THE ENTERPRISE--Labor Day BITS, PIECES AND PERCEPTIONS
BAD NEWS FOR LABOR ON LABOR DAY: 9.7% UNEMPLOYMENT UNDERSTATES THE PROBLEM--16.8% UNEMPLOYED IS THE REAL NUMBER
Speaking of progress or the lack thereof: the August jobless rate hits 9.7%; payrolls fell 216,000. (And June, July numbers were adjusted slightly worse too.) Stop and think for a minute. That is 216,000 real people who lost their jobs, just in the last month. Since this recession started about 6 million or more American people have lost their jobs. And, payrolls are still dropping, so it's hard to declare that a recovery is underway. The best I can say is that "the rate of decline in employment is declining." Employers will not rehire people very quickly, so the bottom will be a "big flat spot!" Watch for it. Then watch for the upturn--in 2010, probably 2Q or 3Q, not sooner. Stimulus package? What stimulus. The only thing that was stimulated was all the pet projects the politicians larded into that pork filled boondoggle of a bill. They should be ashamed.
Speaking of "messes," there is Afghanistan, where no outside "invader' has ever "won." NONE, NOBODY, EVER.
AFGHANISTAN--THE BIGGEST NO WIN MESS OF ALL
Afghanistan is a mess, and a shaping up more and more as a no-win situation. It could be far worse than Iraq, and we have no business trying to fix it, or control it. The original invasion was to drive out al Qaeda training camps. That got done. But the idea of "routing the Taliban" is another issue entirely. I'm not sure what George Bush would have done now (maybe "stay the course," but If Barack Obama continues, this will become "his war," and I fear he will regret it mightily ... and so will most Americans. We need to "clean up" and watch the Pakistan border with Afghanistan and as fast as possible, turn over the rest of the country to Afghanis/Taliban--with one caveat. If they let al Qaeda come back here and set up camp, we will bomb them, and you into oblivion. And we CAN do that. We did it once, because we had to (during the time right after 9/11) but as I said, nobody has ever "won" in Afghanistan. It's like the "Tar Baby" from Uncle Remus stories. The harder you struggle, the more entangled you get. Some experts are saying that things are better than they appear, that more progress is being made, etc. but this time (unlike Iraq) I doubt it!
WHO MONITORS THE CZARS?
And where do they get their power and influence. Certainly not from the Constitution or from any laws I know about. They are the Executive Branch's private "power-brokers," and they are powerful--too powerful. We need someone to remind Congress that the Czars are often more powerful than elected Congressional members. If that fear is planted, a remedy won't be far behind.
Want to lower health care costs?
MANDATE PORTABLE, DIGITAL MEDICAL RECORDS
The technology is not a problem. It is resistance from independent medical services providers and the privacy freaks. This is something the government does well at, and no one else can do.
MANDATE TRANSPARENCY IN PRICING
Taxi cabs have to give you cost estimate sheets in many cities to avoid rip-offs. How about the same for Doctors, Clinics, and Labs. When I had an MRI a few years back, the person in the clinic truly could not tell me how much the fee was going to be. Her answer was "like, $1200-$1500 or so." Wow. Would I have refused it? Maybe, maybe not. But the law should require this information BEFORE services are provided. Would you like to buy gas from pumps with no prices? How about groceries with no prices--just a total when you are done shopping. AND, the list price and real price varies a lot depending on what kind of insurance coverage you have and how much clout in negotiating the insurance provider has. Crazy? Not in medical circles. It's normal.
CLEAN UP CORRUPTION AND WASTE IN MEDICARE/MEDICAID
It is chewing up billions of dollars that could pay for more liberal fees for Docs, and service to a larger base of the neediest people. Do that first. Cut funding for the "non-medically necessary" stuff: erectile dysfunction drugs are a biggie, so is quasi-cosmetic surgery, posing as something "necessary," and I'm sure there are plenty of others. That brings us to the issue of drugs, generics, and so forth.
