Channeling Buffett: Is Obama proposing a (substantial) hike in capital gains tax rates?

September 13, 2011

OK, I keep harping on the point, but …

At 7:25 pm last Thursday, Obama repeated the tired refrain about how Warren Buffet pays less taxes than his secretary and wants to pay more – his fair share.

Cutting to the chase: Buffett pays more in dollars, but pays at a lower rate.

Why?

Because most of Buffett’s income is “unearned income”.

English translation: capital gains and dividends.

So, there are only two ways to get Warren-the-sage on an equal rate  footing with his secretary: (1) lower marginal tax tax rates on the secretary’s earned income or (2) increase Buffett’s tax rate on his capital gains … to be taxed at the same rate as “earned income”.

Here’s the good news for Buffett: thanks to the ObamaCare bill, Warren will be paying a higher tax rate on his cap gains and dividends starting in 2013 (after the next election, of course).

So, the Buffett-secretarial gap will narrow.

 

image

Technical note: The ObamaCare Surtax on Investment Income takes effect Jan. 2013.

It’s a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single).

Other unearned income includes (for surtax purposes) gross income from interest, annuities, royalties, net rents, and passive income in partnerships and Subchapter-S corporations.

Source

But, even then there still may still be a gap.

So, either the rate on earned income comes down or rate on cap gains goes up.

I’m betting the latter.

So, to stop Warren from whining, Obama will likely raise the cap gains and choke capital flows – in order to stimulate the economy.

Huh?

Or, maybe Obama doesn’t understand the implications of his applause lines.

Hmmm.

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Posted in Buffett, Warren, ObamaCare, Taxes | Leave a Comment »

Enrollments plunge at for-profit colleges …

September 13, 2011

Punch line For-profit colleges are facing a tough test: getting new students to enroll.

Excerpted from WSJ: “Party Ends at For-Profit Schools”

Enrollment at for-profit colleges soared during the recession, amid heavy advertising that appealed to suddenly jobless people needing new skills.

But recently , new enrollments are down by as much as 45%

Why?

Responding to government investigations, a number of for-profit schools including Corinthian, Apollo. and others have tamped down aggressive recruiting … and are  tightening admissions standards.

  • State and federal investigators began turning up the heat last year on for-profit schools as default rates on federally backed student loans began to climb.
  • Even before the enrollment boom, default rates—at 11.6% in 2008, the latest year available— were about double that of public colleges.

Washington Post Co.’s Kaplan Higher Education now requires certain students to participate in a trial program before enrolling and paying tuition.

More fundamental, many students are re-considering their options, including attending community colleges.

The would-be students are questioning the potential pay-off for degrees that can cost considerably more than what’s available at local community colleges.

Surprise, surprise, surprise …

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Posted in Education - Academics | Leave a Comment »

“Slacktivism”: I care a lot … but not enough to get off my butt or open my wallet.

September 12, 2011

Punchline: “Slacktivism” is a term that caught our eye.

Slacktivism characterizes a trend of consumers’  behavior …  supporting an issue or social cause through small – sometimes very small efforts on social media.

Cynics suggest that this is not enough, and that true engagement is needed to make a social  impact.

Really?

* * * * *

Excerpted from Wikipedia, “Slacktivism”

Slacktivism describes “feel-good” measures, supporting an issue or social cause, that have a limited effect …

Slacktivist activities tend to require minimal effort, but may include:

  • signing Internet petitions,
  • joining a community organization without contributing to the organization’s efforts,
  • copying and pasting of social network statuses or messages, or
  • altering one’s personal data or avatar on social network services.

While there is limited behavioral research behind this activity, the general perception is that consumers engage in this behavior 1) to feel satisfaction about helping a cause, or 2) to present themselves as socially benefiting people to other social networkers …

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS describes the term “slacktivist”, saying it “posits that people who support a cause by performing simple measures are not truly engaged or devoted to making a change“.

Edit by KJM

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Posted in Causes, Cause Marketing, Internet - Soc Networking | Leave a Comment »

Stimulus Deux and the “liquidity trap”…

September 12, 2011

Punch line: One reason the Stimulus was, at best, marginally successful … and, why Son-of-Stimulus is unlikely to spike the economy … is what economists call the liquidity trap.

Translation: people paying off debts and saving for a rainy day … just like they’re supposed to.

Econo-journalist Robert Samuelson summarizes the situation as follows …

Since 2007, households have lost $7 trillion in wealth, mostly from lower home and stock prices.

To restore that wealth, many Americans are saving more, spending less and repaying debt.

That’s why the past year’s continuing massive stimulus (huge budget deficits, low interest rates) didn’t do more for economic growth.

The answer, I think, is psychology.

Small changes in precautionary behavior by anxious consumers and companies offset stimulus.

Suppose, for example, consumers raised their savings rate by three percentage points; that would neutralize three quarters of Obama’s program.

The surprise and brutality of the financial crisis left a powerful legacy of risk aversion.

Companies — like consumers — have become defensive. They accumulate a cash hoard against unknown threats.

Our political leaders have also compounded the caution and fear; indeed, government policies sometimes cause unwanted behavior.

The liquidity trap, among other reasons, is why O’s proposed $450 billion debt-financed slush fund is a bad idea.

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Posted in Employment - Jobs, Stimulus Bill | Leave a Comment »

Where was Joe Wilson when Obama said “It will not add to the deficit”?

September 12, 2011

President Obama – and most lib-pundits – seem to have completely forgotten the debt ceiling and credit downgrade.

Pssst … we have no money !!!

And, they appear  hopelessly confused re: what’s  “debt” and what’s a  “deficits”.

Let’s review …

A deficit is an annual shortfall —  when spending exceeds revenues.

In a gov’t context, a deficit happens when spending exceeds tax receipts in the current year !.

Debt is the amount of money that is owed to other people or entities.  It is the sum of annual deficits.

Now, the important point …

A deficit needs to be funded by borrowing, which adds to outstanding debt.

OK, with that as clarifying background …

Obama said a couple of times that his laundry list of potential job creating ideas ” …  will not add to the deficit.”

Here’s what the AP had to say about that:

It’s hard to see how the program would not raise the deficit over the next year or two because  most of the envisioned spending cuts and tax increases are designed to come later rather than now, when they could jeopardize the fragile recovery.

Deficits are calculated for individual years.

The accumulation of years of deficit spending has produced a national debt headed toward $15 trillion.

Perhaps Obama meant to say that, in the long run, his hoped-for programs would not further increase the national debt, not annual deficits.

Said differently, the only way that the 2012 deficit doesn’t increase is if other spending is cut or taxes are raised in 2012.

Neither is likely to happen (a) because there isn’t time (b) because there isn’t will, and (c) because either would neutralize any impetus from O’s spending.

So, it’s practically certain that the deficit will increase, and that short-term debt will increase.

Most interesting: the added borrowing may push Obama up against the debt ceiling again before the 2012 election … his only real line in the sand during the debt ceiling negotiations.

Hmmm.

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Posted in Budget - Deficit, Stimulus Plan | Leave a Comment »

What should the GOP do re: O’s plan?

