And since "transfers" aren't considered "spending" then liberals and Democrats can't be lying when they say defense and education are our biggest expenditures!

Nobel-prize winning Macroeconomists use the term "transfers" instead of spending to refer to government "speading the wealth" via handouts and social welfare.

Only the very "best" failures lead to intellectua progress. I love t!i

How much would fund or investment reputational ROI transparency affect Marginal Propensity to Save (MPS)? Or even individual funds performances?

Does trust and integrity affect the Marginal Propensity to Consume? (MPC) Would a more transparent and inclusive Prosumer Profile lead to higher net spend?

Technological progress only occurs after new application

I tend to subscribe to Robert Solow and Paul David's observations. Solow from MIT. David's theory and prediction about technological productivity. (p.653)

The Societal Costs of Traffic Congestion

Or, yet another reason to be a fan of Columbus!  When I lived in Atlanta, I and many of my peers were keenly attuned to the time of day, the witching hour, and when you had to get going to beat traffic or have a good podcast, audio book or XM satellite radio access to brave the mind-numbing wilderness that can be much of Atlanta’s traffic.  Ok, having been a consultant, I know mega city traffic.  Newark, NY, LA’s 405, SF, etc. ain’t got nuthin’ on the ATL’s particular flavor of gridlock.

When I as at IBM and actually working in the town I resided in (a rarity, to be sure!), I carpooled with my best friend, Saul, and a good friend, Anthony, for we all had to get from North East Atlanta (Norcross and Duluth in Gwinnett) to central North West Atlanta (Marietta) on the perimeter.  Spending far too many hours stuck in Atlanta traffic gave us many opportunities to bemoan GA Tech engineering (they are supposedly responsible for traffic planning), central planning and what was wrong with the American Dream and why trains had seemingly gone the way of of buggies.

Being environmentally conscientious as we were (that was Saul’s early major at MIT) and being ecologically minded, we were at least philosophically “green” before we knew what that sort of green meant.  Good intentions not-withstanding, we probably were a net negative impact on the environment anyway as we opted for the luxury, height, power, tunes and aggressive driving facilitated by my early SUV Jeep Grand Cherokee vs. Saul’s BMW or Anthony’s Volvo.  Whether it is boats, planes, trains, trucks, scooters or bikes, the societal costs of traffic congestion are huge.  Idle transport, in fact, un-used or under-utilized capacity of manufactured goods or services is incredibly expensive either in actual costs or opportunity costs.

Like so many things in life, such analysis is a bit of a double-edged sword.  We oft spoke (and dreamed) of those lucky enough to land the occasional telecommuting gig.  While helping local commuters spend more quality time at home, it allowed for the globalization and off-shoring of so many so-called “white collar” jobs.  Truly a Macro topic.  New Benefits in one sector, Freidman’s flat-world view proved to be a boon to the telecommunications and technology providers and while placing more hidden costs elsewhere in the economy.

My (more or less) Current Bookshelf

Ok, so, some people are wondering, ok, not really, who am I trying to kid?  Ok, I’d like to brag about the books I’ve actually read on my current bookshelf or playlist.  Seriously, anyone is free to borrow any of them.  To be clear, these are from the last couple of years (2).

“Economics” the new one by Nobel Prize winning economic advisor to the anointed one, the $200+ book I HAD to buy for my ECON2105 – Macro Economics class, the “AARA”, “Bad Money”, “The Long Tail”, “The Tipping Point”, “Outliers”, “Wikinomics”, “Freakonomics”, “The Wisdom of Crowds”, “Invisible Engines”, “Paying with Plastic”, “The Wealth of Nations”, “Made to Stick”, “The 10 Faces of Innovation”, “Love is the Killer App”, “Capitalist China”, “International Payments”, “Enterprise Architecture as Strategy”, “The Business Analysts’ Handbook”, “UML for the IT Business Analyst”, “Code Complete 2nd Edition”, “Listening to the Future” (Scenario Planning), “SOA in Practice”, “The World is Flat” and “Hot, Flat and Crowded”, “The Inmates are running the Asylum”, “The Search”, “Ambient Findability”, “1776”, “Benjamin Franklin”, “American Lion” (Andrew Jackson), “John Adams”, Glen Beck’s “Common Sense” and '”Einstein: His Life and Universe”.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, aka “The Stimulus”) was a dramatic action designed to quickly stimulate an economic recovery in the United States.  By many reports it was “bulldozed through” without much deliberation, or in some cases, even a thorough reading.

