Tag: SGE

The Geography of Joblessness

Posted on November 7, 2014 in Economics, Social

Go Lean Commentary

“A better place to live, work and play” – this is the tagline for the book Go Lean…Caribbean, thereby placing emphasis on the verb “work”. To work, there must be jobs, so the entire eco-system of jobs is a constant focus of the book’s publishers.

The foregoing news article relates to this mission. The underlying issue in this consideration relates to jobs and joblessness. There is the need for more jobs – in urban communities in OECD – Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development – countries (like US, Canada, Europe) and also in the Caribbean – see VIDEO in the Appendix below. But there are many issues that underlie the availability of jobs, such as geography, transportation and racial discrimination. To effect change in the job creation quest, there must be some consideration of these issues:

Subtitle: The difficulty people have in getting to jobs makes unemployment unnecessarily high

CU Blog - The Geography of Joblessness - PhotoIN THE OECD, a club mostly of rich countries, nearly 45 million people are unemployed. Of these, 16 million have been seeking work for over a year. Many put this apparently intractable scourge down to workers’ inadequate skills or overgenerous welfare states. But might geography also play a role?

In a paper* published in 1965, John Kain, an economist at Harvard University, proposed what came to be known as the “spatial-mismatch hypothesis”. Kain had noticed that while the unemployment rate in America as a whole was below 5%, it was 40% in many black, inner-city communities. He suggested that high and persistent urban joblessness was due to a movement of jobs away from the inner city, coupled with the inability of those living there to move closer to the places where jobs had gone, due to racial discrimination in housing. Employers might also discriminate against those that came from “bad” neighbourhoods. As a result, finding work was tough for many inner-city types, especially if public transport was poor and they did not own a car.

For the past 50 years, urban economists have argued over Kain’s theory. Some, like William Julius Wilson, then of University of Chicago, pointed to the decline of inner-city manufacturing to explain the sharp spike in poverty in black inner-city neighbourhoods between 1970 and 1980—in keeping with Kain’s logic. Others, like Edward Glaeser, another Harvard economist, suggest that spatial mismatch is overblown. There may indeed be a correlation between where people live and their chances of finding a job. But the connection may not be causal: people may live in bad areas because they have been shunned by employers, either for lack of skills or because of racial discrimination.

Until recently economists did not have adequate data to back up their opinions. Studies used cross-sectional data—a snapshot of an economy at a single point in time—which made it hard to disentangle cause and effect. Did someone live in a bad area because they could not find a job, or was it more difficult to find a job because they lived in a bad area? It was also hard to know quite how inaccessible a particular job was. Researchers could calculate the distance between homes and job opportunities but struggled to estimate how much time it would take to get from one to the other by car or public transport. And the research was marred by small samples, often all from a single city.

A new paper, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, avoids these pitfalls. It looks at the job searches of nearly 250,000 poor Americans living in nine cities in the Midwest. These places contain pockets of penury: unemployment in inner Chicago, for instance, is twice the average for the remainder of the city. Even more impressive than the size of the sample is the richness of the data. They are longitudinal, not cross-sectional: the authors have repeated observations over a number of years (in this case, six). That helps them to separate cause and effect. Most importantly, the paper looks only at workers who lost their jobs during “mass lay-offs”, in which at least 30% of a company’s workforce was let go. That means the sample is less likely to include people who may live in a certain area, and be looking for work, for reasons other than plain bad luck.

For each worker the authors build an index of accessibility, which measures how far a jobseeker is from the available jobs, adjusted for how many other people are likely to be competing for them. The authors use rush-hour travel times to estimate how long a jobseeker would need to get to a particular job.

If a spatial mismatch exists, then accessibility should influence how long it takes to find a job. That is indeed what the authors find: jobs are often located where poorer people cannot afford to live. Those at the 25th percentile of the authors’ index take 7% longer to find a job that replaces at least 90% of their previous earnings than those at the 75th percentile. Those who commuted a long way to their old job find a new one faster, possibly because they are used to a long trek.

The annihilation of space with time

Other papers suggest that workers may be in the wrong place. A study from the Brookings Institution, a think-tank, finds that poverty in America has become more concentrated over the past decade. During the 2000s the number of neighbourhoods with poverty rates of 40% or more climbed by three-quarters. Unlike Kain’s day, though, poverty is growing fastest in the suburbs, not the inner cities. Pockets of concentrated poverty also tend to suffer from bad schools and crime, making them even more difficult to escape.

