A week like this I’ve never had… 7 flights and 5 hotels in 6 days.  Gee, its hard to know where I am at any one time… but this is not really what I was going to muse about today.   Rather…. I saw a report yesterday that showed the middle-class in our country shrinking by 4.5% from 2000 to 2016.  The astonishing thing is that this includes a reduction in the minimum income to qualify as middle-class by about 8% … so the bar is lower to entry, and yet the numbers of middle-class households have declined as a percent of the total households in the USA.  If we think of all the threats to our national security, this maybe the greatest threat.  The backbone for a strong country is its economic engine, and the backbone of this engine is a strong middle-class.  Productive output comes from our middle-class.  These statistics are a symptom of a greater illness in our country’s economic health, and it is further backed by an average GDP (gross domestic product) from post WW2 till 2001 of about 8% (7.95%) yet a 2001 to present of less than 4% (3.78%) … this is a dramatic reduction in work output.  Yes, GDP is a measure work output in the form of the dollar value of all goods and services produced by our country.  These numbers are not inflation adjusted, so when inflation is high it results in $ value of goods and services to be elevated.  As inflation has been low lately these numbers are a little less alarming, until you realize that inflation is low because of artificial adjustments deployed through Federal Reserve monetary policy.  Its complicated, but the bottom line is we really need to see a pick up of about 2% in growth for the middle-class to become healthy again.

Our focus on all things internationally, and our boarders are not our biggest issues.  Our national security concern is the economic health of our country, and we’ll know that we are healthy when the households in poverty start to decline and the households that are in the middle-class begin to grow again.  Its my belief that this will happen when government becomes more business friendly. Regulations placed on businesses today are extensive and growing and as they are changing all the time, the uncertainty creates havoc for business.  Its more difficult today than ever for a small business to start and grow. It is also more difficult for mid-size businesses to make growth investments.   We must get back to a more business friendly regulatory environment, as well as legal environment.  Nuisance lawsuits take energy out of the system and contribute to slower growth (unless you’re an attorney).  Employment income is what drives middle-class America.   I believe we can and must do better.  Our federal government must be more business friendly.  Wall street matters, but Main Street America needs a booster shot!

I’m 2692, well that’s the name they gave me when they put me on the delivery truck.   I’m a golf cart, so to speak, I live and I work at the airport.  Of all the damn luck, I drive this sweaty repairman around and haul his grimy tools on this concrete jungle.  When he leaves, probably to go to a golf course, I get an electric cord shoved, well you know, and I cool my jets in a dingy garage.   Gosh I’d like to get out of here and see how my brother and sister are doing, they were the lucky ones.  They ride in style, they are named 14 and 23. Don’t they have cool names?  I hear they get to see green grass, and wander around in a friendly park with new riders every day, carrying golf bags like we were born to do.  Well maybe its not all that friendly, I understand they hear their share of swearing too.  But then they also get to hear laughter and silliness as their passengers sip away at fun beverages… ahh and the nice smell of a good cigar too!  Wow, I smell the sweaty repairman and jet engine exhaust, cough, wheez… geez.  I work… they play, how come they still call me a golf cart, named 2692?

The other night during dinner and drinks I watched and was impressed by great and beautiful music being delivered to a room that barely paid attention. Certainly as background it stirs hearts and minds as music must do, but the passion to drive it forward in spite of remarkable distraction was amazing and I saw it as an interesting metaphor for persistence and passion in life… here’s my musing…

Musician’s Passion

A hundred eat, drink as they mingle

Music floats gently above them all

Stirring hearts and minds just a single

People lost to points they must make

Servers ply their food and drink for tips

Passion drives him forward for music sake

Surely he notices but never seems to care

Dishes, glasses, silver ringing odd notes

Purity, clarity of music emotion he tries to share

Nourished by infrequent applause scattered

He drives the music with passion and talent

Happy he plays, their attention never mattered

Witness this beautiful metaphor for life

He persists as he must, nourished by few

His passion for music overcoming all strife

He smiles… and so do we who know life is good!

Everyone knows I’ve been a Republican all my voting life.  No secret here.  But I believe that we must vote for the presidential candidate that best represents the USA ideals and has policies that are coherent and are advancing the interests of our nation.  In this case, that would be Hillary Clinton.  There are many things I dislike in her positions, and distasteful in her prior actions, but she is the adult left standing as a presidential candidate.  Now for my friends that are abandoning the GOP because of the Trump… I say don’t… if we do then we cede the party to those that believe in isolationism, nationalism and populism in blustery, incoherent and inconsistent doses.  The Republican Party maybe changing, but I’m not.  I’m socially moderate and fiscally conservative republican, that puts me closer to the middle and more easily can see the merits in a Democratic candidate at times.  I will continue to vote for the best person for the job, and that includes congressional, state and local government. There are plenty of reasons to push for conservative ideals.  I don’t think we need big government oversight in our lives and businesses.  I believe that excess regulation is slowing our growth, keeping middle-class wages stagnant and making our country weaker.  I also believe that we should be engaged in the world and make sure that we are a force for good, so that evil is not at our door.  I believe that tax policy needs to be simpler and fair, and yes the wealthy will pay more, because we have to be more fiscally sound as a country… not balance budget, because some debt is good and useful.  We have to be compassionate, yet strong. We must be pro-business but practice capitalism both home and abroad.  Protectionist policies slow down and weaken us over time.

