One of the real pleasures and benefits available to pros in our industry is going to meetings and events. Dating back to the 1980s, I've been going to state association meetings – like the upcoming one I'll attend in Iowa or others found in our calendar of events – or at trade shows. Back in the 1980s, popular trade shows were held in venues such as Nashville or KC. Today, you will find busy, winning shows in locations such as Louisville and Tunica.
The networking, conversations and hearing experts explain a topic at those meetings always helped me as a professional to grow my results. It was always worth more than the price of admission and the value of the time was well invested. Let me hasten to add, that I came with an open attitude, which is helpful at such meetings and events. Try it, be open and get engaged.
If you do, you will see what I mean.
Promises, Promises
Have you ever read the lyrics to certain songs? Ever thought about the messages they contain?
Last night after the presidential debate, the tune and lyrics that popped into my head was Promises, Promises. The words and music are by Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher © PJB Music. It goes like this:
Never had a doubt
In the beginning
Never a doubt
Trusted too true
In the beginning
I loved you right through
Arm in arm we laughed like kids
At all the silly things we did
You made me promises promises
Knowing I'd believe
Promises promises
You knew you'd never keep
Second time around
I'm still believing words that you said
You said you'd always be here
"In love forever"
Still repeats in my head
You can't finish what you start
If this is love it breaks my heart
You made me promises promises
You knew you'd never keep
Promises promises
Why do I believe?
Arm in arm we laughed like kids
At all the silly things we did
You can't finish what you start
If this is love it breaks my heart
You made me promises promises
You knew you'd never keep
Promises promises
Why do I believe?
All of your promises
You knew you'd never keep
Promises promises
Why do I believe?
Promises
Promises
Promises
Promises
Promises…
End of lyrics. Now if you didn't think about campaigns and politics as you read those lyrics, please read them again, thinking about a prominent presidential campaign that is hard to miss.
The Blame, Claim, Defame Campaign
We all have a record in our work history. I sat recently with a gentleman whose company once went through bankruptcy, many years ago. He didn't quit, he learned and adapted! Today, that gent and his firm are successful high performers that pros want to invest in. The company is growing steadily, is a leader and solid as a rock.
That demonstrates that failure can be turned into success, but only when someone is ready to learn, adapt and act with responsibility.
We all have a record, it can be distorted by ourselves or others, but the record is there for those with open eyes who will see.
Imagine for a moment what would happen to your credibility at your company or organization if at your management or job performance review you did the following:
Blamed others, starting with your predecessor and complained about the circumstances that impacted your unit's performance.
Claimed success for things that you did not do, but rather was the work of others.
Defamed the rival for your position. We could call that the Blame, Claim, Defame Campaign.
I truly enjoy and gain insights from presidential and other debates. That said, the formats often limit the amount of interplay on complex issues that need at least a few more minutes of time. My preference would be to have 2 hour debates in the future that would give time for longer answers. One senate debate I watched Monday was the Indiana U.S. Senate race which included Joe Donnelly and Richard Mourdock. That included a segment with a mini-Lincoln/Douglas debate format. It was interesting.
By the way, the exclusive interviews we did with those two candidates in a razor tight Senate race are linked from their names, above.
We provide, you decide.
"GM is alive and Bid Laden is dead."
Joe Biden is amazing at being both right and wrong at the same time. The claimed facts are true. But starting with the first half of this claim, if you scratch past the bumper sticker, you learn or remember that GM and Chrysler both went into bankruptcy anyway.
Why did we need to put $62 billion in federal tax dollars into two companies that still went into bankruptcy?
According to the Washington Examiner, which is doing a series of reports on issues related to the election, here are some facts:
"GM has added roughly 2,000 U.S. workers since leaving bankruptcy and now employs 79,000 in the U.S. Chrysler has added almost 12,000 workers and now has about 44,000 in the U.S. Since the bailout started in early 2008, under President George W. Bush, the number of jobs in U.S. auto and parts manufacturing has grown by 156,000 to 780,700, according to government statistics. It's progress for an industry whose workforce is still far below its peak of more than 1.3 million jobs in 2000.
