Don't Be Afraid of the Big, Bad Bear

by Lance Helfert

A film producer told us that economic downturns are typically good for the film industry and the alcoholic beverage industry.  That is historically correct, but in recent years the film studios have been getting financing from hedge funds and other investment groups, so while people may indeed want to go to the movies to take their minds off the nation's economic woes, the studios may have trouble financing their wares. But his point still resonates: the economy reflects the daily needs and desires of the people within it.

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Categories: Finance | Economics | Investing | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 9:27 AM

Where Shall Our Children Live?

In my January 15th blog entry, I mentioned Johann Hari's Slate.com review of American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau. I have not yet read the book, but Hari's reference to sociologist Jane Jacobs' contribution caught my eye:

Human beings are part of nature, not some alien species-so "the cities of human beings are as natural ... as are the colonies of prairie dogs or the beds of oysters." Far from being free and somehow mystically complete, "in real life, peasants are the least free of men-bound by tradition, ridden by caste, fettered by superstitions, riddled by suspicion and foreboding of whatever is strange."

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Categories: Leadership | Environment | Optimism

1 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 11:15 AM

It's All Connected

By Lance Helfert

Many people seem bewildered that the government's interventions have not instantly solved the financial crisis and driven the stock market back to pre-crisis levels. This merely emphasizes that the economy is complex, the stock market is imperfect and often inefficient, and human beings are absurdly impatient. The same expectation of instant gratification that fueled our credit binge now plagues the markets. We want answers NOW, just as we wanted bigger homes, bigger flat screen TVs, and bigger SUVs, NOW! Digital cameras give us instant photos, TIVO lets us time-shift our favorite programs and skip commercials, and of course, the Internet lets us find information and do our shopping anywhere, anytime. Ironically, our impatience with others for not fixing the economy distracts us from doing our part to fix the economy by staying calm and behaving rationally.

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Categories: Finance | Economics | Investing | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 1:49 PM

A Businesslike Approach to Environmentalism

Presuming he does not become too distracted bailing out incompetent companies, our new president seems poised to engage the nation in work we should have undertaken long ago: responsible stewardship of our environment.

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Categories: Leadership | Economics | Environment | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 9:45 AM

The Land of Second Chances

...We have proven time after time that this optimism is grounded in reality, that people who believe in liberty, self-governance and collective problem solving can overcome great obstacles. It was optimists who fought for civil rights. It was optimists who build roads and schools and bridges during the Great Depression. It was optimists who fought against fascism in Europe and the Pacific.

Today, it is audacious optimists creating the LincVolt electric car, bringing food and medicine to the needy, and continuing the eternal struggle for peace and justice.

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Categories: Leadership | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 4:01 PM

Punditry for Dummies

As a dyslexic who struggled for many years to master the written word, I appreciate the value of literacy but also feel empathy for those who cannot read. Most of humanity has been illiterate throughout history, and I for one am grateful that technology and research have made it easier to communicate with people who cannot read, from the standardization of pictographic warning symbols to the educational programming of The Discovery Channel and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It’s not the same as reading Emile Zola, but it’s enriching.

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Categories: Education | Disabilities | Optimism

0 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 3:21 PM