Home » 2014 » January (Page 2)

Monthly Archives: January 2014

The Long Road of Dr. King

Posted on by | 8 Comments

“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.“
– The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

At this time every year we have the same kind of conversation around the dinner table. My kids are growing up in a different world, one even more thoroughly defined by the struggles and triumphs of Dr. King’s generation than mine was.

But as they grow older, they see the work left to do more plainly. It is disheartening and difficult to watch those who once thought that the old black and white news film of dogs and firehoses was a document of a black and white history – a story of races and realities laid bare for history to pass its judgement. Now that they are in school they’ve seen and heard what racism is. The struggle is still alive, and every year more than just black and white.

Continue reading →

A Big Fat Target

Posted on by | 11 Comments

Target corporation is the victim of the biggest credit card security breach to date, affecting up to 110M cards. That’s an amazing statistic by itself, but the problem is even worse – it remains unclear exactly what happened or if other companies are themselves targets of the same thieves.

But that is only to be expected in a system that is only as secure as the weakest link – and the potential gain by hacking it is nearly unlimited money. There is little doubt that even before we learn exactly what happened at Target it will happen again, on scales both large and small.

Continue reading →

No Decision is a Decision?

Posted on by | 4 Comments

This is a repeat from 2011 – again, the lure of my son’s Robotics League makes a new post nearly impossible tonight.  But it’s still a very important topic, given that a government that does nothing is actually a strategy employed by many politicians today.  What does that mean?  Consider this a case study.

When is no decision actually a policy?  In government it’s often the default position, a deliberate plan to stay the course and keep things the way they are.  Bureaucracy has a tendency to be conservative, punting whenever it can and allowing things to stay as they are.  But in a time of great change or even crisis, is this acceptable?  Increasingly there are signs that Minnesota has become a state mired by diffuse responsibility and an inability for the government to respond to the situation at hand in a way that is effective.

No action can be very dangerous.  But there is increasing evidence that it is become a serious problem – and I doubt that Minnesota is alone.

Continue reading →

A Persistent Lie

Posted on by | 27 Comments

There’s a persistent lie making its way through popular media- and often twisted through social media. Like any good lie it starts with a kernel of truth but gradually becomes a clear and open lie.

The truth – the labor force participation rate is at a 40 year low, down to 63% from a high over 67%.
The lie – that this is the result of people giving up looking for work, a sign that the “recovery” is weak (which can be blamed on President Obama).

We’ve discussed this before, but it’s important to confront the lie as clearly as possible. Yes, the labor force is shrinking – but this has been due to retirement of Baby Boomers for the last two year. And yes, the trend will continue. More importantly, this is an opportunity that will help us when the dust finally settles on the working careers of the Baby Boom.

Continue reading →

Jobs, Unfrozen

Posted on by | 7 Comments

As Minnesota thaws out from a “polar vortex” that froze us colder than the North Pole (and the current location of the rover on Mars), there was some interesting news on jobs from all over the nation. Three stories of thawing and a little heat coming down give us all reason to be a little happy.

Spring is still months away, but let’s bask in the small improvements for a while. It beats huddling inside.

Continue reading →