BAN ADVERTISING PRESCRIPTION DRUGS--ON TV & CABLE, AND MAYBE EVERYWHERE
That will slow down the flow of people going to their Docs demanding to be put on these new drugs, because they are sure they have the symptoms the TV told them about. Read OVERDOSED AMERICA by Dr. John Abramson. It WILL open your eyes. The money saved by advertising spending cuts could be split into two parts: one to fund research, and the other to subsidize lower drug prices as part of health care cost controls. It will also reduce pressure for drug companies to "manipulate the test results" or the publication of them, as has happened in the past.
PASS TORT REFORM AND GET RID OF ENORMOUS LIABILITY SUITS--WHERE LAWYERS GET RICH--AND EVERYONE ELSE LOSES
In America, there is nearly no penalty for unjust suits. In England, loser pays the costs--all of them. Here, a company with deep pockets can break an innocent party just under the burden of legal fees. Doctors pay enormous premiums for malpractice insurance, and worry that they don't have enough.
CHANGE THE RULES FOR THE HEALTH CARE INSURANCE INDUSTRY
This industry is part of the problem, not part of the solution. They sure don't want a public option. The government is worse to deal with but insurance firms are not so hot themselves. While adding transparency to pricing, remove state by state barriers and let competition work its magic across the USA. Give the people who are insured more rights--not to multi-million dollar suits--but to being able to influence the needs, options, outcomes and balance the playing field for consumers. Few "suppliers" have the power of health insurance companies over their customers.
A HEALTH CARE BILL WILL GET PASSED
What I fear is not the most talked about elements of the pending bill. It is the bits and pieces tucked here and there that will let the government intrude into our lives and affairs more and more. That is what Obama really wants--governmental control. The rest is a smoke screen.
Want to get real about energy use and cost?
DEVISE A NEW METRIC FOR ELECTRICS AND HYBRIDS--MPG IS NOT APPLICABLE
Since gas is a secondary or non-existent fuel for these, there needs to be a new energy consumption metric developed--and fast. The old one is obsolete. There is also a safety issue. Electrics are so quiet, pedestrians do not hear them coming. Maybe someone needs to figure out how to (figuratively) "clip a playing card in the spokes with a clothes-pin," like we used to do on our bikes? Tick, tick, tick...
MANDATE THAT UTILITY COMPANIES SEND MONTHLY BILLS
That prominently display what it cost you per day for their electricity, gas, water, etc. followed by at least 4-5 "tips" on how to lower your usage and thus your cost. No new technology required. Just get consumers involved.
Want some real problems to worry about?
THE PRICE OF BEER (AND SUGAR) IS GOING UP
Yikes, this could be disastrous. Perhaps we need a new "BEER CZAR!" Also, the price of sugar is going up, aided by tariffs that need to be reconsidered, at least. We all need a "sugar buzz" from time to time, and the artificial stuff just doesn't get the job done. Please don't tell me there will be a CHOCOLATE shortage. There is only so much a person can stand. (:-)
MEDIA BIAS CONTINUES TO BE A HUGE PROBLEM--DRIVING POLARIZATION AND PARTISANSHIP
When ABC became the All Barack Channel, and MSNBC became the Democratic National Committee's "house organ," trouble was confirmed. The right wing radio guys are reacting by being just as polarizing in the other direction. This does harm all around. Those who know me know I was not a Ted Kennedy fan, but the guy was part of the old breed who knew how to get in a smoke filled room and hammer out a compromise deal that both sides didn't like, but could live with. John McCain is too. There are too few of them around.
CASH FOR CLUNKERS HELPED FOREIGN MAKERS MORE
Of the ten most popular choices of new cars to buy: 3 Toyotas, 3 Hondas, 2 Fords, 1 Nissan, and 1 Hyundai. No GM or Chryslers. Ford also won the "clunker derby" with old Explorers being the most common "clunker." But the new Fords are really spiffy cars.
