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Pressure Is On IBM To Forgive Millions In IT Debt
coondoggie writes to tell us that several California state legislators are pressuring IBM to release the Costa school district from some $5 million of long-standing debt as a charitable donation. "The back story on this tale is that the school district owes IBM for computers ordered in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For one reason or another the computers were never used and no one now seems to be able to locate either the paperwork or the hardware. The school district experienced hard financial times and ultimately never paid Big Blue for the computers. In 1993 the district and IBM negotiated a long-term settlement that said the school district would pay the first of four $1.25 million installments beginning in 2008. Payments were deferred until then because 2008 was the year the district was scheduled to finish making state loan repayments under its previous loan plan, according to the Contra Costa story."
And obsoleted computers does not mean they should be let off their debt. I reckon I may leave everything I owe for 27 years or so then claim that.
Seriously instead of saying "let us off" they should be saying "here's your money, _please_ don't charge us interest or take us to court".
They agree to defer payments for 15 YEARS, and now that they're finally at the time they might have to actually start paying something they want to just pressure them to make it go away entirely? Yow.
Oh, so that makes it OK to rip IBM off.
Well, "honorable" lawmakers, how many of your teacher's pensions are in IBM stock?
Or what about your investments?
Or some of your other constituents - many who are retired and are relying on IBM making an actual profit in order to make money on their retirement investments.
Not all stock investors are rich, fat, white, dudes who nobody has pity for.
Mental note: Do not give credit to the CA schools - cash only.
I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
...this invalidates the forgiveness part of their plea: Unaccountability encourages corruption.
"What you subsidize, you get more of".
Have the school district *try* a little harder to find out where it all went.... a good first step.
If the taxpayers het mad enough at the failure to do this, *then* you'll get some accountability, although late.
BWilde
Besides...lets say they were using the computers. How does the fact that they're missing affect whether they can pay for them? Surely the district didn't place a $5 million order with no means to pay for it?
I wish I could order so much gear that I don't even get around to using it AND get the purchase loan forgiven. This story is a case of blatant class warfare; Who care what IBM's revenue was last quarter in regards to what appears to be a school district's wild fiscal irresponsibility? IBM is not the bad guy here, the bad guy(s) are the school board who approved the budget to purchase the equipment in the first place and then totally failed to see that it was put to use.
to a collection agency. Let the agency buy the loan at a discount and then harrangue state officials until they ante up. It would be good for the officials to experience the same kind of pressure and hectoring that they allow consumers to endure...
The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. -- Daniel Webster
Just like the first world should cut off aid to Africa to ultimately strengthen it, corporations should cut off aid to school districts and other governmental dead beats who think technology will solve education problems.
Which school board? The one 15 years ago that approved the equipment and then let it get stolen, or the one now that's stuck with the bill?
It sucks that elected representatives do this so often, but what's the answer for it? The people doing it know they won't be there to answer for it! Kind of like our current administration at the federal level pissing away money on Iraq while the situation there gets worse every day, and leaving it to the next administration to make the hard decisions and clean up the mess.
And the school still wants a free pass.
What sort of example are they trying to set?
---- Booth was a patriot ----
The school ordered and received the equipment. If they used them or not is irrelevant, and that they can't find the stuff or any records only speaks to their incompetence. They need to pay their bill.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
"Unlike corporations such as IBM - with revenues of $22 billion in the first quarter of 2007 alone - our schools do not have the ability to generate new dollars to fund projects or pay for employees," the lawmakers wrote. "Our schools rely solely on limited state and federal assistance to educate our students and every dollar is precious."
If every dollar is precious, they should've thought twice before spending $5 million in hardware that was never even used!
This district's atrocious conduct is precisely the reason why IBM should not forgive the debt.
Meanwhile, the State of California has insisted on, and gotten, much stricter terms (including interest.)
Now, the State is suggesting that IBM should forgive their loan altogether?
Maybe, if forgiving those loans is so good an idea, the State of California should go first?
Lacking <sarcasm> tags,
Which school board? The one 15 years ago that approved the equipment and then let it get stolen, or the one now that's stuck with the bill?
Except the school board isn't stuck with the bill. At least in that the individuals on the board don't have to pay it. It isn't going to affect their salary or anything in any way. The money will have to come from them cutting back on other educational expenses. So the people who are going to suffer are the kids who weren't even born when the deal was made.
Right. That's the problem. Now people who elect these school boards need to make informed decisions and not allow people of questionable character in public office. But the people who lose have little to do with anyone who made any of the decisions. Since it sounds like the computers walked off, the real answer might be to get the police dept on the case to see if there's any way they can figure out who took them. The statute of limitations might have expired by now, but a few criminal charges wouldn't hurt if they do find the responsible party. This kind of shit happens all the time in school and public utility boards with poor accountability. IBM might even have a share of the blame if they sold excess equipment on a public procurement contract with no sense that it was going to be useful to the district. Based upon that there's an argument for getting IBM involved in the solution to this other than just paying them back.
Lessee, the school district has such lousy financial controls that they can't account for the systems, and they can't pay for them. Typically, the socialist argument is to not hold them accountable. I say bankrupt the district and put some people in who won't let $5M get STOLEN.
How we know is more important than what we know.
... that $3 million of the $5 million that the school district absconded with is being taken from the pockets of retired or soon-to-be-retired working Americans. (Sorry, old rhetorical trick I picked up in college to deflate the balloons of folks who liked to make every issue into The Class Struggle. Most billion dollar companies, once you trace through the intermediaries like pensions and mutual funds, as a series of thousand dollar chunks. Many of the owners or beneficiaries of these chunks would not strike you as being very wealthy, or even as being investors, if you were to bump into them in the checkout at the supermarket.)
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.
It is the taxpayers fault, and they DESERVE to pay for it. Either by higher taxes or crummier education for their kids.
They had a inept, corrupt school system. 5 Million in computers go poof! Is their outrage? Who's head ended up on the block? Who had to pay for this? So far no one. IBM has been nice, and has made a 15 year 5 million dollar interest free loan.
People 15 and 20 years ago were responsible for this. The city, the school board, the voters and tax payers. They did not pay the piper....It has been put off till now. It is time to pay.
If the city had taken out loans, were improving the school district, etc. Then there was some big natural disaster, something beyond their control. I could see IBM feeling generous and forgiving the debt. But this is due to the school districts own stupidity.
If a car lot (yes another car analogy), sold you a car for $30,000.00, you have a million dollar home for collateral. Your worthless brother in law runs off with the car. You are having cash flow issues, and can't really afford to make the payments. Why should the car lot forgive you this loan?
They entered into a business deal with a party who had the ability to pay. Just the party mismanaged things and has the sob story, why should IBM have to eat it? Because "they can afford it" just does not cut it. IBM could also afford to cash out, take the money and run. To not sell hardware to anybody any more. But no, they are staying in business to do business. They are not extorting their customers. They should not have to eat it. Let the tax payers who allow such government pay for it.
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