We hereby resolve

Monday, December 29, 2008

Sources place the origin of the New Year's Resolutions tradition to 153 B.C. Rome. The god, Janus, for whom the first moth of the year was named, was placed at the head of the calendar. With his two faces, Janus looked back at the past and forward to the future. This gave him incredible insight into what went poorly and how to avoid it in the future.

Janus became the ancient symbol for year-ending resolutions as Romans looked for forgiveness and exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus, otherwise known as the Roman Emperor Constantine, declared Christianity as the official religion of Rome with the Edict of Milan in 313, these traditions began their transformation for pagan to Christian.

At this time each year, we take up this ancient custom as we resolve to improve ourselves. Steven Shapiro, Author, Innovation Consultant and Speaker, found
· 34% set resolutions related to money
· 38% set resolutions related to weight
· 47% set resolutions related to self-improvement or education
· 31% set resolutions related to relationships

We are in a time of crisis in the United States. There is a claim, perhaps apocryphal, that the Chinese character for "crisis" is the same as the one for "opportunity." I don't know if it's true, but it's an intriguing concept. Perhaps this year it should be a national effort to resolve as a population to set to use this crisis as an opportunity and resolve to make ourselves a better people.

The United States Federal Government has an Office of Citizen Services and Communications. Curiously, they publish a list of the ten most popular New Year's Resolutions. Let's take a look at each and see how it applies to us as a nation.

#1. Lose Weight
We are at the apex of a 20-year trend in becoming an obese population. The surgeon general estimates it costs over half-a-trillion dollars in increased medical costs to address our poor diets and over eating. We evolved to be a hunter-gatherer species that eats lean meats and fruits and vegetables—not corn-fed beef and white bread. Actually, grain should not even be part of our diet. Corn syrup is the crack cocaine of the food industry. We—you and I—subsidize the corn industry to the tune of $5 billion a year to find more ways to introduce more corn into our diet. Subsidies to farmers, almost $20 billion a year, are out-of-synch with the government created food pyramid. In fact, if we all followed it, there would not be enough fruit and vegetables for everyone to eat a healthy diet.

#2. Managing Debt
The average American household has $10,000 in credit card debt. We don't have to repeat the foreclosure crisis, bailouts, the federal deficit . . . we all know we are in trouble here. I have three words for all of us, "pay-with-cash." When considering "paper or plastic," Andrew Beattie, of Investopedia, insists, "Cash is almost always the better choice." That 1950's relic, layaway, is making a comeback, and we should all take a hint. If we can't pay for it, and we don't absolutely need it, we should not buy it.

#3. Save Money
Seventy percent of us live paycheck-to-paycheck. That's really stupid. Americans save an average of $392 a year—that's three-hundred-and- ninety-two dollars. Consumer debt is at $2.5 trillion and, according to the Housing Bubble, "As of 2008, the average household debt is $117,951 and this includes credit cards, installment loans, home equity loans, and mortgages." This is not sustainable.

#4 Get a Better Job
Good luck with this one. We should probably resolve to "keep a job" in 2009. Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-533,000) last November, and the unemployment rate rose from 6.5 to 6.7 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Obama hopes to generate 2 million new jobs with his $210 billion jobs program. However, that will just get us back to where we were at the start of 2008.

#5. Get Fit
There is something that separates us middle-agers from our younger-agers. When we are out of shape, we buy bigger clothes and wear things to hide the fact that we are fat. Kids no longer share that shame. Whereas we wanted a six pack the past few years we have seen the "muffin top" become a fashion.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends a 30 minute walk five-days-a-week and two sessions-a-week of strength training. However, the Wall Street Journal tells us that fewer that 16% of us are physically active on any given day according to a map showing that the most active American live on the west coast, in Alaska, and Hawaii. We all saw the pictures of Barack Obama shirtless on a Hawaiian beach. That should inspire us.

#6. Eat Right
Bottom line—we eat too much. Second bottom line—we eat the wrong stuff. We are eating ourselves to death. We gotta stop that.

#7. Get a Better Education
We lag behind most of the developed world in education. According to a CNN report, "The total cost of going to a private four-year college rose to $34,132 on average for the 2008-09 academic year. In-state students at public four-year schools paid an average of $14,333 for the current school year, according to the College Board, a non-profit association of more than 5,400 schools, colleges and universities. That's an increase of 5.7% from the previous year." What makes it worse is that the cost of a college education has risen at about 7% a year while household incomes for the poorest Americans—who need access to higher education the most—rose at only 3%. As an Illinois senator, Barack Obama worked to address this issue. Let's hope he is able to affect change on a greater scale as president.

