The blog discusses current affairs and development of national economic and social health through unique idea generation. Consider the blog a type of thought experiment where ideas are generated to be pondered but should never be considered definitive as a final conclusion. It is just a pathway to understanding and one may equally reject as accept ideas as theoretical dribble. New perspectives, new opportunities, for a new generation. “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”—Thomas Jefferson
US Trade Deficit has nudged slightly forward in its goal of developing a fiscally healthy nation with an economy that can perpetuate forward at a trade surplus (Ideally!). More positive then negative in the economic news but it does possibly indicate forward momentum. That will depend on how long declining deficit and GDP boosts carries on and whether that creates a trend. It could be a short blip on the screen or it could be prolonged as a new "normal". Could be either right? 🤔
My guess is with all of the geopolitical issues, infrastructure investments, AI, and other things going on in the wider environment, it could become more common....maybe a long term trend. Sputter, sputter, sputter, start up. (Like an old lawnmower) We have a lot of horsepower under the hood but we need to make the decisions that get us to top speed (We just got a tune up with infrastructure.).
What I'm looking for is whether changes in economic data indicate the U.S. has moved to a higher functioning economic platform based on infrastructure investments, increase in virtual transactions, adjustments in supply chain and increase in advance manufacturing (fyi...advanced manufacturing is typically the top of the supply chain. The top of the digital GDP is in creation/innovation and/or influence. Connecting innovation/creativity to create new products with advanced manufacturing often produces leading products that are difficult for other locations to match unless they meet similar conditions. i.e. national/regional manufacturing specializations)
I digress.....great article! Very nice and well thought out. Take notice of the great charts. I like them!
Dr. Powell discusses key points in the current state of the U.S. economy. Watching this you begin to understand how the Federal Reserves works and how it is used to stabilize currency and smooth market ripples.
Every choice we make today leans to a particular outcome. When we make choices between stark contrasts such as supporting corruption or in alternative supporting justice (some gradation in between) we always want to ensure that we are doing so in the best interests of society. That can be a complex question. It becomes increasingly complex based on who wants what.
There are times and places in history where protecting corruption was more important than justice. Some of these stories become horrendous displays of self interest. These incidents of the past do not need to be the future. Every time we are faced with an important junction in decision making we should walk toward the greater versus the lower.
Greater need of society, greater need of trust, greater need of safety & security, greater need institutional focus, great trust between consumers and business, greater means toward something better. There will be those who are afraid of that which is greater and so decide to move in the opposite direction. We always want to encourage them to be better through thoughtful self reflection.
What we do well on we should encourage and what we do poorly on we should learn from, fix, and adjust to support our long term goals. Learning organizations can see where mistakes were made and they can correct those in the best interest of society. They develop and they adapt to their environment. The very process makes such systems more functional.
Sounds simple to me, but may not be so simple for others. I encourage the youth to stand by their values because choices have an impact on society. To build the best systems, means we need to be thoughtful and in alignment with our most cherished values. Be faithful in word and deed to the something more important. Believe that small actions can amount to cleaning up corruption when it occurs (Its not just in theory. Integrity is important.)
Its not my place to judge specific situations but it is everyone's place to encourage a greater pro social and moral stance when needed so as to enhance the possibilities for a brighter tomorrow. The youth are the inheritors of our choices. I believe in giving them the best start we can. That means correcting any deficiencies as well as praise what is good. A balanced approach focused on solutions through basic moral values.
The economy of Michigan has a few challenges but is positioning itself well to attract outside interest and investments. I'm not going into all of the details because I found out the nations trade deficit declined and something about a GDP boost so I got distracted. These things are also important from a macro perspective because they relate. The health of states, cities and nations have a type of relationship to each other.
The Fish Wish Fountain Escanaba
Staying on top of the economic and business news helps in understanding our the domestic and international markets. If you don't know anything about the Detroit Economic Club it is a leading sources of economic discussion and debate. Very relevant topics that impact Michigan. Its a good source of knowledge and understanding of emerging economic concerns and trends. Detroit Economic Club
24:33 in the video they mention Escanaba as a young persons place to be! Buzzy is the term. Lots of positive changes have happened over the past few years.
You really should come visit. I live there and let me say its awesome! The marina, park, recreation, events, and entrepreneurship opportunities are amazing.
(Sail your boat up and you can find entertainment at the House of Ludington about a block away from the Marina. Throw a penny in the fountain across the street. When I was like 7 years old we used to put fish we caught from the harbor in the the fountain as an offering, grab a few wishes and go get ice-cream at Gust Asp on mainstream. That economy made sense to me at 7 years old.
One has to work like a fisherman/woman, take their catch and give it to the community fountain, and then carries a few coins over to the store. Our profit was ice cream! We didn't do anything but have fun! Please, the mind of a 7 year old is still pretty innocent.