Spatial mismatch is not just an American problem. A paper by Laurent Gobillon of the French National Institute for Demographic Studies and Harris Selod of the Paris School of Economics finds that neighbourhood segregation prevents unemployed Parisians from finding work. Another study, conducted in England, concludes that those who live far from jobs spend less time looking for work than those who live nearby, presumably because they think they have little hope of finding one.

All this has big policy implications. Some suggest that governments should encourage companies to set up shop in areas with high unemployment. That is a tall order: firms that hire unskilled workers often need to be near customers or suppliers. A better approach would be to help workers either to move to areas with lots of jobs, or at least to commute to them. That would involve scrapping zoning laws that discourage cheaper housing, and improving public transport. The typical American city dweller can reach just 30% of jobs in their city within 90 minutes on public transport. That is a recipe for unemployment.
The Economist Magazine (Posted October 25, 2014; Retrieved November 7, 2014) –
http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21627628-difficulty-people-have-getting-jobs-makes-unemployment-unnecessarily

References – *Studies cited in this article

“Job displacement and the duration of joblessness: The role of spatial mismatch”, by F. Andersson et al, National Bureau of Economic Research, 2014

“The effect of segregation and spatial mismatch on unemployment: evidence from France”, by L. Gobillon & H. Selod, Centre for Economic Policy Research, 2007

“The spatial mismatch hypothesis: three decades later”, by J.F. Kain, Housing Policy Debate, 3(2), 371-460, 1992

“Spatial mismatch, transport mode and search decisions in England”, by E. Patacchini, & Y. Zenou, Journal of Urban Economics, 58(1), 62-90, 2005.

“The Growth and Spread of Concentrated Poverty, 2000 to 2008-2012“, by E. Kneebone, Brookings Institution

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The CU is set to optimize Caribbean society, starting with economic empowerment. In fact, the Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Go Lean roadmap calls for many changes and empowerments. One such example is the infrastructure of Self-Governing Entities (SGE), to allow for industrial developments in a controlled (bordered) environment. There is so much that can be accomplished with the right climate, entrepreneurial spirit, access to capital and willing work force. But location is significant with this model, workers must physically get to the bordered campuses/compounds, to get to the jobs. So transportation solutions are paramount to this roadmap.

The CU will foster the installation of SGE’s, and the infrastructure to transport workers to the jobs. The roadmap identifies electrified streetcars, light-rail, natural gas buses and other transit options.

Another compelling mission of the Go Lean book is to lower the “push and pull” factors that lead many to abandon their Caribbean homeland for foreign shores. The book posits that the region must create jobs, the roadmap calls for 2.2 million new jobs over a 5-year period, so that its citizens do not have to leave to become aliens in a foreign land, to be discriminated against as victims of joblessness due to the compelling factors depicted in the foregoing article. The CU does not aim to change North American or European societies, beyond impacting the Diaspora – our scope is the Caribbean. So the public messaging of the societal defects in those countries, as depicted in the foregoing article, should have the effect of dissuading Caribbean emigration. This affects the “pull” factors for Caribbean citizens wanting to leave.

That’s the “pull”; we must still deal with the “push” factors …

There are so many other defects of Caribbean life that need to be addressed to lower the “push” factors. This point is pronounced early in the book with the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 14) with many statements that demonstrate the need to remediate Caribbean communities:

xix. Whereas our legacy in recent times is one of societal abandonment, it is imperative that incentives and encouragement be put in place to first dissuade the human flight, and then entice and welcome the return of our Diaspora back to our shores. This repatriation should be effected with the appropriate guards so as not to imperil the lives and securities of the repatriated citizens or the communities they inhabit. The right of repatriation is to be extended to any natural born citizens despite any previous naturalization to foreign sovereignties.

xx.  Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

xxv.  Whereas the legacy of international democracies had been imperiled due to a global financial crisis, the structure of the Federation must allow for financial stability and assurance of the Federation’s institutions. To mandate the economic vibrancy of the region, monetary and fiscal controls and policies must be incorporated as proactive and reactive measures. These measures must address threats against the financial integrity of the Federation and of the member-states.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building, automobile manufacturing, pre-fabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

The purpose of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap is to compose, communicate and compel economic, security and governing solutions for the Caribbean homeland. We want a better society than the past, and perhaps even better than our OECD counterparts. (A CU mission is to repatriate the Diaspora back to the homeland).

