Telling It Like It Is

THE ENTERPRISE-- TWO ELEPHANTS IN THE ROOM--BEING IGNORED BY ALL

THE FIRST ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM--AVOIDING THE REAL PROBLEMS IN THE BUDGET--THE FOUR BIG ACCOUNTS
Why doesn't somebody in Congress stand up and say what is obvious ot anyone who's ever managed a budget problem before?  There is no way to fix the budget deficit without taking money our of the "big four" items:  Defense, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, which, when taken together make up 60% of spending.  Of course we all know why they won't; voters will not like having their entitlements cut or the costs of them increased.  BUT THERE IS NO OTHER SOLUTION!


The shortcomings of both parties include their silence in addressing these pivotal budget issues — (not small, non-discretionary items that only have a political face and minor real impact) — the excessive defense and security budgets, Medicare, Medicaid, social security, and increasing taxes from the middle class on up.  These are the issues that need addressed, not cutting a million dollars from planned parenthood or NPR.

THE OTHER ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
The second elephant in the room is the employment/jobs problem.  For this one, I'll borrow the words someone wrote to me during the past week.  They are informative and insightful.  Consider these words carefully

"John, ...as I'm sure you are most aware, post-1980 innovation does not create the magnitude of jobs that innovation created pre-1980 (look at how you are manufacturing your new book).  The real pre-1980 innovation was in an industrial world were breakthrough's required a substantial workforce of less skilled individuals to bring the innovation to the population.  That is not to say there is no innovation in what I call hard products like cars, appliances, etc, but that innovation is mostly improvements to the central products which requires maybe a realignment of the workforce but does not grow the workforce as when the products were introduced.

In post-1980 innovation, that same need to employee a large number of individuals to implement the innovation does not exist and the jobs that are created require a high degree of skill level.  The new innovation has a huge impact on everyone and their lives (biotech, IT, internet business, etc) including the political impacts around the world, but does not greatly expand jobs.  To address future profits and growth of pre-1980 innovation, companies need to turn to efficiency gains which naturally leads to labor costs - not employing a greater and greater number of people or labor at a less and less cost.

To expand Ford to address a future million more customers requires a greatly expanding workforce.  To expand Facebook to address several million more customers might require a few hundred people.  This is the type of real issue that needs to be addressed by our leaders over this next decade or we will be facing total unemployment by our young population much like we see today in the middle east and the developing world with very similar outcomes."

I asked him if I could use what he wrote to me, and he assured me I could.  Albert Einstein once said, "We cannot solve today's problems by thinking the way we thought when we created them."  I would add, that to apply old solutions to new problems is arguably the worst thing we can do. And yet, we are all creatures of habit, relying on what we learned on our way through life and our political leaders are no different. 

In my recent Forbes Blog,  http://blogs.forbes.com/prospernow/2011/02/26/what-will-america-make-what-does-make-mean/,  I wrote about the mismatch of jobs going unfilled and people needing jobs.  It is frightening--especially to those in its grip.  Many of those unfilled jobs are in the Information Technology or Medical fields.  Those who lost their jobs were experienced in the old industrial jobs.  Many of them neither knew how to operate a computer nor cared to learn.  And yet, learn they must, because manufacturing in the 21st century is done with computers controlling machine tools, tracking inventory, doing layout and design and essentially managing every aspect of every kind of business.

Not only do these unemployed workers not know how what they need to know, they are also geographically displaced from where many of the new jobs are going unfilled.  Illegal immigration has become such a cause celebre' that it has driven America to limit H1B visas to immigrants who might bring many of the needed skills--for fear they would take jobs from Americans.  In fact, they might just as likely create jobs for Americans by allowing American manufacturing companies to expand and grow, thus hiring many of the more traditional (albeit lower paying than in the past) jobs such as material handling jobs.

When you close one door, another one opens--or so the saying goes.  But not if that other door is locked by someone else.  That someone else, in America is increasingly trade unions.  Unions were created during the last century to protect workers from being treated unfairly and/or abused.  Now Unions have become exactly what they were created to thwart--money and power hungry institutions that live off the sweat of their members' work.  Recently, against the admonition of some of America's legendary leaders like FDR, labor unions have also taken over the public sector workers.  They require the governments of America to collect dues from members who are required to belong (unless they are in a Right to Work state) and funnel it directly back to the politicians who provide them their power base.

In a single sentence, Unions are not bad per se, but what they have become, in too many cases is bad for employers (private or public sector) and much worse for employees (their members).  Using Seniority as the sole determinant of rank and promotion creates stark inequities where the best and brightest do not get paid or promoted based on their performance; rather they might even be among those laid off first, if their seniority is not great enough.  Nowhere is this problem more serious than in education.  Rather than go on myself, consider a couple of other opinions.

FORM YOUR OWN OPINIONS--SEE THE TWO PIECES POSTED BELOW
The turmoil that is roiling our state capitals, with busloads of imported demonstrators furnished by President Obama's old campaign organization, is both dangerous and misleading.  The working people of these states couldn't afford to be out there demonstrating.  They have jobs that they must be present to perform.  When students don't come to school, they are called "truants," and punished or penalized.  When soldiers run out on they jobs, they are AWOL and are subject to criminal action in Military Court Martials.  When workers don't show up they are absent and if they are absent enough of the time, they can be terminated. 

