Friday Oct 23, 2009
One of my favorite Yogi Berra quotes is, "You can see a lot by watching."
I grew up in Motown and my dad worked for General Motors for more than 30
years. We were worried when there were strikes. We were pleased when there was overtime. Dad always provided for the family.
GM has learned some big lessons in the past 5 years that are not lost on colleges and universities.
Of the failures of 3 major GM auto lines, perhaps the biggest lesson comes from the shutdown of Saturn. That effort was to be different in several ways: cars built to order, a no-haggle price policy for dealers, labor and management were to be partners, and the focus was to be on customer service.
In retrospect, it seems obvious that GM should have taken these innovative ideas and applied them to its existing lines, rather than add a new one without adequate focus and financing. With too many GM brands, Saturn found itself competing for survival within GM as much as it was competing for customers.
Here at GGU we have always had an eye for the needed and new, but we also have
excellent "models" already in existence.
We have the largest and one of the best taxation programs in the country. We have
a national reputation in environmental law. But we have also blazed the trail in new
programming and new methods of delivery.
Do you agree with that Saturn failed because GM had too many brands and was unable to differentiate or focus on the brand?
(Source: "Lessons from Saturn's Fall." USA Today. December 2, 2009)
Category: Economy
Tuesday Oct 13, 2009
A recent article in USA TODAY reported that extreme obesity can shorten people's lives by 12 years. 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. According to the article, excess weight was responsible for the loss of 95 million years of life in the USA in 2008.
As a youngster I grew up in the great midwest.
You can guess my current age by the price of a Coca Cola or Pepsi at the time: 5 cents!
My parents thought that "soft drinks" were good for kids and the price was certainly right.
By the time I was 10, I drank at least one bottle a day. In the summer, when temperatures
hit the 90's, I would guzzle 2 or 3 sixteen ounce bottles a day.
No one gave a thought to the number of massive sugar and calories I stashed away.
By the time I was 12, I was chubby and overweight. That lasted until I hit my growth spurt and changed my soda habits for milk.
Today study after study warns us about the horrible effects of obesity. It is the number
one health concern in America.
We adults have the obligation to establish health habits in our kids. That includes what we drink or eat.
Soda pop has so much sugar it may as well labeled C,12 -H,22-,O,ll. One easy way to strike back against obesity: avoid giving sugary drinks to children.
Category: Miscellaneous
Friday Sep 25, 2009
Cigarette smoking among adolescents is one of the 10 leading health indicators that reflect the major health concerns in the United States. The Center for Disease Control found through a national survey that, although cigarette smoking rates increased among US high school students during most of the 1990s, they have declined significantly since 1997.
When I was a kid, I looked forward to our long family trips from Michigan to Kentucky. My sister, Barbara, and I were a couple of eagle-eyed youngsters. We wanted to be the first to sight a series of the popular Burma Shave billboards. We also looked for the CHEW MAIL POUCH TOBACCO signs that covered the entire back or side of a country barn.
Not until much later would we realize that tobacco products were not only bad for you, but harmful in so many ways. Nearly 300,000 new farms have begun operation since the last census in 2002. And while there¿s no shortage of farms that could use help - only 1 million of the 2.2 million American farms reported positive income from agriculture ¿ I think that it¿s not bad news that over the last decade the number of US tobacco farmers has dropped from 93,500 to 16,234.
The MAIL POUCH barn signs have faded as the years have past, and if I were a kid on a trip today, I would really miss the Burma Shave signs; but I would be whistling and happy over the ABSENCE of the tobacco signs!
Category: Miscellaneous
Friday Sep 04, 2009
The US economy is in a deep 2-year tail spin, unemployment is at a national level of nearly 10%, California unemployment at almost 12%, senior citizens are
losing their retirement security, thousands of others have lost their homes, 18 million people don't have health insurance, and thousands of Americans are living in poverty.
And last week someone paid $ 4.6 million to purchase the crypt above Marilyn Monroe.
The purchase was made via eBay with an auction value starting at $500,000. Her final resting place is in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. She died in 1962.
Let's stop and think about this for a moment.
In terms of educational opportunity the drop out rate is far too high, expensive state of the art technology is lacking, and thousands of college students can't get into classes this fall.
One university has recently offered to add a class this spring for every $6,000 donation.
For the money this individual paid to be buried above Marilyn Monroe, he could have sponsored 767 university classes. How about an investment in jobs, food for the hungry, or some other higher priority?
What is a higher priority? Almost ANYTHING else. The buyer probably purchased the crypt for bragging rights. Am I missing something? Where are people's priorities?
Update: The winning bidder backed out of the deal, so the seller has emailed the 11 other bidders who bid at least $4.5 million, giving them 24 hours to submit new offers.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-marilyn14-2009aug14,0,2135061.story
Category: Economy
Friday Aug 21, 2009
President Obama wants to make it possible for people receiving unemployment benefits to go back to school.
He maintains that by retraining for reemployment or new employment that America can ¿lay a new foundation¿ for our nation¿s economic growth by investing in our citizens in this way.
I agree. Why haven¿t we done this before?
Generally those receiving unemployment benefits have to show that they are available and actively seeking a job. To be available for work, you can¿t retool or retrain on a full time basis. Although that seems like a reasonable goal, what if there are no jobs to return to? Would it not make better sense to be retraining or in class getting ready for jobs that are available and will be available in the future? Not to mention the jobs that are empty now because people with needed knowledge and skills are not prepared.
We need fundamental rethinking of our unemployment system and how it works. Can we have a better benefit for our economy and for the individuals looking for a brighter future?
With unemployment running double digits and a continuing recession of almost 2 years and running, I say, ¿Yes.¿ Let¿s change our paradigm and redo the structure.
This IS an idea whose time has come!
Category: Government
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