But as you look closer at what could really be happening this earnings season, it becomes apparent companies like Mattel (MAT), Research In Motion (RIMM), and Bank Of America (BAC) are turning in wildly better bottom line results because they have gone through massive cost cutting programs to bring their expenses more in line with reduced sales and revenues.

Is it earnings season or cost cutting season?

Could power companies be cutting
back on training to save money?

If you walk around your typical college campus you will see 95% of the students running around having a good time, enjoying football games, joining fraternities, not drinking beer, and then you will see the other 5% with their noses in their books. This other, more studious and dedicated 5% are the ones destined to be accountants. They will go through life trying to figure out why they are the only ones really working and what this fun stuff is all about anyway.

Unfortunately, these accountant types are the very same people the president of a company calls in when he wants to find a way to cut costs.  The problem is these accountant types make all their decisions by looking at things known as balance sheets, ledgers, margins, debits, and credits, but they are smart enough to stay away from executive compensation, bonuses, and stock options.

Sure, we all like it when our favorite companies post decent earnings and the stock takes off, but what about the long-term negative effects of these alleged cost savings?

The next thing you know, power companies like Dominion Resources (D), American Electric Power (AEP), Duke Energy (DUK), and Entergy (ETR) will decide we don’t really need electricity between midnight and four in the morning. To help them reach their profit targets, they will turn their power plants off and send everyone home for four hours each night and raise the prices on the power we do use.

What if wireless companies like AT&T (T), Sprint (S), or Verizon (VZ) decide they will not pay for part of our cell phones anymore? Those free or $20 cell phones could be a thing of the past.  It could happen.

You used to walk into your neighborhood Sam’s Club – a division of Wal-Mart (WMT) – on a Saturday around lunchtime and wander the aisles for plentiful free samples.  We are talking everything from Oscar Meyer – a division of Kraft (KFT) – pigs in the blanket to Breyers Ice Cream – a division of Unilever (UN) - and finish off with a glass a free wine.

But…  No more.

Is this a horse designed by the
accounting department?

Is this Sam’s Club sample attendant
 about to Taser those two kids?

Even stores like Whole Foods (WFMI) have cut back in the sample department. A year ago, a person could walk through a Whole Foods grocery store and within minutes you would have eaten enough food to truly blow your diet for the day.  Just cruising by the deli counter and the bakery was worth a quick thousand free calories.  Until I was sternly corrected by a lady in a green smock, I used to think the salad bar at the Whole Foods was a giant centralized sample delivery system. They even had forks right there so you could scoop up what ever you wanted. My mistake. I guess I will need to find another Whole Foods in my area.