#8. Drink Less Alcohol
I have a better idea: do less cocaine. We need to communicate the message that doing cocaine is unpatriotic. Much of the money spent by Americans on cocaine leads t a destabilization of our international neighbors and finds its way into the hands of terrorists. We need to resolve to look at the War on Drugs differently. Over $10 billion-a-year has been spent and we have made no progress except to put over two-million Americans in prison. Half of all prisoners are behind bars for drugs. We need a rational drug policy that addresses the real issues of poverty, opportunity, and access. Drugs are not the problem—they are the symptom.

#9. Quit Smoking Now
We are actually keeping this resolution pretty well. About one-in-five Americans now smoke, down from 28% a decade ago. Smoking peaked in 1954 with about half of Americans smoking. Sadly, while older Americans are quitting, younger Americans are taking up the habit. I guess they need something to go with those muffin tops.

#10. Reduce Stress Overall
If our diet is not killing us, stress is. Two-thirds of Americans seek help for stress—and that is just those who seek it out. Fifty-four percent of us say it is a real concern. We have a tendency to live to work in this country. We put our jobs over our lives and families. We should resolve this year to work to live. It is becoming increasingly obvious that our employers do not share the same level of commitment and obligation to us that we have historically felt toward them. We do not owe them our lives, just an honest day's work.

Bonus Resolution

#11. Volunteer to Help Others
A lot of research has been done on happiness these past few years. What it found was that more money does not bring more happiness. More things, we have found, just bring more debt. So what will make us happy? Doing things for others. We face a few tough years. There is much to be done. Let's all resolve to do things for others this year.

When 9/11 happened, we were all eager and waiting to help. We would have done anything President Bush asked of us. Anything. He asked us to shop. Well, we see where that got us.
In a few weeks, President Barack Obama is going to ask us to do something to get the country healthy again. Let's listen. Let's heed the call. Let's all pitch in and work without expectation of personal gain. Research shows it will make us happier. Let's all resolve to be happy.

Let's drink a cup of kindness. Happy New Year.

A Visit from St. Nick (of time!)

‘Twas the end of the year, when all through the nation
The people were stirring with mild trepidation.
Saddam had been hanged by the Sunnis with care,
But outside the Greenzone, fear still hangs in the air.
Cuba’s Castro fell ill, and took to his bed,
But his brother Raul took over as head.
Will 700 billion, big banks got a big bailout,
And execs still got big bonuses—can’t figure that one out.
The boys from Detroit wanted some of that action.
They tried and they tried, but got no satisfaction.
The in came George Bush, dipping into his stash.
And after some scolding, came across with the cash.
To every reporter Bush will give interview,
As Karl Rove tries to make Bush’s image a-new.
And then what should assault the membrane of my ear?
Dick Chaney as well, trying to remake his career.
And they talked and they talked and they never stopped trying.
But except for Fox News—no one was buying.
Then more rapid than light speed, Right-Wing Radio came.
When Karl Rove whistles, the moths circle the flame.
Come on Limbaugh, O’Reilly, Coulter, Ingram, and Hannity.
Will you give it a rest? For the sake of humanity!
For the past 30 years, we heard all your denying.
Yet we elected Obama despite all of your lying.
As Bush leave District, there are few who will cry.
He’s been such an obstacle—time to bid him goodbye.
Soon into the Whitehouse, the Obamas will move,
With those cute little girls and a puppy dog, too.
Things are bound to get better, and for those who need proof,
Take a look at the Cabinet he’s put under that roof.
With Democrats controlling both Congressional Houses,
Let’s hope they turn out to be lions, not mouses.
‘Cause in Russia we’ve still got Medvedev and Putin.
We’ve got to make sure they don’t want to start shootin’.
In North Korea, Kim Jong Il is now back.
One thing is for sure—that dude is Whack!
Hugo Chavez is holding on in Venezuela.
He don’t like us much, and he’s the first one to tell ya.
We still have a few friends, like most of West Europe
Now that President Cowboy is headed back to his stirrups.
Still the stump of his legacy sticks in our teeth.
It will take quite a while for that to get some relief.
And Right here at home, we’ve still got lots of trouble:
A national debt we’ve seen double . . .and double,
Two million jobs we’ve lost in just one year,
With more layoffs, plant closings, and foreclosure fear.
With a wink of her eye, Sarah Palin looms large,
But her daughter’s soon Mom-in-law faces felony drug charge.
The Republican Party is in total despair
That will take several decades to begin to repair.
So we place all our hopes in the man we just chose,
We can’t expect too much too soon, I suppose.
All our shoulders to the wheel and in total support,
In no time, there will be some good news to report.
So now let me exclaim, as I’m ceasing to write,
Merry Christmas to all . . . may we all be alright.

"Time" for a Change?

"Time" for a Change?

