LeBronomics: Which is better, paying no state income taxes in Florida or $12.5 million to NY ?

July 12, 2010

Talk about having your cake and eating it.

LeBron gets Miami in the winter instead of Ohio, gets a sure-shot at a title and, oh yeah, saves $12.5 in state income taxes … almost enough to cover the first wave of Obama’s tax hikes.

That’s win-win-win.

* * * * *

In a July 1 blog post, the New York Post warned that “dysfunctional lawmakers in Albany” could cost the state a chance to bring the coveted athlete to New York.

“If LeBron James goes to the Miami Heat instead of the [New York] Knicks, blame our dysfunctional lawmakers in Albany, who have saddled top-earning New Yorkers with the highest state and city income taxes in the nation, soon to be 12.85 percent on top of the IRS bite.”

On a five-year contract worth $96 million, LeBron would pay

  • $12.34 million in New York taxes.
  • $10.32 million in NJ state taxes
  • $5.69 million in Ohio state taxes
  • No state income taxes in Florida 

Note: Professional athletes do have to pay other state taxes for the dates they play in visiting team arenas, but most of Mr. James’s considerable endorsement income would be taxed at Florida rates.

Business & Media Institute,  LeBronomics: Could High Taxes Influence James’ Team Decision?, 7/8/2010 http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2010/20100708120415.aspx

* * * * *

From the WSJ:

We feel for Cleveland fans, but maybe they should allocate some of their wrath to the state politicians who keep driving high-income individuals and their businesses to financially sunnier climes.  

While LeBron’s departure got extraordinary media attention, it is hardly unique.

  • In the early 1990s, Ohio was the home of 43 Fortune 500 companies. Twenty years later the number is 24.
  • Census Bureau data show that from 2004-2008 Ohio saw a net outmigration of $6 billion of income and some 97,000 taxpayers.
  • Even Ohio’s famously liberal Senator, the late Howard Metzenbaum, moved to Florida late in his life to reduce his estate taxes.

WSJ: LeBron’s Tax Holiday, July 10, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704075604575357232023445918.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

Posted in Sports & Athletics, Sports - Games - Recreation, Taxes | Leave a Comment »

Start-ups are cool … but these days, they don’t create jobs.

July 9, 2010

Interesting perspective from Intel’s Andy Grove: these days, ideas are still being developed in the U.S. but when they’re “scaled up” to production levels, the associated jobs go off-shore.

* * * * *

Excerpted from Bloomberg BusinessWeek: How to Make an American Job Before It’s Too Late, Andy Grove, Jul 1, 2010

Since the early days of Silicon Valley, the money invested in companies has increased dramatically, only to produce fewer jobs.

Simply put, the U.S. has become wildly inefficient at creating American jobs.

The great Silicon Valley innovation machine hasn’t been creating many jobs of late — unless you are counting Asia, where American technology companies have been adding jobs like mad for years.

Startups are a wonderful thing, but they cannot by themselves increase employment.

Equally important is what comes after that mythical moment of creation in the garage, as technology goes from prototype to mass production. This is the phase where companies scale up. They work out design details, figure out how to make things affordably, build factories, and hire people by the thousands. Scaling is hard work but necessary to make innovation matter.

Scaling isn’t easy. The investments required are much higher than in the invention phase. And funds need to be committed early, when not much is known about the potential market.

The scaling process is no longer happening in the U.S.  And as long as that’s the case, plowing capital into young companies that build their factories elsewhere will continue to yield a bad return in terms of American jobs.

* * * * *

Today, manufacturing employment in the U.S. computer industry is about 166,000 — lower than it was before the first personal computer was assembled in 1975. Meanwhile, a very effective computer-manufacturing industry has emerged in Asia, employing about 1.5 million workers — factory employees, engineers and managers.

For every Apple worker in the U.S. there are 10 people in China working on iMacs, iPods and iPhones.

The same roughly 10-to-1 relationship holds for Dell, disk-drive maker Seagate Technology, and other U.S. tech companies.

The job-machine breakdown isn’t just in computers.  U.S. employment in the making of photovoltaic films and panels is perhaps 10,000 — just a few percent of estimated worldwide employment.

Full article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-01/how-to-make-an-american-job-before-it-s-too-late-andy-grove.html

Posted in Employment - Jobs, Entrepreneurship | Leave a Comment »

Let’s end amateur hour … please !

July 9, 2010

I was surprised that – in 2008 – folks were able to brush aside Obama’s complete lack of operating experience.

I was told: not to worry.  He’s really smart (I still would love to see his transcripts) and he surrounds himself with strong people (pick one: Biden, Holder, Napolitano, Salazar)

This guy hits the nail on the head …

* * * * *

Excerpted from AOL: It’s Amateur Hour in the Nation’s Capital, July 1, 2010

While decorum can be imposed by fiat, it is genuine respect that prompts teams to achieve in all fields, and which must be earned.

In recent years, we have seen many situations where those with little or no pertinent experience or knowledge impose their views upon the country and in the process undermine respect for major institutions with their ineptitude.

For example, In House hearings on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, we have noted experts in petroleum engineering — Reps. Henry Waxman and Edward Markey — making determinations as to which well-drilling method was preferable.

And, we have a treasury secretary with no private sector experience and who had trouble filing an accurate tax return.

If our country is going to get back on track, we need to redevelop confidence in and respect for our leaders and institutions. This means first and foremost electing and appointing people who command this respect by virtue of their bona fide achievements and not simply their paper credentials.

In recent years, far too many people with prestigious degrees and titles have made far too many horrible decisions that have caused great harm to Americans everywhere.

We need people who have shown through their actual performance in business, the military, government or academia (preferably in multiple areas that pertain to the problems we face) that they can and will handle pressure and act at all times with integrity and good judgment.

The time for on the job training in lofty positions is over.

We need to be led by those who genuinely command respect.

Full article:
http://www.aolnews.com/opinion/article/opinion-its-amateur-hour-in-the-nations-capital/19538553

Posted in Leadership, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

Flashback: Why private sector jobs won’t be coming back any time soon

July 8, 2010

In the past week or so, major media has caught onto the point that CEOs are dismayed by Team Obama’s economic, regulatory and pro-union policies and won’t do any serious hiring while Obama  is in power. 

For the record, the Homa Files pitched this case almost a year ago in a post titled: “Why private sector jobs won’t be coming back any time soon … hint: it’s called passive aggressive resistance” … the punch line:

Given the Administration’s anti-corporate rhetoric, actions, and proposed game-changing rules, I doubt that many CEOs will be taking on added costs and risks to boost the administration.

More likely, they will let unemployment continue to creep up, and will slow roll the process of rehiring. 

Corporate chieftains will sit back and watch the President squirm and spin his “4 million jobs – saved or created”.  As Rev. Wright would say “the chickens will have come home to roost”.  Passively aggressive  resistance at its very best.

Unfortunately, that means we’ll be seeing double digit unemployment for some time – at least through the 2010 Congressional elections.

The full post is worth another read !
https://kenhoma.wordpress.com/2009/07/21/why-private-sector-jobs-wont-be-coming-back-any-time-soon/

* * * * *

Ken’s current take:

Certainly there won’t be any meaningful hiring until the Nov. elections are in the book. 

CEO heels are dug in.  I’ve heard cocktail party chatter like “Each job added is a vote for Obama … Fool me once, shame on you … fool me twice, shame on me”

CEOs may relent a bit if Obama put in check by a GOP Congress … but frankly, I don’t think it’ll be statistically significant.

We’ll be stuck with unemployment in the 9s until 2012 … or until there’s a substantial policy roll-back – e.g. repealing ObamaCare.

And, the latter just ain’t gonna happen …

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

Flashback: “Line by line”

July 8, 2010

Remember when Obama was on the stump and he told us to “make no mistake about it,”  he’ll go through the federal budget “line by line” and take a “scalpel” to spending.

Yeah, right.

Posted in Obama - Promises Made & Kept | Leave a Comment »

Wall Street Shocker: Dem fundraising stalls among bankers …

July 7, 2010

Punch line: A revolt among big donors on Wall Street is hurting fundraising for the Democrats’ with contributions from the world’s financial capital down 65 percent from two years ago.

Only thing that surprises me is that the Dems have the nads to ask Wall Streeters for dough …

* * * * *

Excerpted from Washington Post,Democratic campaign committees losing big Wall Street donors, July 6, 2010

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee have … raised $49.5 million this election cycle from people giving $1,000 or more at a time, compared with $81.3 million at this point in the last election. T

he drop in support comes from many of the same bankers, hedge fund executives and financial services chief executives who are most upset about the financial regulatory reform bill 

Among the notables tossing shutouts at the Dems:

  • Jamie Dimon, the head of J.P. Morgan Chase, donated $65,000 to the Democratic committees in 2006 and 2008,  This election cycle, he has not contributed at all.
  • Leon Black, a co-founder of the $53 billion New York-based Apollo Global Management a private-equity firm,gave more than $200,000 to Democratic congressional committees over the previous two election cycles but have not given this year.
  • Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive and chairman of Goldman Sachs, has not donated to the Democrats, either, after giving $50,000 in the previous two cycles.

