Archive for July 15th, 2010

OK, let’s pretend the stimulus worked … but let’s do some math

July 15, 2010

Yesterday, as part of the Recovery Summer Tour, Obama’s CEA Chief Christina Romer cheerfully pitched that the Stimulus worked ever better then they (her and Biden-economist Jared Bernstein) said it would … that 3 million jobs have already been saved or created and another 600,000 will materialize before the end of 2010.

It’s easy to quibble since actual employment has fallen by 2.5 million since the Stimulus was enacted … and it’s well-traveled that the same same Ms. Romer said the unemployment rate would rise to 9% without the Stimulus, but would get capped at 8% if the gov’t threw a cool trillion dollars  at the problem.  Oops.

 image

The Job Impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan, Romer & Bernstein, January 2009
http://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/documents/The_Job_Impact_of_the_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Plan.pdf

But, HomaFiles aren’t in to cheap shots, so we’ll assume that Ms. Romer has gotten smarter and has crafted a more refined econometric model.

And, we’ll assume that she’s an honest person and isn’t just ginning up numbers for political purposes.

Let’s do some simple arithmetic.

Assuming Romer’s right, then – in the best case — each job saved or created cost almost $250,000 !

I don’t know about you, but that strikes me as a pretty big number.

And, keep in mind that the Stimulus just funds jobs temporarily …. when the Stimulus is expended, somebody else has to pick up the tab or the saved and create jobs vanish again.

 

image

Posted in Employment - Jobs, Jobs - Unemployment, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

From passive aggressive to active aggressive behavior … Business groups tell Obama: “Let’s rumble …”

July 15, 2010

In a couple of posts dating back to last year, we’ve pointed to the passive aggressive behavior of corporations and their CEOs.  Knowing that the vindictive Administration would be all over them if they openly opposed the Obama agenda, they kept quiet and simply kept their employment offices closed.

Well, now the passive aggressive stage is becoming active aggressive.  The Chamber of Commerce led the way (and got dis-invited from the White House).  The Business Roundtable went public a couple of weeks ago with a 60 page list of grievances.

Now, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Businesses — are forming a united front  in their confrontation with the Obama administration over economic policy, calling on the White House to cut taxes, expand royalty-earning oil drilling and timber harvesting, sign stalled trade agreements  and curb its regulatory over-reach.

Business groups’  list of concerns is summarized in an open letter to the President that reads in part:

The congressional leadership and your administration have taken their eyes off the ball.

They neglected America’s number one priority — creating the more than 20 million jobs we need over the next 10 years for those who lost their jobs, have left the job market, or were cut to part-time status—as well as new entrants into our workforce.

Instead of continuing their partnership with the business community and embracing proven ideas for job creation, they vilified industries while embarking on an ill-advised course of government expansion, major tax increases, massive deficits, and job-destroying regulations.

This approach has failed to return our economy to a path of robust growth, which is a critical prerequisite to significant private sector job growth.

In some cases, wrong policy choices are actually eliminating good job opportunities for American workers.

By straying from the proven principles of American free enterprise, policymakers are needlessly prolonging the economic agony of the recession for millions of Americans and their families

Today, more than 16% of American workers are unemployed, underemployed, or have simply given up looking for a job.

Consumer confidence remains low, housing prices are still depressed, the stock market has trended downward, the global recovery is sputtering, and there are growing concerns about the prospects of a double-dip recession.

Through their legislative and regulatory proposals — some passed, some pending, and others simply talked about— the congressional majority and the administration have injected tremendous uncertainty into economic decision making and business planning. This is why

  • Banks are reluctant to lend
  • American corporations are sitting on well over a trillion dollars in cash
  • America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs, the engines of innovation and job creation, are starving for capital and are either struggling
    to survive or unable to expand.

The business community shares the view of most Americans that the current approaches are not working.

We are offering an achievable road map to greater economic growth and more jobs, and we don’t care who gets the credit.

Full letter to the President (worth reading):
https://createpdf.adobe.com/cgi-pickup.pl/FINAL%20-%20READY%20FOR%20LAYOUT%20-%20Open_Letter-%207%2012%2010.pdf?BP=IE&LOC=en_US&CUS=64b295f11e9e6c402b22f65989ef84df&CDS=4C3D49A7-0917-28BB03

Posted in Employment - Jobs, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

From passive aggressive to active aggressive behavior … Business groups tell Obama: “Let’s rumble …”

July 15, 2010

In a couple of posts dating back to last year, we’ve pointed to the passive aggressive behavior of corporations and their CEOs.  Knowing that the vindictive Administration would be all over them if they openly opposed the Obama agenda, they kept quiet and simply kept their employment offices closed.

