Article in Huffington Post (from McClatchy) caught my attention with the headline, MOM AND POP: TOO SMALL TO SUCCEED.
The content, however, wasn't what I expected. It mostly detailed the difficulty of small business getting credit. Not Mom and Pop, for one thing. Almost all the businesses had more employees than that.
I guess I don't believe that the ability to 'borrow money' is the measure of success. Hunkering down in a slow economy would seem prudent. Borrowing money would seem imprudent.
These kinds of articles mean well, I suppose. The media saying, Hey, small business, we're on your side! But I'm not sure that it proved it's point.
Borrowing money to survive, while it can work, usually just makes it harder in the long run.
Falling sales, rising expenses, are what cause businesses to fail, not the inability to borrow money.
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Apropos to nothing, but I've been wanting to say it for a long time, and since there has been a flurry of news about 'domestic terrorists' I'll go ahead and say it.
Most of these so-called terrorists seem like misfit losers, who are probably mentally ill.
Misfit losers can do harm, like Oswald or McVeigh, but I don't think they represent a wave of domestic terrorism....
Misfit losers will always be with us, and they'll glom onto whatever outrage is current.
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I finally got a good night's sleep, without taking a pill.
I was really confused by the whole thing, because as it turned out, I was getting a down to earth cold at the same time as I had a bad tooth. Achy muscles, dry and scratchy throat and eyes, congestion, cough, fever. Sure made me miserable for a few days.
I was wondering if I had an infection.
Turned out to be two different things happening at the same time...
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I have a weakness for Art Books. They don't sell all that well, I don't really have space to display them properly, and I don't really have enough time to peruse them all. But show me some sample art and a cool cover, and I'm easy.
When I was in my early 20's, I went on a month tour of the east coast, visiting old friends. My friend, Fred, in New York took me to several of the museums. I was embarrassed that I didn't know what 'art nouveau' or 'art deco' was...and when I'm feeling ignorant, my impulse is to read as many books on the subject as possible.
In a sense, my store is a clumsy attempt to meld all kinds of art and literature in one small 1000 sq. ft. space....
The common characteristic is 'imagination'.
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4 comments:
I think the focus on lack of credit for small businesses comes from the fact that large businesses currently seem to be in exactly the opposite situation - many reportedly have lots of cash and are just sitting on it. There have been productivity gains as businesses shed workers, and they are not reinvesting/expanding like in 'normal' times. So they have cash, but small businesses don't. I guess that's what makes the news.
They are not exapnding, because most have excess capacity. They will expand when demand increases to the point that they need to.
"Most of these so-called terrorists seem like misfit losers, who are probably mentally ill."
I think such a statement is a huge generalisation, and one that isn't true. In fact it is likely an insult to people with mental illness to claim that mental illness is the cause of the actions of "domestic terrorists".
Generally, the person to whom people with mental illnesses are the greatest threat is themselves. Depression, bi-polar, schizephrenia, these types of illness do not cause the actions engaged in by these people. It is possible that some may have a mental illness, in the same way many people in wider society have a mental illness. Their illness however is unlikely to be the catalyst or cause of their actions in most cases.
The US, UK and Australia has seen a growth in these "domestic" terrorists in the last 20 years or so. The question has to be asked why?
Personally I think it has a lot to do with the changing nature of society. The rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer. Things that people were taught to believe in as an attainable goal, like getting a steady, decent job that pays enough to pay the bills and allow you to buy a house, have stopped becoming attainable for many. The world they were taught to believe in appears to be a lie. Decent paying jobs are disappearing - all that is available for many people are low-paying jobs with no security or long term prospects. House ownership is becoming unaffordable, requiring an income they can't earn because of property prices and low paying jobs. People are seeing this and they are pissed. And unfortunately some of these people drift to extremist ideolgies as a way of changing a society they feel does not meet their needs - whether it be fundementalist islam or right wing citizens militia.
Thus, you can arrest these people, but unfortunately more will eventually emerge. In order to solve the problem, society needs to address the social and economic problems that cause it.
My two cents on the matter
Good points, Alex.
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