This fundraising free fall from the New York area has left Democrats with diminished resources to defend their House and Senate majorities in November’s midterm elections.

Full article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/05/AR2010070502913.html?hpid=topnews

Posted in Obama Administration, Wall Street | Leave a Comment »

Houston, we have a problem …

July 7, 2010

Whatever happened to going to the moon, or going to Mars, or developing new technologies that can be ported to industry ?

* * * * *

In a recent interview NASA head Charles Bolden said:

  When I became the NASA administrator, [Obama] charged me with three things

  • First, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math;
  • Second, he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and
  • Third,, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering.”

Full article: Washington Examiner, NASA’s new mission: Building ties to Muslim world, July 6, 2010
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/NASA_s-new-mission_-Building-ties-to-Muslim-world-97817909.html

Posted in NASA, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

How far can a brand be extended? … Answer: it depends.

July 7, 2010

Many  successful new product introductions each year are brand extensions, such as Apple’s iPhone, Godiva coffee, and Jeep strollers.

Researchers conducted a few experiments to determine what makes a brand “elastic.” That is, having brand power that extends beyond a brand’s core product.

Their findings:

  • Consumers tend to respond more favorably to extensions that fit with their perceptions of the parent brand.
  • Consumers are more accepting of extensions into distant product categories for brands with prestige concepts (think Rolex) than brands with functional concepts (think Timex).
  • With functional brands, holistic thinkers provide more favorable responses to distant extensions than analytic thinkers.

* * * * *

Marketing Tip

Match product information with the consumer’s style of thinking.

“Adjectives induce a holistic frame by encouraging a focus on global, abstract relationships.

Verbs induce an analytic frame by encouraging focus on specific properties and details.” 

* * * * *

Source: “What Makes Brands Elastic? The Influence of Brand Concept and Styles of Thinking on Brand Extension Evaluation,” by Alokparna Basu Monga and Deborah Roedder John. Journal of Marketing, 2010.

Source article from Marketing Profs:
http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/1866/all-together-now-stretch/?adref=NciW3610

Posted in Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

Here’s what NOT to tell your boss, when you miss your performance objective (by a lot)

July 6, 2010

Let’s fresh our memories. 

Obama’s crack team of economists said: “Let O spend $750 billion to stimulate the economy and unemployment won’t go over 8%”.

Then, Team Obama overspent the $750 billion by about $100 billion.

If you’re keeping track, that’s an overspend of more than 13%.

(Don’t try that at your company … )

Then, unemployment shot past 8%, all the way to 10% … and has settled between 9.5 and 10%.

The first excuse: “the mess we inherited was even worse than we could have imagined.”

Hmmm.

You self-proc;aim to be the the smartest people on God’s earth and you’re the ones who set the performance metric.

Try again.

OK, try this: “critics say the unemployment rate is 9.7% .. but at least it’s not 12% or 13% or 15%…”

Huh ?

First, in Racine – where the stupid line was delivered – unemployment is 14.2%

Second, the argument is idiotic.  Carried to the logical extreme, as long as unemployment stays below 100%, the stimulus worked because unemployment could have been even higher – forget that 8% number.

Try that logic in your next operating review: “well we might have lost even more market share”.

My bet: you’ll be shown the door.

Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it … I love when the teleprompter is turned off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3TlNsPFkyE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3TlNsPFkyE

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

Caddy’s puttin’ on the Ritz … lipstick on a pig ?

July 6, 2010

Bottom line: After years of decline, Cadillac is trying to regain its luxury aura.

But given its older and less affluent owner base, that’s an uphill battle.

* * * * *

Excerpted from BusinessWeek, What Cadillac Is Learning from the Ritz, June 17, 2010

Last year, General Motors spent $354 million on marketing for its Cadillac division — more than any other luxury car maker in the U.S.

The branding campaign was largely ineffective: In 2009 Cadillac sold all of 109,092 vehicles, its worst year since 1953.

The brand’s product lineup needs refreshing, the average age of its buyers is a less-than-youthful 62 (13 years older than typical BMW owners), and Cadillac hasn’t been the top-selling luxury auto brand in the U.S. since 1997.

What to do? Sell like the Ritz.

It’s taking a cue from the hotel chain’s attention to customer service to restore a brand that’s sorely lacking in luster

In its effort to reconnect with upscale customers, GM has brought in trainers from Ritz-Carlton to show Cadillac dealers how to create a consistent sales experience across the U.S.

Cadillac has copied Ritz’s pocket-size “Credo” cards, which explain how customers should be treated.

Ritz employees also have $2,000 that can be used to make up for a bad experience or surprise a guest with a better one.

So Cadillac service chiefs are now given greater flexibility to extend OnStar subscriptions, provide free maintenance, or even reduce service charges for customers who are unhappy.

GM also is trying to garnish the brand image. Cadillac recently removed most references to mass-market icon GM from its Web pages and e-mails.

Still, no image remake can fully succeed until Cadillac comes up with more stylish models that can attract younger buyers.

For now, the company’s image will likely remain dinged as it continues churning out land yachts which appeal mainly to buyers in their 70s.

“They don’t need another  geezer-mobile.”

Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_26/b4184024360730.htm?chan=magazine+channel_news+-+companies+%2B+industries

Posted in Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

"Let him eat! Let him eat!"

July 6, 2010

The decorum of the annual Coney Island hot dog eating contest was disrupted when a former chanp dog-eater stormed the stage.

Is nothing sacred ?

* * * * *

ITN: Tsumani storms the stage at hot dog eating contest,  Jul 5 2010

Competitive eater Joey “Jaws” Chestnut gobbled his way to a fourth consecutive championship un the annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Champion Chestnut downed 54 hot dogs in ten minutes to win the annual Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Chestnut was disappointed with his performance, despite claiming the bejewelled, mustard-yellow prize belt plus a $20,000 purse.

The 26-year-old from San Jose, California, was aiming for a record 70 dogs in ten minutes, beating his own record of 68 last year.

The event was marred when Chestnut was suddenly upstaged by the surprise appearance of his biggest rival: six-time champion Takeru Kobayashi, who did not compete but crashed the stage after Chestnut’s win and wrestled with police. He has been charged with resisting arrest, trespass and obstructing governmental administration.

“Let him eat! Let him eat!” the crowd chanted as police handcuffed the world’s Number three professional eater, dubbed “The Tsunami.”

32-year-old Kobayashi did not eat this year because he refused to sign a contract with Major League Eating, the fast food equivalent of the NFL.

Full article:
http://itn.co.uk/5249dbb22d318bd642d2288f15577336.html

 

Posted in Laughs, Sports & Athletics, Sports - Games - Recreation | Leave a Comment »

Happy Fourth of July !

July 4, 2010

Kick back … enjoy your families … be thankful for our freedoms.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Recovery Summer Update: THE bold stroke implemented yesterday …

July 2, 2010

Yes, I’m talking the ObamaCare tanning salon excise tax – it went into effect yesterday.  As near as I can tell, it’s the only operative part of ObamaCare.

I feel my health care improving as I write this …

* * * * *

Excerpted from: Businessweek, Tanning Salon Patrons Face 10% Tax for Glowing Skin, July 01, 2010,

The price of looking good increases by 10 percent on July 1 when a tax on indoor tanning created by the U.S. health-care reform bill takes effect.

The tax is expected to raise $2.7 billion over 10 years, according to a March 10 estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation.

Small-business owners will be hurt by the tax …

  • There are more than 20,000 tanning salons in the U.S.
  • Women own 67 percent of them
  • The industry employs about 140,000 people

Centers that use spray-on services or lotions are exempt from the tax.

Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-01/tanning-salon-patrons-face-10-tax-for-glowing-skin.html

Posted in ObamaCare | 1 Comment »

Productive whining: how to resolve your consumer disputes

July 1, 2010

When Outback cut the size of their salads, I expressed my disappointment via OB’s online customer feedback site.  Result: free din-din next time in.

That may have been my only complaint win … ever.

Below are some more powerful techniques for whiners. 

* * * * *

Excerpted from NY Times: A Guide to Complaints That Get Results , May 21, 2010

Here are some favorite techniques and stratagems for prevailing in consumer disputes …

USE YOUR CAMERA:  always photograph any unpleasant surprises in hotel rooms – like dingy towels, broken shelves and a view that was less than promised and paid for. A picture is worth a thosand words.

REQUEST A PRIVATE CHAT: Another hotel technique:  ask the manager to step out from behind the counter. “This sets a tone of importance and mystery.”

BE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, PART 1: Some have succeeded in a number of on-the-spot negotiations in hotels and restaurants by simply recounting the flaws in the experience and their unhappy effect on them and their family. Never lie or exaggerate. Just state the facts, calmly. When the manager inevitably asks, “Well, what can we do to make this right?” be ready with a reasonable request.

