The Red Shift

Science minded folks are aware of the Red Shift in astronomy; proof that universe is expanding as objects moving away shift their color spectrum to the red. But the red shift I speak of concerns politics, not the stars. In this case, the red is the right, the GOP. And this tone of red is not very pretty.

From tax relief, the social net, to health care, people programs are being assailed. "Since taking control of the House in 2010, Republicans have crafted dozens of bills ostensibly devoted to "streamlining and simplifying" the federal government. They've pushed them through the lower chamber, promising to cut red tape and create jobs. But on Tuesday, they let the cat out of the bag. These bills, it turns out, are essentially efforts to undermine Wall Street reform and Obamacare while greenlighting pollution" (Huffington Post 3/19/15).

We see it everywhere: assaults on collective bargaining, tax breaks for the wealthy, attacks on renewable energy in favor of oil, cuts in welfare, health care, and even new waves of racism and bigotry. The goal is to undo rather than do, tear down rather than to build up, stonewall rather than moving forward. Basically, the system is a mess. There is no conservation, no support for helping those in need, no support for real job creation, no helping people get back on their feet, no protection for the environment, nothing for education, and nothing to help job producing small businesses. The focus is on the top. This is not being a conservative, it's being extreme right wing, oligarchic ... wrong.

Of course, we are not alone, this shift has happened elsewhere, most recently, Israel. In this case, the shift may put an end to any hope of peace and may result in war. Moving to the extreme of the political spectrum, in either direction, never turns out well.

Hold on to your hats, this will not be a fun ride. The shift to the red will not end in a field of poppies.

Disastrous not just for Democrats

Yup, democrats got whipped big time on November 4th. But they will not be the only ones to suffer. With the republicans running the show, look for new trade deals in Europe and the Asia. Sounds good? Well, have free trade deals ever increased jobs at home? No. Just as the American economy is thinking about turning around, more jobs will be sent to foreign shores. Further, most of the "free" trade deals on the table allow corporations to override local business rules and environmental regulations. Look for Wall Street to make more money and for workers to lose more jobs.

Higher wages for American workers? Yeah, right. We know where the GOP stands on raising the minimum wage.

Better jobs and higher wages for women? Umm, no.

Protection and proper response to changing climate? Not a chance. Regardless of the causes of climate change, reliance on fossil fuels , strip mining, record CO2 emissions, poisoning water supplies with fracking chemicals, massive oil spills, deforestation, arctic drilling, over fishing, acid oceans from pollution, etc., are definitely not a good thing for us or the environment. The GOP and its big money supporters have, recently, done nothing to solve these problems and are often the cause of them.

Banking reform and regulations that help Main Street and small business? Well, we know what's happening there: nothing but rules that benefit big corporations.

Peaceful approaches in foreign affairs? Isn't it the GOP that asks for more definitive military action in the Middle East?

This is not a very good time for the nation to shift to the political right. Yup, you can smoke dope in several new places but in the total scheme of things, will that really matter?

Yes, the election of 2014 was indeed disastrous.

PERSONAL BRANDING?