September 9, 2011

Simple.

The GOP-led Congress should draft and pass the “Barack Obama Stimulus Act of 2012 (aka. “American Jobs Act”) containing substantially all of the program that  the Presidential  teleprompter channeled through Obama.

Why?

First, let’s acknowledge that  the money will be a complete waste. There’s no reason to expect that Son-of-Stimulus will be any more successful than its predecessor.

And, I’m assuming that the price tag really is $450 billion – chump change in this era of reckless spending that rewards irresponsibility and mortgages the future…. especially since  the President promised that it would be paid for (yeah, right).

The biggest political downside (to the GOP and the country) is that Obama will have a $450  billion election year slush fund to sprinkle across his constituencies – unions, blue-state governments, etc.

But, passing Stimulus Deux would clearly put the economic recovery  — or lack thereof — on Obama’s shoulders.

If it turns the economy around, Obama gets the credit.  That’s fair.

If it bombs, Obama loses his major campaign pitch: the GOP tied my hands.

He’d be left with the silly claim: “woulda been worse, I saved you from Armageddon again”.

I say pass it and sit back.

If it works, we have an economic burst.

If it fails, we get a president who understands business and economics.

For the country, it’s a win either way.

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Posted in Economics, Employment - Jobs, Obama | 2 Comments »

Golub to Buffett: Here’s how you can pay higher taxes.

September 9, 2011

At the 19 minute mark of Obama’s job speech, he channeled Warren Buffett’s whine about how his (Warren’s) taxes are too low.

A week or so ago, in a WSJ op-ed, Harvey Golub – former MxKinsey partner and AMEX CEO – responded to Warren Buffett’s plea to pay higher taxes.

One of his answers: lose the estate & income tax deductions for gifts to charitable foundations – especially personal family foundations and foundations set-up by their friends.

Gifts to charities are deductible but gifts to grandchildren are not.

The super-rich could pay higher taxes if they choose.

They could voluntarily write a check or they could advocate that their gifts to foundations should be made with after-tax dollars and not be deductible.

They could also pay higher taxes if they were not allowed to set up foundations to avoid capital gains and estate taxes.

HomaFiles has been advocating such a change for quite awhile.

If Buffett thinks the gov’t works so well, let’s see him pony up …. and not just continue wield his influence under the cover of gifts to his buddy Gates

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Records set on Obama’s watch …

September 8, 2011

Yeah, yeah, yeah … he inherited a mess from Bush.

But still, here’s the WSJ’s scorecard …

boskin

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Posted in Economy, Obama | 1 Comment »

Hardest hit: 1 in 5 black males now unemployed…

September 8, 2011

Punch line: In August, the unemployment rate for blacks surged to 16.7% in August, its highest rate since 1984; unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%.

Black men have it the worst, with joblessness at a staggeringly high 19.1%, compared to 14.5% for black women.

Black unemployment has been roughly double that of whites since the government started tracking the figures in 1972.

image

According to  CNNMoney …

Economists blame a variety of factors:

  • The black workforce is younger than the white workforce
  • Fewer numbers of blacks get a college degree
  • Many blacks live in areas of the country that were harder hit by the recession

But even excluding those factors, blacks still are hit with higher joblessness.

“Even when you compare black and white workers, same age range, same education, you still see pretty significant gaps in unemployment rates suggesting  that racial discrimination in the labor market continues to play a role.”

* * * * * *

And according to Gallup, 83% of blacks approve of the job that Obama is doing as President …

image

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Posted in Employment - Jobs, Polls & Surveys | Leave a Comment »

Like us and we’ll donate will donate, love us and we’ll …

September 8, 2011

TakeAway: Brands are searching for  more ways to connect causes with marketing, and evolve consumer’s “slacktivism” to more significant social good.

Now, just “like” them on Facebook or tweet a specified phrase and some brands will donate to a cause.

You know what?

It works …

* * * * *

Excerpted from Brandchannel.com, “Cause Marketing Does Affect Brand Purchase”

The Integer Group queried 1,200 Americans about factors influencing brand preference when choosing between two companies with both benefiting a cause, and selling a product similar in price and quality.

Survey results reveal that the brand’s philanthropic activities can influence shopper behavior and ultimately purchase decisions, and that gender is a factor:

  • Both men and women are influenced by “personal relevance of cause“
  • Women choose brands that promise instant gratification with each purchase, while for men, it’s less important
  • “Brands need to appeal to men’s rationale side, delivering a more rational benefit for their participation in a cause program, which can lead to higher engagement”
  • Men are more likely to support organizations, such as The Salvation Army or Goodwill, while women support disease prevention causes, such as breast cancer awareness

So, which brands do this well?

Top brands purchased based on their affiliation with a cause:

1. Yoplait
2. Anything Affiliated With Breast Cancer
3. and 4. (tied) Susan G. Komen for the Cure & Newman’s Own
5. General Mills
6. Yogurt in general
7. and 8. (tied) P&G and RED
9. Boxtops for Education
10. and 11. (tied) Kellogg’s, Campbell’s & Girl Scouts
12. Dawn
13. Avon

Edit by KJM

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Posted in Internet - Soc Networking, Mktg - Social Mktg | Leave a Comment »

Perfect !

September 7, 2011

Exactly as we called it:

AGT Final Four

  • Team iLuminate … techo dance group
  • Silhouettes … artsy shadow dancers
  • POPLYFE … young, high energy band
  • Landau Murphy … Sinatra crooner

Longshot: Landon Swank … illusionist

They said that 1% separated Landon from POPLYFE (for the 5th slot).

Finals are next Tuesday.

My early pick: Team iLuminate

* * * * *
P.S. We may change the header to News & Views on Marketing, Economics, Politics and Pop Culture …

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Posted in Entertainment | Leave a Comment »

Ken’s AGT Final 4 Picks …

September 7, 2011

Cutting to the chase, here’s my take:

Final Four

  • Team iLuminate … techo dance group
  • Silhouettes … artsy shadow dancers
  • POPLYFE … young, high energy band
  • Landau Murphy … Sinatra crooner

Longshot: Landon Swank … illusionist

Breaks my heart, but little Anna Graceman won’t make it … she’s the charming kid with wide vocal range … she came dressed like a woman and sang a bland song … whose idea was that ???

Hat tip to the Smage Brother who got smashed in the head by a motor bike and never stopped smiling.

Results show is tonite …

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Posted in Entertainment | 2 Comments »

The Stimulus did stimulate … it stimulated job-switching.

September 7, 2011

Garett Jones & Daniel Rothschild — George Mason economists — surveyed employers to determine the impacts of Obama’s trillion dollar Stimulus.

Their report “Did Stimulus Dollars Hire the Unemployed?” presents several interesting conclusions.

Most noteworthy:

Just 42.1 percent of the workers hired at Stimulus-receiving organizations, were unemployed at the time they were hired.

More were hired directly from other organizations (47.3 percent)

A handful of hires came from school (6.5%) or from outside the labor force (4.1%)

Thus, there was an almost even split between “job creating” and “job switching.”