How, what, when?

The Go Lean book details a series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact jobs in the region, member-states, cities and communities. Below is a sample:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Economic Systems Influence Choices & Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principle – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Minority Equalization Page 24
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Mission – Facilitate Job-Creating Industries Page 46
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – High Multiplier Industries Page 70
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Self-Governing Entities Page 80
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate to the Caribbean Page 118
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Self Governing Entities as Job Creating Engines Page 128
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices – OECD-style Big Data Analysis Page 133
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Transportation Page 205
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Diaspora Page 217
Advocacy – Battles in the War on Poverty Page 222
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Trinidad & Tobago – Bottom Line: OECD Case Study Page 240
Appendix – Job Multipliers Page 259

Other subjects related to job empowerments (and joblessness) for the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2769 DC Streetcars to Facilitate Easier Urban Transportation Options
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750 Disney World’s example of Self Governing Entities and Economic Impacts
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2602 Jobless Rural Guyana Wrestles With High Rate of Suicides
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126 Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2025 Where the Jobs Are – Attitudes & Images of the Caribbean Diaspora in US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 Where the Jobs Are – Ship-breaking under the SGE Structure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698 Where the Jobs Are – STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1683 Where the Jobs Were – British public sector now strike over ‘poverty pay’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Book Review: ‘Prosper Where You Are Planted’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1433 Caribbean loses more than 70 percent of tertiary educated to brain drain
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 Where the Jobs Are – Fairgrounds as SGE & Landlords for Sports Leagues
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273 10 Things We Don’t Want from the US – Job Discrimination of Immigrations

The purpose of this roadmap is to elevate Caribbean society. To succeed we must apply lessons from the advanced economy countries (OECD) like the US, Canada and Western Europe; lessons from their good, bad and ugly experiences of the past.

The Go Lean book embraces economic principles. One basic tenet is “supply and demand”. The assumption would be that if there are job openings and unemployed people, that “suppliers and demanders” would align. Unfortunately that is not the reality; the foregoing article relates the other issues in OECD countries of racism and geography.

Life in the OECD countries is not fair. It is a struggle; perhaps even more so than necessary.

The Go Lean movement (book and blog commentaries) posits that there is less effort to remediate the Caribbean homeland, than to thrive in an alien land. So it thusly advocates to “prosper where planted”. With some effort, as defined in the Go Lean book, the Caribbean can truly become a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix – Video: OECD – For A Better World Economy – http://youtu.be/B5XGiihBfaU

 

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Disney World – Role Model for Self-Governing Entities

Posted on November 3, 2014 in Government, Implementation

Go Lean Commentary

The Caribbean enjoys 80 million annual visitors, among its 30 member-states and vast cruise line industry. Impressive!

But one destination in Florida, Walt Disney World, hosted 47.5 million visitors (2009) … alone.[b]

There are lessons for the Caribbean to learn from this experience.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to glean insight from the Walt Disney World history and experience. This is a huge subject in itself and is an appropriate topic for academic research, dissertations and business improvement books. But for this blog/commentary, there is a narrow focus, the special consideration of the “Self Governing Entity” that emerged from the Reedy Creek Improvement District that facilitated the construction and administration of the landmass that became the Walt Disney World Resort. The following encyclopedic details apply to this study:

CU Blog - Disney World - Role Model for a Self Governing Entity - Photo 1The Walt Disney World Resort, informally known as Walt Disney World or simply Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake, Florida (mailing address is Lake Buena Vista, Florida), near Orlando, Florida and is the flagship of Disney’s worldwide theme park empire. The resort opened on October 7, 1971 and, according to Forbes Magazine, is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an attendance of 52.5 million annually. It is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi), in which it houses 27 themed resort hotels, four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, one camping resort, one residential area and additional recreational and entertainment venues. MagicKingdom was the first and original theme park to open in the complex followed by EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom which opened later throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

CU Blog - Disney World - Role Model for a Self Governing Entity - Photo 2Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s, though he died in 1966 before construction on “The Florida Project” began. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave The Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Original plans called for the inclusion of an “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow” (EPCOT), a planned city that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living.

