Trust is the crux of the matter

Trust has come up a lot for me lately. It comes up all the time at work. We talk about how a good compensation strategy and plan that pays correctly and on time will build trust between sales reps and the organization. I also hear it on NPR in the morning when we are talking about banks and lending.

I think the real problem with our economy is trust. We don't have it. No one has true trust. And it's been missing for a while. Reflect with me, and I am reflecting not based on experience, but on what I have heard, so correct me if I am wrong, but remember back to the 1950's when you shopped at your local market, you knew the butcher by name, you had a florist and a dry cleaners and you KNEW them. They KNEW you, and guess what? You TRUSTED them to do their jobs and provide you with good service and quality products. They TRUSTED you to pay them on time if you were using credit, or return to them on a regular basis if you liked their goods and service.

Today, things are different. You can't trust big chain stores, they are just looking out for their bottom line, do you think the butcher at Stop and Shop cares if you come back? He might care if everyone stopped going to Stop and Shop, because he would lose his job, but one person isn't going to make a difference.

Today banks won't lend because they don't trust people will pay back their money, because people haven't been paying back their mortgages. They haven't been paying back their mortgages because they weren't purchased through the local bank, they were purchased on line and now when they are close to defaulting, people don't know who to call and they can't work out a payment schedule because not even the original bank knows who owns the loan anymore.

I am not saying that we need to excuse the people who took the money or the people that lent the money, but I think that had we stuck to our roots and borrowed from people we trusted and lent to people we trusted, we might be in a better place.

So, do the economy a favor and find people and businesses you trust and repay them with your trust and business.

What industry is booming in this recession?

I don't get it. But being newly engaged, I am intrigued. Sunday morning while in Maine I read that the wedding industry in Maine is booming, and it's not just Maine. I guess the recession causes people to celebrate big occasions even more than normal? I think it might be a sign of the class division that is becoming more and more clear across the country. There is no way that middle-class Americans can afford a $28,800 day. Yes, that's the average cost of an American Wedding for 2007.

There is something wrong with our country when we want/need to spend $28,800 on a single event and we can't pay off our mortgages!

The Evolution of the American Household

This is a great article about how the American Household has changed in the past 50 years...

http://www.womansday.com/wd2/Content/Family-Lifestyle/Evolution-of-the-Household

We are eating a TON more chicken these days...

Peace, Hope and Love

I haven't felt much peace in this country the past eight years, I certainly haven't felt much hope the past 4 years. I rarely hear of acts of love among strangers, but lots of stories of violence. I hope that today will begin a new American Tradition of more Faith in our leaders Hope in our own abilities to do great things and Love among all Americans as we begin this new adventure together... 

Unemployment

I know at least seven people that are unemployed. I can't think of another time in my life when I have known this many people that are out of work. I am blessed enough to have landed another job, and I really look forward to getting started on Monday. But in the mean time, I am still amazed by the depth and breadth of this unemployment. It's not just older people, it's not just managers, it's not just new employees. It's everyone. It's cheap recent college grads, it's expensive and bright managers, it's people at large companies, small companies...


I am sure it will turn. As I have said in earlier posts, our country is built on new ideas and innovation, and our drive. I do think for a while we have been sitting back enjoying ourselves, now and I would say at least for the next decade hopefully we will see it turn and our country will reap the benefits of a highly productive and happy society. I just hope we can all find a little balance with all the work we have ahead of ourselves.

Global Warming doesn't always mean warmer

I know that the term global warming makes it sound like we are all going to warm up, but in fact this climate change doesn't always mean warmer, it just means more extreme. It's probably why it took an extra 2 days to get from Boston to Central Oregon for my holiday break, snow and ice on both coasts.

These extremes are coming at a time when cities and counties are already strapped for cash and the inability to clean up after these storms means only more federal aide requests. It's a cycle this global warming/climate change thing, and as much as our soon to be previous leaders wanted to believe it wouldn't affect their country, they were wrong... and now, we pay...

I hope we learned from the lessons of the past and learn not to turn a blind eye when very smart people come to the table with really difficult news, we should listen. Just because it's hard doesn't mean it shouldn't be talked about or researched more. With the new administration I hope there will be a pile of money available to help with the research and possible innovation that might have prevented the continual increase in greenhouse gasses. And maybe that pile of money will also help local governments when they can't help after some of this extreme weather reeks havoc across the country.

How ironic would it be if the bailout went unaccounted for

I was at the gym yesterday and I was watching CNBC or something like that and they were talking about how they contacted all the banks that got more than $2m from the bailout money and asked where it went. The guy at the bank basically said, they lent some, they kept some and that no one had told them to keep track of it. I find it highly entertaining and even more highly disturbing that with all the talk about how de-regulation was the cause of all these problems in the first place, it seems to me that the first thing that should have happened when we started handing out some of our hard earned tax dollars was that we actually learned from our mistakes and asked where it was going... doesn't look like that happened.

This is why making a hasty decision like the bailout wasn't and isn't right. If those banks were so far in the hole that they were going to go out of business in less than a month then they deserved to go out of business and we would be better off without them. But, I am guessing that most of them could have figured out a few ways to un-burden themselves long enough to give the Congress, House of Reps and even our President a month to figure out a constructive way to help them out, that might not have cost the tax payers as much, only to have no account as to where things are...

I struggle with my need as an American to get everything the minute that I need it. That's why so many people have made so much money on fad diet pills and, pyramid schemes in this country, because even though history tells us different, we want to believe that it's just that easy.

And if there's one thing that I've learned unless you are a billion dollar bank who begs the government for money and cries wolf the minute the interest rates drop, it's not that easy...