TRY TO REVERSE THE CHARGE: You can skip direct negotiations entirely and call your credit or charge card company. If you can provide compelling evidence that you’ve been snookered, the maker of your plastic will first suspend the charge while it looks into the matter, and then reverse it if your version of events wins the day. American Express gets especially high marks in this department.

BE PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, PART 2: When you’re talking to a phone rep, time is on your side for two reasons. The first is that phone reps are often timed and expected to churn through a certain number of calls per hour. The second is that nearly all call reps are prohibited from hanging up on you. So the longer you’re willing to stay on the phone and repeat that you are not satisfied, and do not want to end the call, the better your chances of getting what you want.

ASK THIS SIMPLE QUESTION:  When stymied by phone reps, simply ask, “What would you do if you were in my situation?” They’ll often pass along an effective tip about how to get the desired result” 

WRITE THE CEO: Lots of complainers have success sending letters to the C.E.O., or chief auditor, or any combination of higher-ups — the more the merrier, it seems.  Send it registered mail for added gravity and while you’re at it, note that you’ve sent a copy of the letter to a government agency, like the Federal Trade Commission.

Worst case, suing in small claims court, turns out to be a pretty effective way to get the attention of just about any corporation. Reportedly, some companies surrender once the case is filed, or skip the court date.

Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/your-money/23haggler.html?ref=business

Posted in Customer Satisfaction - Loyalty, Customer Service | 1 Comment »

What “Mission Accomplished” was to Bush, “Recovery Summer” will be to Obama … just watch.

July 1, 2010

First unforced error: Obama touts study by his econ gurus Romer & Bernstein that – if a trillion dollars of faux-stimulus is thrown at the economy – unemployment will stay under 8%.  Oops.

Second unforced error, declaring the next couple of months “Recovery Summer” … kicked off by the President’s visit to a new hospital wing in swing-state Ohio that added 36 temporary construction jobs.

Since then:

  • CEO’s in the Business Roundtable sent a letter outlining how the administration’s policies are crippling job growth
    https://kenhoma.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/business-roundtable-ceos-come-out-of-the-closet/
  • The G-8 has jumped out of the stimulus canoe, opting for austerity – lower spending, lower deficits
  • The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 52.9 from 62.7
  • The stock market has plunged
  • ADP reported that private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased by 13,000 in June …  Economists had expected ADP to report a jobs gain of 60,000 for June.
  • Weekly new jobless claims claims increased by almost 3%

And, oh yeah – there’s an unemployment report coming tomorrow.

Stay tuned …

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

Why are gas prices artificially high on the the East Coast ?

July 1, 2010

This was a reply to our post on the Super Skimmer that’s been kept out of the Gulf clean-up.

A different twist on the now famous Jones Act that I thought was pretty interesting.

The Jones Act also plays a part in higher gasoline and diesel prices on the East Coast.

The US East Coast doesn’t have enough refining capacity to meet in sitsu needs and must bring in fuel from the Gulf Coast or foreign markets. The pipelines from Texas and Louisiana are full and Jones Act ships are fairly small and carry higher per cargo unit operating costs compared to internationally flagged vessels.

Therefore ~25% of the gasoline sold along the East Coast is imported from Europe and the Caribbean.

Seems like changes in the Jones Act on this issue could create more jobs for refiners and longshoremen in the US, reduce the total carbon footprint of a gallon of gasoline and reduce fuel prices by a few cents per gallon.

Thanks to MSB MBA alum Chris H.

Posted in Gulf Blowout & Clean-up, Oil & Energy | Leave a Comment »

Uh-oh … chicken McNuggets and Chipotle’s burrito under attack from health police

July 1, 2010

I can’t add much to this one, except to say it hits close to home …

I had a Chipole on Saturday and have been under the weather since Sunday evening.  Coincidence ?

* * * * *

Excerpted from BrandChannel: McDonald’s McNuggets Under Fire, June 29, 2010

One particularly kid-appealing food item on McDonald’s menu  is facing fire following an investigation by CNN — the Chicken McNugget.

The humble McNugget is being attacked for containing the same chemical found in Silly Putty, a toy tie-in that McDonald’s isn’t eager to have associated with its name.

Specifically, McNuggets “contain the chemical preservative tBHQ, tertiary butylhydroquinone, a petroleum-based product.”  and dimethylpolysiloxane, ‘an anti-foaming agent’ also used in Silly Putty.”

McDonald’s is not the only fast food giant to constantly face public criticism over its food.

Chipotle, a chain that prides itself on fresh, local ingredients, was recently attacked for serving burritos that are less healthy than a Big Mac.

Chipotle defends the product while acknowledging that its sodium level is too high.

Full article:
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/06/29/McDonalds-Chicken-McNuggets-Under-Fire.aspx

Posted in Health & Nutrition | 1 Comment »

Job candidates behaving badly … 8 bonehead moves.

June 30, 2010

From the WSJ:  eight bone-headed moves job hunters commonly make. …

1. Entitlement syndrome.

One company received an unsolicited résumé full of grammatical and spelling errors with a note asking to have someone on the company’s staff correct them. “I’m sure you have people there that could fix them before they put it into your online database on my behalf,” the applicant wrote.

2. Behaving rudely.

A candidate for an administrative position showed up to an interview with a preschooler in tow.

A candidate for an entry-level outsourcing job at Accenture Ltd. unwrapped a sandwich during an interview and asked the hiring manager if he could eat it since it was lunchtime.

Job hunters have also acted rudely by showing up more than an hour early for interviews, interrupting interviewers in mid-sentence and refusing to fill out a job application, referring hiring managers to their résumés instead, say hiring managers and recruiters.

3. Acting arrogantly.

In the middle of the meeting, the interviewer suddenly heard Madonna singing — it was the ring tone for the candidate’s cell phone … and the person took the call.

Other candidates show arrogance by demanding to bypass human resources, inquiring about salary and job benefits at the start of an interview and insulting former employers.

4. Lies, lies, lies.

Job hunters also commonly lie by taking credit for work they didn’t do, inflating their salaries and saying they don’t smoke when seeking positions at companies with no-smoking policies.

5. Dressing down.

“She was wearing a t-shirt three sizes too small with bright red letters across her chest … I couldn’t help but pay more attention to her breasts than her résumé.”

While it might be acceptable to skip a suit and tie in some office environments, it’s never appropriate to wear jeans, cleavage-revealing tops, flip-flops or skin-tight pants.

“You should also take out all your funky piercings and hide your tattoos.” 

6. Oversharing.

After learning that a position involved a great deal of travel, a candidate for a senior sales job at a midsize manufacturer told the interviewer he was worried about how his saltwater fish would get fed while he was away.

Other things employers say that job hunters reveal — but shouldn’t — include comments about their health problems, details about their love lives and tales of their financial hardships.

7. Saying thanks with gifts.

A finalist sent a pricey fruit bowl from Tiffany & Co. to a hiring manager following a third interview. The candidate was instantly knocked out of the running. “That was a real big faux pas … It’s trying to buy yourself a job..”

A thank-you note is really the only appropriate way to show appreciation. But even so, hiring managers say they’ve received everything from pricey tickets to sporting events to bottles of alcohol —a ll big no-no’s.

8. Sporting a mom-and-dad complex.

One recruiter reports has receiving emails from parents of applicants asking why the company hasn’t extended their adult children job interviews.

“There’s a significant lack of judgment when you have your parents intercede with a potential employer … We expect individuals to be able to represent themselves and sell themselves.”

Hiring managers say they’ve also seen moms and dads accompany their offspring to job interviews and try to intervene in salary negotiations.

WSJ, Big Blunders Job Hunters Make,JUNE 25, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703615104575328641186507512.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESixthNews

Posted in Careers & Interviewing | Leave a Comment »

Finally, an event sponsorship that won’t make you barf …

June 30, 2010

Pepto-Bismol is joining the list of sponsors for Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

It will be the first stomach remedy product associated with the event.

Held since 1916, the hog-dog eating contest is an iconic summer ritual in which contestants scarf down as many wieners as possible in 10 minutes. Last year’s winner, Joey Chestnut of San Jose, Calif., swallowed 68 hot dogs and buns.

Nationwide, nearly 1.5 million households tuned into ESPN’s live television broadcast of the circuslike event last year.

Source: WSJ, JUNE 24, 2010 Famed Hot-Dog Event Gets a New Sponsor
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575327031542864968.html

Thanks to JMH for feeding the lead.

* * * * *

Late Breaking

Major League Eating recently announced a ban on vuvuzelas, the plastic horns whose hums have provided a constant backdrop during FIFA World Cup matches.

No kidding re: the name of the organization or the ban.

Posted in Laughs, Sports & Athletics | Leave a Comment »

Super skimmer kept out of the Gulf … score another for the unions.

June 29, 2010

This is nuts.

