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Showing posts from February, 2021

Trump Speaks of CPAC-Change is Constant

Watching the political news and changes in the political scene as Trump reengages GOP after leaving office. The Republican party has been through a lot over the past year and there are questions as to where it is headed next (1 party or 2 parties?). It looks like an underlining crack in the party but whether that gets bigger or smaller depends on socio-political changes. I found this posting on socio-political changes to refresh my memory. If you read the preview page it has some cool ideas that put things into perspective of how change in society occurs. HERE.   The publication discusses patterns of society and its institutions (family, church, political, and economic). When one of them changes they will all change in some way. For example a change in family would impact political and economic aspects of life (Have you watched Game of Thrones? From a more scientific perspective, changing factor T influences B and visa versa.  Change is constant and change builds off of previous choice

Bi-Partisanship, Veterans and "For Country Caucus"?

Veterans are a motivated group who know the deeper meaning of patriotism. They have walked the talk and often come back home and would like to engage in their communities and government in a meaningful way. Bi-partisanship and the need for veterans to once again serve their country through pro-social and positive community growth and action. When given half a chance, many veterans continue to serve for lifetimes after service. As a group they can put their experiences and knowledge in creating national development policies. Bergman Joins Bipartisan For Country Caucus Washington  - The  For Country Caucus , a group of Military Veterans serving in Congress and dedicated to working together to create a more productive government, announced new leadership and a growing caucus membership for the 117th Congress. A retired Lt. General in the Marine Corps, U.S. Representative Jack Bergman will join the Caucus for the 117 th  Congress. “With forty years serving in the United States Marines Corp

President Biden Signs Executive Orders on the Economy

President Biden discusses the executive orders recently issued. The orders focus around ensuring our supply chains are oriented toward capacity building. Cyber security and climate change were also part of his agenda. Attracting international and domestic interest in investment what will be needed to rebuild the country. New opportunities for businesses and economic depressed areas. There is also a need to foster new research in innovation and university partnerships. He wants American products to be sold overseas and will push domestic manufacturing production.  Semi conductors build computer chips impact just about everything in our country. If our nation is to master the Information Age and the Digital Economy certain technologies should be brought in house so information can be protected and innovative development secured. Having the resources and knowledge we rely on developed overseas often opens those developments to corporate and government espionage. Government level espionag

New Legislation to Name the Gaylord VA Community Based Outreach Clinic (CBOC) to Honor Veteran Steve Andrews

The life we build for ourselves today is built off of the hard work and sacrifice of those who served their country. There are many ways to serve one's nation of which the military is one. You will notice the military members often come with a deep seated need to help the communities thrive. Honoring those sacrifices should serve as a reminder and example to others the ways in which they may serve their communities as well. We should seek to lead by example! The following was taken from Bergman press release on email.....  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 24, 2021 CONTACT: James Hogge 231-944-7633 Bergman Introduces Legislation to Name New Gaylord VA Clinic in Honor of Navy Corpsman Steve Andrews Washington  - Today, Rep. Jack Bergman introduced legislation to name the new  Gaylord VA Community Based Outreach Clinic (CBOC)  in honor of the late Steve Andrews. Andrews was a beloved member of the Gaylord community and a state legislator representing the 106 th  District, having previ

Federal Reserve Jerome Powell Discusses Treasury Yields, SLR Exclusion, and Plans on Economic Recovery

 Federal Reserve Jerome Powell discusses bond yields on economy recovering from COVID slowdowns.  1.)  Fed to announce SLR Exclusion: Regulatory Capital Rule : Temporary Exclusion of U.S. Treasury Securities and Deposits at Federal Reserve Banks From the Supplementary Leverage Ratio for Depository Institutions 2.) Increase in Treasury Yields in Broader Economy : Fed looks at financial conditions and they believe that yields are moving up because it is a statement of confidence on the recovery of the economy. 3. Message Jerome Powell wants to send ? Unemployment is like 20% for lower income levels so the Fed will be flexible in its choices as information comes in. Expect advanced warnings for monetary changes.