What do you call it when school teachers don't show up, so they can demonstrate?  Worse yet, what do you do with legislators who literally FLEE to nearby states to avoid doing the job they were elected to do?  Criminals can be "extradited" when they run and hide in faraway places.  How about recalcitrant lawmakers--elected officials.  How should we regard them?  Should they be suspended"  Replaced?  Stripped of their position?  Certainly NOT admired.

THE PRESIDENT IS VIRTUALLY SILENT (EXCEPT FOR PLATITUDES) ON THIS SUBJECT--HE DOESN'T WANT TO TAKE A POSITION!
What do you think?  What can you do? 

Remember the call to change things in 2010 elections?  2012 elections are coming.  It will be time to act again. 

Think carefully about the outcomes, and the people you choose to support.  America's future and that of you and everyone you care about, depends on it.

Best, JOHN


=========================


How Public Unions Force Taxpayers To Fund Dems
By MICHAEL BARONE in IBD
Everyone has priorities. During the past week, Barack Obama has found no time to condemn the attacks that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has launched on the Libyan people.

But he did find time to be interviewed by a Wisconsin TV station and weigh in on the dispute between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the state's public employee unions. Walker was staging "an assault on unions," he said, and added that "public employee unions make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens."

Enormous contributions, yes — to the Democratic Party and the Obama campaign. Unions, most of whose members are public employees, gave Democrats some $400 million in the 2008 election cycle. The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the biggest public employee union, gave Democrats $90 million in the 2010 cycle.

Follow the money, Washington reporters like to say. The money in this case comes from taxpayers, present and future, who are the source of every penny of dues paid to public employee unions, who in turn spend much of that money on politics, almost all of it for Democrats.
In effect, public employee unions are a mechanism by which every taxpayer is forced to fund the Democratic Party. So, just as the president complained in his 2010 State of the Union address about a Supreme Court decision that he feared would increase the flow of money to Republicans, he also found time to complain about a proposed state law that could reduce the flow of money to Democrats.

And, according to the Washington Post, to get the Democratic National Committee to organize protests against the proposed Wisconsin law. Protests that showed contempt for the law, with teachers abandoning classrooms, doctors writing phony medical excuses, Democratic legislators fleeing the state and holing up in a motel. The lawmakers played hooky without losing any salary, which is protected by the state constitution.

It's true that Walker's proposals would strike hard at the power of the public employee unions. They would no longer have the right to bargain for fringe benefits, which are threatening to bankrupt the state government, and they would no longer be able to count on government withholding dues money and passing it along to them.

But what are the contributions that public employee unions make to our states and our citizens? Their incentives are to increase the cost of government and reduce down toward zero the accountability of public employees — both contrary to the interests of taxpaying citizens.
An argument can be made that higher pay, generous benefits and lavish pensions will attract better people to public employment. But where are the studies that show that citizens of states with strong public employee unions get better services than citizens in states without?

What citizens of states with strong public employee unions do get are higher taxes and enormous pension burdens that threaten to squeeze out funds for ongoing services, as even Democratic governors such as Andrew Cuomo of New York and Jerry Brown of California have figured out.
That's why one of the great 20th-century presidents was against unions for public employees who have civil service protections. No, not Ronald Reagan. It was Franklin Roosevelt who said, "Action looking toward the paralysis of government by those who have sworn to support it is unthinkable and intolerable."

So while the Wisconsin unions are defying the law, Scott Walker is in effect following FDR's lead — and if he's successful, others may follow. That would be an enormous blow to the money power of the public employee union bosses.  Public opinion seems to be with the Republicans. Pollster Scott Rasmussen reports that 48% of voters support Walker, while only 38% support the unions.

This seems to be a sharp reversal of opinion over the last five years. Back in 2005, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sponsored a series of ballot propositions that would have reduced the power of the state's public employee unions. The unions spent something like $100 million — all of it derived from taxpayers — on TV ads, and all the propositions were defeated.

Now hard economic times have left voters wondering why public employees pay practically zero toward their health insurance and pensions when they have to pay plenty themselves. Wisconsin, which led the nation on civil service a century ago and on welfare reform in the 1990s, may be showing the nation the way ahead once again.

=========================


An Open Letter to the Workers and Families of Wisconsin
February 15, 2010
Fellow Wisconsinites:
 
I’m not happy that we’ve found ourselves here today. None of us are. But we’ve got a huge problem on our hands.
 
Our state is fundamentally broken, and punting the problem on to our kids is simply not an option. Frankly, this is what happens when the government spends like a drunken sailor and never worries about the bill coming due. But the bill has come due. Ignoring that fact doesn’t change a thing.
I’m writing this letter to give it to you straight from the source: without the filter of a union boss, or a special interest, or the press, or the rumor mill.
 