A skimmer capable gathering more oil in a day than has been collected to date in the Gulf is being kept out of the action because of the union-protectionist Jone’s Act.

Makes sense since Louisiana voted for McCain and the unions voted for Obama.

* * * * *

Excerpted from AP: Super skimmer stops in Virginia while waiting for clearance to work in Gulf, June 28th, 2010

With no assurances it will be allowed to join the Gulf of Mexico oil spill cleanup, a Taiwanese-owned ship billed as the world’s largest skimming vessel is docked in Norfolk, VA ready to join the Gulf clean-op effort.

The ship—the length of 3 1/2 football fields and 10 stories high—is designed to collect up to 500,000 barrels of oily water a day.

The company is still negotiating with the Coast Guard to join the cleanup and does not have a contract with BP to perform cleanup work. The company also needs environmental approval and waiver of a nearly century-old Jones law aimed at protecting U.S. union interests.

Environmental Protection Agency approval is required because some of the seawater returned to the Gulf would have traces of oil.

The Coast Guard, which has received more than 2,000 cleanup proposals, said the supertanker skimmer had survived a preliminary review and was being studied further.

The converted oil tanker has the capacity of holding 2 million barrels, but would limit its holding tanks to 1 million barrels for environmental reasons. Oil skimmed up by the tanker would be separated from seawater, then transferred to another vessel.

Its owners claim the ship could gulp oily water at a daily rate that nearly matches the skimming total to date in the Gulf.

“This spill is unprecedented and you need an unprecedented solution.“

Full article:
http://dailycaller.com/2010/06/28/super-skimmer-stops-in-virginia-while-waiting-for-clearance-to-work-in-gulf/

Posted in Gulf Blowout & Clean-up | 3 Comments »

Alum props: Jen Folsom of Momentum Resources featured in Newsweek

June 29, 2010

Jen Folsom, MSB MBA ‘02, got some nice press in Newsweek … she’s become one of our rockstar alums ! 

Way to go, Jen.

* * * * *

Newsweek, The Vanishing 9-to-5 Job, June 25,2010

On a typical weekday, Jennifer Folsom works from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to about 8 p.m. Her hours may sound like they belong to a college student cobbling together a hodgepodge of part-time jobs, but Folsom is the director of a successful D.C. headhunting firm where she oversees a handful of employees with equally irregular schedules.

“We get the job done and I work 50 or 60 hours a week,” says Folsom, who adapts her work schedule to give herself time with her three sons. “I just don’t necessarily do it from 9 to 5.”

As the traditional U.S. workday continues to fade, Folsom’s experience may soon become the rule rather than the exception. Two generations ago, America’s workforce — from Ford’s assembly-line workers to IBM’s “company men” — would show up to work at 9 a.m. on the dot and leave the second the whistle blew at 5 o’clock. Now, one in five Americans works mostly nonstandard hours — nights, weekends, or rotating shifts.

Experts believe that statistic will balloon in coming years as the Great Recession accelerates a cultural shift in the corporate world, allowing more employees to tailor their work schedules to preference, position, and personal life.

Folsom has seen this firsthand. Her company, Momentum Resources, is designed to place professionals in senior-level positions with flexible hours.

When she helped start the firm in 2007, her biggest challenge was convincing CEOs that their stringent loyalty to the 9-to-5 workday was impeding them from acquiring top talent, specifically working mothers with impressive résumés.

“They just weren’t set up to do it,” she says. But the model has proven remarkably successful at companies like Best Buy and employers seem more willing to adapt these days: since 2007, Momentum has placed flex employees with more than 250 clients in the D.C. metro area, and Folsom says demand is growing.

Full article:
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/25/the-vanishing-9-to-5-job.html

Posted in Careers & Interviewing, MSB - School & Alums | Leave a Comment »

A middle class marginal tax rate of 37% … way to go ObamaCare

June 29, 2010

There are many perverse incentives built into ObamaCare. Here’s one:

Middle class Americans who aren’t insured through their companies can buy heavily subsidized policies under the plan.

The problem is that as their incomes rise, the subsidies decline, giving them far less incentive to work more hours or stretch for raises.

For example, if the income for a family of four rises from $55,000 to $66,000, their contribution to their premium jumps from $4,400 to $6,600, erasing 22% of the $10,000 increase.

Source: Fortune, The best stimulus? Spend less, borrow less, June 24, 2010
http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/24/news/economy/stimulus_spending_cuts.fortune/index.htm

* * * * *

Note:

Assuming that the $66,000 puts the family in the 15% tax bracket, it’s the equivalent of a 37% marginal tax … right up there with the rich folks.

Go figure …

Posted in ObamaCare | Leave a Comment »

Don’t these jabronies* ever learn ?

June 28, 2010

Holder looks dumb when he has to admit that he hadn’t read the Arizonia law that he intends to challenge in court.

Napolitano looks dumber when – a day or two later – she says she’s opposed to the law but hasn’t read it either.

Pelosi says they haad to pass ObamaCare to find out what’s in it.

Now, our DC intelligentsia passes a massive Financial Regulatory law (which, incidentally, doesn’t touch Fannie or Freddie) and …

Sen. Dodd who as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee says:

“No one will know until this is actually in place how it works. But we believe we’ve done something that has been needed for a long time.” 

Source article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062500675_pf.html

* * * * *

* jabronie: used to describe a person or action lacking judgment or sense.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jabronies

Posted in Financial Reform | Leave a Comment »

Bold Stroke: GMAT to start testing skills that matter to MBAs

June 28, 2010

In its biggest change in more than a decade, the B-school admissions test will have a new section designed to test advanced reasoning skills.

Two years from now, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), the primary gatekeeper to business school for generations of MBA students, will get its biggest makeover in more than a decade, with the addition of a new section designed to test advanced reasoning skills.

The new section will replace one of the two writing sections currently on the exam … The test’s current verbal and math sections will remain unchanged.

The coming changes to the GMAT were pressed by faculty members at business schools around the world, who told the testing organization that they wanted a section that simulated the skills students use in MBA classrooms.

“These questions are really microcosms of what goes on in the MBA classroom, and it will help schools identify students [who] will thrive in the classroom, not just survive.”

The format of the new GMAT section—which GMAC has dubbed the integrated reasoning section—will be different from anything students have encountered before on the test.

Test takers will need to interpret charts, graphs, and spreadsheets, determine the relationships among data points, and answer interactive questions that will test their analytical skills.

The changes to the exam mirror shifts in the business school classroom in recent years, as schools have changed their curriculums to emphasize problem-solving and critical thinking.”So far, with the students we’ve tested, they felt like it did simulate what they are expected to do in business school.” 

Excerpted from BusinessWeek, The GMAT Gets a Makeover, June 24, 2010
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2010/bs20100624_048037.htm

Posted in MBAs | 1 Comment »

Yesterday the Homa Files, today the Wall Street Journal …

June 25, 2010

Yesterday, the Homa Files posted ”Business Roundtable CEOs come out of the closet … “
https://kenhoma.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/business-roundtable-ceos-come-out-of-the-closet/

Punch line:  CEOs are finally speaking out about Obama’s anti-business policies.

Today, the WSJ is on the case

WSJ, Business’s Buyer’s Remorse, June 25, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704911704575327241599453032.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_BelowLEFTSecond

Punch line:  For cooperating with the White House, member companies of the Business Roundtable gets socked with higher taxes and more regulations.

Think the WSJ editors read the Homa Files ?

Posted in Economics, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Bold Move: CA stops use of welfare debit cards in casinos

June 25, 2010

Gov. Schwarzenegger has issued an executive order barring California welfare recipients from using state-issued debit cards at casino ATMs.

The order followed a report by The Los Angeles Times that found CalWORKS cards were used to withdraw cash in more than half the casinos in the state.

The newspaper reported that welfare recipients have withdrawn more than $1.8 million in taxpayer cash at casinos since October.

Schwarzenegger’s order requires welfare recipients to sign a pledge that they will use their benefits only to meet the basic needs of their families.

Source: AP, Shwarzenegger bans welfare cards at casinos,  June 24, 2010
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/24/AR2010062406172.html

Posted in Laughs, Waste & Fraud | Leave a Comment »

In 1970, 10% of babies were born out of wedlock; in 2008, the percentage was …

June 25, 2010

… a whooping 40.6% for the overall population, and 72.3 % for non-Hispanic Blacks.

May be common knowledge, but was a shocker to me …

image

image

http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2010/pdf/wm2934_bythenumbers.pdf?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=Morning%2BBell

Posted in Census - Birth Rates | Leave a Comment »

Warning: this will make your mouth water … guaranteed !

June 25, 2010

The Center for Science in the Public Interest puts out an annual ranking of unhealthy (i.e. really good tasting) restaurant dishes.

Reads like they just shadow the Homa family around for awhile.

I may submit a job app – imagine getting paid for scarfing this stuff.