Bottom line: Hiring isn’t the same as net job creation.

image

Technical note: To be fair, there are 2nd and 3rd order effectc.  That is, firms that get poached may need to hire replacement workers — who may be drawn from the unemployment roles.  So, the Stimulus may have reduced unemployment more than the survey indicates.

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Posted in Employment - Jobs, Stimulus Bill | 1 Comment »

Emotional profiling: I like you, but I don’t love you …

September 7, 2011

Punch line: Why do two identical-looking products that get the same score in acceptability tests, perform wildly differently in the marketplace?

“Emotional research ” tries to find out why, and create profiles of prime prospects.

Excerpted from CPGmatters “Kraft Foods Develops ‘Emotional Profiling’

Kraft Foods has been developing a sophisticated new science of “emotional profiling”.

Kraft has been working on emotional profiling for three years as part of its sensory and consumer-testing work.

“The theory behind emotional profiling is uncovering the difference between ‘liking’ something and ‘preferring’ it.”

“The idea is fairly basic.

Even if an individual likes two different products, they may still prefer one over the other.

We’re trying to figure out that difference or gap so that we can make the best possible products that consumers will truly prefer.”

Traditional research tools may not be enough to capture the implications of emotion on food shopping.

“We use emotional research to define unique points of difference and create a new hierarchy of attributes that go beyond ‘liking.’

Qualitative research usually includes in-depth interviews exploring sensory reactions with target customers who represent a variety of positions along the brand-loyalty scale.

So, tell me again why kids love artificial-looking, artificial-tasting Kraft mac & cheese …

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Posted in Mktg - Consumer Behavior, Mktg - Market Research | Leave a Comment »

Ratcheting back the rhetoric … I mean you guys, not us.

September 6, 2011

How many lectures had the President given Republicans on civility?

Usually, it follows one of his name-calling, accusatory hissy fits..

Well, here’s one for the books.

While warming up the crowd for President Obama in Detroit, Michigan on Monday, Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa said:

“We got to keep an eye on the battle that we face: The war on workers. And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party.

And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war.

The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what?

They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner.

President Obama, this is your army.

We are ready to march.

Let’s take these son of bitches out ….  “

No surprise, no reprimand from Obama when he started speaking.

I expect that the jobs speech on Thursday will include another call for civility…. selectively applied, of course.

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The death of the PC industry … as we know it.

September 6, 2011

Punch line: Like everything in tech, personal computers were always fated to become commodity appliances.

Excerpted from WSJ:”Steve Jobs and the Death of the Personal Computer”

Great technology industries usually die with a whimper.

But last week the curtain came down with a bang on the most famous tech industry of all — personal computers — thanks to Steve Jobs’s retirement from Apple and the less high-profile announcement that Hewlett-Packard was leaving the PC market.

Hewlett-Packard’s announcement was more surprising. H-P was until recently the world’s largest maker of personal computers.

In recent years, though, cost-cutting competitors, market saturation and alternative hardware platforms have sucked most of the profits out of PCs.

Like everything in tech, personal computers were always fated to become commodity appliances.

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Posted in Mktg - PLC | 1 Comment »

Judge me based on my potential, not on my promises or my performance … huh?

September 6, 2011

Punch line: You  be an inspirational leader by simply making excuses and ducking blame.  Period..

Excerpted from Wash Times: “From ‘yes we can’ to ‘it takes time’”

Pres, Obama’s is now having difficulty finding the right inspirational tone for his stump speeches — making the transition from blameless candidate to culpable leader.

“He’s having his own teachable moment between campaigning and experienced governing.”

First, he blamed the Bush administration, then he blamed Congress, …  and now he’s saying [to voters], ‘It’s your fault for (not spending) and for expecting too much of me.’”

The last thing voters want to hear are excuses or whining.

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Spend more on education?

September 5, 2011

From a survey reported in the WSJ …

When asked “Should the U.S. spend more money on education?” …

65% of the public says “yes” spend more on our schools.

When told that current spending is $12,922 per student annually …

The number drops to only 49% who say they want to pony up more dollars.

When told that higher education spending means higher taxes…

Only 35% support an increase on education spending..

More specifically, a majority doesn’t want to pay more taxes to support their local schools. Only 28% think that’s a good idea.

Bottom line That’s the nation’s debt crisis in a nutshell … if people aren’t reminded that there is no such thing as a free lunch, they can be persuaded to root for higher spending on education … and practically everything else.

If they’re asked to ante in, well, that puts a different paint job on it.

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Posted in Education - Academics | Leave a Comment »

One of the uncelebrated blessings of American capitalism …

September 5, 2011

Interesting snippet from a WSJ tribute piece on Steve Jobs:

Steve Jobs both created the PC revolution and was created by it.

The PC era can be seen as the extension of the superhuman will of this one brilliant, mercurial and far-seeing figure.

Every generation produces a few individuals whose will to restructure the world in their own image is so powerful that they seem to distort reality itself.

They change the world …

That in the U.S., they often choose to pursue entrepreneurship and industry rather than politics is one of the uncelebrated blessings of American capitalism.

Ken’s Take: I’ve often said that – in my business career – I worked with dozens of men & women who are far more capable to lead than those who get elected to Congress or the White House.  Too bad that the Potomac has become so polluted that they can’t be lured to high gov’t positions and we’re stuck with hacks …

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Posted in Government & Politics, Leadership | 1 Comment »

Another gov’t funded green energy company bites the dust …

September 2, 2011

Punch line: A big chunk of the Stimulus money was thrown at the development of green energy technology. Unfortunately, the recipients have proven to be non-competitive.

Excerpted from SFGate.com: Solyndra closes Fremont plant – stimulus hopes dim

Solyndra received $535 million of stimulus money in 2009 to build a solar panel plant.

This week, Solyndra announced that it will close its last remaining factory, lay off its 1,100 employees and file for bankruptcy.

The bankruptcy also represents a high-profile failure for a federal stimulus program that gives loan guarantees to green-tech manufacturers.

Solyndra, whose solar modules are thin tubes rather than flat panels, struggled to compete against a flood of low-priced solar cells pouring out of China.

Solar module prices have plunged more than 40 percent in recent years, squeezing companies’ profit margins even as sales of solar systems grow. Two other U.S. solar companies, Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt, filed for bankruptcy protection in August.

The administration’s response: “We have always recognized that not every one of the innovative companies supported by our loans and loan guarantees would succeed, but we can’t stop investing in game-changing technologies that are key to America’s leadership in the global economy,”

Full article: Solyndra closes Fremont plant – stimulus hopes dim

Ken’s Take: I’m all for green energy alternatives, but I certainly don’t think that the Feds should be in the venture capital business.

There’s a reason that these companies couldn’t raise private capital: they’re not competitive in the world market.

Think about it: Would you put your company’s manufacturing plant in China or California?

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Posted in Green Energy, Stimulus Plan | 1 Comment »

Grab your wallet … here comes Starbuck’s in a K-cup.

