A Year To Forget
A Year To Forget
I can’t believe how quickly time is moving. It seems like it was just a few months ago I was writing this year end column for 2009. I may have said then that I was glad to see 2009 finished, well I feel the same way towards 2010.
I am however, optimistic looking forward to 2011. On a personal note in 2010 I lost some friends to illnesses and lost some of my favorite restaurants too. Restaurant closures are not unusual and new ones are just around the corner to fill the void. Friends on the other hand will never be replaced.
As I write this column the Stock Market is strong, the economy has grown for the last fourteen quarters and Black Friday was pretty good. Some companies are beginning to hire again, yet many are still terminating the jobs of their workers. These layoffs are from companies that have had a fairly good ride through the Recession because they had orders in house to carry them through the teeth of the downturn. They were not able to make new sales, however, to keep the momentum up and now are starting at ground zero again.
2011 will be a year of rebuilding. Rebuilding sales, rebuilding faith, rebuilding our factories and rebuilding the demand for products made in the USA. The whole world looks to us for leadership so let’s give them something to watch. The Chinese workers will eventually discover the benefits of having a livable income and when they do and press their government for those freedoms that all people want, their labor prices will go up. Then the companies who have outsourced their manufacturing will have to find a willing and able work force again just as they had to do when manufacturing moved from, Japan in the sixties and then The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Viet Nam, Korea, Cambodia, India, Pakistan and many other countries.
I’m not saying this all will happen in 2011, but the signs of the change are there. Our government has lost its common sense. We have factory buildings rotting away in the rust belt of the Mid West and in the Northeast. The labor pool is still there and the desire to work is still there. Why not give tax breaks to companies who decide to open factories in the United States. Why not create zones in States like Michigan, New York, California and more where companies can rebuild their businesses with tax credits and incentives for those businessmen and women who have the guts to start again.
By this time next year we could be on the road to a major recovery by putting people back to work and paying down the deficit with a fair income tax program. By this time next year we could hear people enthusiastically say “Have a Merry Christmas” and really feel it.
I do wish all of our loyal readers and advertisers a Joyous Holiday Season and a great New Year, and I really feel it.
I can’t believe how quickly time is moving. It seems like it was just a few months ago I was writing this year end column for 2009. I may have said then that I was glad to see 2009 finished, well I feel the same way towards 2010.
I am however, optimistic looking forward to 2011. On a personal note in 2010 I lost some friends to illnesses and lost some of my favorite restaurants too. Restaurant closures are not unusual and new ones are just around the corner to fill the void. Friends on the other hand will never be replaced.
As I write this column the Stock Market is strong, the economy has grown for the last fourteen quarters and Black Friday was pretty good. Some companies are beginning to hire again, yet many are still terminating the jobs of their workers. These layoffs are from companies that have had a fairly good ride through the Recession because they had orders in house to carry them through the teeth of the downturn. They were not able to make new sales, however, to keep the momentum up and now are starting at ground zero again.
2011 will be a year of rebuilding. Rebuilding sales, rebuilding faith, rebuilding our factories and rebuilding the demand for products made in the USA. The whole world looks to us for leadership so let’s give them something to watch. The Chinese workers will eventually discover the benefits of having a livable income and when they do and press their government for those freedoms that all people want, their labor prices will go up. Then the companies who have outsourced their manufacturing will have to find a willing and able work force again just as they had to do when manufacturing moved from, Japan in the sixties and then The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Viet Nam, Korea, Cambodia, India, Pakistan and many other countries.
I’m not saying this all will happen in 2011, but the signs of the change are there. Our government has lost its common sense. We have factory buildings rotting away in the rust belt of the Mid West and in the Northeast. The labor pool is still there and the desire to work is still there. Why not give tax breaks to companies who decide to open factories in the United States. Why not create zones in States like Michigan, New York, California and more where companies can rebuild their businesses with tax credits and incentives for those businessmen and women who have the guts to start again.
By this time next year we could be on the road to a major recovery by putting people back to work and paying down the deficit with a fair income tax program. By this time next year we could hear people enthusiastically say “Have a Merry Christmas” and really feel it.
I do wish all of our loyal readers and advertisers a Joyous Holiday Season and a great New Year, and I really feel it.
Comment
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Comment by Lauren on January 3, 2011 at 8:24am -
Great post, Howard! Here's to a great 2011 and a prosperous year for everyone!
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