* * * * *

NutritionAction CSPI: Xtreme Eating 2010 , June 2010

2010 Xtreme Eating Awards

Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger: A Five Guys Bacon Cheeseburger has 920 calories and 30 grams of saturated fat (1½ days’ worth) without toppings. Think two Quarter Pounders. And how many Five Guys patrons eat a burger without fries or a drink? Add 620 calories for the regular fries .

The Cheesecake Factory’s Chocolate Tower Trouble Cake. A tower of any food is rarely a good idea. If it weren’t served on its side, this one would stand over six inches tall. And upright or not, the slab of cake still weighs in at threequarters of a pound. What do you get for all that heft? Just 1,670 calories and 2½ days’ worth of saturated fat (48 grams.

California Pizza Kitchen Tostada Pizza with Steak: The (individual-size) Tostada Pizza brings 1,440 calories and more than a day’s saturated fat (27 grams) and sodium (2,630 mg) to each diner. The crust alone supplies some 400 calories’ worth of flour (about 1 cup). With grilled steak the pizza has 1,680 calories, 32 grams of sat fat, and 3,300 mg of sodium.

The Cheesecake Factory’s Pasta Carbonara: A serving of Pasta Carbonara with Chicken has 2,500 calories and 85 grams of sat fat (more than a four-day supply).

P.F. Chang’s Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo: the Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo delivers an off-the-charts 7,690 milligrams of sodium. That’s 3 teaspoons of salt—a five-day supply, and double the outrageous levels in Chang’s lo meins.

Outback Steakhouse New Zealand Rack of Lamb: The total damage from the lamb-plus-sides: 1,820 calories, 80 grams of sat fat, and 2,600 mg of sodium. If you’re on a diet, consider Outback’s 16 oz. Prime Rib instead. With the same sides, it’s a steal at “only” 1,580 calories, 57 grams of sat fat, and 2,240 mg of sodium.

Chevys Crab & Shrimp Quesadilla: the platter packs 1,790 calories and 63 grams of saturated fat plus 3,440 mg of sodium. Ay caramba!

California Pizza Kitchen Pesto Cream Penne:  before you add any chicken or shrimp — it hides 1,350 calories, 49 grams of saturated fat, and 1,920 mg of sodium. That’s essentially what you’d get in a plate of fettuccine Alfredo, which we dubbed a “heart attack on a plate” in 1994. 

Bob Evans Cinnamon Cream Stacked & Stuffed Hotcakes: a stack of three ordinary hotcakes that will add around 1,000 calories’ worth of white flour to your midsection, with a bonus 3 to 9 grams of trans fat (1½ to 4½ days’ worth) and 6 to 12 grams of saturated fat for your heart. And you can pump up the calories on your own by adding syrup (every ¼ cup—just 4 tablespoons— adds 200 calories). Take two pancakes and stuff them with either good stuff (like blueberries or bananas) or garbage (like cinnamon chips made of sugar and oil). Then add a layer of vanilla cream cheese (it’s more like cream than cheese) and a sugary topping (like cinnamon cream), with whipped topping as the coup de grease. Voila! Bob Evans Cinnamon Cream Stacked & Stuffed Hotcakes — bumps up the calories to 1,380, the bad fat to 27 grams of saturated plus 7 grams of trans, and the sugar to 27 teaspoons.

Source article:
http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/xtremeeating2010.html

Posted in Food & Drink, Health & Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

Business Roundtable CEOs come out of the closet …

June 24, 2010

This is a big deal.

The Business Roundtable – the CEO “club” – has stopped playing nice-nice with the President and gone public with a 54 page listing of specifics on how the Obama administration is stifling business growth and employment prospects.

This is important for 2 reasons:

1) The policy concerns are what’s keeping CEOs from hiring.  It’s why unemployent levels will stay around 10% for the foreseeable future.

2) The letter and speech represent a new boldness on the part of the CEOs

I’ve heard directly from a Roundtable member that that the group had been silent on their concerns because, initially, they expected Obama to “move to the middle” and wanted to give him some time. Then, when they saw how vindictive and punishing the administration was towards certain industries and specific companies, they were afraid to speak out.  Now, they figure “what the hell”.

It’s too bad that the McChrystal situation hogged the air the past couple of days … that pushed these public grievances off the front pages.

* * * * *

Excerpted from WSJ : Business Leader Slams ‘Hostile’ Policies on Jobs, June 23, 2010

Where the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the other big business group in the capital, has been openly confrontational with the administration, the Business Roundtable — whose member companies pay 60% of U.S. corporate taxes and employ 12 million people — has until now been reluctant to criticize its policies in public. That has changed.

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, current head of one of the nation’s most influential business groups, slammed the Obama administration for decisions he said “create an increasingly hostile environment for investment and job creation.” He urged the administration to “focus on the big goal,” meaning job growth, “and stop trying to micromanage industries.  By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses … the government needs to be removing itself from the private sector.”

The comments mark one of the sharpest breaks between top executives and the Obama White House. Mr. Seidenberg used  his speech at Washington’s Economic Club to unleash a list of policy grievances over taxes, trade and financial regulation.

  • Increased taxes on foreign earnings
  • Stalled free-trade agreements
  • Shareholder rights to nominate directors
  • End to secret ballots in union elections
  • Expanded damages for pay discriminationEPA regulation of greenhouse gases 

White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said businesses would be helped by the administration’s policies, including its overhaul of the health-care system and promotion of clean energy. “The president has consistently pursued policies designed to create a better climate for American businesses in order to foster job creation, innovation and economic growth,” she said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704853404575322931249166908.html?KEYWORDS=business+roundtable

Posted in Economics, Obama Administration | 2 Comments »

Business Roundtable CEOs come out of the closet …

June 24, 2010

This is a big deal.

The Business Roundtable – the CEO “club” – has stopped playing nice-nice with the President and gone public with a 54 page listing of specifics on how the Obama administration is stifling business growth and employment prospects.

This is important for 2 reasons:

1) The policy concerns are what’s keeping CEOs from hiring.  It’s why unemployent levels will stay around 10% for the foreseeable future.

2) The letter and speech represent a new boldness on the part of the CEOs

I’ve heard directly from a Roundtable member that that the group had been silent on their concerns because, initially, they expected Obama to “move to the middle” and wanted to give him some time. Then, when they saw how vindictive and punishing the administration was towards certain industries and specific companies, they were afraid to speak out.  Now, they figure “what the hell”.

It’s too bad that the McChrystal situation hogged the air the past couple of days … that pushed these public grievances off the front pages.

* * * * *

Excerpted from WSJ : Business Leader Slams ‘Hostile’ Policies on Jobs, June 23, 2010

Where the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the other big business group in the capital, has been openly confrontational with the administration, the Business Roundtable — whose member companies pay 60% of U.S. corporate taxes and employ 12 million people — has until now been reluctant to criticize its policies in public. That has changed.

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, current head of one of the nation’s most influential business groups, slammed the Obama administration for decisions he said “create an increasingly hostile environment for investment and job creation.” He urged the administration to “focus on the big goal,” meaning job growth, “and stop trying to micromanage industries.  By reaching into virtually every sector of economic life, government is injecting uncertainty into the marketplace and making it harder to raise capital and create new businesses … the government needs to be removing itself from the private sector.”

The comments mark one of the sharpest breaks between top executives and the Obama White House. Mr. Seidenberg used  his speech at Washington’s Economic Club to unleash a list of policy grievances over taxes, trade and financial regulation.

  • Increased taxes on foreign earnings
  • Stalled free-trade agreements
  • Shareholder rights to nominate directors
  • End to secret ballots in union elections
  • Expanded damages for pay discriminationEPA regulation of greenhouse gases 

White House spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said businesses would be helped by the administration’s policies, including its overhaul of the health-care system and promotion of clean energy. “The president has consistently pursued policies designed to create a better climate for American businesses in order to foster job creation, innovation and economic growth,” she said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704853404575322931249166908.html?KEYWORDS=business+roundtable

Posted in Economics, Obama Administration | 2 Comments »

Alibi Ike … and other great lines from George Will.

June 24, 2010

Conservative columnist George Will offered up his review of Obama’s oval office oil spill speech.

The link is below … here are some of my favorite lines:

  • The news about his speech is that it is no longer news that he often gives bad speeches. This one, however, was almost magnificently awful.
  • There were trite war metaphors about “the battle” against oil “assaulting” our shores, for which “siege” he has a “battle plan.” (Our government declares war promiscuously — on drugs, poverty, cancer, environmental problems, etc. — but never when actually going to war.)
  • As usual, he attacked George W. Bush. (Chicagoan Obama resembles the fictional baseball player invented by Chicago’s Ring Lardner — Alibi Ike.)
  • He introduced a weird lament about a problem he has aggravated: “We’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water.” He and his party oppose drilling in the tundra of ANWR and in shallower coastal waters.
  • “The one answer I will not settle for is the idea that this challenge is somehow too big and too difficult to meet. You see, the same thing was said about our ability to produce enough planes and tanks in World War II.” Was it really? By whom? Most Americans then were too busy producing—and flying and driving—planes and tanks to entertain the thought Obama imagines was prevalent.
  • Advisers should explain to our Demosthenes that the correlation between the quantity of his speaking and the fortunes of the things for which he speaks is inverse.
  • Diminishing returns from his rhetoric may reflect the public’s recoil from wretched excess everywhere. The unceasing torrent of his ill-chosen words is analogous to the unstoppable oil spill, which itself resembles his and his party’s incontinent spending.