Personal Branding – You Can Tell This “Book” by Its Cover By Dr. T. William Hefferan Personal branding includes how you present yourself to others -- your actual visual presentation – anything and everything that someone will see when they meet you. On the other end of the continuum of personal branding ingredients is the “image” you want to present to people whether in person or otherwise. It’s the whole package you call you; the real you. In his article in Fast Company Magazine, December 1997, Tom Peters brought personal branding to life. The personal branding “industry” has grown considerably since then including many experts who have written excellent books on the subject. What I present here is an overview as I see personal branding in relationship to employment. In my book, JOBS, I devote a chapter to personal branding in which I recommend many of these authors and their books. Product branding came first as a marketing mainstay for companies who want their product to be indelibly imprinted, even subconsciously, in the minds of all consumers. Personal branding takes on some of the qualities of its older sister but has some distinct differences – it’s selling people -- who change over time, and a personal brand had better be 100% accurate! Employers want more than just the typical two page resume. They want to be able to feel they “know” the person behind the bland resume. What are your in-depth qualities and work passions? What personal and professional attributes will morph into huge benefits for the prospective employer and how? How will you fit in with the culture of the company? What do people need to know about you to know who you really are? What’s so special about you – what sets you apart? Unlike product branding where exaggeration is commonplace, personal branding has to be authentic. Think of it this way, if your personal branding communication includes any implications that your training is something it is not, remember, you may be showing up on Monday morning expected to perform brain surgery when you actually drove an ambulance for two weeks! In my book, I call this honesty requirement the EMBER Model of Ethics and Authenticity. EMBER refers to the process in which employees and employers establish a mutually beneficial and rewarding employment relationship. Many using self-promotion may not effectively communicate the true self that includes the passion an applicant might have for a job. However, effective personal branding strategy adds personal communications regarding the true self to the traditional concept of self-promotion. Online social networking complicates personal branding even more. How can you maintain a certain professional image – your brand – when you want to relax and let down your guard? Sure, we all act differently when we are in a meeting with our boss, compared with those times we are with friends. Many exhibit different personalities with each website they use. But the core you is still present and needs to be consistent, within reason. Personal branding has to be authentic. It also has to leave room to grow and change as you and your philosophies change. Personal branding is a bit more complex than first meets the eye. But when it works, it works. A primary goal for individuals participating in social networking is that they expand personal and business contacts through personal communications online. In the process, these individuals can create friendships with these contacts. This is a direct result of effective personal branding strategies. Given that there are about 7 billion people on the planet, how can we all be different with our own unique personal brand? When you look at the entire “package” – your personal brand image -- we all have distinct qualities. Think of it this way, as an employee, wouldn’t you love to land your perfect dream job? As an employer, wouldn’t you love to hire only the absolutely perfect employees for the job? In its purest ideal form, that’s the story personal branding can provide us. For More Information - Jobs and unemployment concerns are definitely some of the biggest issues facing the United States at this time. If you would like more information about JOBS by Dr Hefferan or about his organization – Wisdom in the Streets, please visit his website http://drhefferan.com/. Order your copy of JOBS, How the United States Can Reach Long-Term Full Employment today - http://www.amazon.com/JOBS-United-States-Long-term-Employment/dp/0615598366 About JOBS, How the United States Can Reach Long-Term Full Employment In JOBS, Dr. T. William Hefferan, DBA, MBA, CCIM, CPM provides a stunning approach to how we achieve long-term full employment in the United States. Learn how the essential shift in how we need to think about jobs and employment accelerates our timely transformation into a knowledge worker economy.   This profound shift invigorates our heritage and foundation of innovation and entrepreneurship – restoring our global leadership in education and learning – leading to a dawn of new discoveries, creating exciting new jobs and unique careers.   Learn how everyone benefits from this journey to a steady stream of rewarding jobs as Dr. Hefferan demystifies our journey to long-term full employment with his original entertaining presentation style.   In JOBS, the unemployed as well as employees wanting a better job learn how to secure their perfect job; employers learn how to attract and retain top-tier employees; and entrepreneurs feel personal growth as they discover new ways to put their ideas and initiatives to work.   Learn the value of ethics and authenticity in the workplace and why everyone in an organization can be a leader -- adding value to the company and the employee’s career growth.   Join Dr. Hefferan in this contemporary revolution to a brand new America that will always have meaningful and rewarding jobs. About Dr William T Hefferan With over 23 years of experience as President/CEO of a 100 employee company, Dr. Hefferan decided to put his corporate work experience together with his academic background and solve one of our most significant societal problems. His unique approach to explore ways to end the persistent ups and downs of unemployment includes a peer reviewed research study he designed specifically to discover ways to solve the problem.   Dr. Hefferan shares with readers his life-changing event that compelled him to dedicate over three years of his life to find these sound solutions, creating a blueprint for America to reach long-term full employment.