September 2, 2011

Punch line: First VIA. Now the K cup. Starbucks deepens its entry into the near $2 billion single-cup coffee market through a partnership with Green Mountain Coffee.

Excerpted from WSJ, “Starbucks coffee to be offered in Keurig K-Cup Packs in November”

Last year, Starbucks entered the single cup coffee market with the launch of VIA Ready Brew.

In November 2011, Starbucks coffee will be sold in Green Mountain Coffee’s Keurig K-Cup single-serve packs in grocery stores and specialty retailers in the U.S. …

The agreement provides for the manufacturing, marketing and selling of Starbucks and Tazo-branded K-Cup portion packs throughout the U.S. and Canada …

Also, Starbucks ended speculation that it will debut its own single-cup brewer, though it hasn’t ruled out such plans in the future.

Edit by KJM

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Posted in Beverages - Soft Drinks, Mktg - Packaging, Mktg - Product & Innovation | 1 Comment »

DOJ stops T-Mobile – AT&T combo … my view may surprise you.

September 2, 2011

The WSJ headline: U.S. Sues to Stop AT&T Deal … Justice Department Says $39 Billion Purchase of T-Mobile Threatens Competition.

The Justice Department sued to block AT&T proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile, a surprisingly swift move that dealt a blow to AT&T’s ambition to build the largest U.S. cellphone carrier.

The government said the combination of the second- and fourth-largest cellphone companies in the U.S. would harm competition and likely raise prices for consumers.

Ken’s Take:   As a marketing strategist, I preach “identify or induce market imperfections and seize the associated monopoly profits”.

As a schooled economist and citizen, I root for “perfect competition” – nobody big enough to control a market.

I think the gov’t has been misdirected and lax on anti-trust enforcement.

Yeah, the DOJ needlessly hassled XM and Sirius until they were both sufficiently wounded that the merger didn’t matter much.

But, there used to be about a dozen substantial oil companies. There used to be a lot of ‘major’ banks … now there are a couple.

Think “too big to fail”.

I want more cell phone competition.

Then, maybe, someday I’ll get reception in my home.

* * * * *
Great graphic from the WSJ on the structure of the telecom industry click for interactive chart

A Tangled Family Tree

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Posted in Anti-trust, Monopolies | 1 Comment »

Woulda been perfect if the prof had gotten tenure …

September 1, 2011

Yesterday, I went on the limb and predicted the 5 AGT finalists …

4 of my 5 picks made it … Anna the superkid, Landon the magician, Eugene the crooner, and the daredevil Smage brothers. Videos

Only miss: Prof Splash — who learned what life is like without tenure.

The good news is that Silhouettes – the artsy shadow dancers – got Splash’s spot.  They’re fun to watch, too.

Finals are next Tuesday … stay tuned

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Posted in Entertainment | 1 Comment »

Another reason why taxes are higher in New York… paying to stick it to da man

September 1, 2011

Punch line: New York is lone state to provide compensation in labor disputes.

So, striking Verizon union members have  filed for jobless benefits.

Excerpted from from Marketwatch

U.S. workers are usually denied jobless benefits when they go on strike. After all, they walked off the job.

Except in New York. The state is the only one in the U.S. that allows striking workers to receive unemployment benefits.

So, about 21,000 union members filed applications for unemployment compensation, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

Based on the average salary of Verizon workers, they might be eligible for the $405 maximum weekly benefit New York provides.

The costs will be borne by Verizon – which would be forced to pay more into the New York’s unemployment insurance fund — and the residents of New York. .

And, New Yorkers wonder why their taxes are so high …

Thanks to SMH for feeding the lead

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Posted in Taxes, Unions - UAW | Leave a Comment »

Don’t call them spinsters … women DJs are hot!

September 1, 2011

TakeAway: Women disc jockeys are the newest trendsetters for music, fashion and popular culture. So, Unilever hired 3 of them for its new “Fresh Spin” campaign, aimed at young female consumers for its Rebalance branded deodorant products.

* * * * *

Excerpted from NY Times, “She hopes to help a Dove campaign become a hit”

Dove is working with MTV for its new “Fresh Spin” campaign, whose first big event occurs at the Video Music Awards … targeting females ages 12 to 34 …

The brand is showcasing three young women D.J.’s in a new video series, social media and a new Web site. The D.J.’s also are engaging fans in an interactive music game on the Internet site …

“Women disc jockeys are the newest trendsetters for music, fashion and popular culture,”…

This month, Dove introduced its “Fresh Spin” campaign, which focuses on social engagement and not a strong product sell, reaching out to targets with a Web site, commercials on MTV and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

The Web videos are behind-the-scenes looks into the lives of three D.J.’s — Jessica Who, Chelsea Leyland and Diamond Kuts — showing them in some sweaty situations, suggesting the need for deodorant …

This week, Dove began running commercials on MTV to introduce the trio. Ms. Who will report live from the video music awards, interviewing musicians on the red carpet and sharing her take on the music scene. The video will be available on dove.mtv.com after the awards …

“As a brand, Dove does not want to focus on celebrities … The D.J.’s are real girls who are culturally relevant. They aggregate ideas about movements, fashion and, of course, music.”

Edit by KJM

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Posted in Mktg - Promotion, Mktg - Social Mktg | Leave a Comment »

For the record: Ken’s AGT picks

August 31, 2011

To my family’s dismay, I’ve become an America’s Got Talent junkie.

Last nite was the second of 2 semi-final shows.  Five of the 12 acts move on to the finals.

Here’s my call:

  • Anna Graceman …. an 11 year old Alaskan singer who knocked a Motley Crue song out of the park … disclaimer: students know that I’m biased towards girls named Anna View video of Anna performing
  • Landon Swank … best illusionist since David Copperfield … I thought he was going to blow himself up tonite … ok, he fooled me and survived … hmmm  View Landon’s bang-bang
  • Smage Bros. … two brothers who do amazing (and dangerous) stuff on motor bikes … finale was a jump over their grandmother – really ! —  followed by a high aerial 360 … wow !  Watch ’em jump over Grandma
  • Eugene Landau Murphy … a guy from West Virginia who sings Frank Sinatra … not one of my favorites but audience and judges seemed to like him … note: yes: the “E” in KEH is for Eugene
  • Professor Splash … again, I plead guilty to collegial bias … this overweight dude jumped off a 70 foot platform, through fire, to land in a shallow swimming pool … insane  View Prof Splash’s splash

Biggest disappointments:

  • Gymkana … a gymnastics troop from Univ. of Maryland … great act … they took some risk, jumping through fire … one dude crashed the fire ring  and almost literally burned … that wasn’t part of the act, so they won’t be back
  • Silhouettes … a unique dance troop that forms shapes to tell a story behind a screen … very artsy … likable kids – youngest is only 4 years old … lacked wow tonite … too bad

Possible upset:

  • Kinetic King … a goofy guy who sets up elaborate Rube Goldberg falling dominoes sets … admire the design of the skits and the judges love him … but, I wouldn’t pay to see him … he’ll get the geek vote

Results show is tonite …

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Posted in Entertainment | 2 Comments »

While gov’t coddles Warren, Berkshire Hathaway stiff arms gov’t … shame, shame, Mr. Buffett

August 31, 2011

Punch line: Warren “Please Make Me Pay More Taxes” Buffett has been outted by his company’s proxy statement.

