Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Saturday, August 2, 2014
My Turn: Lessons learned from an economic education
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen smiles as testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, July 16, 2014, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled: "Monetary Policy and the State of the Economy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
I graduated in 1973 with a bachelor’s degree in economics from a highly regarded liberal arts college. In reflecting upon this, I am astounded by the manner in which economic principles were taught. For example, students were instructed on the various aspects of macroeconomics vs. microeconomics, supply and demand, and monetary policy vs. fiscal policy.
This piece addresses only the monetary policy and fiscal policy of economic thought as it was presented to students. For ease, look at monetary policy as the setting of interest rates and the overall money supply.
The Great Recession was brought on by many things: technology advances and the decimal-based trading it brought through the advent of computers, the end of private partnership ownership of investment houses by “going public” through IPOs, ill-advised deregulation such as repealing the Glass-Steagall Act and leaving derivative products free from regulation, and the establishment of Wall Street’s culture rewarding short-term performance without regard to the long-term aspect of fractional trading (leverage).
This was exacerbated by such idiotic things as rating agencies being paid by the companies offering the precise products to be rated, seats in Congress being financed by lobbyists in order for one to be elected in the first place and politicians being beholden to special interests for re-election. (Thanks, Supreme Court, for your series of decisions which serve only to promote this.)
But back to monetary policy vs. fiscal policy.
In college, it was never made clear to me that monetary policy is not driven by a democratically elected government but rather by the privately owned Federal Reserve. A so-called Central Bank.
It was never made clear to me that the Fed was established in 1913 by financiers and banks in order to overcome the distrust Americans had developed toward the banking system due to the recession of the very early 1900s, that these individuals created the Fed to maintain their ability to keep their hands on the money.
And it did take some number of years for the legislation to overcome the fears of many detractors before it became law. (Just consider the sleight of hand in terming it the Federal Reserve, as though it is a true government agency.)
It must be understood by all Americans that this privately owned Federal Reserve, through its chairman (now Janet Yellen, following Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke), is solely responsible for our country’s monetary policy. The Fed does not answer to Congress or the president outside of the fact that the chairman is nominated by the president for congressional approval. Americans must realize that the Fed oversees one-half of our nation’s economic tools (the other half being fiscal policy).
Myself and many others believe that the “recovery” has almost been entirely left to monetary policy. Through the “zero interest rate” environment and various forms of what has been termed “quantitative easing.” Both of these concepts are unnatural and deviously destructive. Both have caused “free markets” to become distorted and dysfunctional.
Interest rates should be determined by “the free market” and not by central planning. When the “free market” is suppressed in this fashion, it cannot operate as intended in a democratic society, as has been indisputably the case. I’m sure everyone has read all the stories about the destruction of the middle class, the widening of the gap between the rich and poor to historically high levels, the impoverishment of so many, the loss of jobs, the disappearance of wage increases for the vanishing middle class and low-income population, the loss of homes to foreclosure, the huge increase in indebtedness for college education, the “tapping out” of financial resources for so many, etc.
This has been the result of America’s refusal to address economic recovery through fiscal policy and instead abandoning its responsibility in favor of monetary policy as enacted by the Fed. Not long ago, the profoundly disappointing President Obama announced a $600 million proposal addressing jobs creation. But compare this to the one-time(!) audit of the Fed revealing $16 trillion in unrevealed financial assistance – or bailouts – to the worldwide financial system. Or the $4.6 trillion added to the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet through quantitative easing (specifically the 50 percent or so resulting from the Fed’s purchase of derivative mortgage products at inflated prices to keep monies flowing the banks’ way on top of the “almost free money” already available to them).
Providing operating funds to the very financial industry which almost brought our whole economy down is not a means to dig out from our economic malaise. Quite the opposite. What we have needed is the missing, responsible type of fiscal policy which should have been implemented by our elected president and Congress.
Enough of our president’s blaming the Tea Party and recalcitrant Republicans for the failure to enact fiscal legislation. This is his second term as he continually fails to realize that 75 percent of the population would back aggressive fiscal economic action with no regard whatsoever as to how the 1 percent or untrustworthy bankers fare. As they would back the Department of Justice and regulators pursuing those behind the still-smoldering banking crisis.
Enough of Congress (with some notable exceptions) envisioning their jobs as serving the special interests who finance their campaigns. Their employers should be seen as their constituents – those about whom these politicians repeatedly reveal an utter cluelessness and complete inability to relate. No wonder the term “Demopublicans” is gaining in popularity. Our country’s “record” of fiscal policy since the Great Recession and anemic recover just reinforces the notion of there being not true difference between the parties.
Only empty sound bites.
(Birney K. Brown lives in Contoocook.)
