The reward for work well done is the opportunïty to do more.
Jonas Salk
Miscellaneous News Notes
- Steve Jobs Dead at 56. I cannot say that I am surprised given his resignation in late August. Jobs had taken a string of leave of absences before, but the resignation seemed to indicate this time was different. I remember how Jobs was exiled in the 1980's from the company he co-founded. When he returned, I did not see a way, short of life threatening issues, that he would let go of the company he co-founded. I will say, as someone whom has written on issues involving human factors/ergonomics in information systems, he delivered on making usable, cool products for the mass market. The legend of how Steve Jobs fixated on an early version of the computer mouse while visiting Xerox PARC is well-known. I will say that I think, from a business strategy standpoint, Apple blew it big time in the 1980's; it wanted to keep its architecture proprietary to maintain high margins on its hardware: The result: MSDOS/Windows become the dominant platform for personal computers, and Apple was left with maybe a 5% market share in the 1990's (although a very devoted 5%, verging on fanaticism). I've never owned a Mac and won't as a matter of conscience (although one of my goddaughters proudly owns a Mac). I do think he was very creative, among other things, transforming the music industry, news delivery, etc., with ultra-cool technology products; his appearances to introduce the latest and greatest tech toy became media events; people would spend hours in line to buy a product on its first day. A great tech showman.
- Sarah Palin Won't Run. There had been some rumors that Palin would announce during the Labor Day weekend, but her unfavorable ratings were so high; over the last 2 months, Barack Obama averaged over 50% in head to heads against Palin, whom in turn got just 39%--this at a time when Obama has mostly flirted at the 40% approval rating. More recent polls showed that most Republicans thought she should not run. I thought the risk/reward ratio was too high--if she lost, which was highly likely, it would permanently undermine her credibility. Perhaps she could stage a comeback in 2014 by running for the US Senate seat for Alaska...
Martin O'Malley v Chris Christie
"When it comes to being effective at creating jobs, improving schools and expanding opportunity, [Gov. Chris Christie’s] record in New Jersey has not been a report of governing for effectiveness. His bond rating has been downgraded by two of the bond rating agencies. His unemployment in New Jersey is one of the higher unemployment rates in the country at 9.4 percent. Last year, New Jersey created no net new jobs. And his schools, because of the choices he’s made to cut education funding, have actually been declining in their national ranking. So that’s not a record of leadership and governance and effectiveness. So whatever the entertainment value is, it’s not effective governing.” Gov. O'Malley (D-MD), Face the Nation, 10/2/11I regret I've only had two chances to vote against the tax-hiking, Obama brown-nosing partisan demagogue. O'Malley, who was elected on promises of a middle-class tax cut and jobs, passed a number of tax increases (sales, corporate, personal) in late 2007 (just in time for the recession!), the former two putting Maryland in the bottom 10 of states from a competitiveness standpoint, using misleading statistics claiming a structural deficit to justify the tax increases. In past commentaries, I cited a WSJ column pointing out that a number of Maryland millionaires migrated from Maryland as a result, and I should note that after the special "tax increase" session, O'Malley's approval rating fell to 35%.
Let's not forget that Maryland did have a great Republican governor with a majority public approval rating, Bob Ehrlich, but he lost his bid for reelection in 2006 in a bad election year for Republicans. The fact is that Maryland has been a blue state specializing in mediocre progressive politicians like O'Malley, Mikulski and Cardin. Let's also recall that the GOP is in the minority in both chambers of the Maryland legislature. Keep in mind also a number of very well-paid liberal federal employees and contractors live in the DC collar counties; these people have done very well under a superspending Democratic US House and/or Senate since 2006; it is this dependence on federal jobs and expenditures that had Moody's place a negative outlook (despite retaining an AAA rating) on Maryland.
So let's look at Gov. Christie, whom hasn't even been in office 2 full years yet. Unlike O'Malley, Christie does not deal with a legislature dominated by members of his own party. The Washington Post's Josh Hicks labeled O'Malley's charges two Pinocchio's ("Significant omissions and/or exaggerations. Some factual error may be involved but not necessarily. A politician can create a false, misleading impression by playing with words and using legalistic language that means little to ordinary people.") It's true that credit ratings have fallen over the past year, but a lot of that deals with a preexisting structural deficit, macroeconomic issues and an already all but insolvent pension system. Hicks points out that that the unemployment rate changes in New Jersey closely tracked Maryland's but at a higher rate and O'Malley's assessment of a decline is based in a first-year drop of a couple of places within the top 10 for one set of statistics; however, the state continues to lead or place higher on a number of indicators (e.g., graduation, relative college enrollments among high school graduates, basic skills of eighth graders, etc.) But I'm going to go beyond Hicks here and point out that Christie hasn't been able to push an education reform bill through the Democratic-controlled state legislature, so he's largely been stuck with the status quo. It is true in 2010 Christie pushed through the equivalent of a 5% cut in school budgets funded by the state (the state was funding up to 80% of poorer school budgets and up to 9% when schools are more self-sustaining); however, he was facing a deficit.
I think Hicks is on questionable ground in terms of trying to make parallel the fact that Christie inherited a mess from Corzine from the fact Obama inherited a mess from Bush. Hence, O'Malley is being judged as hypocritical in trying to blame problems on Christie when he doesn't hold Obama to the consistent set of criteria. I have not personally heard Christie bash Corzine to the nature and extent Obama has Bush.
But let's recall a few things: first, Christie is required to achieve a balanced budget; Obama is not. Second, the Democrat predecessors to Christie did not deal with the pension crisis. Third, Corzine, like Obama, was dealing with a Democratic-controlled legislature.
Political Humor
"New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially announced that he will not be running for president. Do we really want a president who looks like an American league umpire?" - David Letterman
[Obama is just angry that Christie called him out.] (Don't you just love my play on words?)
"More than 700 protestors were arrested over the weekend for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. They say the best way to fight corporate greed is to make random people sit in traffic while they’re trying to visit their aunt in Brooklyn." - Jimmy Kimmel
[These were all the people whom hold titles to the Brooklyn Bridge; they got warnings from their bankers (Vinny and others) threatening to repossess the Brooklyn Bridge if they don't keep up their payments...]
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Fleetwood Mac, "The Chain". This concludes my Fleetwood Mac series. My next featured group will be the Moody Blues.