Apparently, Berkshire Hathaway owes back taxes … and is fighting the Federal gov’t tooth & nail to grab some disputable deductions and favorable tax treatments.

Excerpted from NY Post: “Warren Buffett, hypocrite”

This one’s truly, uh … rich: Billionaire Warren Buffett says folks like him should have to pay more taxes — but it turns out his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, hasn’t paid what it’s already owed for years.

That’s right:  The company openly admits that it owes back taxes since as long ago as 2002.

“We anticipate that we will resolve all adjustments proposed by the US Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for the 2002 through 2004 tax years … within the next 12 months,” the firm’s annual report says.

The company also has outstanding tax issues for 2005 through 2009.

Obvious question: If Buffett really thinks he and his “mega-rich friends” should pay higher taxes, why doesn’t his firm fork over what the IRS says it already owes under current rates?

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Pay up, Mr. Buffett … no more coddling, right?

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Posted in Buffett, Warren, Taxes | Leave a Comment »

Somebody tell GM: ”Marketing is more than advertising!”

August 31, 2011

Punch line: What are GM’s adverting tag lines for Caddies & Chevies?

If you don’t know, you’re not alone.

So, GM is hassling its ad agencies.

Excerpted from BrandChannel: “GM Calling Agencies To Task”

Joel Ewanick was recruited as General Motors from Hyundai with expectations he would become a game-changer last year, positioning his new employer for long-term global success for its remaining brands.

But the GM CMO doesn’t think some of the advertising agencies that are supposed to help him are up to game speed yet. And he’s getting impatient.

No wonder Ewanick is a little edgy these days about the two brands.

Chevrolet has gotten stronger since his arrival, but a huge reason for that is one single new product: the Chevrolet Cruze small car, whose appeal seems based on fuel efficiency and strong vehicle features rather than buzz-worthy advertising.

Outsiders expressed concern last year with the brand’s new “Chevy Runs Deep” positioning. It wasn’t clear exactly what that message would do for the brand.

Meanwhile, Cadillac has been losing shine in the luxury-car war … and Caddy’s current “Red Blooded Luxury” campaign has been questioned.

Ken’s Take: My constant refrain to students is that marketing is more than advertising and promotion.

So, I cringed when I read the line “but … success is due to fuel efficiency and strong product features rather than buzz-worthy advertising”.  Emphasis on the “but”.

Horrors.

Success from delivering a good product rather than smoke & mirrowing a bad one.

Somebody, please tell GM that marketing is more than advertising & promotion,

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Posted in Mktg - 6 Ps, Mktg - Advertising, Mktg - Product & Innovation | Leave a Comment »

WH: The process is not yet complete … huh?

August 31, 2011

When Press Secretary Carney was asked for specifics re: Obama’s job plan, he brushed of the question by saying that Obama hasn’t finished conjuring his new jobs plan.

Carney said. “He is still having conversations and meetings and looks to finalize his plan next week, so the answer is no, he’s not complete with that process. The process is continuing, aspects of it still need to be decided.”

When asked if Obama’s speech will be scored by the CBO, he answered: “Don’t expect specifics from the White House on the jobs plan, like how much it will cost.”

Full text

* * * * *

Obama’s mystery jobs plan is certainly a gift that keeps on giving.

Didn’t he ”pivot to jobs” a couple of years ago … and aren’t jobs the first thing he thinks about in the morning and the last thing he thinks about at night?

Geez.

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

Irene post-script: Obama breaks still another campaign promise …

August 30, 2011

Remember when he said:

Generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when  … the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.

Obama’s Nomination Victory Speech In St. Paul June 3, 2008.

And, the silly people in Vermont and NJ believed the hogwash and and voted for him.

Fool them once. shame on him;  fool them twice, shame on them.

 

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Posted in Hurricanes, natural disasters, Obama | Leave a Comment »

Hurricanes and power outages … somethings not right.

August 30, 2011

Since Hurricane Irene wasn’t as bad as predicted … and since my electricity has been out … I’ve had plenty of time to sit and ponder the power outage.

Some semi-random thoughts:

  1. Though the storm was of relatively low severity  (for a hurricane), over 2 million homes lost electrical power.  Why isn’t the system more robust than that? What if the storm had been worse?  Or, what if the system had been targeted by terrorists? It’s frightening how fragile the system is.
  2. Yeah, yeah, yeah … I know that trees fell on the power lines and knocked them down.  It’s 2011.  Why aren’t all the power lines secured underground.  Before you tell me that it costs too much, add up the cost of resetting the fallen lines …. over & over again.
  3. Head-scratcher: Why do utility companies have to be called to tell them that power is out?  They put boxes on sites to throttle back usage when demand is peaked.  Can’t those boxes tell them when power is out?
  4. Head-scratcher: When attempting to drive to a nearby friend’s house yesterday, I was blocked by a down power line.  I u-turned.  Behind me was a BGE repair truck.  He u-turned, too, stopped and called the dispatcher.  The down line that he was assigned was beyond the one he encountered – so the dispatcher sent him (after about 15 minutes) to another site (I hope).  Why didn’t the jabrones just fix the line that the repair crew literally ran into?  Geez, that’s why it takes so long to restore power.
  5. On the same trip, I passed a couple of homes with really big trees fallen on them.  Big time damage, Had sympathy for the folks and stopped whining (for a few minutes) about my power being out, I guess the storm’s severity depended on how hard YOU got hit.
  6. Damn generators.  Yeah, power out is an inconvenience.  But, enough to warrant an auxiliary generator?  My view: not unless there’s a medical reason. And, there’s a social cost: Those things are so loud that even I – the soundest of sleepers – had trouble dozing off.  Now, that’s an issue for our crack Congress to go after.
  7. I figure that I spent about $250 on rope, batteries, etc., that – it turns out – I really didn’t need since the storm didn’t match the hype.  Hope that stimulative spending saved or created a job or two.
  8. Still amazed by the job Home Depot and Wal-mart did positioning product for hurricane prep and recovery.  Shouldn’t all retailers be on the same type of program?

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Posted in Energy, Hurricanes, natural disasters | Leave a Comment »

"Don’t touch that dial!" … what dial?

August 30, 2011

Once in class I made reference to “the TV’s fine-tuning knob”.

Students looked at me like I was, well, pretty old.

Glad to see that a variant of the cliché made Beloit College’s Class of 2015 “Mindset List” which gives a snapshot of the world view of the incoming freshmen class.

Note: Most students entering college for the first time this fall — members of the Class of 2015 — were born in 1993.

Here are more of my favorites:

1. There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information highway.

4. The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major league sports.

9. “Don’t touch that dial!” . what dial?

10. American tax forms have always been available in Spanish.

12. Amazon has never been just a river in South America.

15. O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

24. “Yadda, yadda, yadda” has always come in handy to make long stories short.

