Critical Thinking

The company that I work for has moved quite a few jobs to India and Mexico over the past few years.  They call it off-shoring.  The benefit is that labor rates off shore are less than half that of an American worker.  However, it is not the financial bonanza that it might appear to be for one reason - off shore workers are not as productive as American workers.  When a business function is moved off shore, the project starts with an equal number of off shore employees as was used on shore.  The business function rapidly fails due to the decrease in productivity, so additional off shore workers are hired.  In the end, the financial benefit is smaller than originally projected.  I have wondered why foreign workers are less productive than American counterparts.  My curiosity has sparked a few conversations with peers who have trained off shore workers.  Their answers are interesting. 

First there are cultural differences that lead to a loss of productivity.  A 40 hour work week and 8 hour work day are not customary in many societies.  But aside from cultural differences, my peer pointed to something else that he believes explain the productivity gap.  He explains it with an analogy.  When teaching a class of off shore engineers to perform a function, he would begin by saying that 1 + 1 = 2, and then ask the engineers what 1 + 1 equals.  They would enthusiastically respond 2!  He would then build on that by telling them that 2 + 2 = 4.  After asking the class what 2 + 2 equals, they would respond 4!  He would then test their critical thinking skills by asking what 4 + 4 equals.  The response would be “We don’t know because you haven’t told us yet”.  My peer’s point was that off shore resources must be told every minute detail on how to perform a function.  If the unexpected occurs, and it always will, they freeze until someone in authority tells them how to handle it.

Americans may be critical thinkers when it comes to their work, but the last election has proven that a majority of Americans wait to be told what to think about the federal government.  It is the only explanation of why so many voters could not parse facts and conclude that a liberal agenda is bad for the society.  Instead they wait for authority to tell them what to think.  The mainstream media has filled this authority for them.  They hear NBC/CBS/ABC tell them the Bush tax cuts favor the rich and have led to trillion dollar deficits and they believe it.  They hear NBC/CBS/ABC tell them the rich do not pay their fair share and they believe it.  They hear NBC/CBS/ABC tell them that conservatives wage war on women and they believe it.  Currently they are hearing NBC/CBS/ABC tell them that conservatives won’t compromise to reach a deal on the fiscal cliff and they believe it in spite of an Obama quote where he said he would not compromise. Senator Dick Durban says there will never be any meaningful deficit reduction until taxes are raised on the top 2%, NBC/CBS/ABC report it without challenging the utter absurdity of the statement, and the moron majority believe it.

The enemy of conservatism is liberalism, but we will never defeat liberalism until the moron majority hear truth from their authority, the mainstream media.  This means that conservatism must defeat the mainstream media before they can battle liberalism.  FOX News channel was a first step.  FOX did report news in a fair and balanced way, however seems to have changed course.  They now seem to believe it is their responsibility to offer as much conservative spin as the rest of the media offers in liberal spin.  For this they are demonized by the mainstream media.  The moron majority won’t believe anything from FOX simply because they are FOX.  This wasn’t the intent.  FOX has become the most watched news channel, but that is probably a consolidation of conservative viewers.  Conservatives watch FOX, while liberals split time by watching NBC/CBS/ABC.

This problem has no obvious answer, just as the republicans seem to have nothing to counter the disparity in minority and women voters.  Discrediting the mainstream media hasn’t worked.  Dan Rather reported on forged documents, ABC reported blatantly edited and  out of context sound bites, and the moron majority didn’t  care.  The only way to defeat NBC/CBS/ABC may be to turn them off.  Unfortunately there is a majority of Americans who believe the mainstream media is their source for truth.  Until that changes, conservatism will struggle to get a fair shake.

I Like to Listen - GP&N

In my opinion, 2012 has been a dry year for new musical talent.  I guess the Civil Wars would be the only exception, and what a disappointment they turned out to be.  However, I did discover an artist that is new to me.

It started late last year during a country music award show.  I typically don’t watch the Kenny Chesney performances, but rather take the opportunity to visit the commode or grab something from the refrigerator.  But I was late getting off the couch and once I heard Kenny and this blond named Grace Potter start singing “You and Tequila”, I couldn’t get up.

 

I am not a Chesney fan, but together their sound was unique.  Not to mention Grace Potter plays guitar well.  Not to mention it is hard to miss her legs.

So a couple weeks later, “You and Tequila” was still queuing up in my head every few days, so I decide to see if Grace Potter is an established musician, or just a Chesney acquaintance who sat in on a song.  A quick search of You Tube made it apparent that Grace Potter is a musician in her own right, and has a band called the Nocturnals.  What I found surprising is that Grace Potter and the Nocturnals are not country.  Her range is broad, and includes ZZ Top, Rolling Stones, Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwod Mac and Gillian Welch cover songs.  If I were to guess, Grace seems to have roots in Blues music, while the Nocturnals were born and raised as hard rockers.  Occasionally they pick up their acoustic guitars and sound a little county, but that is the exception.  GP&N music is mostly rock with the occasional ballad.  I really like the sound.

I then find that GP&N are coming to the Uptown Theater in Kansas City in October.

 –T was willing, so I bought tickets.  The Uptown is a 1920’s era movie theater that has become a concert-only venue for many years.  Acts that play the Uptown are those who can’t yet fill an arena, and have outgrown bars.  Acoustically, the Uptown sucks.  The domed ceiling ensures that every note from every instrument is focused at your head and arrives at many different times.  The sound board staff compensates for this phenomena by cranking the volume up a little higher.  –T listened to the concert through earplugs and said it sounded okay.  I listened to it without earplugs.  It was painful at times, but I didn’t mind so much after my ears quit bleeding. 