Newsweek, Word Spill – Our Demosthenes is also Alibi Ike, June 20, 2010
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/20/word-spill.html

Posted in Energy, Obama Administration, Oil & Energy | Leave a Comment »

Making quirky profitable … the Subaru way.

June 24, 2010

Punch line: By maintaining the quirky persona of its brand and keeping prices low, Subaru has quietly, but aggressively, increased growth … even through the recession.

* * * * *
Excerpted from: Bloomberg Business Week, At Subaru, Sharing the Love Is a Market Strategy, May 20, 2010

While much of the U.S. auto business is just beginning to emerge from retrenchment mode, sales at Subaru are climbing.

“Our customers were not affected by the recession … They have a better financial situation.”

By courting financially solid buyers with a taste for the quirky, has grown steadily and, for the first time, its unit sales exceed those of such better-known brands as BMW, Lexus, Mazda, and Volkswagen.

Subaru has long been popular with a core of professorial drivers in tweed in the Northeast and flannel-clad outdoor enthusiasts in the Northwest. Lately, however, the carmaker has been aggressively moving beyond the snowy, soggy, and mountainous regions that are its stronghold.

Subaru’s secret is that it understands the customers who drive its cars and has gotten smarter and more aggressive about reaching out to new ones who would feel at home as part of that clan.

  • The average household income of a Subaru owner is $88,000, the same as Honda Motor and $10,000 more than Toyota.
  • Subaru buyers are three years younger than the industry average and a quarter more likely to have a college degree.
  • They are a thrifty lot, traditionally buying less car than they can afford. Some 36 percent pay cash.

Much of the automaker’s marketing focuses on cementing its connection to customers.

  • Subaru’s research shows them to be an eco-friendly bunch who value the freedom to go where they want, when they want.
  • Subaru supports causes such as the American Canoe Assn. and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. Unlike luxury car buyers, Subaruers are “customers who are not buying things, but experiences.”
  • “In their marketing they’ve been focusing on what creates love between the owner and the automobile.”
  • “They are basically adding people who are Subaru buyers in their hearts, but don’t know it.”

The bottom line: By maintaining the quirky persona of its brand and keeping prices low, Subaru has quietly, but aggressively, increased growth.

Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_22/b4180018655478.htm

Posted in Autos - Travel, Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

And you thought you had a bad day …

June 23, 2010

This week hasn’t been going well for President Obama.

First, he catches a Tony Hayward ricochet: As the media tries to pillory Hayward for yachting (a dumb act, for sure), Obama gets outted for taking another stroll around the golf links.  His presser says “ Everyone is ok with the President taking some time off to clear his head on Father’s Day.”  Ken asks: why wasn’t he spending Father’s Day with his kids ?

Then, it gets leaked that Rahm Emmanuel is packing his bag.  Why?  Because a “pragmatic” Rahm is getting burned out butting heads with the White House ideologues.  Ouch.

Then, budget master Peter “Bend the Cost Curve” Orzag announces that he’s outta there in July.  Let somebody else tally the healthcare savings and cut the deficit.  Ouch, again.

Then, a Federal judge in LA rules that the arbitrary and capricious moratorium on off-shore oil drilling is, well, arbitrary and capricious.  Seems he didn’t think the 40 year record of non-spills from thousands of wells should be simply dismissed as an inconvenient fact – and he did have sympathy with the 90,000 workers who were losing their livelihoods.  Hmmm.

Then Gen McChrystal goes off in Rolling Stone – yakking about incompetency, disorganization, and lack of commitment in the administration – at a time that our military heroes are in harm’s way.  Most interesting point: nobody’s disputing the facts, just lamenting that loose-lipped Stanley went rogue.

Now, Obama has a tough decision,  Give McChrystal a pass and he confirms that he isn’t in command.  Fire him and the he takes sole ownership of the Afghan war – which, by the way, isn’t going that well these days.

Cue the teleprompter …

Posted in Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Bailing out government pension plans …

June 23, 2010

There has been mucho chatter recently about gov’t pay levels which exceed comparable private industry rates and gov’t pension plans that make the UAW envious.

Bottom line: Many states have crafted gov’t pension plans that are going to implode in the not too distant future.

So, tax payers in fiscally responsible states will be forced to ante more into the pot to bail out the free-promising, overspending states.

Think about it next time you’re standing in line at the DMV.

* * * * *

Bloomberg: Pension Plans Go Broke as Public Payrolls Expand, June 11, 2010

Seven states will run out of money to pay public pensions by 2020.

That hasn’t stopped them from hiring new employees.

The seven are Illinois, Connecticut, Indiana, New Jersey, Hawaii, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Combined, these states added 9,700 workers to both state and local government payrolls between December 2007 and April of this year.

Companies started firing more employees than they hired in January 2008.

Employment peaked in December 2007 at 115.6 million. During the subsequent two years, companies shed 8.5 million workers, or 7.3 percent.

By contrast,  from a peak of 19.8 million, state and local governments have reduced headcount by 231,000, or 1.2 percent.

What our politicians are telling us is that state and local governments are optimally sized — just right.

If tax revenue declines, well, then we’ll just have to find more taxes and fees to replace it.

We couldn’t possibly look at the cost-of-labor side of the equation.

If you really want to provoke outrage, you have to take into consideration public pensions.

Generous and bloated are the terms that have been used to describe them … What’s clear is that such pensions and benefits now seem unaffordable, because those responsible — state and, sometimes, local governments — didn’t put away enough, or haven’t invested wisely enough, to pay for them.

Full article:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=awW.rqJzAad4

Posted in Gov't Waste & Inefficiency, Gov't Spending | Leave a Comment »

That American brand may be, well, Mexican.

June 23, 2010

Punch line: From Thomas’ English Muffins to Borden milk, Saks Fifth Avenue department stores to The New York Times newspaper, Mexican investors have taken advantage of low interest rates and depressed prices during the economic downturn to expand their holdings in el norte.

* * * * *

USA TODAY, Mexico invests, puts its mark on more U.S. brands, June 18, 2010 

Huge Mexican corporations are snapping up U.S. brand names, opening U.S. factories and investing millions of pesos north of the border.

  • Grupo Lala, Mexico’s largest dairy company, purchased Dallas-based National Dairy Holdings, which controls the Borden brand and 18 regional dairies selling milk under the names Flav-O-Rich, Dairy Fresh, Velda Farms, Sinton’s, Cream O’ Weber, Goldenrod and others.
  • Grupo Bimbo, Latin America’s largest baked-goods company, bought the U.S. baked-goods operations of Weston Foods for $2.4 billion, taking over 22 industrial bakeries and 4,000 distribution routes, and national brands such as Entenmann’s pastries.
  • Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has expanded his empire into the USA. In 2008, Slim bought a 6.9% share in The New York Times and  increased his stake in the Saks Fifth Avenue department stores from 10.9% to 18%.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/world/2010-06-17-mexowned_N.htm

Posted in Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

Obama shells out a mega-buck of taxpayer money to extol his “Big … Deal”

June 23, 2010

On Friday, President Obama’s economic victory lap stopped for an hour in Columbus, Ohio where he declared:

This is a “big….deal,” pausing for effect between the two words between which Biden had inserted an expletive in an overheard whisper three months ago.

CBS estimates that the trip cost taxpayers – you know, about half of the country —  between $500,000 and $1 million since:

  • Air Force One alone bills out at $100,000 per hour
  • There’s a fleet of accompanying military aircraft to carry limos and secret service vehicles
  • The Marine One helicopter is  on standby
  • The security entourage includes Secret Service, local police and other first responders.

And, oh yeah, construction sites in the immediate area were shut down for the day (on Secret Service orders) – so, about 100 workers got unpaid (and unwanted) days off. 

Source article: CBS News, Obama Jokes About Biden’s “Big F-ing Deal” Comment, June 18, 2010
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20008201-503544.html

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

No budget … no budget director … no problem (unless you’re in the half that pays taxes)

June 22, 2010

Previously,  Congress decided that it wouldn’t pass a budget this year – for the first time since 1974.

Apparently, our elected reps concluded that no budget would be easier to defend during this year’s election campaigns than a budget with a staggering deficit.

No Budget from Congress for the first time since 1974.

Congress to busy spending and regulating they have no time for budgeting.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer announced that, for the first time since 1974, the House will not pass a budget resolution this year. 

Without a House budget, no final and binding budget can be enacted. 

As the House Rules Committee website explains, “The budget resolution provides Congress with the opportunity to lay out its spending, revenue, borrowing and economic goals and serves as the vehicle for imposing internal budget discipline through established enforcement mechanisms.” 