28. Jimmy Carter has always been a smiling elderly man who shows up on TV to promote fair elections and disaster relief.

30. Dial-up is soooooooooo last century!

33. Faux Christmas trees have always outsold real ones.

34. They’ve always been able to dismiss boring old ideas with “been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt.”

37. Music has always been available via free downloads.

38. Grown-ups have always been arguing about health care policy.

39. Moderate amounts of red wine and baby aspirin have always been thought good for the heart.

48. While they’ve been playing outside, their parents have always worried about nasty new bugs borne by birds and mosquitoes.

57. They’ve often broken up with their significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.

61. Major League Baseball has never had fewer than three divisions and never lacked a wild-card entry in the playoffs.

64. Altar girls have never been a big deal.

71. Refugees and prisoners have always been housed by the U.S. government at Guantanamo.

Source: 2011 Beloit College Mindset List

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Posted in Polls & Surveys | Leave a Comment »

Hurrican prep: Plenty of Pop Tarts, but no D batteries … here’s why.

August 29, 2011

It was interesting shopping for hurricane supplies on Thursday & Friday.

First stop: RadioShack to buy a battery-powered portable AM-FM radio.

Sign: no D batteries.

Clerk acted like he’d never heard of AM or FM

Next stop, the local Giant food store.

Already out of water.

Out of water?

Next stop: the local Ace Hardware.

Chalked on the sidewalk: No D batteries, no propane, no water.

Translation: go away

Hmmm. A pattern?

Next stop: Home Depot.

Piled in “impulse alley”: generators, flashlights, first-aid kits … but, in fairness, no D batteries

Next stop: Battery Warehouse.

No Ds, but plenty of AA, AAA, and Cs.

I bought some Cs, hoping they’d fit in something useful if the power went out.

Punch line: Hat tip to HD – with whom I have a love-hate relationship – for emergency preparedness.

It’s not an accident …

Excerpted from NPR: “Stores’ Hurricane Prep Starts Early”

Hurricane Katrina taught big-box retailers that they need to be an integral part of hurricane preparation and relief efforts.

For nearly a week in advance Irene, big-box retailers like Walmart and Home Depot were  getting ready.

They’ve deployed hundreds of trucks carrying everything from plywood to Pop-Tarts to stores in the storm’s path.

It’s all possible because these retailers have turned hurricane preparation into a science.

At Home Depot’s Hurricane Command Center in Atlanta, for example, about 100 associates have been trying to anticipate how Irene will affect its East Coast stores from the Carolinas to New York.

They have been focusing on stocking a short list of items including generators, chain saws, water and tarps.

Those supplies were flowing to stores because of a process that began months ago, at the beginning of hurricane season.

“We take storm product, both pre- and post-strike product, we stage those in containers and we have them in our distribution centers, really ready for a driver to pull up and pick up and take them to our stores.”

Walmart is able to anticipate surges in demand during emergencies thanks to a team of meteorologists and a huge historical database of sales from each store as well as sophisticated predictive techniques.

That system is helping them allocate things like batteries, ready-to-eat foods and cleaning supplies to areas in the storm’s path.

“They know exactly what people want after a hurricane … for example,  the most popular food item after a major storm  is strawberry Pop-Tarts.”

OK, plenty of Pop Tarts … now, how about those D batteries?

My bet: all the lithium is going to Chevy Volts.

Stock up !

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Posted in Logistics, Retailing | 1 Comment »

In the news: Ken comments on Groupon …

August 29, 2011

When asked by Dow-Jones career site “Hire Wire” about Groupon’s prospects and whether it was a good place to start a career, I said:

Young job hunters naturally want to work for a company that is “trendy and cool,” said Ken Homa, a marketing professor at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. Getting in on the ground floor of a fast growing company can be exciting.

For those developing a long term career, the sustainability of the daily deals model is critical. “It’s been relatively easy during a recession to get local merchants to sign up once for [Groupon’s] service,” Homa said. “If this is a survivable business model, I’ll be stunned.”

Having a known brand like Groupon on your resume can’t hurt. “When people are selling themselves for the next job, the fact that they had this experience and they saw the formula provides a meaningful credential,” Homa said.

Source: Hire Wire, Chris Prentice
Groupon May Lose Cache as Daily Deals Sites Proliferate

We’ll see …

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Posted in Internet - Soc Networking | Leave a Comment »

Got a spare $35,000 ? … If yes, you can hear B&O tell you your taxes are too low.

August 26, 2011

It’s reported that Warren Buffett  is hosting a fund-raiser for Obama’s re-election, billed as an “economic forum,”

According to the NY Post:

Tickets for the event at New York’s Four Seasons restaurant on Sept. 30 start at $10,000 a head, with VIP tickets a budget-boosting $35,800.

Guests get an hour of “Q&A moderated by one of President Obama’s closest economic advisors, Austan Goolsbee.”

What will be discussed is Buffett’s recent highly publicized claim that the wealthy should pay higher taxes.

As one invitee reportedly sniffed, “Nothing like advocating tax equality when you are charging $35,800 a ticket.”

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Posted in Buffett, Warren, Obama, Taxes | Leave a Comment »

“It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”

August 26, 2011

That was what Steve Jobs has has been saying for years.

The statement seems to be rippling through the marketing community now that Jobs has resigned.

NY Times, Without Its Master of Design, Apple Will Face Many Challenges

Mr. Jobs explained that his design decisions were shaped by his understanding of both technology and popular culture.

His own study and intuition, not focus groups, were his guide.

When a reporter asked what market research went into the iPad, Mr. Jobs replied: “None. It’s not the consumers’ job to know what they want.”

What’s the rub?

Jobs’ success flies in the face of marketers who spend  time and energy arguing for and doing extensive consumer research (surveys. focus groups, etc.).

And, it’s hard to argue with his success,

Hmmm.

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Posted in Jobs, Steve, Mktg - Consumer Behavior, Mktg - Market Research, Mktg - Product & Innovation | 1 Comment »

Amateur Hour: No wonder the economy is a mess

August 25, 2011

According to a study by the Employment Policies Institute …

How many members of Congress have an academic background that provided them with a basic understanding how the economy works?

The answer, it turns out, is not many.

Publicly available data  show that nearly 8 out of 10  members of Congress lack an academic background in business or economics.

  • 55.7% majored in either government-related fields or the humanities
  • 13.7% majored in a business or accounting-related field.
  • 8.4% majored in an economics-related field

image

Question: Think the President took a single econ or biz course in college or grad school – except for, maybe, contract law?  I’m betting the under.  I’d still like to see his transcripts to peek at his GPA (UG lower than W’s?) and to see if he took any econ-biz courses.

Couple the above with the low percentage of Obama’s cabinet who had worked in the private business sector prior to their appointment to the cabinet.

Below are the percentages of cabinet members with private sector experience …

Eisenhower………..57%
Reagan……………..56%
GW Bush……………55%
Nixon…………………53%
Wilson ………………52%
GH Bush…………… 51%
F. Roosevelt……….50%
Truman………………50%

Harding………………49%
Coolidge…………… 48%
Johnson……… …….47%
Ford…………………..42%
Hoover ………………42%
Taft……………………40%

Clinton ……….. …..39%
T. Roosevelt……….38%
Carter………………..32%
Kennedy…………….30%

Obama……………… 8%

Hmmm.