The Reedy Creek Improvement District (RCID) is the immediate governing jurisdiction for the land of the Walt Disney World Resort. As of the late 1990s, it comprised an area of 38.6 sq mi (100 km2) within the outer limits of Orange and Osceola counties in Florida. The RCID includes the cities of BayLake and LakeBuena Vista, and unincorporated RCID land.CU Blog - Disney World - Role Model for a Self Governing Entity - Photo 3

After the success of Disneyland in California, Walt Disney began planning a second park on the East Coast. He disliked the businesses that had sprung up around Disneyland, and therefore wanted control of a much larger area of land for the new project. Walt Disney knew that his plans for the land would be easier to carry out with more independence. Among his ideas for his Florida project was his proposed EPCOT which was to be a futuristic planned city. He envisioned a real working city with both commercial and residential areas, but one that also continued to showcase and test new ideas and concepts for urban living.

Therefore, the Disney Company petitioned the Florida State Legislature for the creation of the Reedy Creek Improvement District, which would have almost total autonomy within its borders.
Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia  (Retrieved November 2, 2014) –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World

50 Year Historic Timeline:

1965

 Walt Disney announces Florida Project

1966

 Walt Disney dies of lung cancer at age 65

1967

 Construction of Walt Disney World Resort begins

1971

 MagicKingdom
Palm and Magnolia Golf Courses
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Resort
Disney’s Fort    Wilderness Resort &   Campground
Roy O. Disney dies at age 78

1972

 Disney’s Village Resort

1973

 The Golf Resort

1974

 DiscoveryIsland

1975

 Walt Disney Village Marketplace

1976

 Disney’s River Country

1980

 Walt Disney World  ConferenceCenter

1982

 Epcot

1986

 The Disney Inn

1988

 Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney’s Caribbean  Beach Resort

1989

 Disney-MGM Studios
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
PleasureIsland

1990

 Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort
Walt Disney World Swan
Walt Disney World Dolphin

1991

 Disney’s Port Orleans Resort French Quarter
Disney Vacation Club
Disney’s Old Key West Resort

1992

 Disney’s Port Orleans Resort Riverside (Dixie Landings)
Bonnet Creek Golf Club

1994

 Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Shades of Green

1995

 Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Disney’s Blizzard Beach
Disney’s Fairy Tale Wedding Pavilion
Walt Disney World Speedway

1996

 Disney Institute
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn and BoardWalk Villas

1997

 Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex
Downtown Disney West Side

1998

 Disney’s Animal Kingdom
DisneyQuest

1999

 Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort

2000

 The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge

2001

 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge

2002

 Disney’s Beach Club Villas

2003

 Disney’s Pop Century Resort

2004

 Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa

2007

 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas

2008

 Disney-MGM Studios is renamed Disney’s Hollywood Studios

2009

 Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Treehouse Villas

2011

 Golden Oak at Walt Disney World Resort

2012

 Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Phase 1 of New Fantasyland

2013

 The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

2014

 Phase 2 of New Fantasyland

Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia (Retrieved November 2, 2014) –
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney_World

The economic impact of Walt Disney World as a Self-Governing Entity (SGE) is undeniable. The resort is responsible for $18.2 billion in annual economic activity in Florida, said a study released by the theme park giant. The study found that Disney paid out nearly $1.8 billion in compensation to more than 59,000 workers in 2009.[a]

The Go Lean roadmap seek to emulate some of the strategies, tactics and implementation successes of the Walt Disney World as a SGE. This roadmap seeks to elevate the 30 Caribbean member-states with economic engines (direct and indirect spin-off activities), by assuming jurisdiction for Self-Governing Entities in the region and the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the 1,063,000 square miles of the Caribbean Sea. This approach allows for initiation, cooperation and coordination of SGE’s (and the EEZ) to effectuate change in the region, allowing these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion GDP and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines, specifically in SGE’s and the EEZ.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Imagine many Disney World-style industrial developments, (not necessarily as touristic resorts), throughout the Caribbean region.

Wow! This is a game-changer.

The individual Walter Elias Disney (1901 – 1966) proved to be a game-changer. The Go Lean book posits that one person can make a difference and positively impact society; so the book advocates for a community ethos of investment in the “gifts” that individuals “bring to the table”. The book identifies the quality of geniuses and relates worthwhile returns from their investments. This mode of study allows us to consider this example of contributions from Walt Disney and his corporate/artistic creations:

 Video: The History of Walt Disney World – http://youtu.be/_6Kesbfg-Ok

The book Go Lean … Caribbean asserts that SGE’s and the EEZ can be strategic, tactical and operationally efficient for elevating Caribbean society. These points are pronounced early in the book with this Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 and 14), with these statements:

v.        Whereas the natural formation of our landmass and coastlines entail a large portion of waterscapes, the reality of management of our interior calls for extended oversight of the waterways between the islands. The internationally accepted 12-mile limits for national borders must be extended by International Tribunals to encompass the areas in between islands. The individual states must maintain their 12-mile borders while the sovereignty of this expanded area, the Exclusive Economic Zone, must be vested in the accedence of this Federation.

xxvi.      Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries… In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism … impacting the region with more jobs.

