I admit it. I consider myself pretty smart. OK, wickedly smart. But, that does not mean I’m infallible. Nor does it mean that I know everything (even if I try to do so).
Continue reading Kool-Aid Thinking
So, I took a road trip today. Something I have not done in a while; to visit a client. And, as I’ve written often, this sort of “adventure” presents me with cogitation time. But, today, I did not develop a new product or service. (Darn it! That would have been nice.) Instead, I considered the current state of affairs. It hit me with a start how inconsistent I have been recently- and how inconsistent many of my friends have been.
We’ve heard all the complaints. The Death Panels. It will kill business employment. It goes on and on. But, there needs to be some sanity, some truth to the discussion.
Continue reading Grandstanding?
I have been amazed that we have build many an ethanol plant in water short areas (like Florida). I have been even more amazed when these same facilities are not designed to reuse the water they employ, which would both save them money- and reduce their impact on the environment. Our numbers show these folks can increase their profits about 3 to 5 cents a gallon- after accounting for the cost of water treatment- by incorporating water reuse.
Continue reading No fracking way!
The fiscal cliff. Or, the fiscal stepstool. I’m not trying to say it’s not important- it is. (See my previous post on this matter, here.) We need our politicians to get off their own cliffs and negotiate- honestly. But, that rarely happens. We have at least two problems. We have a deficit problem- and we have a recession problem. To some degree, they are related. If we were booming, then our deficits would be down- way down. But, we’re not-we are barely keeping even. (Sorry, 2% growth is just that. )
Continue reading Taxes and Deficits
I have already discussed the issues with inflated CEO compensation. One primary cause driving compensation upward is that many firms employ a technique that insures that he (it is typically a he) gets salary increases regardless of the performance at the firm. I have also discussed the problem that executives are paid ridiculous multiples (not 10 to 50, but 250 to 500 times) of the average pay at their firms.
Continue reading CEO Compensation and Corporate Performance
I’ve written a little about the recent 2012 Elections in the US. And, I don’t want to make a practice of letting politics overtake this blog. But, this post is not really about partisanship.
Continue reading Are Voters Stupid?
I recently wrote (So you want to be a real estate mogul) about the “right way” to get involved in real estate investment. You’ll remember that I suggested that you set up a corporation to hold all these properties; the business of the corporation would be real estate management.
Continue reading Real Estate Mogul Wannabe- Part 2
About 30 years ago, we were expanding our transportation company (which was related to our health care business) in California. And, given our philosophy of looking for folks who needed a helping hand, we hired two folks whom we trained to become truck drivers for our firm. They both worked 20 hours a week to start. Once they acquired enough hours to take the tractor-trailer license test (and passed), we began using them for 35 to 42 hours a week. When, all of a sudden, one of the drivers announced he was quitting.
Continue reading The Law of Unintended Circumstances
OK. I admit it. I don’t have a magic wand. Oh, I’ve wanted one- since I was much younger. To try to have the policies of this great nation of ours be similar to my choices. But, that never happened.
Continue reading Fiscal Cliff? Or Opportunity?