1/2 TIME IN AMERICA & THE WORLD

Truly,in the past, we have pulled together to solve pressing problems and to deal with pressing issues. The ad during the Super Bowl indicates that America can do what it sets out to do when we work together. Yes, America is at 1/2 time, trying to figure out what went wrong and how we can fix it. How can we change our game strategy and pull out a win, not just for jobs, but for the environment, our schools, our health care system, our safety net, the poor, homeless and perhaps even the world?

We cannot play the game as we have in the past. We cannot listen to those voices that would deny that the rules have changed. The game is no longer about money, it's about survival of the species. It is not about profit, it's about caring and helping. It's not about how many resources we can consume, but rather it's about how we save and re-use those resources. It's not about drilling, it's about the renewable alternatives. It's not about how much we can take, but about how much we can give. We came out of the locker room only to find a totally different field, with different rules, different players, and different ways to win and lose.

Can we change our game plan? We have to!

Chrysler - Clint Eastwood - Super Bowl Commercial

A CASE FOR ECONOMIC PROTECTIONISM?

Ecuador recently imposed trade restrictions that put tariffs on certain imports. The cry has gone out that this is “protectionism” and hinders free trade. Economists around the world have become fearful that such actions may be followed by other nations as a tool to boost sagging national economies. The questions to be asked are what are so bad about some form of protectionism? Is economic globalization really that great? Do such actions really hurt a free market economy?

Ecuador uses the dollar as its currency. With our economy in the dumps, there is little wonder that a nation like Ecuador would have concerns. According to some in Ecuador, the tariffs, while slowing imports and hurting those companies that rely upon foreign goods; the tariffs have been a boon to locally based firms. Is this a bad thing? Is it wrong not to depend on foreign imports to meet local economic demands?

We hear a lot of talk about free trade. But how free are the global markets? In a perfect world, firms producing products should be able to sell their products anywhere without fear of trade restrictions. The theory being that those with the best product for the best price gets the sale. However, the world markets are far from free. While many products in the U.S. come from China, they are not from Chinese companies which are paying their employees decent wages. They are often from American companies who pay the Chinese workers dirt cheap wages. We are all familiar with sweat shops and child labor abuse in foreign nations. Are these the features of a free economy?

In colonial days the economic system was called mercantilism. Mother countries exploited their colonies for their raw materials and then made the colonies buy finished goods from them. Next came imperialism, where powerful nations extended the spheres of economic influence and once again, controlled the businesses and markets of other nations. Now we call it globalization, where mega-corporations exploit the economies of third world nations. In both mercantilism and imperialism, the systems were overtly run by the exploiting country’s governments. In globalization, support for exploitation is more covert and hidden under the mantra of free trade. We are all too familiar with the mass exodus of U.S. manufacturing and service sector jobs to Asia and Mexico. This was done because wages in those nations were pennies a day and business regulations almost non-existent. In the absence of tariffs, the products are then sent back to the base country at prices far below those of local firms. Clearly, the globalized world economy is under the control of the few.

So, back to Ecuador. With trade restrictions, local farmers are doing better. Local manufacturers are doing better and overall, locally based firms are growing. Who is hurt? Those companies that exploit foreign workers and undercut local trade. In a capitalist economic system, trade barriers are touted as an anathema. Nations that tax imports are called the dirty word, ‘protectionists.’ Until such time as there are universal labor laws, fair wages, uniform business regulations and monitoring and equitable access to labor and resources, the so called ‘free market’ system is simply not free at all. If a nation has the capacity and the resources to produce products locally, why should their businesses be undercut by unscrupulous and foreign corporate giants? Certainly, if a product cannot be produced locally, markets to import such products should be free and open. Business and labor, competing freely and on equitable terms is a worthy goal. But, I do not want my clothing produced in child sweat shops. I do not want most of my food imported from foreign nations that have no environmental regulations. I have no issue with bananas from Panama, we can’t grow them here. I have no problem with hand painted dishware that is reflective of a foreign culture. I have no problem with bamboo products from China. The point is, to me, globalization should not be just a new name for imperialism. It should be a system that allows nations to freely exchange products that are best produced by each nation under a truly free set of rules and regulations. Protectionism may not be all that bad after all and it just might bring home jobs that never should have left.