The subject of SGE’s has been directly addressed and further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2338 Using SGE’s to Welcome the Dreaded ‘Plutocracy’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 Where the Jobs Are – Ship-breaking under SGE Structure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 Fairgrounds as SGE and Landlords for Sports Leagues
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=286 Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Project Breaks Ground – Model of Medical SGE

The Go Lean book itself details the economic principles and community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge Self-Governing Entities and industrial growth in the Caribbean:

Economic Principles – People Choose because Resources are Limited Page 21
Economic Principles – All Choices Involve Costs Page 21
Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Economic Principles – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth Page 21
Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations Page 32
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederating 30 Member-states in a Union Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Build   and Foster Local Economic Engines Page 45
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing Economy – New High Multiplier Industries Page 68
Separation of Powers – Department of State – Self-Governing Entities Page 80
Separation of Powers – Interior Department – Exclusive Economic Zone Page 82
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change – SGE Licenses Page 101
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 103
Anecdote – French Guiana Space Agency – Example of a SGE Page 103
Implementation   – Benefits from the Exclusive Economic Zone Page 104
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Self-Governing Entities Page 127
Planning – Ways to Improve Interstate Commerce Page 129
Planning – Lessons from New York City Page 137
Planning – Lessons from Omaha Page 138
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage Natural Resources – EEZ and SGE’s Page 183
Anecdote – Caribbean Industrialist & Entrepreneur Role Model Page 189
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds Page 192
Advocacy – Ways to Develop Ship-Building as SGE’s Page 209
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the Prison Industrial Complex as SGE’s Page 211
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the One Percent – Job Creators Inducements Page 224
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Self-Governing Entities Page 234
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Rural Living – Self-Governing Entities Page 235
Advocacy – Ways to Promote World-Heritage-Sites as SGE’s Page 248
Appendix – Airport Cities – Models for Self Governing Entities Page 287

There is a role for the contributions of one impactful person, or one impactful company, in this vision for the elevation and empowerment of the Caribbean homeland. The Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap invites these contributions. However, the roadmap also mitigates the threats of corporate abuse of a plutocracy. With the right applications from people, tools and techniques many SGE initiatives can have a positive impact in changing society, with minimal risks and threats of negative consequences. Walt Disney and the Reedy Creek Improvement District have demonstrated how successful SGE’s can be.

Thank you Walt Disney. Thanks for showing us the way, for providing a role model that we can emulate for our own success.

Change has come to the Caribbean. Everyone is hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix – Source References:

a. Retrieved November 3, 2014 from: http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2011/04/14/disneys-annual-economic-impact-182b.html

b. 2009 Attendance Walt Disney World’s 1. Magic Kingdom: 17.2 million 2. Epcot: 11.0 million 3. Disney’s Hollywood Studios: 9.7 million 4. Disney’s Animal Kingdom: 9.6 million. Retrieved November 3, 2014 from: http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201004/1895/

 

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Welcoming the Dreaded ‘Plutocracy’

Posted on September 14, 2014 in Economics, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

 Plutocracy 2

It is not nice to be called a plutocracy, it’s almost considered a derogatory term – see Appendix below. It simply refers to the undue influence that a super-rich minority group can have on a nation.

The dread of plutocracies is not new, societies have contended with them since the dawn of civilization (Ancient Greece and Rome). Many countries in the Caribbean had de facto plutocracies during their colonial years (Montserrat, Belize and the Bahamas’s Bay Street Boys come to mind), just as a natural off-shoot from a mono-industrial economy (sugar, coffee, tobacco planters). Considering existing plutocracies today, like the City of London and Wall Street, we see that an appropriate strategy can allow a society to “bottle the plutocratic concept” and use it for good.

