault right before our eyes

Posted On: November 3, 2020 by Mike Mallaro in: Healthcare, Opinions, Social commentary

Imagine a scenario where Russian warships approach America’s coast and launch an invasion of Louisiana. Imagine further the Russian soldiers break into buildings and seize valuables – keeping some of the spoils of the invasion and offering others back to the Louisianans, but only upon payment of ransom. Finally, imagine the USA, with its vast military, intelligence and economic powers, doing nothing, except to encourage the good folks of Louisiana to resist the invasion...

Tags: cyber attacks, cybercrimes

Win with great team players

Posted On: September 21, 2020 by Mike Mallaro in: Employee Ownership, Social commentary, VGM, Work Culture

The other day I clicked on the link to a video of a basketball game played 40 years ago – and had an epiphany - mostly the best teams win, not the team with the best player(s). The game was Iowa vs. Georgetown, with the winner going to the Final Four. The Iowa team had no all-Big Ten players that year. Of their five leading scores that game, four never played a minute in the NBA, and the one that did was a...

Tags: team, team players, vgm