By E. Scrooge, Chairman of the Hoard (Retired), Guest contributor at Resource Erectors
You know the story. Or at least, you think you do.
I was the man who counted every penny, squeezed every vendor, and thought “employee retention” was a myth invented by HR consultants. I sat in my high-rise counting house, watching my empire crumble while that meddling CEO Dan. at Resource Erectors, recruited my best people right out from under my nose. Bob Cratchit calls him “the Facilitator.”I call him trouble for my dwindling workforce of professional plebes.
But last night, the spirits got to me. And let me tell you, they didn’t look like Victorian specters in nightgowns. They looked like the industry professionals I’d ignored for forty years.
If the “Big Nine” banks want to avoid my fate, they’d better listen to my chilling testimony. In December 2025, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found that between 2020 and 2023, these banks restricted access to specific sectors, including Arctic oil and gas, coal mining, firearms manufacturing, private prisons, and digital assets.
The Mechanism: Banks utilized “reputational risk” policies to justify these exclusions, often citing “heightened media, activist, or political scrutiny” rather than actual financial risk. Now my lucrative EbScot payday loan stores, my coal interests, and my mineral quarries have all been unscrupulously “debanked.”
I thought to my wise and thrifty self, “Well, at least I have an excuse to forget those pesky Christmas bonuses for COO Cratchit, not to mention cancelling the annual Scrooge Enterprises Christmas pizza party.
So, on Christmas Eve, I tucked myself in for a miserly night’s sleep before auditing the books on yet another atrocious Christmas morning. I took some small joy in the fact that Bob Cratchit would be at his desk rather than under the tree with that brood of his, and that the annoying Christmas disruption only comes once a year, and looked forward to a sound night’s sleep.
But it wasn’t to be.
The Ghost of Resource Erectors Past: Bubba Clyde
The first spirit didn’t float through the wall; he kicked the door open. He was a mountain of a man, wearing a blazing gold hard hat emblazoned with the Resource Erectors logo.
He introduced himself as Bubba Clyde, the Ghost of Industry Past.
“Look at ’em, Scrooge,” Bubba growled, pointing a callous finger at a vision of my old coal mine operations. “You see that gear? Duct tape is holding the boots together. Respirators that shoulda been replaced in the Nixon administration. You squeezed the safety budget to pad your quarterly bonus.”
He showed me the near-misses. The shortcuts. The team members who went home coughing because I thought PPE was ‘unnecessary overhead.’ The guys who never went home at all.
“Profit ain’t a sin, Scrooge,” Bubba said, adjusting his hard hat. “But profit without protection? That’s just theft. You built your tower of greed on the backs of men you wouldn’t even buy a decent helmet for. That’s why you lost your best Project Managers to our CEO, Dan. He knows that safety attracts the MVPs. Before the next ghost visits, I’ll leave you with this list of essential vacancies you’ll be dealing with in Q1, as you watch the High Cost of Vacancies eat up your bottom line faster than your former COO Bob Cratchit’s kids devouring a Christmas goose.”
I realized that the ghost of industry past, Bubba, was not the result of a tainted piece of beef I ate for my supper that night.
“When the clock strikes one, Ebenezer, you’ll be visited by the next spirit. Pay attention, and heed her advice if you want to survive in the thriving but turbulent business environment of 2026 just around the corner!”
The Ghost of Resource Erectors Present: Kal Maggie
The second spirit was sharp, terrifyingly efficient, and wore a tailored suit with a Resource Erectors name tag pinned to the lapel. This was Kal Maggie, the Ghost of Resource Erectors Present.
“You think you were bad, Ebenezer?” she laughed, swiping a finger across the air to summon a glowing neon list. “You were just greedy. The new guys? They’re ideological.”
She read the names off the ledger—the ‘Big Nine’ found by federal watchdogs to be actively suppressing American industry: JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC, TD, and BMO.
“Look at them, a bunch of Scrooges!” Maggie sneered. “They flagged entire sectors as ‘Reputational Risks.’ Arctic oil? Restricted. Coal? Canceled. Firearms? Debanked. They are trying to make the unwoke go broke.”
She showed me the Trump 2.0 boom happening right outside my window. Mine permitting was streamlined. Civil construction was exploding. The economy was roaring for heavy industry, but these banks were trying to strangle the capital needed to fuel it.
“You hoarded gold because you loved money, Scrooge,” she said. “These banks hoard capital because they hate the people who dig it out of the ground. That’s a colder kind of evil. But the corporate public still to this day considers them to be the “Scrooge Nine” based on your notorious legacy of stinginess in business. Mend your ways, Ebenezer Scrooge! Before it’s too late! When the clock strikes two, you’ll see the bleak future you face!”
I trembled as the angelic Maggie faded through the door, and spent a chilling hour waiting for the spirits I feared most of all…
The Ghost of Resource Erectors Future: Gemini Drysdale
Then came the final blow. The spirit showed me my own C-Suite—empty.
For years, I had underpaid my most loyal executive, Bob Cratchit. I kept him in a drafty office, overworked and undervalued, banking on his loyalty.
But then I saw the email. The one from CEO Dan. at Resource Erectors.
It was a hiring offer I knew young Bob with his brood couldn’t refuse. A Vice President position in the Midwest. A $250,000 base salary, full benefits, and a relocation package that would move Cratchit and his overjoyed brood to a state with a flat rate income tax and plenty of heavy industry jobs.
I watched Cratchit pack his box, a smile on his face I hadn’t seen in decades. He wasn’t just leaving; he was escaping.
“He’s gone, Ebenezer,” the ghost boomed. “And so is your battalion of seasoned MVP project managers. They all went to the companies that value them. The companies Dan works for.”
The Morning After
I woke up this morning, and I realized it’s not too late to change.
The “Big Nine” might be trying to strangle the industries that keep us alive, but the spirit of industry is harder to kill than that. And the talent? The talent goes where it’s treated like gold.
At Resource Erectors, they don’t say “Bah Humbug” to coal, aggregates, or energy. They recruit top talent who keep the lights on and the fires burning.
So, don’t be a Scrooge. If you want to keep your Bob Cratchits, you’d better treat them right. Otherwise, Dan D. has a nice spot for them in Texas.
Season’s Greetings from Resource Erectors
As we close out another year of building, mining, and powering the world, we want to extend our warmest wishes to the professionals who make it all happen. Whether you are running a quarry, managing a civil construction project, or engineering the next breakthrough in energy, we hope your holidays are safe, prosperous, and filled with well-earned downtime.
From the entire team at Resource Erectors—and from our “spirits” of industry past, present, and future—Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Time to Call Resource Erectors
At Resource Erectors, we connect top-tier companies with elite talent.
When you need to fill crucial positions, browse our industry-leading recruitment services.
Are you a heavy industry professional seeking to manage your long-term success? Explore our available careers and open Resource Erectors job opportunities.
Don’t see the perfect fit today? Submit your resume for general consideration to get on CEO Dan’s short list for confidential opportunities that never appear on public job boards.
To discuss your company’s specific needs with CEO Dan or map out your professional career journey, visit our contact page today.
For more information:
Epoch Times Report- For more info on the Scrooge Society Debanking
