September 12th is Just as Important as September 11th (Challenging Extremism)

September 11th was a terrible day and that was a day that shook our souls and we vowed to build something stronger, better, and hold to account those that would use religion to harm innocent people. September 12th is the day after as the surreal situation sets in and we have to decide what our path is going forward (In some ways we are still deciding 20 years later.) As I have promised in the past,  and how based on feeling of alignment with my oaths, it is best to pull people together to focus on the next rung in our journey as a nation.

(The next stage will require us to be together as a single people with respect for each other and to ensure we support that togetherness. There really is no other logical way. It maximizes our economy, political structure, and our outputs.)

Religious and political extremism is on the rise and similar mechanics have led to nation altering behaviors (i.e. September 11th and January 6th) We also have a rise in extremist based violence and an indication that influences some adherent's decision making. Sometimes there are not enough backstops because the recognition of that behavior was relatively sparse and not well enforced. 

Things have changed now and we see the danger of allowing these domestic groups rise, target people, and spread false narratives against our politicians, judges, intellectuals and civilians. There are some attempts by these groups to hamper the protections of Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Religion (Remember people are calling others and making all types of threats both direct and applied as well as in some cases acting on them. See Rise in Threats Lawmakers)

Any type of extremism is any good for our nation in a short run or the long run. There are people who have lost their lives for these "isms". No matter your race or religion put down the aphrodisiac of an "ism" and focus on critical thought and togetherness. We should let no distorted perception dictate to us our path forward. It is America's path and for us alone to decide (All of us!)

We are one people and we should act like one people and feel it within our souls that we are one people. The Pledge of Allegance states "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." If we allow those who follow toxic politics and narrow minded perceptions to dictate our path we are going to have a bumpy ride in the future. 

My overall advice and suggestion is that we come to accept the beauty of religion in our lives and the power it has to transform us and the world around us in a positive way. i.e. in God we Trust.. It was always meant to be a way to bring people forward and together to shared perspectives. That comes from understanding the intent of the text in much the way as the intent of our laws. If you cherry pick out one word or another it leads to incorrect interpretations.

(btw philosophically. They say man's laws follow behind God's laws. I'm not sure that is a religious statement. I sometimes think of God's laws as those laws that apply to almost everyone. i.e. laws against theft, abuse, violence, etc. have some reflection in our official laws. Thomas Jefferson on Law)

How we decide to go forward is a big one. I encourage our fellow Americans, our politicians and those who make decisions over others to think about the bigger picture and be active against "isms" in our decision making and in our lives (Maybe its like a little like a prayer for our future). Like I said many times before, two wrongs don't make a right. The path forward is to see each other as single people, single community, and single nation. No matter your politics and no matter your religion, our fellow Americans should stick together. The only lesson that needs to be learned here are the lessons of unity and striving.

The next generation has no ideas the trials and tribulations our nation and people faced during that time. We should teach them what we have learned. No matter the politics.

The Link Between Emotional Intelligence and Wisdom: A Few Important Sayings

Wisdom is something that many of us want to gain but most people never can gain. We keep thinking of the wise old man or woman who tells us about the nature of life. Perhaps we view them as ancient philosophers or the female shamans living on a mountainside (There probably is a reason why they live alone and that might be the ability to be self reflective.). I believe that every society has wise people who try and impart wisdom and that comes from personal development.

What I keep thinking about is what is wisdom and how does one get it?

 An interesting report on 'Two studies show a link between emotional intelligence and wisdom'  the report might be saying the same thing but to me the reason why emotional intelligence leads to wisdom is because you can take your time to think about things and make decisions that have the best outcomes.  If you are emotionally driven you are likely to make poor decisions by knee jerk reactions and not reflecting on the possibilities with a clear mind. 

"The researchers found that recognition of a changing world, self-transcendence, consideration of diverse perspectives, and search for compromise — all components of competency in emotionl management, a branch of emotional intelligence — are related to wise reasoning." (Steimer, 2021 para 2)

 

Delta County Michigan Commissioners Meeting (09/05/2023): Trash, Budgets and Bonuses!