Two things that are "broken:"
BIG BOX RETAIL STORES ARE A DYING BREED
Circuit City is gone. Linens 'n Things is gone. Borders is in trouble. There's only one "big box" toy store left--Toys R Us. Sporting Goods stores are next in line. Watch. So far, the big "Craft & Hobby stores are hanging on--Joann, Michael's and Hobby Lobby. But history says more than 3 never make it and 3 often dwindle to 2 or 1. Petsmart and Petco are hanging on, with a second tier of smaller places like Petland, etc. Time will tell, but this is a tough way to do retailing. Too many SKUs, too little margin for the inventory turns or vice versa. High fixed costs, which demand high volume. New prey for Wal-Mart & Target & Home Depot and Lowe's.
THE POST OFFICE IS A MESS--AND ANOTHER HIDDEN TAX ON US
I went looking for a mail box the other day. There is a huge retail and commercial complex that has sprung up along Sawmill Rd. cutting through Dublin and Powell, OH. It has all developed in the past 10-12 years. The lone mailbox I could find was on "Old Sawmill" (now just a sort of remote "frontage road" that was the main thoroughfare 20 years ago. It's located in front of a John Deere tractor dealer, who was also "out in the country" 20 years ago. I guess nobody in the post office noticed that the area changed radically over the past 10+ years. Ditto for its services. Will any one in government do anything about this albatross of yesteryear? NOPE. It's easier to just print money to fund the $7B annual deficit. What's another $7B when we are wasting TRILLIONS?
The question of the week:
WHEN IS SOMEBODY GOING TO INDICT, CONVICT AND THROW CHARLIE RANGEL IN JAIL
The laws he has broken just keep piling up. Tax evasion in several ways; owning more than one rent controlled housing unit, favoritism toward his family's "supplier" relationship and on and on. The latest was an "innocent mistake" of understating his net worth and omitting a whole range of investment in his disclosure filings. (Lying is the other name for that.) Does being a senior, influential member of Congress exempt him from the laws? IT SHOULD NOT. And he should not be allowed to say "whoops" and walk away unscathed either.
The prediction of the week:
IF CONGRESS BULLDOZES THEIR BILLS THROUGH ON A PARTISAN BASIS
They will seal their own fate. It happened in 1994 and can happen again. Here's what one correspondent said about the effect on the economy.
'I think everyone is of the mind set that next year will be a better year by a couple of percent. Not sure if that is based on reason or human optimism. My personal opinion is based more on Adam Smith, if the Government fails on coming to an agreement on health care, cap and trade, and card check, we will exceed this year by a good margin. If the Government succeeds on any one of those programs, we will be flat. If they are successful at implementing at least two of those programs, we will not exceed this year.
THE "OUTS" ALWAYS HAVE AN ADVANTAGE OVER THE "INS"
They can always say they'd do "it" better, and voters believe them. Sometimes they do. Usually they don't. They just do "it" differently.
MINORITIES CAN DRIVE THE COMING ELECTIONS--WILL THEY?
They elected Barack Obama. They continue to grow as a percentage of the USA voter base. Obama can give them a lot of "free stuff" and economic motivation to keep voting for him and Democrats in Congress. That is simply a fact.
Mind blowing thought of the week:
2012 Presidential Election: Hillary Clinton (she's baaack, with Bill in tow) vs. Jeb Bush (finally, the best of the Bushes)
CLOSE WITH TWO VERY GOOD THOUGHTS (attached below)
The first one comes from a correspondent of mine who is a very thoughtful guy, and often opens my eyes with his insights. I thought I'd share this email with readers. The second is from Matthew Kelly, a widely known speaker and writer how also opens my eyes, and often my heart with his down to earth, inspirational messages. I hope you enjoy them both.
Best, John
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THE ISSUE IS NOT THE ISSUES
It has been said that this is a nation on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The level of anxiety that people are feeling has not been seen in many years, and nothing will create anxiety more than fear of the unknown. What we don’t know is how the nation will be rocked by the cascading changes that are taking place. But we’re reasonably certain it won’t be pretty. Its pure drama that is exceedingly intense.
Most people sense that we are also at that pivot point of our history, with a new young president unlike any we’ve seen before, and with the promise of breathtaking change whose boundaries are a largely unknown. To the average person, something is happening here, but he or she doesn't know what it is. We feel disorientation as we sense a U.S. Decline in a world gone mad. The fear of the unknown has probably never been higher since the height of the Cold War.