As a boy, I dreamed of time travel—anywhere, anyplace, anytime had to be better. HG Wells provided me with the details and imagined for me the possibility of moving backward and forward to escape the mediocrity and tedium of my adolescence.
I now believe that it is only practical to move backward in time. Our world is moving at such a bewildering pace that the jobs we have today are often not there tomorrow. The careers college kids are studying for may not exist when they are finished preparing for them. A middle-aged, middle American from 2008 suddenly placed in 2033 would be lost. Without the gradual exposure to changes in technology and culture, he or she would be of little use in a future America. No, we can only go back.

In the past, our 21st Century knowledge and skills would serve us well. In the past, we could be pretty darned impressive.

Gregg Easterbrook, in his 2004 book, The Progress Paradox, challenges his readers to participate in a thought experiment:

"If the means existed, would you exchange places with a typical person living in any year before your birth? Exchange places permanently—not, say, observe the Battle of Hastings and then rematerialize in the present. You could pick the year and place in the past, but you could not specify trading places with someone specific like Catherine the Great or Leonardo da Vinci, and you could not specify that you would be a lord or lady or hold similar advantage. In this deal, you'd be transported back to live out the rest of your life as an ordinary person."

I'll let you think about that for a bit . . .

You probably came up with a favorite historical period and event you wanted to witness, a golden age in a special place where life was less complicated and more pure. The more you think, the greater the detail you begin to fill in. You begin to realize what you'd have to give up. You'll soon come to realize that the sacrifice would be too dear. Almost all of us would choose to stay right where and when we are.

Easterbrook reminds us, "A century ago, the rich lived in heated houses, rode in carriages, traveled the world, enjoyed unlimited food and wine, had access to physicians, attained college educations, attended the theater for entertainment, and if engaged in gainful work, did so in a comfortable office."

Wait a minute. That sounds like me. It probably sounds like you, too. Why would I go back a hundred years to an unheated farm house wondering about the next meal and rarely having access to a doctor? I'd have to walk everywhere I wanted to go—which would have been fewer than 50 miles from the place of my birth for my entire life—and work really hard every day. I'd be lucky to live to 50, keep my teeth, have indoor plumbing, or complete high school.

Things in the United States are pretty bad right now, the worst many of us have experienced or can remember—and they are likely to get worse before they get better. UCLA's Anderson School of Management reports that over 2 million of us lost our jobs in 2008. The Gallup organization reports that more of us are worried about our standard of living than were in the 1991 recession. The current Secretary of the Treasury has no clue what to do with the $700 billion he asked for, and the Big Three auto makers are circling the drain. However, since the election of Barack Obama, those thinking optimistically about our country have risen by 20%--and he has yet to take office.

So, I wouldn't trade my typical American existence for typical existence with anyone, or any time, or anyplace. I'll stay right where I am, and have confidence in us to get things right again. For those of you still entertaining the idea of time transplantation, I have two words . . . modern dentistry.

Check, Please

Check, Please

There are 7.5 million Americans working in the food and beverage industry—waiter, bartenders, hostesses. The US Department of Labor reports that average hourly wages, including tips, are $7.14 for waiters, $7.86 for bartenders, and $7.78 for hostesses. That comes out to about $16,500 a year. Barbara Ehrenreich chronicled the server experience in her 2001 book, Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. She set out to answer the question "how can anyone survive, let alone prosper, on $6 to $7 an hour?" The answer—you can't.

As far back as last June, servers started to complain about reduced tip income. Let's set a side for now the 1998 IRS estimate that "fewer than 40% of all tips received were reported, an estimated $9–$12 billion in unreported income." We also won't consider that restaurant owners are only required to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages. The point is, tips are down. And in an economy that is focused on service—not manufacturing, agriculture, or mining—that is a canary in a coal mine.

We just heard this week that another 533,000 jobs were lost in November—the second biggest loss since WWII and the largest since 1974. Unemployment is at 6.7%, and that only counts those who want to work and are actively job seeking. We also got confirmation this week about something many Americans, like restaurant workers, already knew; we are, and have been, in a recession for the past year.

Unlike in other countries where tipping is expected, in the United States, tipping is an institution. The entire industry is structured so that menu costs are kept down because we supplement wages with cash gratuities to restaurant employees. We can't change it. We can't all of a sudden decide that we no longer need to provide part of the restaurant's payroll. We may not like it, but that's the way it is. The system has evolved and the customer and server are in a symbiotic relationship. We are co-dependant; we both want to eat.

So, here we are. The economy is a mess. People are out of work. And it's Christmas.
It is up to up to do something about it. It sounds cliché, but, this is the time of year when we need to think of others. If we cut back, others get cut. If we stay home, others lose homes. If we don't "do," others do without.

As much as possible, we need to continue to support local workers and businesses. Especially remember those who rely on end-of-year gratuities to cover family holiday expenses—the newspaper carrier, the barber, the stylist, the childcare provider, dog groomer, the doorman, the trash collector.