Venture Capital Collaboration Determines Market Emergence Strategies (Delta County as an Example)

Investment interest is like the clang of champagne glasses 🥂to the entrepreneurial class. "What is an idea if there is no market demand?" they may have learned from hard years of torturous failure (Sounds brutal 😨). Entrepreneurs see problems while Venture Capitalists (VC) see marketable solutions. The dream and the dollars makes a marriage of convenience between the two.  With financial mentorship, start-ups have a chance to be acquired by a parent companies that are in need innovative products and ideas. Those who think they "got what it takes" to build their own empires can always throw their javelins into IPO ring. Prior research indicates start-ups do well when they work within an innovative environment with other like minded people. What we don't know is how collaborating among venture-capitalists (VC) impacts the outcome of start-ups as they emerge on the global market. Investment interest will form the structure of the blossom.  The researchers analyze

Capital Riots Senate Hearing Live-The Need to Update Data Infrastructure?

The Senate Hearing will provide greater insight into the situation that emerged on January 6th, 2021 at the capital and what other factors may be associated with the sacking of one of the securest buildings in the world. Leading up to this situation you could hear the rhetoric developing into a crescendo between both parties; the vote becoming a battle line. What might have caught everyone off guard is how easy it was for a single spark to ignite the kindling that burst into violence. Avoiding that in the future will require Republican ( I'm assuming it doesn't need to be broken into Trump and "Old Guard" Republicans ) and Democrat action. As a nation we should keep a watchful eye out for hate behavior so that it doesn't light a match to a much more destructive fire that engulfs the whole house. This is one of the many reasons why its important to adjust state laws to detect and redirect early signs of hate behavior before people coordinate. Michigan has an opport

Biden: People We Lost From Covid-19 Were ‘Extraordinary’

All life is precious in its own right. Some know it early and some will never know it! We often think our own lives and needs (our friends, our families, our group) have value but some of us gain the blessing to come to a broader awareness of the patterns of life. We are important on an individual and a collective level; but not for the reasons we think. Statistics can sometimes masks the behavior that happens in real life to people struggling to cope with loss. Statistics provides the high level numbers to make big decisions, but its the nano things are what makes the biggest differences.

Rugged and Remote Digital Nomads Drawn to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

The U.P. is known for its rugged beauty, green forests and clear waters. One could stand, coffee in hand, looking over miles of untouched forest and within 10 minutes be at the center of city to get a hot refill. From fresh fallen snow to the biggest fish catch of the day it is this outdoor charm that draws vacationers. Market changes in digital infrastructure increases appeal of "connected" rural vacation areas as it spawns a whole new generation of professionals who desperately crave work-life balance.  Digital nomads are interested in post-COVID hot spots that provide outdoor hobbies with the digital capacity they need to be higher performers. Few places offer better opportunities to gaze for a minute under a canvas of stars while still competing on the ever moving global market. Inspiration comes from things as simple as an apple falling off a tree or the splendor of deer jumping through them.  In Delta County you work by solar from your favorite campsite or sit in your d

"Economic Explosions" in 2021-Possibility Seems Likely!

Theory is only as good as it is useful and it is as only useful as it is predictive (or explanative). I've have been engage in theory play on a digital cluster model of economic innovation through understanding cross company transactions. Generic projections were in the ball park but still off by the end of 2020 GDP by 3.5% (April 2020  GDP Contracts 1st Q of 2020-Is It a Short Lived Shock and Digital GDP Recovery? )   COVID pushed digital transformation forward quickly in turn causing forced adaptation ( Nov, 2019 Digital GDP on Government's Mind. Can We Maximize Growth Through Cluster Development? ) leaving behind lots of small and medium size businesses (increased bankruptcies) that couldn't adapt quick enough (unable to scale digitally). GDP was 3.5% lower (lots of reasons but one plausible explanation is from a re-emergences of COVID and lockdowns). 2021 and somewhere around 2023-24 would be big wins for the U.S. economy as adaptation strategies kick in (I'm not th