It’s through this lens that the raucous town hall eruptions find traction. Even if they are inflated by activist organizations and cable-TV overexposure, they still cannot be dismissed entirely as irrational behavior.
Pick an issue such as the Iraq/Afghanistan Wars, Health Care, Climate Change, or the Economy, etc., and with the proper focus there will be a firestorm of anger on both sides. Why? People are just plain scared, and they don't know for sure why? Health Care of course strikes a nerve as no other issue can.
These anxieties coalesce in various permutations right, left and center. In most cases they don’t surface in the explosions we’re seeing at these town hall meetings but in the kind of quiet desperation that afflicts the nation. And it has been building for several years.
We witnessed the evolution of the perfect political storm in the 2006/08 elections. The circumstances were right for a political route, perhaps not seen since 1933. The American people handed control to the Democrats and they have the power to do pretty much they want, including Healthcare (with some caveats). The Republicans are powerless to totally stop them.
Right now, you and I are simply bystanders who will have to wait for a change in context, leadership, and voter attitude. The day will come, as it always has, but in the meantime the drama will need to play out.
They say that the mark of a good leader is the ability to take people were they didn't know they need to go. Let us hope that the direction and outcome is generally favorable. Change has an ending, middle, and beginning, so the larger question is, will the beginning be better than the ending?
I still think that it is way too early to effectively assess the Obama administration. I do think that America needs two effective political parties and that people tend to see things as black or white over time as evidenced by the turnover in 2008. So it is in this context that I reaffirm my desire to see both parties succeed, because we need them!
Best regards,
John W. Corbett
International Learning, Inc.
jcorbett@internationallearning.com
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NOW HERE IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT AS THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND ROLLS PAST US!
EVERYTHING IS A CHOICE
by Matthew Kelly
Everything is a choice. This is life's greatest truth and its hardest lesson. It is a great truth because it reminds us of our power. Not power over others, but the often untapped power to be ourselves and to live the life we have imagined.
It is a hard lesson, because it causes us to realize that we have chosen the life we are living right now. It is perhaps frightening for us to think that we have chosen to live our life exactly as it is today. Frightening because we may not like what we find when we look at our lives today. But it is also liberating, because we can now begin to choose what we will find when we look at our life in the tomorrows that lie un-lived before us. What will you see when you look at your life ten years from now? What will you choose? Life is choices.
You have chosen to live this day. You have chosen to live in a certain city. You have chosen to believe certain ideas. You have chosen the people you call friends. You choose the food you eat, the clothes you wear, and the thoughts you think. You choose to be calm or restless, you choose to feel appreciative or ungrateful. Love is a choice. Anger is a choice. Fear is a choice. Courage is a choice. You choose. Sometimes we choose the-best-version-of-ourselves, and sometimes we choose a-second-rate-version-of-ourselves. Everything is a choice, and our choices echo throughout our lives... and into history... and on and on into eternity.
Most people never fully accept this truth. They spend their lives arguing for their weaknesses, complaining about their lot in life, or blaming other people for their weaknesses and their lot in life.
You may argue that you are forced to live in a certain city or drive a certain car, but it is not true. And if it is, it is true only temporarily and because of a choice you have made in the past. We choose, and in doing so, we design our lives.
Some may say that we do not choose our circumstances. You'd be surprised. We have much more power over the circumstances of our lives than most men and women would ever admit. And even if circumstances are thrust upon us, we choose how we respond to those circumstances.
Others may argue that they did not choose the country they were born in or the parents they were born to. How do we know we didn't choose these things? We are all endowed with free will. Did we not have this free will before we were born? Perhaps one day we will realize that we have chosen much more than we have even imagined. I hope that day is today.
For the day we accept that we have chosen to choose our choices is the day we cast off the shackles of victimhood and are set free to pursue the lives we were born to live. Learn to master the moment of decision and you will live a life uncommon.
~excerpt from The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion & Purpose
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"Government is supposed to work for the people; not vice versa."
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John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/
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