There was a lot to this meeting and county business is still going forward and getting things done even while other issues are arising. There is a significant investment of dollars needed in solid waste landfill management to ensure we are managing trash well. You can watch the video and see the debate between trash that is shared by counties versus going it alone. There are cost differences. As one hedges with others they lose control over management but do gain economies of scale. That is the trade off. Sometimes its just best to partner with others on projects unless one can find a better and more cost effective way to deal with it.

-Just FYI. The EPA says, "2018 was 292.4 million tons (U.S. short tons, unless specified) or 4.9 pounds per person per day.)"  National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling

There was also some discussion on grants and the terms of easements. Apparently it was an issue of public access that was blocked by a gate and someone mentioned handshake deals that motivated citizens felt concerned about. There was also some issue of some monies that allocated to employees of a company/entity managing the parks that others indicated the company/entity weren't entitled to it (per the video). 

Furthermore, I believe there was a referral to the State Attorney General's Office. So we will just have to see what happens with that.

Remember, that doesn't mean anyone did anything wrong. Sometimes things happen, and sometimes people make mistakes from lack of knowledge. What happened hasn't been officially determined but the allegation was made with some professed support. Bringing to light concerns is helpful, investigating reveals new insight, and in turn being wise about all things leads to positive outcomes.  

A Few Notes:

-Solid waste landfill recycle and composting operations. EGLE is working with Qpad to create a multi county landfill. egle/mmp. Cost concerns were brought up.

-Concerns on time length of meetings and those who violate general civility. They are talking about the last meeting. I'm not sure specifically what they are talking about but there have been some discontent by local residents and some flare ups. I will have to look at what they mean. County meeting or committee meeting? Towards the end I guess if this is the same one. 08/15/2023 Delta County Michigan Commissioner Meeting

-Grants and other issues are relied on balance funding. Its just an observation. However, in the long run I think the county should seek ways to generate revenue. I guess if we think about it, we might find ways the county can raise revenue.

-State of Michigan has some discussion on Solid Waste Programs

5.8% GDP Q3 2023 Projection Revision from Atlanta Federal Reserve

This is an interesting state of affairs as economic revisions are revised upward significantly. The Federal Reserve of Atlanta believes GDD will rise 5.8% up from the .3% originally projected by most economists in January and 1.8% in June of this year.

Its a possible influence of digital GDP, investments and realignment of the supply chain. However, further analysis will help to determine the key components. There are likely confounding factors not originally measured by current economic statistics.

It very well could be an opportunity, maybe single opportunity, to push the system to master the new electric business environment and a shift to more manufacturing. GDP Now Atlanta Federal Reserve

Innovation and human capital will likely be the name of the game. 

Questions might be...

1. Why?

2. What is going to happen to inflation?

3. What would a new Post Covid homeostasis look like?

4. What is going on currently in the world economy (environmental scan)?

Source GDP Now

Labor Day: Human Capital Powers Our Economic Engines!

Labor Day is a celebration of labor and the rights of workers. The Department of Labor offers some information on the  'History of Labor Day'. Yet it is more than a day off of work. It is an acknowledgement that labor is an important factor to national development. For far too long we invested in cheaper labor overseas in foreign markets versus enhancing our own human capital at home

(Its not about investing or not investing overseas as we are in a global interconnected world and some investments for materials, emerging technologies, international partnerships, supply chain, etc. are a must and cannot be avoided. Being strategic to ensure it enhances our national position means we get the most out of our efforts.)

We cannot neglect American labor in our American Digital Era Oriented Renaissance and should find ways to enhance it. A few economic snap shots from classical economic theory as it relates to labor.

"The real price of everything, what everything really costs to the man who wants to acquire it, is the toil and trouble of acquiring it. (Smith 1776, ch. 5, §2; )"

Principle: Product value is based in effort of obtainment (i.e. scarcity). By extension we might further make the connection to increased productivity, i.e. technology/innovation, can lead to cheaper, high demand products.

"The value of a commodity [. . .] depends on the relative quantity of labour which is necessary for its production, and not on the greater or less compensation which is paid for that labour. (Ricardo 1817, ch. 1, §1;)"

Principle: We can enhance labor to build better products and that paying workers more for learning and applying new skills and abilities may help in fostering human capital. If their creative and productive value rises so should their wages. (One of the potential advantages to a cluster is that it not only raises skill through advanced innovation but also wages from industry labor enhancements.)

