I know you have heard the term or statement that desperate times call for desperate measures. This statement may be true for some situations, but it does not hold true for most. In this tough economic climate, you will want to stay vigilant but not do desperate things and make bigger mistakes.
An economic down turn is quite simply a business or market correction. If you let a balloon fly up into the sky, it will eventually have to come down as it is impossible to keep on going up. Right now that is one of my biggest gripes with some of the companies out there today complaining that there sales are down from last year or from the previous last 5 years. I just want to ask some of these CEO's and board members if they are really serious. I mean look at it this way, is it really possible to keep growing and growing, improving your numbers each and every year? My theory is, no that is not probable. At some point you will take a dip to correct and get in alignment. No one is that perfect and every company makes mistakes. The great things about a correction is that it puts you back on track and gives you a reality check.
From the housing market, and retail industry, to the automobile industry, something had to be done. We went on a spending spree with money we did not have as Americans. We over consume, and with the current down turn I believe it is returning people more back towards sensible, and not out of control. Lets look at the three industries we have pointed out and see the core root problem.
The housing market is in trouble and needs to be fixed immediately. No time in our history has buying property ever really been a bad investment until the mid 1990's. What greedy mortgage people did was cheapen home ownership. They devalued what it meant to be a homeowner and started handing out keys to anyone who was breathing and ignorant. Let's be real here, there are owners and there are renters in this country for a reason. Property owners understand what it means to be an owner. They understand it is not just about paying the mortgage, but it also involves taxes, utilities, maintenance and upkeep, insurance and the wants of a homeowner. Renters do not understand much of that or do not want the hassle of all of that. Neither person is any better, except in the fact of owning a home. Leave it to the property owner class and stay a renter if you know you are one.
The Retail industry has gone through an explosion in the last 10 years. We have had so many stores and chains popping up everywhere that at some point there would be a meltdown. With the increase of on line shopping and too many choices, the consumer hit a wall. The boom had to bust at some point and be corrected. My bigger theory is that customer service is dead and that is why the on line appeal has taken off so much. You aren't getting customer service in the stores so why not just go on line, and not deal with anyone live and save a ton of money. In the mean time, like so many industries, money is not dealt with efficiently or smartly.
The automobile industry has been in trouble for awhile. I mean let's start with the unions. I thank God for the Unions back in the day, as they have dramatically improved our life,but they have convoluted the system beyond repair. The average car at Ford and GM costs 38% more because of pay and benefits. That is a ridiculous number and all because the unions use muscle to get what they want. I think the real problem here is simple mathematics. For every dollar they increase their members benefits, they cost themselves $3.00. I mean these people are driving the same cars they are building and paying higher prices. They also are affecting production costs so less cars are sold at a profit. The entrepreneur is in charge not the unions. They own the building and if you do not like what they are offering then leave and go find what you want else where. This is simple so quit messing up our economy and lives with your tactics.
The second part to the automobile industry is technology, efficiency and greed. In his book Lee Iacoca wrote over 7 years ago, that this would happen and if I remember right even before that. This industry has been in trouble for awhile. These fat cats fly into Washington on a private jet looking for cash. Their salaries are enormous and out of control. They get kick backs and free cars all day long and never lift a finger. The factories are out dated and very inefficient. Plus on top of it all they scream environmental issues are crippling them. I do not buy this as I believe it is the oil companies who hurt us the most in this industry when it comes to the enviroment.
What business in this country need to do is not panic and just start making smart changes. We do not need to panic, instead we need good solid plans and better decisions. We need to become efficient and quit wasting so much. We need to break the unions if they cannot be fair and get them out of there so we can have better run companies. We also need cheaper health care. What we do not need is desperation and desperate measures. America needs to stand on her own feet again and have some pride in getting the job done!
under the famous quotes where is Rocky Balboa? Hello great quotes, i'll give you one k
"nobody owes nobody nothing
you owe yourself"
rocky Balboa....
Posted by: margaret evans | February 19, 2009 at 11:30 PM