Friday, August 1, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Monday, July 14, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
10 Things Only Exceptional Bosses Give Employees
Jeff Haden
Ghostwriter, Speaker, Inc. Magazine Contributing Editor
Good bosses have stronrganizational skills. Good bosses have solid decision-making skills. Good bosses get important things done.
Exceptional bosses do all of the above -- and more. (And we remember them forever.) Sure, they care about their company and customers, their vendors and suppliers. But most importantly, they care to an exceptional degree about the people who work for them.
And that's why they're so rare.
Extraordinary bosses give every employee:
1. Autonomy and independence.
Great organizations are built on optimizing processes and procedures. Still, every task doesn't deserve a best practice or a micro-managed approach. (Here's looking at you, manufacturing industry.)
Engagement and satisfaction are largely based on autonomy and independence. I care when it's "mine." I care when I'm in charge and feel empowered to do what's right.
Plus, freedom breeds innovation: Even heavily process-oriented positions have room for different approaches. (Still looking at you, manufacturing.)
Whenever possible, give your employees the autonomy and independence to work the way they work best. When you do, they almost always find ways to do their jobs better than you imagined possible.
2. Clear expectations.
While every job should include some degree of independence, every job does also need basic expectations for how specific situations should be handled.
Criticize an employee for offering a discount to an irate customer today even though yesterday that was standard practice and you make that employee's job impossible. Few things are more stressful than not knowing what is expected from one day to the next.
When an exceptional boss changes a standard or guideline, she communicates those changes first -- and when that is not possible, she takes the time to explain why she made the decision she made, and what she expects in the future.
3. Meaningful objectives.
Almost everyone is competitive; often the best employees are extremely competitive--especially with themselves. Meaningful targets can create a sense of purpose and add a little meaning to even the most repetitive tasks.
Plus, goals are fun. Without a meaningful goal to shoot for, work is just work.
No one likes work.
4. A true sense of purpose.
Everyone likes to feel a part of something bigger. Everyone loves to feel that sense of teamwork and esprit de corps that turns a group of individuals into a real team.
The best missions involve making a real impact on the lives of the customers you serve. Let employees know what you want to achieve for your business, for your customers, and even your community. And if you can, let them create a few missions of their own.
Feeling a true purpose starts with knowing what to care about and, more importantly, why to care.
5. Opportunities to provide significant input.
Engaged employees have ideas; take away opportunities for them to make suggestions, or instantly disregard their ideas without consideration, and they immediately disengage.
That's why exceptional bosses make it incredibly easy for employees to offer suggestions. They ask leading questions. They probe gently. They help employees feel comfortable proposing new ways to get things done. When an idea isn't feasible, they always take the time to explain why.
Great bosses know that employees who make suggestions care about the company, so they ensure those employees know their input is valued -- and appreciated.
6. A real sense of connection.
Every employee works for a paycheck (otherwise they would do volunteer work), but every employee wants to work for more than a paycheck: They want to work with and for people they respect and admire--and with and for people who respect and admire them.
That's why a kind word, a quick discussion about family, an informal conversation to ask if an employee needs any help -- those moments are much more important than group meetings or formal evaluations.
A true sense of connection is personal. That's why exceptional bosses show they see and appreciate the person, not just the worker.
7. Reliable consistency.
Most people don't mind a boss who is strict, demanding, and quick to offer (not always positive) feedback, as long as he or she treats every employee fairly.
(Great bosses treat each employee differently but they also treat every employeefairly. There's a big difference.)
Exceptional bosses know the key to showing employees they are consistent and fair is communication: The more employees understand why a decision was made, the less likely they are to assume unfair treatment or favoritism.
8. Private criticism.
No employee is perfect. Every employee needs constructive feedback. Every employee deserves constructive feedback. Good bosses give that feedback.
Great bosses always do it in private.
9. Public praise.
Every employee -- even a relatively poor performer -- does something well. Every employee deserves praise and appreciation. It's easy to recognize some of your best employees because they're consistently doing awesome things. (Maybe consistent recognition is a reason they're your best employees? Something to think about.)
You might have to work hard to find reasons to recognize an employee who simply meets standards, but that's okay: A few words of recognition--especially publicrecognition--may be the nudge an average performer needs to start becoming a great performer.
10. A chance for a meaningful future.
Every job should have the potential to lead to greater things. Exceptional bosses take the time to develop employees for the job they someday hope to land, even if that job is with another company.
How can you know what an employee hopes to do someday? Ask.
Employees will only care about your business after you first show you care about them. One of the best ways is to show that while you certainly have hopes for your company's future, you also have hopes for your employees' futures.
Now it's your turn: What exceptional thing has a truly extraordinary boss done for you?
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