Draw your own conclusion.

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Posted in Economy, Obama Administration | Leave a Comment »

Does Warren Buffett really think pre-tax returns should guide investment decisions?

August 25, 2011

From the “Everything You Learned in Business School is Wrong” file …

Anybody who has taken a b-school finance course has learned to evaluate investments on an after-tax basis.

Right?

Well, apparently Warren Buffett thinks finance profs are spewing garbage.

In his recent “coddled” op-ed, Buffett said:

…  the notion that high taxes discourage hiring and investment is false.

I have yet to see anyone … shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain.

People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off.

So, the Oracle of Omaha thinks pre-tax is the way to evaluate investments.

Really?

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Posted in Buffett, Warren, Finance, Financial Analysis | 2 Comments »

Down to 38 … what, me worry?

August 24, 2011

Lost among the news about Libya and the east coast earthquake …

Yesterday, President Obama’s approval rate dropped to a new low … now.  Gallup says that only 38% approve of the job he’s doing.

image

Fortunately, the drop didn’t phase the vacationer-in-chief … though, it was reported that the earthquake was felt in Martha’s Vineyard and almost jiggled the President’s ice cream out of its cone.

“Let them eat ice cream …”

image

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Posted in Obama, Polls & Surveys | 1 Comment »

How much time do unemployeds spend searching for jobs?

August 24, 2011

Answer: Not much … but, I bet you suspected as much.

According to Freakonomics and The Atlantic:

A new study by economists from Princeton and the University of Chicago breaks it down. The bulk of foregone market work time during the recent recession, they say, is spent on leisure. Only 1% is spent searching for a job.

Hmmm

large[1]

* * * * *

Time distribution of unemployed Americans:

  • 20% to sleeping.
  • 15% to “other leisure,” including listening to music and being on the computer, exercising and recreation, and hobbies such as arts, collecting, writing.
  • 13% to core home production activities (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.)
  • 12% to watching TV.
  • 12% to time investments in own health care, own education, and civic activities.
  • 8% to increased shopping.
  • 7% to home maintenance and repair.
  • 6% to child care.
  • 4% to the care of other older adults.
  • 1% of the foregone market work hours are allocated to job search.

Ken’s Take: 99 weeks of unemployment benefits sure can shift a person’s priorities …

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

Maybe AOL-Time Warner merger was just ahead of it’s time.

August 23, 2011

Counter to the popular view that the AOL-Time Warner merger was one of the worst predictable merger disasters in history, I’ve long argued that the merger made perfect sense but was poorly implemented – largely because top management under-managed the post-transaction combination.

Now, Nicholas Jackson says in The Atlantic that “Maybe, a Second AOL-Time Warner Marriage Would Work Better”

Why?

“When the two companies first merged back in 2001, they had competing interests. Today, they’re both focused on creating content.”

He says:

The idea behind the 2001 merger sounded perfect: one of the world’s largest distributors of online content meets one of the world’s most recognized content-making companies.

But the companies were too different, and their mismatch led to failure.

Now, everything has changed.

AOL is, primarily, a content company.

“AOL is singularly focused on becoming the next great media company for the digital age, being rich, engaging and easy to find content and experiences for consumers and best-in-class environment for advertisers,”

Bottom line: Merging two content companies might make sense, and TW has the resources to re-acquire AOL.

Unlikely, but interesting ….

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Posted in Media | Leave a Comment »

Medicaid eye-opener: 1/3 of spending to nursing homes …

August 23, 2011

When most people (i.e. me)  think of Medicaid, they think of gov’t funded medical care for the poor.

Surprised me to learn that about 1/3 of Medicaid spending supports elderly patients in long-term care facilities (e.g. nursing homes).

image
Source

* * * * *

According to the Georgetown Health Policy Institute:

“Although most long-term care is provided by family members on an unpaid basis, most of the nation’s long-term care spending (75%) is
concentrated on nursing home care, and Medicaid, the nation’s health care program for poor and low income Americans, is the largest source of payment for that care.”

Some basic stats:

  • Over 1 million total Medicaid nursing facility residents
  • Over 400 million Medicaid nursing facility days per year
  • Medicaid nursing facility per diem rate ~ $85

“Nearly half of the nation’s nursing home bill was paid by Medicaid in 2003, while just over a quarter was paid out-of-pocket, and less than 10 percent was covered by private insurance.”

image
Source

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Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | Leave a Comment »

Why people – especially Medicare insureds – see the doctor way too much …

August 22, 2011

According to the WSJ:

Medicare utilization is roughly 50% higher than private health-insurance utilization, even after adjusting for age and medical conditions.

In other words, given two patients with similar health-care needs—one a Medicare beneficiary over age 65, the other an individual under 65 who has private health insurance—the senior will use nearly 50% more care.

Why?

People who have comprehensive health coverage like Medicare tend to use more care, and more expensive care — with no noticeable improvement in health outcomes — than those who have basic coverage or high deductibles.

Prof Mark Perry extends the observation, to partially explain why healthcare costs are so high … in general, folks have a decreasing amount of skin in the game (think deductibles and co-pays) … and when consumers are insulated from costs, they consume more … and more … and more.

The graph below tells the story.

image

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Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

Hiring incentives are a bad idea … here’s why

August 22, 2011

An idea being floated as part of Obama’s September plan is to offer employers incentives – say, a year’s waiver on unemployment insurance premiums – for any new hires.

At first blush, it sounds like a good idea.

But it’s not.

First, no sensible employer is going to make incremental hires for a single year of benefits.  If they do, there are equal odds that they’ll jettison the employees when the waiver expires.

More important, the program is likely to punish responsible companies and reward irresponsible ones.

Let me explain.

Say, company A laid off 20% of its workforce during the recession – largely due to the business slowdown, but also the result of opportunistic house-cleaning – getting rid of slackers and dolts.

Comparable company B  laid off a couple employees due to the downturn, but – took its lumps – and kept most of its employees on the payroll, even though many weren’t really needed.

Along comes the hiring incentive.

Which company gets it?

Yep, company A – the company that shed employees.

What does company B get for standing by its employees.

Nothing.

Sound fair to you?

Sounds like punishing responsible behavior … again!

P.S. And, now that the idea has leaked … why in the world would any company hire employees now.?

Smart ones will sit back and wait for the incentives to kick in.

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Posted in Employment - Jobs | 1 Comment »

Georgetown’s “goodwill” basketball game vs. China ends in brawl … no kidding

August 19, 2011

According to SI …

A wild brawl broke out between Georgetown and a Chinese men’s basketball team Thursday night, putting an immediate end to a supposed goodwill game that coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the country.

The benches cleared and fights erupted all over the court with about 9½ minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Georgetown is in China on a 10-day trip which has been cited by the U.S. State Department as an example of sports diplomacy that strengthens ties between the two countries.