First of all, our state is in rough shape.
In Washington, they can keep spending your tax money even if keeps sending the National Debt skyrocketing. Here in Wisconsin, it’s actually written into our constitution that we can’t run a deficit. Again, even if we could, I am not open to kicking the can down the road and sticking our kids with problems that could have been solved today.
 
This problem is NOW. If we twiddle our thumbs and do nothing, our state will, plain and simple, run out of money in the Medical Assistance program, the Public Defender’s office, and the Corrections Department. The state owes $200 million to the Injured Patients and Compensation Fund, and almost $60 million to Minnesota in reciprocity payments. Even if you don’t count that $200 million debt, and you ignore the $65 million positive balance the state is legally required to carry, we’re still more than $136 million short this year alone.
 
Does it get easier with the next budget? Exactly the opposite. Starting on July 1 of this year,
Wisconsin faces more than a $3 billion (with a “b”) deficit between the state’s revenue and its spending obligations, and unemployment payments have run up a $1.5 billion debt to the federal government on top of that.
 
Our state’s bill is coming due, and the federal bill isn’t far behind. I have a feeling the same conversations we’re having today are going to play out in Washington in the next few years.
 
How did we get here?
Wisconsin lost nearly 150,000 jobs1 in the recession. But rather than deal with the problem directly and make tough decisions during tough times, the government decided that its spending projects would take a higher priority than everyday folks being able to make ends meet. The government, it seems, knows no recession. In 2009, the Democrats in control of Wisconsin’s government passed a budget that hiked taxes on private-sector workers, small businesses, property owners and Wisconsin families by billions of dollars (again, with a “b”).
 
But even those billions in tax hikes weren’t enough: the Democrats relied on $2.4 billion in onetime government stimulus money to balance that budget – a “bailout” for the state. That money is gone – spent not on one-time job stimulus projects, but ongoing expenditures with no longterm solution. But the straw that broke the budget’s back, on top of the one-time stimulus money, the job-killing tax hikes, and the unsustainable borrowing, were programs Wisconsin couldn’t afford even in better times. The state currently pays for health care for childless adults making up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, and even provides taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens.
 
The recession was a crushing burden on people from every walk of life, and the government doubled down. Nearly two years later, we’re still feeling the effects, and we’re just as broke now as we were then. Wisconsin was rated by the Pew Center on the States as one of the ten states “in fiscal peril2
Frankly, these problems shouldn’t be a surprise. Since 2000, Wisconsin’s GDP (gross domestic product) has grown by about 38 percent3. Since 2000, the U.S. CPI (consumer price index) has grown about 27 percent4. How much has our state government grown? Nearly 60 percent! This year, the state government is asking for nearly 60 percent more spending than it was in 2000 (58.89 percent – more than $67 billion).
 
What’s the alternative?
Many of you, through rhetoric or the media or word of mouth, have heard parts of what’s in this budget repair bill. But what you probably haven’t heard, is what’s *not* in it.
 
• No tax hikes. Runaway government isn’t the solution to the problem – it is the problem.
1 WI Department of Workforce Development, seasonally adjusted
2 Pew Center on the States: http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/report_detail.aspx?id=56044
3 Bureau of Economic Analysis: http://www.bea.gov/regional/gsp/action.cfm
4 Bureau of Labor Services: ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt
 
• No furloughs. The previous budget required 16 furlough days, the equivalent of a 3 percent pay cut. This bill contains *zero* furloughs, to the disappointment of the critics.
 
• No job cuts. Without this bill, the state could have to lay off as many as 1,500 publicsector workers to make ends meet, and as many as 5,000 jobs in the next budget.  Texas, Georgia, and New York are proposing massive job cuts to solve their budget gaps, between 9,300 and 14,000 positions, and California is proposing a 10 percent pay cut for state employees. Wisconsin has none of these.
 
• No service cuts. The looming M.A. deficit alone could mean eliminating services for 194,000 children, 92,000 adults or 16,000 elderly, blind or disabled persons. This bill keeps the promises that were made and shields the most vulnerable from cuts.
 
• No changes to Civil Service, vacation or sick leave policy.
 
• No “easy fix.” Anybody who promises you that there’s an “easier way” to close this gap is trying to sell you something.
 
Straight Talk.
I’d like the opportunity to address union workers directly, without the filter of their union bosses.
The first misconception I want to clear up is that the government is on a witch hunt for union cards, as some would lead you to believe. The vast majority of state employees and teachers are dedicated, hard-working public servants who go about their job the right way. These measures are not punitive in any way.
 
I think most reasonable people also realize that there’s no way we can come to a solution without some shared sacrifice. More than one-third of the state budget is spent on state operations, and half of that is on salary and benefits for employees. That percentage is much greater at the local level. We can’t possibly solve this problem without involving public employees in some way.
 
Governor Walker has made it clear that union leadership has no interest in good-faith negotiation. Over the last ten years, even with a Democratic governor, every single state employee contract has been signed late. On average, they’ve been 15 months late, even though every single contract contained a net compensation increase, in good times and bad.
 