Now having read -- or more correctly with the exception of Freakonomics which I read in 2 days -- having listened to the above books over the last year,  and from the perspective of a new student of economics in general, Macro economics in particular, I’m being awakened to the jarring reality that we really are in big economic trouble.  And while “Rush” (lrushbau, not the band) really generally annoys me with his pompousness and high and mighty attitude, and Hannity tends more toward Rush than he does Beck, I am a sick twisted freak somewhere in between Dennis Miller and Glen Beck.

The Future of R&D - embracing a diverse perspective

Ambassadors of the Future meet the Futurists

We need to identify individuals from multiple continents and countries with differing levels of maturity to better understand the uncertainties and complexities of the future of money.

The American Caucasian white male view of the world will be insufficient to devise a satisfactory strategy to deal with the uncertainties of the future of finance.  Indian, Chinese, Japanese, South African (or African), Middle Eastern, European (both EU and non-EU) viewpoints will be necessary to inform and test hypothesis and strategies and develop likely future planning scenarios.

An on-going structured Research and Development program is not only necessary to develop new products and services, but a corresponding communication and exposition mandate will be critical for companies to continue to be seen as innovative in the marketplace.  By sponsoring labs and expositions, FI R&D can help re-ignite the culture of innovation and help diversify and engage our workforce. 

I must face the fact that I do not live in the Mecca for technologists, although I happen to work and go to school with some VERY bright, VERY innovative thinkers amongst my team members and classmates.  The trick is to engage them and celebrate their “differentness” instead of trying to make them conform to the mold and not rock the boat. 

Innovators by their very nature are non-conformists, always seeking to understand the reasons and rationale behind “why?” and often find themselves wondering “why not?” when others are asking dismissively, “why?” to change.

Analysts, meet the Experts; Consultants, meet the Realists

Industry Analysts, Consulting Boutiques and Independent Researchers could become our greatest marketing machine, if engaged appropriately.  I see no evidence of actively engaging with a wide variety of analysts to poke and prod and disagree with their hypotheses.  Truth be told, most pundits tend toward exaggeration and extremism of their viewpoints or opinions to get more reactions out of their more docile customers.  After all, analysts and consultants are valued for their opinions and reputations are based on their being right or provocative.  So if you can’t be right all the time, at least be provocative, right?

Analysts and Consultants are paid to be biased.  Unlike so-called “reporters” or “journalists” in the larger press and media, we engage analysts and consultants FOR their opinion and knowledge and experience.  If we aren’t vetting them against our experts and realists, they aren’t having any fun or getting any smarter and we aren’t getting the most value from them.  They live for engagement.  If we are too polite and only listen, then we have to pay more to get their attention.  Many consultants and analysts will willingly come onsite and work pro bono if they feel that doing so will make them more marketable to other customers.  And as a technology solution provider, we should be hosting consultants and analysts much more frequently than we do.  We WANT them to know our “secrets” so that they can tell them to everyone else and they will want to do business with us because WE are THAT good.

Buick and GMC remain while Pontiac and Saturn close? Now how's THAT for a WTF? (Why's That, Frank?) Sounds like politics, NOT economics (or even sound mrktng!

A trip to the Burj in Dubai, the Taipei 101 or the Willis Towere in Chicago would probably result in Thomas Malthus rethinking his idea of population density.

The reason Global Mobile will leapfrog developed infrastructure is partly due to the macroeconomic "convergence hypothesis". (P660)

Technological progress is largely driven by research and devlopment. Acquired technologies will have already experienced much of their investment return.

I knew I liked Edison for more than just the lightbulb and phonograph! He also created the first modern R&D lab. A purpose built Menlo Park, NJ in 1875.(P655)