Full article & video

Question (after viewing the video): With a population of 1.3 Billion (with a “B”), don’t you think the Chinese should be able to fill a high school gym for a game against the Hoyas?

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Posted in Sports & Athletics | 1 Comment »

Locker room sign: “Excuses are for losers”

August 19, 2011

The sign over the door to my high school’s football locker room reminded players that “excuses are for losers”.

Obviously, Pres. Obama didn’t play football for the Maple Heights Mustangs … or, I imagine, any of the thousands of HS or college teams that paste the slogan in their locker rooms.

Why is that a safe bet?

In “Did Bo (Obama’s Dog) Eat The Recovery?”, IBT has a nice recap of the people and events that te President wants to blame for the bad economy

In his inaugural address 2 1/2 years ago, President Obama called for a “new era of responsibility.” Yet lately, his main goal in life seems to be escaping any responsibility for the lousy economy.

It’s getting so you have to keep a list of everyone and everything Obama wants to blame for the anemic economic recovery.

So far, it includes:

• President Bush: Obama continues to blame Bush for the mess he inherited, despite the fact that the recession had pretty much bottomed out by the time Obama took office and was officially over a mere four months after he was sworn in.

• ATMs: In June, Obama blamed automated teller machines and airport check-in kiosks for the lack of jobs, saying that “businesses have learned to become much more efficient, with a lot fewer workers.”

• Republicans: On Monday, Obama said that because “some in Congress would rather see their opponents lose than America win, we ended up creating more uncertainty and more damage to an economy that was already weak” — a thinly veiled attempt to blame the GOP for the economic malaise.

• Gridlock: Obama goes after partisan impasses. What he’s really complaining about is that lawmakers haven’t enacted his latest “stimulus” plan — spending hikes, gimmicky tax breaks and a massive tax hike — that has already been tried and failed.

• The media: In July, Obama said the “splintered” press was in part to blame for Washington’s failure to boost the economy. “If you never even have to hear another argument,” he said, “then over time you start getting more dug in into your positions.”

• Businesses: Obama has often blamed companies needlessly sitting on massive piles of cash. In May, he insisted that firms should “step up” and start hiring.

• Misfortune: “Over the last six months, we’ve had a string of bad luck,” he said at a town hall on Monday, citing the Arab Spring, the Japanese tsunami and Europe’s debt crisis. “So there were a bunch of things taking place over the last six months that were not within our control.”

At a press conference this summer, Obama said: “I’m not interested in finger-pointing.”

But that’s all he’s been doing for months.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Obama instead were to live up to his inaugural credo and start his own “era of responsibility” by admitting his role in the country’s economic slump?

As the sign says “excuses are for losers” …

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

Revenge of the appraisers …

August 19, 2011

Worth-read article posted by RCP summarizing the history of residential appraisers … and the impact of attempts by the gov’t to regulate them.

Punch line:

Among the many guilty co-conspirators in the housing bubble were appraisers who succumbed to pressure from loan officers, buyers and real estate agents eager to get deals done. Wary of losing business, these appraisers submitted home valuations that were unrealistically high, contributing to an upward spiral of prices that was unsustainable.

Appraisers’ lack of independence brought calls for reform once the market melted down, including a spate of new federal regulations commencing in 2009, the latest in a long string of efforts by the government over the last half century to reform the business. Now, ironically, those new regulations are being blamed for some of the housing market’s current struggles, as exceptionally low home valuations kill deals, including those between highly qualified buyers and eager sellers.

Some real estate agents and lenders estimate low appraisals are killing from 20 to 40 percent of deals. Even allowing for a certain amount of exaggeration endemic to the real estate business, low valuations have become a significant problem in the market’s struggles.

Ken’s Take: I’ve heard some stories about low valuations killing deals … and low valuations working out to buyers’ advantage as sellers cut prices to conform to the valuations..

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Posted in Housing - Mortgages | Leave a Comment »

What happens if there are no rich people?

August 18, 2011

Great chart in the WSJ, extracted from the latest IRS data:

image

Provokes a couple of thoughts:

  1. There aren’t that many folks earning over $1 million annually … less than 250,000 out of 150 million tax filers.
  2. The reported thresholds are AGI – before taxes … number of folks in the categories r is even smaller after-taxes or if you income average across a few years
  3. Number has shrunk during the recession … what if they all go away, e.g. move or get their $millions taxed away or stop earning
  4. Earnings & wealth … even the WSJ doesn’t seem to understand the difference between stocks and flows – earnings is a ‘flow’, wealth is a ‘stock’ … millionaire status should be based on wealth not one’s year’s earnings

This issue doesn’t impact me as long as I’m making $8.75 an hour teaching … and, I have no great interest inprotecting the so-called super rich … but, I don’t like singling out a miniscule group of citizens for targeted “attention” … today it’s them, tomorrow, it’s us.

Bad precedent.

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Posted in Taxes | 1 Comment »

In praise of high-speed rail … oh, just kidding

August 18, 2011

Ken’s Take:  Here’s a nice summary by Michael Barone debunking one President “No Sacred Cows” Obama’s  sacred cows … high-speed rail between and through solid blue territory (think Nevada & California) and swing stated (think (Iowa).

In negotiations on the debt limit, Obama has fenced off several programs from any cuts at all.

One is, astonishingly, the $53 billion he wants to spend on high-speed rail projects. To call high-speed rail a "boondoggle" is to engage in considerable understatement.
 
These projects include

  • $715 million for construction of 100 miles of track between the small towns of Borden and Corcoran in California’s Central Valley.
     
    A train from Iowa City, Iowa, that will take longer to get to Chicago than already existing bus service
  • A train from Minneapolis to Duluth, Minn., that will average 69 miles per hour — about what you could average on the parallel Interstate 35.
     

Obama has rhapsodized about the pleasure of walking to a train station and taking a high-speed rail trip to another city.

But the great majority of Americans don’t live within an easy drive of a train station.
 
A high-speed rail line might make sense in the densely populated Northeast corridor between Washington and Boston, but these projects make no sense in most of the rest of America.

No wonder the governors of Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida have turned down federal money for rail projects that parallel interstate highways.

They realize that their taxpayers would get stuck for inevitable cost overruns and operating deficits.

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Feds’ spotlight shifts from tanning salons to Chipotle …

August 18, 2011

According to the WSJ …

After an immigration audit of its payrolls, burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill lost 450 of its roughly 1,200 employees in Minnesota.

Now it’s dealing with the aftermath— rising turnover – as workers concerned about their documents might have decided to seek employment elsewhere — and grumbling customers because of slower service from new employees.

When you went in there before … the quality was great,” says  a longtime Chipotle fan in Minneapolis.

“Now it takes forever. People are slopping stuff together.”

Other areas being targeted by audits include Virginia and Washington, D.C.

“It is very troubling for us to lose so many great employees,” said a company spokesman.

Ken’s Take: “Slopping stuff together”?  Isn’t a burrito – by definition – stuff that’s slopped together?

Lighten up, dude …

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Posted in Food & Drink, Immigration | 1 Comment »

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