Moreover, the union leadership has made it clear that they have no interest in negotiating with
Governor Walker: whether it’s calling his proposals “an assault on the middle class” or a “war,” or AFSCME’s leader calling both Scott Walker (R) and Russ Decker (D) a “whore,” or the veiled threats I and at least one of my colleagues have already received personally, which the authorities are investigating. I think we can all agree that this hyperbole and tone have no place in a reasonable discussion.
 
The right direction forward.
Nobody likes telling their kids they can’t afford that new toy. Nobody likes doing the math and realizing they can’t afford that vacation this year. Before the bubble burst, nobody wanted to admit they couldn’t afford that new subprime mortgage.  But Wisconsin simply can’t afford the status quo.
 
It’s not a coincidence that this is the sixth time since Gov. Doyle was elected that some kind of budget fix has been necessary. The only real way to help is to improve the economy, create jobs and fix the budget to put our state in a position to grow. The only thing that's been growing lately has been the budget.
 
I appreciate your willingness to listen to both sides of this debate, and I look forward to this frank conversation about the direction of our state.  Maybe none of us can afford to split this bill, but we can’t steal money from someone else’s pocket, and we can’t ditch out when the waiter isn’t looking.  The bill is due, and this is how we’re going to pay it.
 
Sincerely,
Scott Fitzgerald
Senate Majority Leader, State of Wisconsin





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THE ENTERPRISE--A PRESIDENTS' DAY SCORECARD

THE ENTERPRISE--A PRESIDENTS' DAY SCORECARD

A GOAL UNREALIZED
I wanted very much to write a President's Day edition of THE ENTERPRISE which focused solely on what was good about Barack Obama.  After all, he is our elected leader and  he deserves some respect.  I even compiled a list of topics to write about.  I am going to put the list here, because most of the point are self-explanatory.  Finally, I decided that not only couldn't I identify enough material to write what I had hoped to write.  Here are some positives:

1. Barack Obama is mixed race--half black--and that is good, because it shows America that the president doesn't need to be a "white guy."
2. Obama actually cares deeply--once you get past why he cares so deeply--that can be an admirable quality, unless it is for the wrong reasons.
3. He favors minorities, and this is done with a careful eye to qualifications, can be a good thing.  When done in spite of [lack of] qualifications it turns into a weakness.
4. He is a "fresh face" with some original ideas.  The problem is that they are often flawed ideas, that fail to pass either the test of past experience or solid analysis (e.g., Cost competitive alternative energy is a long, long way from ever being widely practical; Electric cars do not pass the energy balance test either--and in cold climates, they will run out of "gas" which means the batteries will discharge rapidly due to the cold, stranding drivers in dangerous conditions.  Engineers know this.  Why doesn't Obama ask one.
5. His goal of wealth re-distribution to help the poor starts with a noble goal and then goes off track in how he plans to do it--by taking from those who are responsible and earn their own living.
6. Obama seems to have overlooked the fact that Keynesian economics has failed over and over and yet the liberal elitist he chooses as advisors keep pushing them.
7. Obama is smart, well-educated, but somehow has a 'tin ear" when it comes to hearing what the broad majority of Americans think, feel and want. He chooses to attempt to educate us, or filibuster our concerns, until he can do what he wants (something else).
8. He can be brilliantly articulate in delivering a speech, and while (as he says" "words matter," what matters more is whether the actions promised or inferred by the words are actually carried out.  In his case, they are not.  He doesn't "walk his talk."
9. Many wonder if Obama cannot become "Reaganesque" and for those, I ask you to use the link below and listen to the commentator.  The answer will be evident.
10. I don't believe Barack Obama is purposely tryying to harm America, but he's doing a good job of it without trying.  Read on....

SOME TRUTHS ARE TIMELESS...WATCH IT AND SEE/HEAR
Watch This 50 year-old video, narrated by Ronald Reagan.  Then no one can say they were not forewarned.
ATT00001.wmv
 
Received from one of my friends:The Cash for Clunker Math
Note: The person who calculated this bit of information went to high school in Pittsburgh, Pa.    He is now & has been a professor at The University of West Virginia in Morgantown, West Virginia for the last forty some years.  I never looked at the clunker program in such depth. 

Cash for Clunker Math
Think of it this way:  A clunker that travels 12,000 miles a year at 15 mpg uses 800 gallons of gas a year.  A vehicle that travels 12,000 miles a year at 25 mpg uses 480 gallons a year.  So, the average Cash for Clunkers transaction will reduce US gasoline consumption by 320 gallons per year.   They claim 700,000 vehicles so that's 224 million gallons saved per year.  That equates to a bit over 5 million barrels of oil.   5 million barrels is about 5 hours worth of US consumption.  More importantly, 5 million barrels of oil at $70 per barrel costs about $350 million dollars.  So, the government paid $3 billion of our tax dollars to save $350 million.   We spent $8.57 for every $1.00 we saved. 
I'm pretty sure they will do a great job with our health care, though, when it's all said and done.