Here's the bottom line on the federal money: In exchange for a $12.5 billion bailout of Chrysler and its financial arm, the government got $7.1 billion in debt and a 9.9 percent equity stake in Chrysler. Chrysler has repaid the loans and parent company Fiat bought the government stock. The government got back $11.2 billion, but won't get any more.
At GM, the government is $27 billion in the hole on a $49.5 billion bailout. Although taxpayers own 26.5 percent of GM stock, the shares are trading for less than half the $53 price needed for the government to recoup all its money."
We hear from Team Obama about 1 million jobs saved, but those aren't the facts. We hear Obama and Biden talk about “investments,” but we don't hear that the "investments" went to political allies of his, like the United Auto Workers union in the case of the GM deal.
Could those jobs have been saved by private equity and a managed bankruptcy? Who is better able to give Americans that answer: a private equity success story – former Governor Mitt Romney, who Bill Clinton said had a 'sterling' business career – or a president who has invested tens of billions of dollars into companies like Solyndra that were his campaign donors that failed?
We heard questions from the town hall style debate with an audience of undecided voters on issues that brought out responses on 'green energy jobs' and 'outsourcing.'
Quoting Real Clear Markets,
“Of the 33 energy loan guarantees made since 2009 under the Energy Department’s programs, I calculate that 30, or over 90 percent, have shown signs of trouble. “Trouble” ranges from missed production goals to bankruptcy filings.”
That would never work in the private equity world. But it works in Government because of what the Chicago Tribune suggests smells of Chicago style politics, where financial rewards are given to campain supporters.
One study calculated that the money pumped into green energy jobs – 90 billion in the last 4 years – has cost taxpayers $9.1 million dollars per job. National Review reports on part of that money: “roughly $4.3 billion — went to 36 wind farms. At the peak of employment, these firms employed 7,200 workers. But these were temporary jobs, as is almost always the case with stimulus money. Now these 36 farms employ 300 employees. If you do the math and calculate the cost per job, you may well fall off you chair.”
Doing the math, per 'temporary' job, that works out to be almost 600,000 each. If you figure it per permanent job, the cost jumps 14,333,333 per job. Does anyone hear the words 'waste, mismanagement and corruption?'
National review also reported:
“The American Wind Energy Association successfully lobbied the government to get $7 billion of the Section 1603 funding between 2009 and 201, claiming it would create thousands of jobs. Yet, the industry payroll declined to 75,000 in 2011 from a peak of 85,000 in 2009.”
My industry colleagues, some day years from now, we will wake up to reports that spell out how those bail out and stimulus funds of the last 4 years lined some pockets royally, while some bits fell to the people in what Romney rightly calls “trickle down government.”
All of which makes the point Mitt made in his debate, that private enterprise is better at managing money than government is.
In World War II, I don't recall reading any account of Presidents Roosevelt or Truman claiming to have personally defeated Adolf Hitler. Our brave military did that job! So why does President Obama keep spiking the football for giving an order to 'kill Bin Laden,' when it was Seal Team Six he ought to be applauding and commending instead of patting his own back?
There seems to have been a botched attempt at a Libyan coverup over our ambassador's and three other Americans who died when they repeatedly asked for more security weeks and months before the terrorist attack. It was a good idea that Obama stated in the debate that he was ultimately responsible. We will no doubt see that topic in the foreign policy presidential debate on Monday.
We've heard Promises, Promises for 5 years from then Senator and now President Obama. He still has a strong base of support. But as the following video shows, there are those who voted for him 4 years ago who are no longer enthusiastic.
Thousands of Industry pros are ready to turn the page to a new Administration that will repeal what hinders our manufactured housing industry: Dodd-Frank, massive federal over-regulation, ObamaCare and reform of the tax code. Millions of voters hungering for a better economy are ready for an estimated 3.5 million new energy sector jobs plus more than 8 million others that can follow in four years as a result of a new administration and a supportive Senate and House in Congress. See the article:
Achieving the Manufactured Housing Industry Breakthrough in 2013.
How about you?
I hope to see many of you at the business building events in Iowa, Louisville and Tunica in the days ahead.##
PS: Check our many Exclusive and Red Hot Featured Articles for October and see the
other new stories and 'Purely Political' cartoons at MHLivingNews.com too.
L. A. "Tony" Kovach
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Whether you think you can or whether you think you can't, you're right. – Henry Ford