A man grows rich by employing a multitude of manufacturers: he grows poor by maintaining a multitude of menial servants. (Smith 1776, book II, ch. III;)

Principle: The innovative complexity of a product (i.e. its uniqueness) can created unique real value (Based on my transactional innovative cluster theory, one might say a unique cluster and its innovative product outputs, i.e. unique ships or outdoor gear will likely have higher value that countries can't easily copy. That could lead to market leading products and/or multiple leading industries in a nation.)

Smith, A. 1776. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. https://oll.libertyfund.org/title/smith-an-inquiry-into-the-nature-and-causes-of-the-wealth-of-nations-cannan-ed-vol-1

Ricardo, D. 1817. The Principles of Political Economy and Taxation https://www.econlib.org/library/Ricardo/ricP.html

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Research Supports "The Power of the Flower" in Our Lives and in Our Work (The Financial and Economic Benefits of Greenery)

The Power of Flower Picture
The Wooded Pathway Gallery

What is the power of the flower? Researchers have known for a long time that nature has benefits to our health and psychological perspective. Yet we are unsure of how flowers can improve corporate performance. One might wonder if we put flowers within our workspaces and homes whether we would obtain some of their advantages. Applied psychology often delves into such topics to find connections between things that may not be at first apparent (i.e. this is where stats often come into play). 

Business executives should persistently look for ways to improve their financial bottom line. As bizarre as it sounds, sometimes new ideas are as easy as smelling the roses. Whether one is a flower lover or a weed warrior we might consider whether there could be financial advantages of flowers. Thinking out of the box, especially a planters box, with a systems mindset can help see the contribution of different factors throughout an organization (I'm not advocating for or against flowers but advocate for trying to see things in new perspectives and diverse vantage points.)

For example, if $50 of desk plants (i.e. planting more flowers in the workplace, green pictures, etc.) for employees every quarter led to $5,000 in improved performance then one might consider implementing a reimbursement program for plants companywide. If there is not enough available information to make a decision, an executive might design/commission a study to determine the potential advantages and impact of flowers/plants. If statistically significant (promising), consider replicating and/or retesting the study to a broader organizational pool. 

To investor not invest in plants is not the central point (Maybe flowers are or are not better than a free lunch once a quarter or swag). It is that applied psychology can have an impact on what we understand, how we make decisions and that such research is often tied to longer term trends in multiple environmental contexts. Much of those decisions will likely come down to dollars and cents for businesses but there are social considerations as well that may not be easily calculated today but could have financial consequences later. Each company must decide what is important for them, their employees and communities at the time they are making a decision. This delves into something called Behavioral Economics which is a topic we can discuss at a later date and time.  

A Business and Virtual Worker Benefits of Plants and Flowers

Flowers and plants not only may reduce stress but also can improve productivity. 'Research shows flowers can boost productivity when working from home'

Indicates plants improve performance productivity 15% and reduces stress (This is where we can go down a line of thinking such as asking questions relate to how much do plants reduced stress impact medical benefits, retention, etc. in addition to productivity to uncover possible hidden long-tail value.). 'Exclusive research shows the impact of plants on work productivity'

The Community Benefit of Plants

The Municipal Research and Services Center (MRSC) indicates that things like trees can impact our communities, investments, business and much more. It indicates that plants could potentially determine opportunity (You can see the difference in greenery between rich and poor.). 'For More Equitable and Livable Cities, Consider Trees'

The National Benefits of Plants

We discuss plants and work, plants and community and we can discuss the potential economic benefits of plants to the macro economy (This is not an endorsement of lack thereof of any policy). Business leaders should be aware of government policy as a legal/regulatory issue but also help them understand some of the science used to make such macro decisions and in turn how those decisions impact general trends. Investing in Nature to Solve Today’s Challenges'

A Few Thoughts on Studies and Publications

Within this article we looked at a few studies and a few publications. In any article we may need to further look at the limitations of the studies. That will require moving beyond the general publication and into reading the scientific study itself. If you trace these articles back far enough you will eventually run into a scientist and/or a scientific publication. Sometimes you can request the data and other times you cannot (i.e. proprietary) The stronger the studies, and the more studies saying/find similar things, then the greater the credibility of the arguments. Always be aware of alternative arguments of explanation. At this point it looks like greenery will be a globally hot topic of discussion (maybe just a globally warm topic😳🙊💨).