OBAMA'S RECORD BREAKING PERFORMANCE AS PRESIDENT & STILL HE HAS A STRONG POTENTIAL FOR REELECTION--THAT IS SIMPLY INSANE!

The undisputed record holder among presidents of the United States is clearly Barack Obama.  He holds more records than those listed below, but this list is sufficient to show the kind of stellar performance he has turned in during his first two+ years of his presidency.
 

1. Record number of Americans unemployed & underemployed.
2. Record length of time Americans have remained unemployed.
3. Record highest government spending in the history of the U. S. A.
4. Record highest budget in the history of the U. S. A.
5. Record highest Federal budget deficit.
6. Record highest projected 10 year future deficits.
7. Record number of governmental regulations added.
8. Record number of pages in bills signed into law.
9. Record number of TV appearances justifying one of them.
10. Record number of TV appearances of any President in first 2 years.
11. Record number of times the word I was used in Presidential speeches.
12. Record number of times a U. S. President has been critical of his country.
13. Record (low) number of times attending church while president.
14. Record amount of teleprompter use in history, by any president.
15. Record amount of money spent on his campaign to be elected.

 THE METRICS OF OBAMA'S DAMAGE
January 2009    Today    % chg    Source
Avg. retail price/gallon gas in U.S.    $1.83    $3.104    69.6%    1
Crude oil, European Brent (barrel)    $43.48    $99.02    127.7%    2
Crude oil, West TX Inter. (barrel)    $38.74    $91.38    135.9%    2
Gold: London (per troy oz.)    $853.25    $1,369.50    60.5%    2
Corn, No.2 yellow, Central IL    $3.56    $6.33    78.1%    2
Soybeans, No. 1 yellow, IL    $9.66    $13.75    42.3%    2
Sugar, cane, raw, world, lb. fob    $13.37    $35.39    164.7%    2
Unemployment rate, non-farm, overall    7.6%    9.4%    23.7%    3
Unemployment rate, blacks    12.6%    15.8%    25.4%    3
Number of unemployed    11,616,000    14,485,000    24.7%    3
Number of fed. employees, ex. military (curr = 12/10 prelim)    2,779,000    2,840,000    2.2%    3
Real median household income (2008 v 2009)    $50,112    $49,777    -0.7%    4
Number of food stamp recipients (curr = 10/10)    31,983,716    43,200,878    35.1%    5
Number of unemployment benefit recipients (curr = 12/10)    7,526,598    9,193,838    22.2%    6
Number of long-term unemployed    2,600,000    6,400,000    146.2%    3
Poverty rate, individuals (2008 v 2009)    13.2%    14.3%    8.3%    4
People in poverty in U.S. (2008 v 2009)    39,800,000    43,600,000    9.5%    4
U.S. rank in Economic Freedom World Rankings    5    9    n/a    10
Present Situation Index (curr = 12/10)    29.9    23.5    -21.4%    11
Failed banks (curr = 2010 + 2011 to date)    140    164    17.1%    12
U.S. dollar versus Japanese yen exchange rate    89.76    82.03    -8.6%    2
U.S. money supply, M1, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)    1,575.1    1,865.7    18.4%    13
U.S. money supply, M2, in billions (curr = 12/10 prelim)    8,310.9    8,852.3    6.5%    13
National debt, in trillions    $10.627    $14.052    32.2%    14
Just take this last item: In the last two years we have accumulated national debt at a rate more than 27 times as fast as during the rest of our entire nation's history. Over 27 times as fast! Metaphorically, speaking, if you are driving in the right lane doing 65 MPH and a car rockets past you in the left lane 27 times faster . . . it would be doing 1,755 MPH!

SMALL EXAMPLES CAN MAKE BIG IMPRESSIONS
Here is a story sent to me by a friend. It is so simple and yet so powerful in its message that I had to share it with you.
 
THE PRESIDENT'S IDEA OF CUTTING SPENDING:
The President ordered the cabinet to cut a whopping $100 million from the $3.5 trillion federal budget!   I'm so impressed by this sacrifice that I have decided to do the same thing with my personal budget. I spend about $2000 a month on groceries, medicine, bills, etc, but it's time to get out the budget cutting ax, go line by line through my expenses, and go to work. I'm going to cut my spending at exactly the same ratio -1/35,000 of my total budget. After doing the math, it looks like instead of spending $2000 a month; I'm going to have to cut that number by six cents!  Yes, I'm going to have to get by with $1999.94, but that's what sacrifice is all about. I'll just have to do without some things, that are, frankly, luxuries.


I WANT TO RE-FOCUS ON "THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE" IN ONE PART OF THIS EDITION.
One of the most valuable things I learned in my business career was to help the people around me do the best things they could based on their unique talents and desires.  I always built jobs around the strengths of the people instead of trying to force fit them into some theoretical shape on an organization chart that someone else dreamed up--and that was the same for every organization. 

People are wonderfully unique.  There are not very many bad people.  There are people who have been trapped in jobs they were ill-prepared for, and that they might even be ill-suited for.  The challenge of a leader is to get the right talent in the right places, to use the strengths of everyone in an organization in the best way possible--and to make sure they all understand and buy into what the organization is going to achieve.