Michigan Hate Track and Code Extremism Concept

Lack of remorse often accompanies hate due to the missing component of introspection. The inability to face ones issues is a fear that drives irrational anger. When I look back on those who hate there is something each one of them are struggling with; a deep and dark pain that they are unable to manage effectively (Why catching hate behaviors early can lead to reform and save society a lot of money and headaches). If you watch closely you can see how the dark traits associated with hate also bubbles up in their other social relations (secrets, rumors, comparisons, intimidation, etc...). People may intuitively sense their pain through the words, gestures and actions they make but stay silent for fear of either offending or becoming targets of rebuke (We sometimes know each other very well).  As a person becomes more enmeshed in their beliefs they are often unwilling to accept helpful advice from others (accountability problem). People are not always good at understanding where their fee

Paying for Biden's $1.9 Trillion Relief Package

Big money, big risks, and big debt! ....but.....doing nothing is also a risk. We are not competing well as a nation and while we can see our target of where we need to go it is hard to gain the support to get everyone rowing in that direction. I don't think people are debating coordinates to our destination in so much as they are debating how to get there. 1. Relief Plan: Get over immediate hump. 2. Recover Plan: Move economy to recovery. There is a discussion on how to pay for it that includes taxes, borrowing, and printing money. Each one has their own risks. The pots in which the package pulls from is important. The recover seems to be centered around the Digital Economy, Infrastructure and Green Economy. Those are all great ideas (If we can make them work).  This is where I think law makers can be helpful. Let us consider the utility and reach of this money to maximize its outcomes. Money isn't lost unless its not returned in terms of tax dollars and improved economic healt

Opportunities for Hate Crime Reform Michigan-Better Coding and Better Solutions

When a society suffers from certain ailments it should consider tackling those issues in a way that leads to solutions. The things we were doing in the past no longer function as well as we thought they did. We have growing hate crimes and radicalism in society but were shocked when people are protesting in the streets for justice while other people are sacking the capital. People are out there protesting and no matter which side they are protesting there seems to be a fundamental need for change.  We were caught off guard but at the same time we knew for a long time that hate and racism are not sustainable ways of behaving if we want our country to maintain its standing as a beacon of economic and civil liberties.  Hate and extremism are bad all the way around. They do no good for victims, extremists, or the general community. Despite its detracting nature there are some who continue to perpetuate certain beliefs that lack universal applicability to all of society. We know its a probl

Midsize Companies Going Bankrupt in the COVID Economy

Mid size companies are going bust in the COVID economy and policy makers may want to pay attention to business diversity when developing their policies. Mid-size businesses are important part of economic stability and often anchor communities to the national and global supply chain. Researchers at Haskayne School of Business and Tuck School of Business found that mid size businesses have been declining in recent decades and took a significant nose dive during the Pandemic (Govindarajan, Srivastava & Enache, 2021) . The researchers believe that one plausible hypothesis is that mid-size businesses are going bust is because they are not large enough to scale virtually and they don't have strong R&D departments that keep them at the forefront of their market. They are in that difficult spot where overhead, field, and opportunity are not matching in a way that help these businesses adapt. Policy changes could help ensure government is focused on creating an environment where sm

February 21st (21) Free Youth Cross Country Skiing at Days River Trail

 The U.P. is a great place to be during the winter. When community organizations step up to provide experiences for the young and introduce them to the "trails" in Delta County you know you are in the right place for young families with kids. The organization helps support these trails and expose kids to the beauty of the outdoors. Activities like this create enrichment opportunities for children. This was from DNC press release.... Join us  this Sunday  for a  FREE Youth Cross Country Ski Day  at  Days River Pathway.  Anyone who would like to experience the trail and practice classic cross country skiing can stop by from  12 to 4pm  to for free youth ski rentals.  Parents that would like to join and don't own skis are encouraged to reach out to one of the local bike & ski shops to inquire about rentals. A big  THANK YOU  to our supporters  Community Foundation for Delta County  and  United Way of Delta County  for providing the funds to purchase skis and make these t