US GDP Q2 2023: 2.1% GDP Increase Could Avoid Fed Rate Hike

Economy and Consumer Spending

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provided an important update as to propensity for economic growth in Gross Domestic Product, Second Quarter 2023 (Second Estimate) and Corporate Profits (Preliminary) The BEA runs our official economic stats including the imperfect GDP benchmark. You can learn more about the BEA and what they do HERE. The numbers indicate that the speed of GDP growth has declined to a point that it might be enough to avoid an interest rate hike (They are looking for trajectory trends but its complex so different factors can be confusing.)

"The increase in real GDP reflected increases in consumer spending, nonresidential fixed investment, state and local government spending, and federal government spending that were partly offset by decreases in exports, residential fixed investment, and private inventory investment. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased (table 2). (BEA, 2023, para 3.)

The Sweet Spot of Economic Growth:

The U.S. economy has been running fairly warm in recent times and inflation has been consuming the thoughts of a large percentage economists and bankers that alike that rely on these numbers to determine profitability potential.  Raising or lowering interest rates influences the money supply and is one of the primary tools the Fed used to influence macro economic behaviors that have a significant impact on the businesses environment. 

In general, economists crave the sweet spot in economic management where the system maintains a healthy growth rate while also maintaining the contributory functioning of the other economic pieces (New economic platforms likely create new ideal growth rates because the fundamentals the economy have changed. i.e. virtual GDP influence and the long tail creative capital of that.). The further one must manipulate the environment beyond homeostasis the more likely they will run risks (The key actions of the Fed are often more stabilization oriented.)

Federal Rate Hike:

At this point, the mild economic slowdown decreases the chances of another federal rate hike that would normally be forthcoming in situations of continuous growth. As interest rate hikes increase, borrowing costs that are passed onto the average company and consumer leading to slowing the circulation/availability of money. The cost of borrowing money is an important consideration in investment decisions as well impact the price you pay for interest on your credit cards or car loans. (We will have to wait to see what actually happens. 'How the Fed affects credit cards')

Standing back from the immediacy of the problem you can gain a wider perspective, we may realize there could be an ideal place where government spending increases economic activity that in turn generates net positives (knowing the difference between cost and investment. I typically advocate investment versus cost.), business investment rises to increase tax revenue beyond what is spent to create a spark (i.e. semi conductors will be an industry to watch as it impacts many other industries from a root level making long-tail benefits that are more difficult to calculate), increases in exports funnel more investments, labor productivity increased with technology, so on and so forth that raises the overall economy and the value of American worker and competitive value of the outputs of such production. (I call this a perpetual society that invests in itself to create verified net positives that allow for future investments.)

(You can read for more information 'How does the Federal Reserve affect inflation and employment?)

GDP and GDI:

You will also notice real gross domestic income (GDI) increased 0.5 percent in the second quarter, which was in contrast to a decrease of 1.8 percent in the first quarter. The difference between Real GDP and Real GDI is noted in a few places. (You can read about why they are sometimes different, 'The Discrepancy Between Expenditure- and Income-Side Estimates of US Output' or 'Better Measure of Output: GDP or GDI?')

Related Reading:

-Yahoo Finance has a solid article with a discussion on the S&P500 bump which could be an indication of willingness to invest as well as a discussion on employment hiring slowing. US economic growth revised down for Q2, a 'welcomed' sign for Fed

-“Weaker growth in real GDI, relative to GDP, may be an indication that tighter monetary policy is weighing on the U.S. economy,” said chief economist Gus Faucher of PNC Financial Services. U.S. economy grew at slower 2.1% pace in second quarter, new GDP figures show

-A strong analysis that included the idea that GDP and GDI are considered gross domestic output and that it is a stronger measure than each alone. Thus, economic activity increased 1.3% April-June which is up from the 0.1% from the first quarter. 

-The article also mentions projections for the 3rd quarter 2% rate to a 5.9% based on export projections.

US economic growth trimmed on inventories; retains underlying momentum

-The economy added 187,000 jobs. 'U.S. Hiring Settles Into a Lower Gear'