Here is an article on velocity of money and economic expansion. We were helping circulate it widely with greater need for laundry soap, upset parents who don't know where we are, etc. Don't worry, when I was 16 or 17 I once dumped a whole bag of coins from my car in there. At 50 I still will throw a few in when I'm around. Its a cycle of life thing!
I still see kids fishing. I just wonder if they figured out the local kid economy yet. The coins are there and Gust Asp is still there. Mowing lawns made more money. Fishermen don't get paid well. I upgraded my skills!)
Its helpful to watch government in action and see how the many different aspects of small town (or large) come together to create investment leaning localities. Economic development isn't just money alone as it requires a base/community to build on (..and the infrastructure that serves and can encourage and/or limit growth.). That base comes from the community and matching local needs to global market opportunities so as to draw new investment and new opportunities for local peoples new and old alike. When government, industry and communities align there are many doors that open in such a way as to potentially foster net positives for everyone.
Anyways, read through some of the tid bits below and see if that resonates or doesn't resonate with you. Its about exploring ideas and seeing what seems to make sense.
16 minutes is a pretty short meeting by any account! I think the city record for effective speed governance was like 7 minutes and in that meeting they improved their environment significantly by investing in 100's of new garbage cans (Our environment is important, clean rivers, clean streets, you know the things we live in and eat out of. Microplastics Research.). In this meeting and agenda they exploring concepts related to wastewater systems, municipal customers, MDOT, energy optimization, fire clean up, etc.. (Just FYI there was a big fire in which local firefighters did a great job tackling as a coordinated team. I suggest we support them and encourage the youth to get involved. They put their lives at risk for the rest of us. Credit where credit is due. If you know me, I will tell you what think if you ask politely.)
A couple of agenda items approved quickly.
What makes this is possible is the information is provided to the public beforehand and in a way that optimizes options and choices. Pre meeting information helps make meetings more effective because many questions are raised, researched and resolved leading to a more informed and accurate vote. You can see here where dialogue and transparency provide an efficient government benefit that couldn't be possible without open arms, easy access information and listening to the public (i.e. trust).
"61 percent of executives said that at least half the time they spent making decisions—much of it surely spent in meetings—was ineffective."
Good governance is open, answers questions, provides information and works with public and private stakeholders. For example, the Feb 2, 2023 Agenda offers insight into costs, pictures, drawings and information so and so forth related to the meeting content and options available to the city. Anyone can read it! Interested community members, investors and current businesses can look at the information and have reasonable understanding of the necessity of choice (i.e. meaning they agree they would have came to a similar conclusion because they can see the info.).
All of their meetings are on online so people can watch and ponder the changes in their community. Furthermore, they provide contact information on Escanaba's Webpage to give local residents direct access to their government officials (btw they will answer if appropriate. When was the last time you saw that? That's old world charm!)
They also have all of the other meetings available virtually if you want to grab some popcorn and turn off the reruns of Days of Lives (General Hospital used to be pretty good. I like South Park.). Its the type of stuff you would see in a Digital Nomads land where people want to stay connected to and part of this fresh water pearl in the U.P. Escanaba Meetings. (Escanaba is like Little House on the Prairie in a time before expensive taxes and super expensive houses you often find closer to the larger cities. We are a small and attractive alternative for remote workers. Its one of the most affordable places to live still today. That's the way we Yoopers like it! If you can't chop a tree you will never truly be free!)
I found this OECD information on the Young and Open Government. All in all I think they would meet an inclusive and open government perception that is actively seeking new ideas and engagement with the public and youth. There may be some lessons to be learned for those in governments in other places and venues. Learning organizations seek to improve wherever they can. Nothing wrong with seeing democracy work from its root. It just requires people who care enough to contribute to communities and to the nation! Not hard because we can model that here for your leaning pleasure! 💁
Good Governance Leads to Investment:
Good governance brings additional investment because people trust the information and the decisions being made. When the information is available and people seem committed to the community's success, it creates higher levels of stable interest draw. This is one reason why marinas, local community generated investment, industrial development, hotels, tourism, events, etc. are swinging in the town's favor. The little people can really make amazing things happen when their eyes are set just over the horizon and we find a path through the minefield of 'nay sayers' and 'self interested sorcerers' who cast spells of doubt. (Sorry, I sort have this running joke with my poetry and strategic alignment to emerging trends. :( Axis Mundi)
(If you have been reading for a while I have been engaged in research on economic clusters. Predicted a 23/24' would have high growth back 2020 based on industry adaptation. It was published. :) Thus far it is panning out to be somewhat ball park accurate. No formulas have been created yet other then an initial amebic one to develop a frame. What is possible is if the community reconnects to the global market in a meaningful way we may also find tertiary benefits such as rising incomes for Middle Class members, more young people sticking around, expansion of opportunities, lower crime rates, thriving community actives, quality of life improvements, etc. Economic and community health can come together in this theory. In general, there many compounding factors but these are going to be associated depending on effective government, industry, and community interactions. Think micro transaction with macro outputs. Feel free to quickly discard....as its just theoretical dribble....dribble...)