In any case, what I’m trying to say is don’t give up on the GOP. We must think about the future, congress, state and local government too.

And for my Trump friends – I really hope if he makes it to the WH that you are right that somehow the Donald Act ends and the sober, intelligent business man you think is under all that bluster shows up and he does surround himself with the right advisors, and he evolves the humility to listen to others!

Mike

Institutions are like any other tool. They can be used for good or for evil.  An axe can be an essential tool for clearing away brush and acquiring firewood or it could be a weapon of war.  Institutions are a social and organizational tool that can be used to help others, or hurt them.  It seems nearly every institution experiences both if around long enough.  Our religious institutions provide great social services, especially lifting the poor.  Everything from nourishing, educating, housing, and medical as well and as importantly teaching the value of the individual soul.  And yet in the wrong hands institutions, as any tool, can be used to sow hate, to intimidate, to judge, to incite violence and destroy souls.  Witness the continuing religious incited power struggles in the Middle-East, where institutions have been corrupted and used as weapons of recruitment and justification of horrific violence.

Our governments are institutions as well, and in whose hands we place levers of power are vitally important as well for the same reasons.  Supporting the outsider that seeks power and access to our tools, our institution, for the purpose of benefiting one group over another, building an image of their exalted, never-failing self, maybe the most dangerous of all type of leadership.

We need our institutions to accomplish great and good things for the betterment of all, but beware the corruption of purpose.  The only way is to be involved, to be aware of the history, the direction, the experience and use our voice in the form of vote when we are able to express our intent on a better future.  We must be involved and a part of spreading good and value and ensuring that we helped, not impede the trudge toward a more intelligent and compassionate human race.   We lack not for teachers, scholars and reporters, and historical perspective to be used in making judgements, if only we’d read, listen and be clear of thought and purpose.

Winners persist because they must, nourished that others depend on them, yet with unshakable core they ensure their own happiness

A Summer’s Day

Unexpectedly sky is so blue

Grass fresh and sweetly cut

In a tumble me and you

Sun always in shine

It’s always down hill

For us there is no time

Fast we run and play

Ever young and free

On endless summer’s day

Wind whistling a joyous tune

Sending dandelion fairies flying

This beautiful summer day in June

Tag your it, now catch me

For I’ll be back around again

For play and fun if you please

This week I traveled… its been every week this year so far, I’ve gone somewhere. This time it was to Colorado Springs for Space Symposium.  I’ve been going on and off for 30 years to the event and it was good, and I had many customer meetings.  Also I saw a lot of people that I’ve known in the industry for a very long time.  I don’t know if in my new job, I’ll continue to go to this conference, and if I hadn’t committed to it many weeks ago, I may not have made the trip.  I will say though, it was nice to connect to old-collogues, even if ever-so briefly.

Returning from that trip, my flight arrived at mid-night.  I went to the parking garage and walked right to where I left my car.  Its not there!  So I fish the key out of my pocket and use the remote to hit the lock and listen for the beep.  I hear it – it sounds like its three or four rows away.  Dang, I must be slipping or just too tired… I walk in the direction of the sound.  I click again, and horn sounds like its behind me.  So I walk back, and again its not there!  I’m now wondering if I’m crazy, but I tell myself, no … its here, you heard it, and sound bounces around in a garage like this.  After ten frustrating minutes of solitary (cause who else is in a parking garage at mid-night) horn beeping and walking in circles, I remember that Star-Trek show, where Captain Kirk saves the day because he thought in three dimensions instead of two (yea, my mind works in odd ways) and I get back in the elevator and go down one floor and walk directly to where I parked my car.

Lesson learned… think in three dimensions… and maybe travel a little less!

Its Tax Season… so I was thinking about how as you pay more you actually get less for it.  Programs and benefits go to those in need, as they should, yet no one seems grateful.  Seems like regulatory oversight is growing, in health care insurance, employers reporting is extraordinary and costly, and with 401K fiduciary responsibility for employees… yes, Dept. of Labor audits are not much fun.  They assume you are doing something wrong when you are giving matching funds to employees, because you want to help them save for retirement… I don’t get it.

So many to the left of me say we should be paying more.  No one says thank you, in fact as taxes get more complicated and you pay ever more, likelihood of being audited goes up.  I’m sure that too will be fun.

At least letter’s I get from the IRS are very nice, they are addressed to Dear Taxpayer 🙂 … oh but without the smiley face, that was my editorial comment.

Well, I’m sure the tax money will be well spent and taken care of by our elected representatives that look out only for the best interests of all the people of this great nation!

Just back from a business trip late in the evening… successful, its like when you may be tired, but you just hit the winning home run!