Read more about the article Job Creation? Not that I told you so … just saying ….

Job Creation? Not that I told you so … just saying ….

job-marketSorry, folks, but I do not see any meaningful evidence of a stimulus package, that vaunted $700B jump-start to the economy. I deplored it back then … I think “mud sandwich” was the term I used. Some of us pointed out that Congress’ own calculations showed that most of it would not be effective until 12-18 months elapsed … and now the evidence is in. I’ve also referred to it as another government boondoggle because there is such an obscure line of sight and accountability for the results of the program, that you could just be sure it wouldn’t have the desired results. If you created a program like this for your business, you wouldn’t have either a business or a job.

Even the NY Times editorialized recently about the lack of leadership on jobs. Here are some of the statistics they quoted which are sobering indeed; there’s more but you get the gist:

  • September was the 21st straight month of job loss – the longest unbroken stretch of losses since record-keeping began in 1939 – bringing to 7.2 million the number of positions that have been axed since December 2007. (more…)

Continue ReadingJob Creation? Not that I told you so … just saying ….
Read more about the article Vol. 49-Sinful Excess – Greed, Gluttony, Lust

Vol. 49-Sinful Excess – Greed, Gluttony, Lust

The North Bay Business Journal, a publication of the New York Times, is a weekly business newspaper which covers the North Bay area of San Francisco – from the Golden Gate bridge north, including the Wine Country of Sonoma and Napa counties.

This page provides the Print-Friendly Version of the article, as published.

Any related materials or articles referenced in the column, or otherwise applicable, will also be referenced below:

The electronic version of the article, as published, may be found here.

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Article published -September 14, 2009larykirchenbauerhdr

 

Gluttony, greed, lust not the ingredients for principled organization

“Temperance and labor are the two best physicians of man; labor sharpens the appetite, and temperance prevents from indulging to excess.”

– Jean-Jaques Rosseau

You’ll recall that last time, we catalogued the perils of pride and envy in the pursuit of business success, but alas, we’ve barely dented the list of Seven Deadly Sins.

During this economic tumult, we’ve seen excesses like never before in our lifetimes … excessive credit card and mortgage debt, inflated housing prices, financial malfeasance, Ponzi schemes, egregious compensation plans and much more. It’s no surprise, then, that three of these seven misdeeds are offenses of excess in various incarnations.

Gluttony appears on the list and is defined as the “inordinate desire to consume more than you require,” which originated with concerns for wasting food in the midst of poverty. Thomas Aquinas, a medieval religious thinker, even identified six ways to commit gluttony, including consuming too much, too soon, too eagerly or too expressively – maybe the perfect expression of the runaway consumer spending that brought our economy to its knees.

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche,” famously translated as “Let them eat cake,” is arguably attributed to Marie Antoinette on the eve of the French Revolution, hailing the ignominious end to another age of excess. (more…)

Continue ReadingVol. 49-Sinful Excess – Greed, Gluttony, Lust