Category Archives: Opinion

Business, Economics, Opinion

Small Business: Saturday and EVERY Day.

Back in November 2013 a New York Times blog page featured a posted entitled “Small Business Saturday Is Under Attack (From Small Businesses).”

The focus of that piece was criticism of American Express, the company that created the Small Business Saturday promotion. Objections were aired to American Express’s fee structure (AmEx is much more expensive for merchants than Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and especially debit cards), their policy prohibition against merchants directing customers to alternate forms of payment, and more.

Writing this as I am on threshold of the 6th Small Business Saturday, my cynical side is fixating on the implication that by “shopping small” this Saturday, one is now morally/ethically free to shop elsewhere from that point forward.

No! Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday… they’re all gimmicks, all traps. We need to maintain our agency, our capacity for independent thought and remain mindful of what is most important to us in the big picture, and over the long run.

big_nightDo we want healthy local communities with distinct personalities? A daily practice of shopping at independent, locally owned businesses the only way to achieve that goal. Restaurants don’t make it on one Big Night.

What local retailers need is not one fantastic day this Saturday, and a slow December because we’ve all gone back to Amazon and the mall. What our local retailers need is our commitment to patronage throughout the holiday season and all year long.

It is no secret: By shopping locally we incur three costs – some travel, more limited selection, and higher prices. However, by shopping locally we enjoy many benefits, not the least of which are these three  – better customer service, a better job market, and more vital and livable community.

The benefits to shopping locally greatly outweigh the costs. Understanding this truth takes a little research.  Here is a GREAT resource for learning about the benefits of shopping locally, shopping small: www.ilsr.org – the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a forty-year-old economic research organization headquartered in Portland, Maine.

Living “localism” values takes a little mindfulness and discipline. Like diet and exercise, the benefits are clear, but we do have to earn them!

Should we support Small Business Saturday? Absolutely. Every Saturday and the rest of each week, too.

Business, Economics, Opinion, Politics

I know it’s complicated, but…

How much stronger would our economy be if compensation was paid more evenly throughout corporate workforces, instead of the practice in place of paying execs as much as possible and front-line employees as little as necessary?

Of course they take it, because they can. But we all know that no one  EARNS this kind of coin. Where is the conscience? The outrage?

The Top 25 Most Overpaid S&P 500 CEOs

 

Read the full report here.

Education, Opinion

In favor of meritocracy. Right?…

Marketing and general business guru Seth Godin (pictured) is a prolific writer, particularly on his blog.  He generally sticks to business subject matter but today he took on education.

What he advocates for is essentially a reboot of our deeply embedded sorting system within our public schools that rewards natural talent and good looks ahead of teamwork and effort.

He thinks we need to stop and ask ourselves the question: What is school for?

He argues that we take the easy way out, that instead of celebrating “the students who regularly try the hardest” and “who help each other the most… we take a shortcut and resort to trivial measures instead.” I agree. What about you?

“When we bench people who aren’t naturally good, what’s the lesson?” – Seth Godin

Here’s a link to today’s post by Seth Godin — The wasteful fraud of sorting for youth meritocracy — which I recommend reading first. THEN move on to his full-blown manifesto which can be found at the end of the above blog post.

Okay, now Back to School, everyone! :-)

Business, Economics, Entrepreneurship, Opinion, Politics

I know it’s complicated, but…

Why is it that elected officials often pay lip service to the importance of small business to the economy, but  they make so many choices governing that hurt small business? We need to call them on it.

This just in: Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo’s economic development proposal included no money for a very helpful, 20-year-old small business loan guarantee program. And it looks like he won’t say why.

CLICK HERE to read a Boston Business Journal article about this matter.

I have a lot more to say about what I feel is unconscionably weak government support of small business in America. Stay tuned.

News, Opinion, Politics

I want to be proud of our leaders…

…on this Memorial Day, but I’m not.

md2014There is no reasonable excuse for failing to care for our soldiers and their families—with speed, excellence, and compassion. Year long delays in processing paperwork? Over 20 suicides daily? Come on, America. Come on, Americans. Demand a better job.

So much lip service is paid by politicians to the honor and sacrifice in service to our country. But where is the “fix it, and fix it now…REALLY fix it” commitment from our president, our congress, and the appointed leadership in our government? I believe the line employees would accomplish their mission of caring well for our military family.

News, Opinion

This makes ME angry…

…I can’t imagine what it would be like to be the family.

Their son and brother was killed crossing the street. A woman is arrested and charged with vehicular homicide. Later her boyfriend confesses to being the driver. The DA tries her anyway, and she’s found not guilty. And the boyfriend has NOT been charged. Both “parties” are free. So for sure the driver is paying no price.

I believe the way this played out was the legal strategy of their defense team all along, understanding and gaming the system. At least THAT part of this story is no accident. But I cannot endorse nor defend this path to freedom.

No, not TV. This is the reality for friends and neighbors in my town. Sigh…….

Economics, Opinion, Politics

I know it’s complicated, but…

…we have to confront the evidence TOGETHER that the American economic model is broken. And we have to take MANY actions to fix it. It’s time to own our grown-up responsibilities and do our civic chores.

Our Spring Cleaning list is long, including tax reform, immigration reform, implementation of the JOBS Act (had to sneak that one in – my unabashed small-business/entrepreneur bias), financial reform, campaign finance reform… reform, reform, reform.

But first, let’s put a floor under our socio-economic disintegration and free-fall and raise the minimum wage. Let’s appreciate and reward the effort of our lowest paid compatriots. More importantly, lets help them to support their families themselves, with dignity.

When I think about the concept of income inequality (which I think I would prefer had instead been branded “income inequity”), for me it boils down to this (with thanks to my wife for bringing it up again and again over the years while I found my true north): I don’t believe anyone earns a million dollars a year (let alone multiples of that).

Overcompensating leaders disrespects all the help they get in support of their efforts. My 23 years in the restaurant business – 30 years in foodservice overall – gave me decades of experience working with those who support leadership and are not compensated nearly enough for their immense efforts and absolutely crucial contributions.

I know it’s complicated, but we could – we should – choose to make it simple: We’re all in this together. We all struggle at various times through life. And we’re all going to die. Let’s make those aspects of life we can control a little gentler, a little fairer, a little easier, a little more compassionate and humane. To begin on that path, let’s raise the minimum wage. Immediately.

For more grist on this subject, here’s an excellent piece from this past Sunday’s New York Times: “Low Wage Workers Are Finding Poverty Harder to Escape”

Economics, Opinion, Politics

Materialism and other values: The inadequacy of GDP

The Purpose Economy, by Aaron HurstIt’s easy to despair in this era of partisan gridlock, the 1 -vs- 99%, rampant materialism, America’s declining standing globally in public education, and… well, I’ll stop there for the moment. I came across the following stunning quote at the beginning of an inspiring book “The Purpose Economy” by Aaron Hurst, founder of Taproot.

Robert F. Kennedy, in speech at the University of Kansas on March 18, 1968:

“Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product … if we should judge America by that – counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman’s rifle and Speck’s knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

Robert F. Kennedy“Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans.”

So many of our “leaders” carelessly invoke in speeches the jingoistic rallying cry “America is the greatest country on Earth!” Not by every measure, certainly. Not by a long shot. – We’ve got a lot of work to do. And each of us needs to re-commit to being a tad less selfish doing our part to make our country, and the world, a better place for the many, and not just for the few.