“Obama Open to Every Good Idea to Stop Job Losses.” Well, I guess that depends on how he defines “good” doesn’t it?
I just choked on my afternoon snack (it was an apple, for any paternalists out there thinking I am too stupid to look after myself). This is the biggest farce foisted on us since, well, any of this?
Rather than me proposing anything sensible, let me just ask a few simple questions:
- Would you start a business today? Why or why not?
- If you are currently owning a business, would you be interested in hiring workers? Under what conditions would that be attractive for you?
- If you currently own a business, what are the current barriers that prevent you from being more profitable?
- If you are thinking about starting a business or expanding one, how do you react under conditions of extreme uncertainty?
- Would you rather earn a 3% return by putting your money in a bond mutual fund, or generate a 3% return by taking enormous risks and have the potential to deal with what Walmart deals with on a daily basis?
You know, there are plenty of things that the government can do with the stroke of a pen right now, that will cost nothing (it would actually dramatically reduce government costs), that will surely increase jobs, and perhaps ultimately increase tax revenues. And throwing rocks through windows is not one of them. But that is exactly what is going to come out of these meetings.
By the way, what are the executives of GE and Xerox and other firms doing at a jobs seminar sponsored by the White House? Isn’t their job to be making hard decisions about how to run their companies better, make better products, decrease costs, and the like? Not in the Corporatist world it is not. Which session is Cuffy Meigs running?
I have a simple way to start a jobs surge. I will hire a few kids from the neighborhood to gather cobblestones from the nearby parks and creeks. I will then have these nice logos painted on them (that will employ people too). And then I will hire all of the high school kids with pent up energy, and have them toss these beauties through all of the windows here in Rochester. With my money, they can then go trade in their clunker cars for a new Chevy Malibu, and then drive over to some nearby cities and do the same. Think of all the work to be had repairing windows. And think of all the money these window repair men will spend at local eateries and on home improvement, and … well, you get the point. The President does not. He and George Bush must drink together to come up with such brilliant ideas.
1. Yes. I have some ideas – and have been working on the code to make it happen – for several months now.
Why? Because I have an itch to scratch, I think I can do well by doing good. Also because I want to participate in making the country a better place, a stronger country, by generating wealth and (hopefully) making people overseas better off. And I’m too damned old to be of any use to the Marines so this is my contribution to national security.
I’m not so foolish as to be unaware of the pitfalls of starting a business in a climate where you can’t be certain what the government is going to do next. But .. if this can be done I believe my family and myself will be better off.
Mr. Dunbar, you nailed it.
Wintercow, I am equally sickened by GE and Xerox executives, and will not expand on my remarks to use assorted vulgarities. The best executives I knew were the ones who knew their limitations.
My question is: How come Wintercow’s brother was not there, to throw a wet sponge? Even better is this scene: Wintercow throws the sponge at his brother, who throws it at Chris Dodd.
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