I will rank the area as "investment leaning". Meaning that if it continues to develop things like its webpages, strategies, infrastructure, entrepreneurship draw, investments, target driven marketing, tourism etc. it could lead to much larger growth. i.e. sparking a cluster. Clusters ae not about size, its about efficient use of resources that compliment and enhance each other in a helpful way that ramps up innovation and market leading outputs. How? This is done by putting the right components into the same pin head to spark a growth catalyst as they interact and connect on micro transactional levels and find cross industry value (i.e. intrapreneur/entrepreneur). That is based in part on investment precursors of a locality. More on that later.... In theory anyway, let us wait and see what happens.
If I was an interested investor (s), I might explore ways to invest in a local industry before the upward curve (Maybe but optimistic. A definite possibility. Possibly but not guaranteed. 🤔).
You may be interested in this article on effective investment from a global perspective.....
If your a little inspired by the possibilities of doing something helpful to a community feel free to reach out with your investment ideas. Delta County Chamber of Commerce.
The science of applied psychology is growing and will increasingly include new research on virtual type work. If you are seeking a solid overview of applied psychology and human resources this is a good video to watch.
Interesting numbers have come out related to the job market trends. So far this year, and last, and the one before the expectations have been broken. My take is that COVID-19 forced more companies and transactions online which fundamentally pushed the Digital Era 10 years early than what would be expected. Many of the economic assumptions based in prior eras i.e. Industrial Era are based on physical transference. As more and more online activities occur, it loosens some economic theoretical assumptions/study significance and that is why projections are not fully accurate when fundamental market shifts occur. At least until new theories and explanations come forward. (In theory this is true. Its maybe, most likely, but not guaranteed to be correct. others may have a different model. I'm just going to wait around by the water cooler and see what happens.🚰)
My suggestion, as we debate the purpose of Higher Education, is to increase (not decrease or restrict) knowledge transference in society. The broader the stronger the influence of new ideas on the business market. There are many ranges and layers of things to learn at different occupational levels and at different points in the supply chain. Sometimes a degree and sometimes training. Some may need more technical skills to use in say an auto plant while managers may need updated knowledge for complex business systems that have multiple facets i.e. finance, strategy, applied psychology, economics, marketing, etc.. Truly, adaptable learning organizations seek out new knowledge all the time and make that part of a national strategy (Probably why our patents and innovation are not as high as they should. Patent Data US-China.). Human capital requires a certain level of knowledge in the modern digital advanced manufacturing market to fully maximize its contribution.
Could implementing broader applied management skills impact systems to function at a higher caliber to meet market needs? Could that be part of the process of updating American businesses at different organizational size levels? (I didn't go to an elite school so for the most part I may be limited in my contributions on these topics. We know how it is in real life. I had a pretty good education, just not rewarded in the market because the school wasn't elite. University Innovation. No matter what school people graduated from, most of the projections by economists have been off. That is normal. Burn the Degree Keep the Knowledge. The Harvard of Hard Knocks teaches you that if you don't have a solution that solves or explains your problem then you might look for a new one. Schumpeter Creative Destruction Unindoctrinated! The more socialized one is to academic language they often become neural primed to accept only a few big name theorists in which to see the world and its problems. The lens! It is limiting but they like to quote seminal authors so its hard to have discussion about new solutions. In practically it is the most unique that sometimes solves the biggest problems. Blue collar life teaches that you can't always buy the things you need so you better invest in a descent reasonably priced multitool-I frequent the small town hardware stores all the time! Love them! Small business owners do that often. America needs to build, build in multiple directions, and think 'out of the box' on most issues. If the problem requires this tool versus that tool, you might want to have something handy. )
Sorry, its sort of theory dribble, dribble, feel free to discard........
U.S.. BLS Feb 2nd Stats. If you drill down into each of the growth sections and mapped those you would like see some trends on which types of activities are growing in the economy. Keep the big idea of economic transitions in mind as you think through what type of skills schools should be enhancing to meet those trends (You can go down rabbit holes discussing broad versus specific skills. I often think in terms of competencies. I developed with help from a few others a whole triangulated competency system designed to ensure schools teaching the rights skills based on multiple market data points. To me, developing skills needed by the market is part of the process of personal and economic development. I also think its important to develop basic character. Sounds good anyways. 🤔)
As a sort of side note, to keep wages rising above inflation may mean updating skills and technology at the same time so as to maximize inherent global value of American labor efforts. Just an idea. 🤷 Let us see what AI and new emerging tools bring.
"Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 353,000 in January, and the unemployment rate
remained at 3.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains
occurred in professional and business services, health care, retail trade, and social
assistance. Employment declined in the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction
industry."
