StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – The National Debt and Federal Budget Deficit Deconstructed

/in /by

How big is the U.S. national debt? Could large corporations and the rich ‘bailout’ the Federal government?

In this video, Tony Robbins masterfully illustrates just how large the $15 trillion U.S. national debt really is and the degree of ‘commitment’ necessary to satisfy our government’s insatiable spending. This eye-opening commentary is neither political nor directive, it simply seeks to raise awareness to the plague overshadowing our markets, our government, and our society.

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – America: Are Entrepreneurs the Bad Guys?

/in /by

Watching media coverage of ‘business’ in the United States, one might imagine he is living in a socialist country where capitalism is almost a crime. From certain sectors of the media and within the circles of certain political campaigns we hear cries of anger at the ‘wealthy’ and the need for business owners to pay a bigger slice of the tax pie. According to government classifications I am ‘rich’ – As a New York City resident, I pay more than 50% in taxes, and as a 37 year old entrepreneur I ask myself when is enough, enough?

A product of a single parent household and the New York City public school system, I have worked very hard for what I have, and today own one of the 25 largest U.S. Public Relations Agencies, 5WPR. My firm employs a little less than 100 people; we have no debt, we pay vendors on time, and have always operated a profitable business. We never had an open line of credit, nor do we carry credit card balances beyond the billing period. We pay our bills.

Entrepreneurs absorb the cost of jury duty for employees, we match Medicare tax rates (with little faith the system will exist when employees will eventually need it), we pay increased commercial real estate taxes with growth, and deal with many regulatory and financial burdens. Additionally, my taxes pay for NYC public schools, and do not get tax credits even though I don’t use the schools and pay an additional fee for private school. Yes, that is my choice, but through that choice, I believe that I lend a service to the public schools. My portion of the tax load subsidizes another New Yorker’s child’s education in the school system. All I seek is a little appreciation for that.

President Obama seems to be consumed with the popular pitch of ‘taxing the rich,’ and New York’s governor recently agreed and is seeking to assess anyone who earns over $200K with a greater burden. The demonizing of the rich is a bad policy. These so-called rich people are the ones who create jobs, take risks and sacrifice a lot.

People who work hard are the best hope for our country in these economic times, especially when China and other rising nations are consuming the work that used to be America’s. The work ethic has shifted to people who can understand and appreciate hard work, a sensibility that is lost today on many of America’s emerging workforce.

It’s about time a Public Relations campaign for entrepreneurs and business owners commenced. Today’s political environment is putting more strain on the hardworking entrepreneur. It is taxing energetic people who forgo personal time and money every day in the race to create opportunities which often end up generating opportunities for others as well. Taxing the wealthy even more is simply not the answer to the nation’s devastating problems. Countless small businesses are stagnant and need stimulation; it’s not their responsibility to bail out individuals. The drivers of the American economy are not the poor and the jobless, but the entrepreneurs who create the opportunities for most of the American workforce.

Increased government taxes will result in more job loss. It will serve to pound motivation out of the entrepreneur, making it even harder to create jobs. This hurricane sweeping through our businesses will change the country’s landscape for the worse. It’s un-American to say the least.

P.S. When I die, my children will be taxed another 50 percent on the money that I already paid taxes on.

Final Request…

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective PodcastThe strength in our community grows with the additional insights brought by our expanding member base. Please consider rating us and sharing your perspectives regarding the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast on iTunes by clicking here. Sharing your thoughts improves our ranking and helps us attract new listeners which, in turn, helps us grow our community.

Thank you again for listening to the StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective podcast!

About the Author

Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5WPR and author of For Immediate Release: Shape Minds, Build Brands, and Deliver Results with Game-Changing Public Relations. To read Ronn’s complete biography, click here.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 5:50 — 8.1MB)

Subscribe: RSS

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – No Free Lunch

/in /by

There exists a pervasive and ongoing belief among many that government has the power to eliminate hardship and create prosperity for everyone. Nothing, of course, could be farther from the truth.