What we seem to have forgotten is that what is great about this country is our ability to get things done on a local, grassroots level. Our next president understands that, and he will provide the inspiration and leadership in about five weeks. Until then it's up to us.

It’s Time to Re-Think Failure

It's Time to Re-think Failure

My colleagues and I have noticed a change in our students over the past few years—the studnets don’t think they can fail. Not all of them, and not all the time, but enough to be remarkable. Just out of high school, they don’t think they will fail their classes regardless of how little time, effort, or attendance they put forth.

I had a phone call from one of our college councilors last summer who was calling on behalf of a student from the just-completed spring semester. She had my former student in the office and the student wanted to know why she had failed my class. According to the councilor, (yes, the student was there with her, but I was talking to the councilor) the student thought she was doing well in the class and was baffled as to how she could have possibly failed.
“She didn’t do any of the work,” I told the councilor.

She came to every class, even after I gave her written advice to drop the class after midterm when it was no longer mathematically possible for her to receive a passing grade. She was polite. She was present. Perhaps she believed Woody Allen when he said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” If that were the case, she deserved a “B.”

It’s not just her. Many of these new freshmen seem to believe we will not fail them under any circumstances. I asked some of the other students what this was all about. They told me that, in high school, if a student does nothing all semester long, he will just go to the teacher at the end of the semester and ask what he can do to pass. The teacher will give the student some paper to write with the promise of a “D.” I don’t know if this is true or not, but more than one student has told me so. Even if it’s not true, it’s what they believe—and they bring that belief to college.

It may not be their fault. Who can blame them? Lately, we have seen evidence on a national/global scale that confirms their belief—some people, some institutions, some businesses are so important, we can’t allow them to fail.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110), was originally proposed by President George W. Bush on January 23, 2001, immediately after taking office. These kids would have been in 5th grade at the time, just getting ready to enter middle school.

NCLB requires all public schools to administer a state-wide standardized test to all students each year. Those schools receiving Title I funding must make “Adequate Yearly Progress” in test scores. That means fifth graders must do better on this year’s tests than they did on last year’s. If it “fails” to do so, it is put on a list of "failing” schools. These failing schools are published in the local paper and the parents of children attending a failing school are given the option to transfer to a different, non-failing school. The failing school’s Title I funding is cut, and it must provide federally mandated special tutoring for its students—at the local system’s expense.

That’s a high price for failure. It leads to gaming the system and teaching to the test. The schools can’t afford to fail—so they don’t allow themselves to fail.

On October 1-3, 2008 Congress passed The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Within hours of its enactment President Bush signed the bill into law, creating a $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program to purchase “failing” bank assets. The banks could not be allowed to fail. They are too big—too important.

Earlier this month, executive from Ford, Chrysler, and GM arrived on Capitol Hill in private planes to convince Congress that the auto industry could not be allowed to “fail”—too many jobs at stake, too many families at risk.

Maybe it’s OK to fail. Failure actually has a long tradition of success in Western history. Henry Havelock Ellis, 19th century social reformer, remarked, “It is on our failures that we base a new and different and better success.”

His contemporary, John Dewey, the American philosopher, psychologist, and educationa; reformer, said, “Failure is instructive. The person who really thinks learns quite as much from his failures as from his successes.”

Still another contemporary, Thomas Edison, was fond of saying, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”

This was America’s Golden Age, a period from post-Reconstruction leading up to World War I where there was a general sense of optimism in America. We had a booming economy; we had realized our manifest destiny expanding our borders from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And Teddy Roosevelt was leading the new Progressivism. We believed in ourselves and our abilities. And a little failure was the price we paid for progress.

It was our Golden Age and our greatest minds were not afraid of failure? What has changed? Even up until the 1960’s we had a different attitude about failure. Robert Kennedy said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.”

There are still those who keep failure in perspective. Colin Powell insists, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” And Malcolm Forbes believes, “Failure is success—if we learn from it.”

But perhaps the Chinese (who have been eating our lunch lately) have had it right for thousands of years: “Failure is not falling down, but refusing to get up.”

We need to rethink failure. We need to be brave enough to fail—and to allow each other to fail. If the stakes are too high, lower the stakes. Keep corporations from getting so big that they can extort us. Make large school systems into manageable sub-systems that can be more entrepreneurial and responsive to their particular population. Let the big three automakers go the way of the buggy whip factory. If they refuse to adapt to a changing environment, then they should fail. It’s not like a new, modern; auto industry would not emerge to take their place.

The dinosaurs probably sat around convincing each other that there was nothing to this climate change thing and they, too, were too important an institution to be allowed to fail.
Let’s not be dinosaurs about this. Let’s put failure back in perspective. Failure can be good. Failure can be necessary. It may actually be a failure to keep something from failing that needs to fail.

Let’s learn to live with failure, and let it make us better. It may be just what we need to enter a New Golden Age in America.