Well, now the passive aggressive stage is becoming active aggressive.  The Chamber of Commerce led the way (and got dis-invited from the White House).  The Business Roundtable went public a couple of weeks ago with a 60 page list of grievances.

Now, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Businesses — are forming a united front  in their confrontation with the Obama administration over economic policy, calling on the White House to cut taxes, expand royalty-earning oil drilling and timber harvesting, sign stalled trade agreements  and curb its regulatory over-reach.

Business groups’  list of concerns is summarized in an open letter to the President that reads in part:

The congressional leadership and your administration have taken their eyes off the ball.

They neglected America’s number one priority — creating the more than 20 million jobs we need over the next 10 years for those who lost their jobs, have left the job market, or were cut to part-time status—as well as new entrants into our workforce.

Instead of continuing their partnership with the business community and embracing proven ideas for job creation, they vilified industries while embarking on an ill-advised course of government expansion, major tax increases, massive deficits, and job-destroying regulations.

This approach has failed to return our economy to a path of robust growth, which is a critical prerequisite to significant private sector job growth.

In some cases, wrong policy choices are actually eliminating good job opportunities for American workers.

By straying from the proven principles of American free enterprise, policymakers are needlessly prolonging the economic agony of the recession for millions of Americans and their families

Today, more than 16% of American workers are unemployed, underemployed, or have simply given up looking for a job.

Consumer confidence remains low, housing prices are still depressed, the stock market has trended downward, the global recovery is sputtering, and there are growing concerns about the prospects of a double-dip recession.

Through their legislative and regulatory proposals — some passed, some pending, and others simply talked about— the congressional majority and the administration have injected tremendous uncertainty into economic decision making and business planning. This is why

  • Banks are reluctant to lend
  • American corporations are sitting on well over a trillion dollars in cash
  • America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs, the engines of innovation and job creation, are starving for capital and are either struggling
    to survive or unable to expand.

The business community shares the view of most Americans that the current approaches are not working.

We are offering an achievable road map to greater economic growth and more jobs, and we don’t care who gets the credit.

Full letter to the President (worth reading):
https://createpdf.adobe.com/cgi-pickup.pl/FINAL%20-%20READY%20FOR%20LAYOUT%20-%20Open_Letter-%207%2012%2010.pdf?BP=IE&LOC=en_US&CUS=64b295f11e9e6c402b22f65989ef84df&CDS=4C3D49A7-0917-28BB03

Posted in Employment - Jobs, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Next time you open a menu … spot how they’re playing with your mind.

July 15, 2010

In his new book, Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It), author William Poundstone dissects the marketing tricks built into menus—for example, how something as simple as typography can drive you toward or away from that $39 steak.

1. The Upper Right-Hand Corner
That’s the prime spot where diners’ eyes automatically go first.

Restaurants often use it to highlight a tasteful, expensive pile of food.

2. Pictures

Generally, pictures of food are powerful motivators but also menu taboos — mostly because they’re used in downscale chains like Chili’s and Applebee’s.

Red Lobster ditched pics when it started trying to inch upscale

3. The “Anchor”
The highest priced item on the menu may not ever get ordered.  That’s ok.  It’s purpose is to make everything else near it look like a relative bargain.

4. In The Vicinity
The restaurant’s high-profit dishes tend to cluster near the anchor.  They’re items at prices that seem comparatively modest (when compared to the anchor).. They’re the items the restaurant really wants you to buy.

5. Columns Are Killers
It’s a big mistake for restaurants to list prices in a straight column. “Customers will go down and choose from the cheapest items.”

Consultants say to omit “leader dots” that connect the dish to the price; and to drop dollar signs, decimal points, and cents

6. The Benefit Of Boxes
“A box draws attention and, usually, orders.

When you see an item in a box, think “high margin”

7. Menu Siberia
That’s where low-margin dishes that the regulars like end up. They’re there, but relatively easy-to-miss  … or so the restaurant hopes..

8. Bracketing
A regular trick …  it’s when the same dish comes in different sizes.

Because youre never sure of the portion size, you’re tempted to to trade up … especially from small to “regular” size.

* * * * *

Excerpted from Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It), to be published in January by Hill & Wang, an imprint of Farrar, Straus & Giroux. © 2010 by William Poundstone.
http://nymag.com/restaurants/features/62498/

Posted in Behavioral Economics, Mktg - Pricing, Mktg - Product Line Mgnt, PVP - Concepts, frameworks, examples, PVP Concepts-Frameworks-Examples | Leave a Comment »