A few will be cynics who must be banished.  A few will be misfits, who must either be fitted into a new spot or moved out to find a job where they can be happy and successful.  Most of the people will want to succeed, will be happy to perform to the best of their ability, and will be delighted to have a shared vision of what they will achieve together.  Then they will "own" that vision, and together, they will win, far more often than they will lose.

Those are the facts, the basics that are timeless truths.  Those truths are true in America or Asia or Algeria.  Different cultures will have different values and beliefs, but not different hopes and wishes--at least not if they have not been "brainwashed" or "deluded" by the leaders they are following.  Abraham Maslow was right about his hierarchy of needs, and people will try to move up from basic needs of personal and physical sustenance, to those of emotional sustenance to the pinnacle of self-actualization.  Help people move up that hierarchy and the success they can achieve by working together is truly amazing.  That is what a leader must help them achieve; that is what the leader of our country must help us achieve. 

And Barack Obama is NOT doing that—not even close.

FIGURES MAY NOT LIE, BUT LIARS FIGURE --AND DISTORTED FIGURES LIE MOST OF ALL...
The drop in unemployment the Obama Administration reported for January is phony.  Real, unweighted data showed an increase from 9.1% to 9.8% in joblessness rather than a cut in the highly weighted figure from 9.4% to 9.0%.
500,000 Americans despaired of ever getting a job and left the workforce, bringing the jobless rate down. The net loss of jobs continues to this day with 8,750,000 eliminated rather than the 8,363,000 the Administration reports.  Obama has had two raging job related "successes" in his term as president. 
1.  He has slashed unemployment by persuading millions to give up hope and leave the labor force. 
2.  He has cut illegal immigration by casting the United States into a permanent job shortage.

SO, SORRY, BARACK--YOUR CLEVER, SMOOTHLY DELIVERED WORDS ALWAYS START TO SWAY ME-- UNTIL I WATCH WHAT YOU DO
Then I remember Stephen Covey's brilliant words, "Your actions speak so loudly, I cannot hear what you are saying."

We need a President with more than good intentions and smooth speaking delivery.  We need one who knows how to fix America, and can explain to Americans in stirring language how he will do that and what their role in the repairs will be.  It will not be painless--it will be painful!  Years of deceit, deficits and delusions cannot be undone easily, but the time is NOW. 

We cannot wait.  Let's all look hard at potential 2012 candidates and not jump to conclusions--but it is time to start eliminating some of the more cosmetic contenders.

Best, JOHN







Watch my other Blogs  
FORBES: http://blogs.forbes.com/prospernow/2011/02/11/obamas-delusion-growth-fueled-by-government-spending-and-tax-breaks/
AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN FORUM: http://www.openforum.com/search/text/?searchstring=Mariotti&x=0&y=0

Get-----THE  CHINESE CONSPIRACY----before it happens! 
See: http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com for more info!

Available as E-Book for Kindle or Nook readers, and in both Paperback and Hardcover
Get it at www.amazon.com

John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/

THE ENTERPRISE--PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE

THE ENTERPRISE--PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE

I DON'T KNOW ANY WAY TO ASK THIS BUT DIRECTLY. 
I'D LIKE TO SEE IF I CAN GET THE WORD ABOUT MY NOVEL-- THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY--TO GO VIRAL.  Since the story is about viruses and worms and the Internet, what better method of spreading the word than via the email equivalent of an old-fashioned "chain letter." 

If everyone who gets this would forward this to everyone on their email address book, and ask each of them to do the same--forward it to every one on their address book, after a few cycles, it should have reached a lot of people.

WHY AM I ASKING YOU TO DO THIS?
First, a selfish reason--to sell more books; if people read this and just look up one or two of the links in it, they might be inclined to buy a book.
Second, a patriotic reason, to serve as a warning and a wake-up call the Americans in all walks of life about the dangers of Cyber-threats.
Third, to validate that this method can get important messages (not just jokes and articles about Obama's birth certificate) to millions of people in a short time.

THAT'S MY PITCH.  IF YOU AND ALL OF YOUR CONTACTS, AND ALL OF THEIR CONTACTS WILL FORWARD THIS ON AND ON AND ON...WHO KNOWS HOW MANY PEOPLE IT WILL REACH.  LET'S TRY IT AND FIND OUT!