No budget means no caps on discretionary spending, and makes it severely unlikely that the Bush tax cuts will be extended, raising taxes on low- and middle-income families in the midst of a recession.

http://www.valuesvoternews.com/2010/05/no-budget-from-congress-for-first-time.html

Now, the WSJ reports that White House budget director Peter Orszag will be leaving his post in July. 

Though he lied thru his teeth on ObamaCare economics, he’s known as one of the few deficit hawks hanging around the White House.

So, this can’t be good news.  We’ll be getting another spend, spend, spend ideologue, for sure.

WSJ, Obama’s Budget Chief to Step Down June 22, 2010

White House budget director Peter Orszag, one of the most visible members of President Barack Obama’s economic team, will be leaving his post in July—the most senior official to leave the Obama administration, according to two knowledgeable administration officials.

Mr. Orszag helped steer through Congress a $797 billion economic-stimulus bill in his first weeks at the White House job before becoming one of the driving forces in shaping the health-care law.

In the fall, the administration will begin the arduous process of putting together the fiscal 2011 budget amid some of the greatest budget pressures in modern U.S. history.

Mr. Orszag, a man who made his name as a budget hawk, first at the Brookings Institution, then at CBO, failed to make a dent on a deficit swollen by spending that shot up during the economic downturn and stayed high as Mr. Obama pushed spending … to restore economic growth.

The deficit is lingering at nearly 10% of the gross domestic product.

Even under the president’s assumptions on declining health-care spending and a freeze on non-security domestic spending, the deficit would not drop to what Mr. Orszag has called sustainable levels over the next decade without a sharper policy response.

 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575321672983811544.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLETopStories

Posted in Budget - Deficit | Leave a Comment »

Oops on the Gulf: The perils of cash businesses …

June 22, 2010

A lot of attention has been focused on the Gulf’s claims process.

Prevalent question: why does it take so long for BP to  pay claims against lost earnings ?

Should be simple, right?

Just submit your 2009 1040 tax return as substantiation of your normal year’s income.

Oops. 

Heard a commentator make a passing observation: “most of these are cash businesses – they don’t keep a lot of records”.

English translation: they don’t report all of their income for tax purposes … so if they just submit tax returns, they won’t get paid for all of their earnings.

Horns of a dilemma: substantiate all earnings and risk getting busted for tax evasion … or take less than your full earnings in a claims settlement.

I think this is called collateral damage.

Let’s see if & when the mainstream media catches onto this one …

Posted in Gulf Blowout & Clean-up | Leave a Comment »

Which athlete has the higest Q-score ? … Hint: It’s not Tiger any more.

June 22, 2010

“Sports Q measures the familiarity and appeal of personalities in a variety of sports categories to determine targeted audience attraction.”

For the first time in more than a decade, Tiger Woods is not at the top of the annual Sports Q Scores list, upon which hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of advertising and marketing decisions are based.

Woods has shared the top spot in the Sports Q rankings with Michael Jordan for as long as Marketing Evaluations, the  research firm that calcs Q-scores can recall.

Tiger now ranks #25. 

Here are  the 2010 Top Sports Q scores …

51 Michael Jordan       
41 John Madden         
41 Shaun White        
40 Peyton Manning   
39 Joe Montana 
39 Arnold Palmer     
38 Jerry Rice   
38 Nolan Ryan  
37 Julius Erving  
37 Magic Johnson  
37 Apolo Anton Ohno 

Source: Marketing Evaluations
http://www.sportingnews.com/golf/article/2010-06-08/sbj-tiger-woods-plummets-on-sports-q-scores-list

Posted in Sports Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Are those Hillary’s footsteps that O is hearing ?

June 21, 2010

Last week in the Homa Files we opined that President Obama made a critical mistake when he heeded Michelle’s advice and passed on Hillary as his VP

My argument: Obama has no operating people in his posse of lawyers, academics and political hacks – Hillary would have made an effective COO.

For the record, the Homa Files was on record before a flurry of Hillary chatter.

A day after our post, Sally Quinn wrote in the Wash Post that Hillary and Joe Biden should switch jobs. 

Her logic: it would position Hillary for 2016.

But there’s more …

* * * * *

Buried in a weekend WSJ opinion piece on how snakebit the President appears, Peggy Noonan snuck in a showstopper:

“ … among Democrats — and others — when the talk turns to the presidency it turns more and more to Hillary Clinton.

“We may have made a mistake. She would have been better.”

Sooner or later the secretary of state is going to come under fairly consistent pressure to begin to consider 2012.“

WSJ, A Snakebit President, Noonan, June18, 2010
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704289504575313181930072638.html

* * * * *

A couple of factoids:

Shortly after the 2008 election, a plugged-in politico told me that Hillary was looking towards 2012 by “keeping the core of her campaign group, expecting Obama’s presidency to implode.”

Hmmm.

Then last fall, Gallup published the results of a survey that revealed Hillary to have favorable ratings than Obama … and that was before the healthcare fiasco, the Sestak meddling, the dissing of Israel, the BP oil spill, etc.  Gotta think her gap is even greater now.

image

Source: Gallup, Hillary Clinton Now More Popular Than Barack Obama October 15, 2009
http://www.gallup.com/poll/123665/Hillary-Clinton-More-Popular-Barack-Obama.aspx

* * * * *

These days, Bill is running around trying to save Dem congressional candidates who are trying to distance themselves from Obama.

Think Obama — with his approval rating down to 41% and even mainstream media questioning his competence — is looking over his shoulder ?

Posted in Hillary Clinton, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Keep your non-union skimmers away from the Gulf (continued)

June 21, 2010

Last week, several sources reported that Team Obama was repelling foreign nation’s offers of high capacity skimming vessels. 

Why ? Because the ships and barges were made outside the U.S., possibly with non-union labor – and barred by the Jones Act.

Here’s the WSJ’s recap …

* * * * *

JUNE 19, 2010 The President Does a Jones Act
Why Obama turned down foreign ships to clean up the Gulf.

President Obama has repeatedly said his Administration is doing everything in its power to expedite the oil clean-up and mitigate the damage.

But in the two weeks immediately after the spill, 13 foreign governments reached out and offered their assistance.

The U.S. State Department response?

“While there is no need right now that the U.S. cannot meet, the U.S. Coast Guard is assessing these offers of assistance to see if there will be something which we will need in the near future.”

The Belgian dredging group DEME says it has offered the U.S. specialized vessels and technology that can help clean up the spill in three to four months compared to the estimated nine months that the U.S. will need.

There are only a handful of these vessels in the world, and most of them belong to Dutch and Belgian companies. So why aren’t we calling on them?

Blame it on the protectionist Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also called the Jones Act, that requires ships working in U.S. waters to be built, operated and owned by Americans — unions don’t want ships built with foreign labor to be used in U.S. waters.

Presidents can suspend the Jones Act in emergencies, as George W. Bush did after Hurricane Katrina. But the Obama Administration continues to maintain that this isn’t necessary.

There’s no excuse for turning away ships that can clean up the oil merely because that might offend Mr. Obama’s union friends.

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306881766723718.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

Posted in Gulf Blowout & Clean-up | Leave a Comment »

Submarine warfare: Quiznos tosses focus groups for “speed dining”

June 21, 2010

Punch Line: To speed time-to-market, Quiznos employs rapid-fire taste tests that help it give customers what they want, sooner.

* * * * *

Excerpted from Bloomberg Business Week: Damn the Torpedoes! Getting Quiznos, January 14, 2010

Quiznos has always positioned itself as a cut above Subway in the fast-food market — and priced its sandwiches accordingly.

While restaurant operators regularly enlist consumers for feedback, many have turned away from traditional focus groups … to avoid the peril of group think from a methodology that some experts say is “a bit dated”.

Quiznos  swear by a method called “speed-dining”.  The company  empanels as many as 25 groups in back-to-back, 90-minute tastings.

By reworking recipes based on snap reviews, Quiznos can get products from test kitchen to the market in six months … twice as fast as competitors.

Now Quiznos is gunning for upmarket consumers with two new subs priced at up to $7.49.

That may seem foolhardy, with unemployment at 10%. But Quiznos is confident.

After all, speed diners ate them up in October.

Full article:
http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/10_04/b4164054518256.htm

Posted in Mktg - Product & Innovation, Mktg - Research | Leave a Comment »

Smackdown: Hulk Hogan vs. the Flintstones

June 18, 2010

Punch line: Wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan says  a Cocoa Pebbles commercial degrades his image.

Gotta be stopped !  Otherwise, some jabrone will start claiming that wrestling is fake. Go Hulk !

* * * * *

Excerpted from:  Tampa Tribune: Yabba-Dabba-Sue! Hulk Hogan files suit against Cocoa Pebbles maker,  May 21, 2010

Hulk Hogan is suing the maker of Cocoa Pebbles, accusing the company of appropriating his image in commercials for the cereal.

