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HomeMary Meeker Audits USA, Inc. Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on August 9th, 2011 9:39 AM |
The debate in Washington that put a choke hold on our nation, our economy, and our markets took partisan bickering to an entirely new level and focused on the politics.
In the true spirit of ‘sense on cents’ let’s focus on the numbers and reduce our issues and our problems into simple math. In the process, I hope we are all more educated as to the depths of our problems so we can then begin to address them.
I thank a dear friend who brought a recent fabulous presentation by Kleiner Perkins’ Mary Meeker to my attention. (more…)
America Needs to Stop The Lies and The Liars
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 19th, 2011 12:20 PM |
Real long term success and greatness are founded upon the principles that people do not lie, cheat, or steal. Our nation is neither succeeding nor is great at this point in time because we have allowed these vices to grow and spread throughout our society. Shame on us.
Our nation does have the potential to be a fabulous nation again; however, let’s stop kidding ourselves in thinking that we are a great nation currently. How is it that America has lost its greatness? Where are the aforementioned vices on display? (more…)
Looking Back to Look Forward: “What Will Happen to the American Dream?”
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 13th, 2010 8:07 AM |
How many of you reading this post feel as if life is becoming a blur, given the ongoing and unending avalanche of troubling economic news? I sense this reality becoming more and more prevalent throughout our society. I also sense that people lose track of both time and developments. Keeping a sense of balance and perspective during these challenging times is critically important. To this end, I want to go back one year and review what I wrote then in the hope it will bring these badly needed virtues into focus today. On October 12, 2009, I wrote What Will Happen to the American Dream?
The pursuit of a better life and greater opportunities have driven successive generations since the founding of our nation. Will that dream live on? Will future generations have a chance to live a better life than the current generation or recent generations? (more…)
America’s Future Is Dark Unless…
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 4th, 2010 9:28 AM |
Land of the free, home of the brave.
No doubt, the United States of America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. I love my country. I love hearing the stories of immigrants from all parts of the world who have come here to make a better life. Even though there is current concern around our immigration policy (or lack thereof), there exist endless numbers of stories of people making real sacrifice and, in turn, real progress for their families. I am inspired by these stories.
Despite all our greatness, I am extremely concerned that our nation will erode from within unless there is serious change in one very large corner of our political and economic landscape. What is it? (more…)
The Future of America
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 29th, 2009 2:19 PM |
On this historic day in which the government of the United States of America is on the doorstep of taking a majority equity stake in General Motors, I thought it may be prudent to address manufacturing in America.
To that end, former Clinton administration Secretary of Labor Robert Reich provides highly insightful commentary at Wall Street Pit: The Future of Manufacturing, GM, and American Workers (part I).
As we wonder what the future of our automotive manufacturing industry may look like as well as manufacturing in general, I strongly recommend we take Reich’s words to heart. Let’s take a round trip as we review the dynamics of the Industrial Revolution and the road ahead:
What’s the Administration’s specific aim in bailing out GM? I’ll give you my theory later.
For now, though, some background. First and most broadly, it doesn’t make sense for America to try to maintain or enlarge manufacturing as a portion of the economy. Even if the U.S. were to seal its borders and bar any manufactured goods from coming in from abroad–something I don’t recommend–we’d still be losing manufacturing jobs. That’s mainly because of technology.
When we think of manufacturing jobs, we tend to imagine old-time assembly lines populated by millions of blue-collar workers who had well-paying jobs with good benefits. But that picture no longer describes most manufacturing. I recently toured a U.S. factory containing two employees and 400 computerized robots.
The two live people sat in front of computer screens and instructed the robots. In a few years this factory won’t have a single employee on site, except for an occasional visiting technician who repairs and upgrades the robots.Factory jobs are vanishing all over the world. Even China is losing them. The Chinese are doing more manufacturing than ever, but they’re also becoming far more efficient at it. They’ve shuttered most of the old state-run factories. Their new factories are chock full of automated and computerized machines. As a result, they don’t need as many manufacturing workers as before.
Economists at Alliance Capital Management took a look at employment trends in twenty large economies and found that between 1995 and 2002–before the asset bubble and subsequent bust–twenty-two million manufacturing jobs disappeared. The United States wasn’t even the biggest loser. We lost about 11% of our manufacturing jobs in that period, but the Japanese lost 16% of theirs. Even developing nations lost factory jobs: Brazil suffered a 20% decline, and China had a 15% drop.
I’m fairly certain this message is not one commonly promoted by our media. I believe we strictly hear how our manufacturing jobs are purely shipped overseas and especially to developing countries. (more…)