BUY IT HERE:  (Also available in e-book, hardcover, and at nearly all major on-line booksellers.)

http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Conspiracy-John-Mariotti/dp/1450257895/ref=sr_1_24?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288189301&sr=1-24 HERE'S WHAT REVIEWERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY: ---Amazon Review: 5 out of 5 stars: “Great and plausible thriller.” “Plausibility is often the best component of a great story, which this is.” —Charles Ashbacher, an Amazon Top 50 Reviewer.  Read his entire review here:  http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Conspiracy-John-Mariotti/product-reviews/1450257895/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R3DH67JG0SJGIZ   ---“I went through this book so fast my head was spinning afterward! It was truly a great read…”  —Katherine Bartlett, http://ourwhiskeylullaby.blogspot.com/   ---“This is a 400-page book that I just couldn't put down and took me just 2 days to finish… “…[a] thrilling book.”  —Nicole Henke, http://blesstheirheartsmom.blogspot.com   ---“Mariotti spins a fascinating "cyber-thriller"… this book is definitely not all "cyber-jabber. “…a fast-paced, highly entertaining plot within a plot.”  —Rear Admiral Andrew Giordano, USN (Retired)    ---“I sat on the edge of my seat wondering how far these people would get before they were stopped or if they would be stopped. … I highly recommend this book."  —Sandra Stiles,    http://readingwritingideas.blogspot.com/   ---"I think The Chinese Conspiracy is excellent and very thought provoking."  —Julie Moderson, http://www.bestsellersworld.com   ---"Not since The Manchurian Candidate have I read such a compelling thriller about global conspiracy. But Mariotti goes much further, linking his masterfully fast-paced narrative to the clear and present danger of total cyber war. This novel is a call to action that  our society must answer now."    --Richard S. Levick, President & CEO, Levick Strategic Communications,   FOR SOME FUN... ---Watch this 6 minute Fox Business video on "Imus in the Morning" in which Bo Dietl, a highly decorated, now retired NYPD homicide detective tells Imus about THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY.  Click on this link or paste it into your browser (or search YouTube yourself):  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrlS3xJoRno&playnext=1&list=PL9AA63957865E46EA    I don't ask for too many favors, but I'd sure appreciate it if you'd help me with this one.  Next week, THE ENTERPRISE will go back to regular content.  Meanwhile, if you want to see some timely content, check my blog posts on FORBES & American Express Open Forum, Thanks a million,   JOHN Watch my other Blogs FORBES: http://blogs.forbes.com/prospernow/2011/02/11/obamas-delusion-growth-fueled-by-government-spending-and-tax-breaks/ AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN FORUM: http://www.openforum.com/search/text/?searchstring=Mariotti&x=0&y=0 Get-----THE CHINESE CONSPIRACY----before it happens! See: http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com for more info! http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com Available as E-Book for Kindle or Nook readers, and in both Paperback and Hardcover Get it at www.amazon.com John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959 http://www.mariotti.net http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/ -------------------------

THE ENTERPRISE--SOME GREAT IDEAS--IF/WHEN PRACTICAL

THE ENTERPRISE--SOME GREAT IDEAS--IF/WHEN PRACTICAL

LEAN TECHNIQUES FOR THE WHITE COLLAR SET--"HOPS"-- A BREAK-THROUGH
I've been tracking Pamla Winther's work on HOPS (Stands for Hands On Proactive System) for over five years as she has refined it and built it into a highly effective tool for businesses large and small.  This is the year--2011--that she's unveiling it with a series of 11 sessions each one held on the 11th of the month starting next week, Feb. 11.  Her meetings are in North Suburban Cinci at the Crown Plaza, 11320 Chester Rd.  She calls it "Lunch with a Side of Inspiration" and for only $75 a session (or $550 if you buy the whole series) it is a steal!

What is HOPS you wonder?  It is a cross between CRM, Knowledge Management, Lean Techniques and good old people collaboration.  The HOPS system if implemented with proprietary software tools provides a way for "everyone to know, what anyone in the business knows," and it plugs all the "cracks" that essential details seem to fall through.  It is a system of easy to use screens that people use to record contact with customers and suppliers (and anyone else) and document what was agreed upon, who does what next, and even provides templates to use to make sure the necessary information is gathered and retained (and accessible). 

In these days when customers are so hard to get, and even hard to hang onto, HOPS assures the kind of spectacular attention to detail that companies have only dreamed about in the past--and with a fraction of the time and effort.  Whether you work with a law firm, a financial services firm, a distribution company or a manufacturer--HOPS is for you.   Now, isn't that worth a short drive to Cinci and $75 for a terrific lunch, a top notch speaker (well, maybe except March 11, when that speaker will be me), and learning about a way to improve every aspect of your business before you competitors do.

If you are first in your industry or market to use HOPS, you will have an unfair competitive advantage.  Isn't that a really good thing?
Paste this in your browser:  http://hopsfoodforthought.com,  or just call 513-588-2808 to reserve your seat.  DO IT NOW!

Disclaimer:  I am neither employed by HOPS nor an owner. I just tell my contacts about super new concepts they can use.  Go see for yourself.  I will miss the first one because I will not be back from FL, but that's no excuse if you are up there in OH or nearby.

ARE THERE ANY ENGINEERS OUT THERE TO SEE IF THIS IS REALLY PRACTICAL?
http://www.flixxy.com/convert-plastic-to-oil.htm
Somehow, it seems too good to be true, but even if it is not "energy efficient" (takes lots more electricity for the heat and pressure than the energy value of the oil created) it is a great way to "recycle trash plastics."  I wonder what kind of residue is in the machine at the end of the cycle?  How does that get disposed of?  Perhaps mix it into paving materials?  Need some additional research, but the idea is downright clever.