In the “Cocoa Smashdown” commercial, a cartoon character resembling Hogan easily beats Fred and Barney inside the ring. But then Bamm-Bamm steps in and pounds the blond-haired, mustachioed wrestler to bits.

Hulk, the federal lawsuit states, “is shown humiliated and cracked into pieces with broken teeth.'”

The commercial character goes by the name “Hulk Boulder,” which Hogan’s lawsuit says is a name he used early in his career until wrestling promoter Vince McMahon decided he should have an Irish name.

The wrestler contends he has been harmed by, among other things, “the unauthorized and degrading depictions.”

Source article:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/may/21/211702/yabba-dabba-doo-hulk-hogan-sues-cocoa-pebbles-make/news-breaking/

* * * * *

To view commercial click pic or link below

image 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7S7KFKmYP4

Posted in Laughs, Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

“Keep your non-union oil skimmers out of our Gulf” … huh

June 18, 2010

“We’ve been doing everything we can since Day 1”

Oh really ?

Except for letting other nations send their oil skimming fleets to the Gulf.

Team O has turned down offers from the Dutch (on day 3), the Swedes, the Saudis, and the Mexicans.

Why ?

The Jones Act prohibits foreign flagged ships from our waters – except for single port loading or unloading of freight or people. It’s “an antiquated 1920 law mandating that goods shipped between U.S. ports be handled by U.S.-built and -owned ships manned by U.S. crews.”

Why the Jones Act?  Because unions say so.

Unions fiercely support the law as a means of preserving U.S. jobs.

Bush waived the Jones Act in the first week of Katrina.

Obama refuses waive it for the Gulf clean-up to because his union base says no.

Politics trumps clean-up.

Surprised ?

For more details:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704198004575310800313251666.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h

Posted in Gulf Blowout & Clean-up, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

Want a mortgage? … Then quick, what’s 300 divided by 2 ?

June 18, 2010

Punch line: If you can’t add & subtract, then you probably can’t do a budget … and will eventually end up in financial hot water.

* * * * *

Excerpted from NY Times: Study Says Math Deficiencies Increase Foreclosure Risk. June 9, 2010

If you can’t divide 300 by 2, should you qualify for a loan?

That is one of the questions raised by a new study led by a Columbia business professor who found that borrowers with poor math skills were three times more likely than others to go into foreclosure.

Survey respondents were asked five questions, with the first requiring borrowers to divide 300 by 2, and the second to calculate 10 percent of 1,000.

About 16 percent of the respondents answered at least one of the first two questions incorrectly. The results were consistent among all levels of education and income.

Over all, 21 percent of the respondents whose math abilities placed them in the bottom quarter of the survey experienced foreclosure, versus 7 percent of those in the top quarter.

Mr. Meier said the study had at least two implications for mortgage lenders.

One alternative would be working to help borrowers improve their financial literacy before they took out the loan.

Another alternative might be to add math tests to the process and screen the math-challenged away.

“People say they’re doctors, so they don’t really need math … So what? We see doctors who took out loans they didn’t understand, and who are in foreclosure now.”

“Many of them don’t understand how to do a budget — which is basic math, I guess,” she said.

Full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/realestate/13mort.html?ref=business

Posted in Math & Quant Skills, Mortgage Crisis, Numbers | Leave a Comment »

How’s your productivity today ? … More or less than $1 billion per minute?

June 17, 2010

Show ‘em you’re boss – Step #1

Summon the top execs of a (foreign) mega-corporation to the White House.

Show ‘em you’re boss – Step #2

Demand that they ante $20 billion into a recovery slush fund.

Show ‘em you’re boss – Step #3

Leave the meeting after 20 minutes.

* * * * *

Productivity = $1 billion per minute = pretty good

* * * * *

Implication: If O can keep up the pace, the National Debt will be gone in no time.

* * * * *

Question: Why did BP ante in without a fight ? 

Dumb or something up their sleeve?

I’m watching their sleeves …

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN16174261

Posted in Energy, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

20/20 Hindsight: Obama’s critical mistake … coming from me, this will surprise you.

June 17, 2010

Here’s a take I haven’t heard from the pundits …

Obama is getting slammed – justifiably if you ask me – for flailing (and failing) as an executive.

Even Lib Dems are raising the competency issue.  Much chatter about his complete lack of executive experience and his entourage of lawyers, academics, and politicos. 

Not a business exec or “operating person” in sight … think goofy Joe Biden dishing stimulus money to non-existent zip codes or creepy Ken Salazar threatening BP or clueless Robert Gibbs spouting nonsense about what corporate boards do.

Obama fashions himself as a CEO. 

My take: he’s more akin to a non-executive chairman of the board … think Tony Hayward’s boss at BP.  A mega-high altitude thinker who occasionally prods the organization for better performance.

But, I’ll give Obama the CEO title.

What he’s missing is a strong, operations-oriented COO reporting to him.  Somebody who’s into details, has mental toughness, and has a propensity to get things done.

Somebody like – here it comes – Hillary Clinton.

Can’t you imagine her on the Gulf right now – kicking butt without waiting for a committee to tell her who to target – working 24 hour days to make stuff happen ?

I disagree with  Hillary on practically all policy issues and question her motives, but I’ve always conceded her aggressiveness and qualifications.

Obama ruled her out as VP because he felt threatened by her (my opinion) and because he didn’t want to operate in Bill’s shadow (Obama says).

The irony is that now Obama is counting on Bill to save the Dem’s butts in the November elections.

Imagine what the Obama administration would be like with Hillary running the operations …

Posted in Leadership, Obama Administration | 1 Comment »

Subway claims only their’s is a footlong … depends where you measure from, I guess.

June 17, 2010

Punch line: The term “footlong” has been around for decades – maybe centuries. 

But Subway, fresh off its $5 footlong promotion, is trying to claim the phrase is proprietary and suing other folks who use the term.

Come on, Subway …  go fight McDonald’s, not push-cart vendors.

* * * * *

Excerpted from BrandChannel: Did Subway Put Its Foot(long) In Its Mouth? ,  May 19, 2010

Subway successfully positioned itself via its Jared Fogle healthier eating campaign as the antithesis of “fast food.”

Launched in 2008, the chain’s $5-footlong deal has become its most successful campaign ever.

Now, Subway is moving to protect its “footlong” golden goose …

Subway is sending cease-and-desist letters to hotdog vendors using the term “footlong” to sell their wares.

In one case, Subway even targeted a hotdog vendor that has been selling “footlong” dogs for 40 years.

* * * * *

A patent attorney points out, “Federal trademark law prohibits federal trademark registrations on words which, when used in connection with the goods, are merely descriptive. A cursory Google search reveals over 6,000 uses of the words ‘footlong sandwich’ apart from the term ‘Subway.'”

Full article:
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/05/19/Subway-Sues-Over-Footlong.aspx

Posted in Food & Drink, Mktg - Brands | Leave a Comment »

The teams played to an exciting nil-nil tie … huh ?

June 17, 2010

Whew, it’s not just me thinking that soccer can be a bit of a bore these days.

You gotta wonder about games that get their oomph from drinking, fighting and incessant loud horns.

Yeah, we American sports watchers like a lot of action – grand slam homers, long TD passes, 3-pointers from downtown, etc.

So, a game where rare scoring comes on fluke plays — ref calls, penalty and corner kicks, goalie muffs –- just doesn’t get the old heart pumping.

But, the rest of the world seems to have World Cup fever.

Must be an explanation …

* * * * *

WSJ: The Fading Art of Goal Scoring, June 14, 2010

With just 18 goals in 11 games, this World Cup is on pace to record a record-low 105 goals, down from 147 in 2006, 161 in 2002 and 171 in 1998.

“Football is more and more about keeping the ball rather than scoring goals.”

This trend could make a sport that many people regard as boring even more so.

The average number of World Cup goals has been declining steadily for the past 60 years, from a high of 5.38 goals per match when West Germany won the trophy so thrillingly in 1954, to 2.3 in Italy’s more phlegmatic triumph in 2006.

There are a number of factors behind this reduction: Defenses are organized better and players are fitter than they were 50 years ago, when the halftime interval would see gasping players reach for the nearest pack of Marlboros.

“Keeping possession is now the most important thing in football.”

“Managers are looking at the game and saying we don’t want goal scorers, we want people to keep hold of the ball.”

“But isn’t scoring the point of football?”

Full article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704324304575306532213696808.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLESecondNews

Posted in Sports & Athletics, Sports - Games - Recreation | Leave a Comment »

Flash: O’s morning after polling …

June 16, 2010

According to this morning’s Rasmussen poll results …

Overall, 42% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the president’s job performance.

That’s the lowest level of approval yet recorded for this president.

The president’s approval rating has held steady in the 46% – 47% range for six months.

It remains to be seen whether this new low is merely statistical noise or the start of a lasting change.

image

Full report:
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

Posted in Obama Administration, Polls & Surveys | Leave a Comment »

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