Austerity or Stimulation?

“Cut the spending!” is the popular phrase in Washington and around the country this election season.

What if the country were your business? And it was somewhat limping along? Would you practice austerity, cutting your spending down to the barest necessities? Or would you go out, borrow money, and pump funding into your business development strategies?

I don’t know about you, but I, truly caring about the future of my company, would value stimulation much more than austerity.

This seems to be a true conservative vs. liberal issue. No secret which side I’m on. And I find it ironic that all those insiders who have shunned regulation for so long and made it possible for financial markets to loan us more money than we needed or should wisely have accepted are now telling the government “stop spending; we can’t afford it”!

If the country were your business, would you not want it to survive? Or is it time to let it go down the tubes?

I understand the Republican attitude perfectly. But the Democrats are an enigma to me. Do they actually think that their silence on increased stimulation will earn them more votes in November? It seems to me that the people are more likely to vote Republican in November than “Republican Light”.

I am not looking forward to November 2.

Media Power - Who wants to be Governor?

Lots of people, apparently!

On the Democratic side, here in Georgia, we have Roy Barnes and Thurmond Baker (and a bunch of others who are not getting any traction). Mr. Barnes, one-term Governor before Sonny Perdue defeated him in 2002, has the experience, the big bucks and many TV ads; he is way ahead in the polls. Mr. Baker, in second place in the polls, has the media atmospherics, a good reputation as Attorney General, and little else. Unless something drastic happens between now and July 20, Mr. Barnes will win the primary handily.

There is an even more crowded field on the Republican side, with John Oxendine, current Insurance Commissioner, and Karen Handel, former Secretary of State, in the lead. Former U.S. Congressman Nathan Deal is in third place and a man named Eric Johnson, unknown to me until I started seeing his ads on TV, in fourth. And others, whose names I still do not recognize.

In our red State, and with the Democrat primary pretty well concluded before the ballots are all cast, the Republican candidates are getting all the attention. Mr. Oxendine’s ubiquitous ads stress job creation. Mr. Deal’s awkward ad takes on ‘illegal immigration’, Mr. Johnson, who has been advertising on TV longer than any of the others, wants to lower taxes, and Ms. Handel, who has one ad out with what seems to be a limited buy, talks about government ethics. Mr. Oxendine is unlikely to win this race without a run-off. So, with whom will he be in the run-off? It should be Ms. Handel, but she is all but invisible on TV. Thus, it could well be Mr. Johnson, as his ads are everywhere.

A week from tomorrow we will know!

Reward!

Business coaches always tell you that when you achieve something notable, or simply reach a goal you have set for yourself, you've got to give yourself a reward. So, this is my reward for a good first half of 2010.

The picture is of poor quality (my "work"); the real thing is an exquisite piece of silver with an unknown (to me) stone of some sort, in my favorite color, by Kristen Anderson.

Art at Tannery Row

Tannery Row's Artists Colony's most recent show was
"Black & White + 1".

These are some of the works in the exhibit.

Top: "Bison Spirit", by Jim Klippel

Center: "Untitled", by Jeffrey Stone

Bottom: "Red Hat", by Danny Brooks

Art & Business

Rosa Jang is one of the artists at Tannery Row; I purchased this pressed-flower collage from her yesterday. There is amazing art being created at Tannery Row and I love going there (not often enough, unfortunately).