IF YOU'LL SPEND JUST UNDER 5 MINUTES, YOU'LL SEE THAT "WHAT GOES AROUND, COMES AROUND."
Just paste this into your browser, sit back and learn:   http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=3JDT5vBQQr8&vq=medium

JOBS TRACKING IS SUSPECT AT BEST, INACCURATE AT WORST
The recent jobs report showing just 36,000 jobs added and yet unemployment dropped to 9% smells bad somehow.  I suspect some government inaccuracies and potential misrepresentation.  Also, the unemployment rate dropped probably because so many people gave up on trying to find jobs, and if their unemployment benefits finally ran out, there is no motivation to "report in" as unemployed.  The two figures are clearly contradictory.  If we had the "Household Job" report, it might tell something different yet.  ADP, the nation's largest payroll firm had more positive improvement reported.  Who to believe is the question.  The initial claims for being out of work are still hanging about 400,000+/-.  Recovery--slow, tepid, spotty.

THE DEMOCRATS GREAT IDEA:  “THE NEW DEMOCRAT-SPEAK”
To distance themselves from the embarrassment of last November’s election....
Democrats are changing their vocabulary to describe what they want to accomplish without using the words that make non-Democrats recoil in horror.
The following is a translation of the new “Democrat-Speak”:
==“Investment” means “spending”.
==“Dedicated Revenue Stream” means “tax”.
==“Reduce or Cut Spending” means “slow the rate of spending growth”.
==“Progressive” means “liberal Democrat" 
And, as our President has told us "Words matter."  How else could he misspeak to us so smoothly?

CONGRESS GREAT IDEA: MAKING REGULATIONS BEFORE THE STUDY COMMITTEE ISSUES ITS REPORT?
When you know what you want to do, stifle, regulate and smother, there is no reason to wait for a report.  Just go ahead and pass a huge new, open-ended law.  Which is what Congress did last year. 
Then the FCIC released its report on 1.27.11 on the causes of the 2008 financial crisis.
Now that it knows the causes, Congress can craft legislative remedies to prevent it from ever happening again.  Oh wait! Congress ALREADY did that! It’s called Dodd-Frank.
Confused? You should be. Congress crafted legislative remedies seven months BEFORE the report was issued.

THE OLD "NOT-SO-GREAT" IDEAS: THE REAL CAUSES OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
The FCIC cited the following three events as causes of the financial crisis
1) The repeal of the Glass-Steagel Act;
2) The failure to regulate the derivatives market;
3) Allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to lower its underwriting standards in an effort to grow market share & compete with the private mortgage market.
And when did (i) through (iii) take place?  During the Clinton administration: 1992-2000. Whoops, another thing for Slick Willie to take credit for. But honestly, the GOP shares some of the blame, since it was in control of Congress back in that era--shame on you GOPers. The FCIC missed one BIG cause of the crisis:  Leaving Chris Dodd and Barney Frank is powerful positions way too long!       

THE UAW'S NEW GREAT IDEA: TRY TO DESTROY ANOTHER SEGMENT OF THE US ECONOMY
The UAW is now planning to put on major push to unionize one or more of the "transplant" car plants--Japanese, Korean, or German. These plants provide good jobs, so the UAW sees them as a source of power and dues income.  The methods planned are classic union-deception.
First, brand the plant operators as committing human rights violations--that will resonate with Obama's crew. Second, new UAW chief Bob King has set out 11 "principles" that he says car makers must embrace or the UAW will "expose" them as "human rights violators."  Yes, like dictatorships.  This is no idle intimidation, especially with the union's political allies manning key labor jobs in Washington. The threat is also backed with at least $60 million from the union's $800 million strike fund. 

With fewer than 400,000 members, down from 1.5 million in 1979, the UAW can afford to raid that fund since it isn't likely to strike the weakened GM, Ford or Chrysler anytime soon. There are more points to this but you get the idea.  Anywhere that there  is a payroll to be tapped for union dues, the unions will go after it with any method possible, no matter how illicit. 

Unions have destroyed more American jobs than any competitive threat in the past few decades. When will Washington leaders see that?  (Not until we replace the Democrats in control!)

THAT'S ENOUGH FOR THIS WEEK 
BE SURE TO VISIT MY OTHER TWO BLOGS, NOTED BELOW ON FORBES (posted on weekends)  AND AMERICAN EXPRESS (posted mid-week)

Best JOHN

Watch my other Blogs  
FORBES: http://blogs.forbes.com/prospernow/2011/02/04/is-bernanke-nuts-ignoring-inflation/
AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN FORUM: http://www.openforum.com/search/text/?searchstring=Mariotti&x=0&y=0

Get-----THE  CHINESE CONSPIRACY----before it happens! 
See: http://www.thechineseconspiracy.com for more info!

Available as E-Book for Kindle or Nook readers, and in both Paperback and Hardcover
Get it at www.amazon.com

John L. Mariotti, President & CEO, The Enterprise Group, Phone 614-840-0959  http://www.mariotti.net   http://mariotti.blogs.com/my_weblog/