“You don’t make the poor richer by making the rich poorer.”

Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1940-45, 51-55)
and Nobel Laureate (literature)

The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman illustrates why there is no free lunch, why no combination of government programs can simultaneously create wealth and prosperity for all individuals. Thus, when government spends money, it is always at someone’s expense. He goes on the dispel the myth that corporations pay taxes of any sort and how continuing such policies further injures the economy and employees.

Dr. Friedman’s assertions are not political but are instead based on sound economic theory and real-world experiences. These principles equally apply to organizations to the extent that compensation, benefits, privilege, and authority are proffered in a manner inconsistent with the value contribution of the individual.

StrategyDriven Recommended Practices

Highly accountable organizations benefit from the premise that there is no free lunch. Executives, managers, supervisors, and individual contributors are held accountable for their actions and contributes both positively and negatively. StrategyDriven leaders should therefore take the actions necessary to create and promote accountability throughout their organization. At a high level, these actions include:

  1. Clearly defining the organization’s mission in terms of quantifiable goals and values
  2. Broadly communicate the organization’s mission and values
  3. Cascading these mission goals into a performance metric system that establishes the results to be achieved at each level of the organization and ultimately by each employee
  4. Codify the individual level performance metrics and organizational values within position descriptions, observation programs, and individual performance goals
  5. Award organizational positions based on individual knowledge, skills, experience, contributions, and adherence to the organization’s values
  6. Establish a compensation and benefits program that equitably distributes rewards based on an individual’s value contribution and adherence to the organization’s values
  7. Provide continuous, ongoing feedback and coaching to both reinforce the achievement of the organization’s goals in a manner consistent with its values and to further develop personnel and improve performance

“Organizational accountability exists when all members of the workforce individually and collectively act to consequentially promote the timely accomplishment of the organization’s mission.”

StrategyDriven Contributors

Additional Information

StrategyDriven believes the practice of ‘no free lunch’ reflects an organizational commitment to praise-worthy values. Leaders seeking to infuse their organization with such beliefs are supported by the tools presented in our principle, best practice, and warning flag articles within the following topics:

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Socialization of Medical Care

/in /by

The socialization of medicine is not a new discussion. Indeed, government involvement in healthcare has increased for decades. Regardless of the noble intentions of those desiring ‘healthcare for all,’ economics reveals that in the end everyone suffers.

The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman reveals how government involvement in the healthcare system will necessarily diminishes care and the industry’s prosperity. By extension, Dr. Friedman illustrates how prosperity is similarly destroyed in any industry in which the government becomes heavily involved.

Dr. Friedman’s assertions are not political. His point of view is founded on sound analysis of the socialization of medicine in other countries.

The purpose of this editorial is not to suggest a specific course of action. Instead it’s purpose is to suggest a need to closely monitor the level of government involvement within your industry and to consider the propensity for involvement as a risk to your business’s future.

StrategyDriven Editorial Perspective – Here we go again… more government created uncertainty

/in /by

As we enter this last week of September, America faces another looming government shutdown. The continuing resolution that currently funds the Federal government’s activities expires at 11:59 pm the evening of September 30 – the end of the last day of the government’s fiscal year. Republicans and Democrats have once again dug in to their partisan positions; creating an uncertainty regarding the operation of our government institutions, the funding of programs, and the paying of social security, veteran benefits and military salaries.

StrategyDriven has long maintained that politicians are primarily responsible for the great uncertainty hindering economic expansion and prosperity – and we believe history supports our assertion. The following video is that of a lecture made by Nobel Laureate and Economist Milton Friedman. In his discussion, Dr. Friedman reveals how the government, and in particular the Federal Reserve, was largely responsible for the Great Depression. He goes on to illustrate how Federal Reserve actions also caused the hyper inflation experienced in the late 1970s.

The purpose of this editorial is not to suggest a specific course of action. Instead it’s purpose is to suggest a need to closely monitor the government’s fiscal policies and to draw from historical perspectives how those policies may impact our economy and your business’s future.