Two weeks later, AXS TV provided a live concert of GP&N from Stubbs BBQ in Austin Texas.  Same tour, same set list, better acoustics on my Bose 3.2.1.  I watched it live and recorded it on my DVR.  Since then, -T and I have watched it twice more and I still can’t bring myself to delete the recording.  GP&N start with songs from their new record, “The Lion, the Beast and the Beat”, and then play a couple of older ballads, “Stars” and “Apology”.  The ballads showcase Grace Potter’s world class voice and writing ability.  She is knocking on the door of the  exclusive Write-Sing-Play club. 

After a few rock numbers, the most compelling vocal of the night was delivered in "Big White Gate", a song short on theology, but rich in smokey, bluesy vocals.  At the end, you just have to say "Wow, that was good".  The encore continues with a rock number "Stop the Bus" and "Medicine" where all band members end up beating on one drum set.  The night concluded the GP&N encore signature – “Nothing but the Water I &II”.  “Nothing but the Water I” features Potter, sometimes acapella and at others just her and an electric slide guitar – either version her sterling voice silences the crowd. “Nothing but the Water II” immediately follows and is about the best feel good encore song I have witnessed.   

 

If music artists sold stock, I would be a buyer.  GP&N have a lot going for them.  The first thing I noticed is they all seem to be having fun.  It’s not just a 2 hour a night job.  Each band member looks like they are doing exactly what they want to be doing.  The second thing noticed is just how physically demanding their concerts are.  The band is in constant motion.  Potter especially uses the time for an intense aerobic workout, dancing and head banging through each song.  Finally, the music is substantial.  Lyrics have a meaning - nothing sappy or too heavy.  And Potter may be the best female rock vocalist in the business.  Her vocals trigger memories of Janis Joplin, Grace Slick and Nancy Wilson.  She is that good.

Messaging

Simple messaging is a goal in business.  Advertisers strive to plant a clear positive message in your brain with just a few words.  Got Milk?  Just Do It.  Can you hear me now?  Like a Rock.  Short slogans that convey a single, simple idea is the best kind of messaging a business can use to sell their products.  Likewise, short slogans are effective at selling political ideas. I suspect the majority of Americans prefer a short message that won't cause them to think to deep or hard.

The democrats understand this far better than the republicans.  Think about the presidential campaign and the ongoing fiscal battle.  The democratic messaging has been short and simple.  Forward.  Fairness.  Balance.  Fair Share.  These slogans paint a picture that is far larger than the word.  It doesn't matter if the picture is untrue as long as it beneficial to their cause.

The republicans don't message well.  It could be they aren't clever enough, or maybe their ideas are too complex for short messaging.  While Obama repeats the word balance over and over, the republicans try to explain why we have a spending problem.  We also use arguments that don't seem logical to the moron majority, such as cutting taxes increases tax revenue.  So while one side says balance and fairness, the other gets into deep discussions on how economies and tax systems work.  Its no surprise that conservative messaging doesn't play well on Twitter.

While Obama tweets that he only wants everyone to pay their "fair share", conservative counter the tweet with data, such as the top 10% earn 20% of the wages, but pay 40% of the income taxes.  That is fair, and definitely a fair share, but hard to communicate in a simple way.  Also remember that Obama has never defined what a fair share is.  If he did, the republicans could message on that.

Obama insists he wants a "balanced" plan.  The conservative counter is that we have increased spending far faster than the supporting economy has grown.  That taxing the rich at 100% would not balance the budget.  That after spending over a trillion dollars in stimulus and bail outs, Obama has retained those funds in subsequent budget years.  That we have a fair, progressive tax system.  That we have a spending and an economic growth problem, not a tax fairness problem.  That entitlement growth is the most significant threat to future prosperity. 

The democrats won in 2012 largely based on their messaging and usage of social media.  In addition to the mountain of problems conservatives face in regaining the White House and senate, they must also find an effective way to communicate to the moron majority.

Have we Already Lost?

The scenario I painted a few days ago is coming true.  The republicans have painted themself into another corner.  They did it by trying to do the right thing.  Instead of letting Obama have his way as a method of pinning the economic performance to him, they have tried to act like the adult in the room and put forth a plan to avoid the so called fiscal cliff. 

That was a mistake.  Their plan was called "magic beans and fairy dust" by the White House spokesman.  The mainstream media has piled on, as they continue to provide cover for this failed presidency.  The result is the repuiblicans are again villified for putting forth a plan while Obama gives speeches.  When the fiscal cliff arrives, Obama and the press will blame the republicans.  For those keeping score, that's 0-2.

The only way the republicans can emerge from the current political situation without a loss, is to walk away.  The message to Obama, Pelosi and Reid should be - "Call us when there is a bill to vote on".  The republicans must force the administration to come up with their own plan and send it to the legislature. 

This is the nightmare scenario for Obama.  Until this happens, he can continue to campaign with his class warfare message and demonize the republicans.  To actually write a bill , have it scored by the Congressional Budget Office and send it to Congress for a vote would force him reveal his intentions to the public. Even worse, if the bill passes Congress, the baton would finally pass from George Bush to Barack Obama. 

Obama would finally own the economy he has blamed on Bush for the past 4 years.  If you believe we are heading toward a new recession, this is bad news for Obama.  I think he is fine with the U.S. entering a new recession. That is seen as another opportunity to draft more citizens into the dependancy state.  What Obama would hate is losing the ability to blame the republicans for the recession.