There is currency to this discussion. Award winning documentary film-maker Ken Burns is debuting his new production on The Roosevelts on PBS in the United States, starting tonight (Sunday September 14, 2014). When we consider the lives and advocacies of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, we see that there was a consistent urging to take on big business/special interest (plutocratic endeavors) to benefit the working-class man/woman of America. The following is the synopsis of the documentary:

Plutocracy 1The Roosevelts: An Intimate History chronicles the lives of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, three members of the most prominent and influential family in American politics. It is the first time in a major documentary television series that their individual stories have been interwoven into a single narrative.  This seven-part, fourteen hour film follows the Roosevelts for more than a century, from Theodore’s birth in 1858 to Eleanor’s death in 1962. Over the course of those years, Theodore would become the 26th President of the United States and his beloved niece, Eleanor, would marry his fifth cousin, Franklin, who became the 32nd President of the United States. Together, these three individuals not only redefined the relationship Americans had with their government and with each other, but also redefined the role of the United States within the wider world. The series encompasses the history the Roosevelts helped to shape: the creation of National Parks, the digging of the Panama Canal, the passage of innovative New Deal programs, the defeat of Hitler, and the postwar struggles for civil rights at home and human rights abroad. It is also an intimate human story about love, betrayal, family loyalty, personal courage and the conquest of fear.

A film by Ken Burns. Written by Geoffrey C. Ward. Produced by Paul Barnes, Pam Tubridy Baucom and Ken Burns.

The Roosevelts airs for a week starting September 14, 2014.

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/films/the-roosevelts

The idea of “bottling” plutocratic institutions for the Greater Good is a “big idea” in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. How exactly is this envisioned? The answer provided in the book is that of Self-Governing Entities (SGE).

The Go Lean book delves into this approach of inviting the super-rich to establish industrial parks, corporate campuses and research parks in bordered territories in the Caribbean. These entities would be governed solely by the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the CU and SGE’s.

The approach of the Go Lean roadmap is not to punish the super-rich for their success nor cower to any special interests group at the expense of the greater population.

Too bad this approach has not been employed in the US.

Many previous Go Lean blog/commentaries stressed the changes on American society (and by extension, other communities including the Caribbean) due to plutocratic abuses of corporations, super-rich individuals/institutions and special-interest groups, especially since 2008. The following sample applies:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2259 The Criminalization of American Business
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2183 A Textbook Case of Price-gouging
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126 Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1869 Senate bill targets companies that move overseas
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=926 Conservative heavyweights have solar industry in their sights
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=789 America’s War on the Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=782 Open the Time Capsule: The Great Recession of 2008
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=546 Book Review: ‘The Divide’ – American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=273 10 Things We Want from the US and 10 Things We Don’t Want from the US: American Capital – Yes; Quantitative Easing – No.
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=242 The Erosion of the Middle Class

The charter of the CU, on the other hand, is to pursue the Greater Good for all of the Caribbean, to make the region a better place to live, work and play. This Go Lean roadmap aligns this charter with the following 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The book describes the CU as a technocratic administration with 144 different missions to elevate the Caribbean homeland. The underlying goal to regulate the regional economy, and solicit (super-rich) investors, is stated early in the book with this pronouncement in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 13):

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean…Caribbean book challenges the reader, and the Caribbean as a whole, to create a structure that would be inviting to the super-rich and their resources. The SGE concept is a creative approach for that goal, but it is not so revolutionary – similar concepts already exists. Some examples of SGE-like structures are the city-states of Hong Kong, Liechtenstein (Europe), Vatican City (Italy), Panama City Zone (during the 20th Century, alluded to in the foregoing documentary synopsis) and many Free Trade Zones operating throughout the world.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap constitutes change for the Caribbean. The goal is to structure SGE’s at the federal level only, so as to incentivize the super-rich to consider this region. The plan calls for a Special Liaison Group within the CU Department of State just for the One Percent. Already this population enjoys the Caribbean for play, the plan now is to invite them to live and work in the region as well.

The Go Lean roadmap highlights the required community ethos, plus the execution of strategies, tactics, implementation and advocacies to construct the climate for the promotion of “plutocracies in a bottle”. The following is a sample of these specific details from the book:

Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Job Multipliers Page 22
Community Ethos – Security Principles – Privacy versus Public Protection Page 23
Community Ethos – Security Principles – Whistleblower Protection Page 23
Community Ethos – Security Principles – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Minority Equalization Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles   – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Return on Investments Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Negotiations Page 32
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederation   of the 30 Caribbean Member-States into a   Single Market Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Invite empowering immigrants to help us move our society and economy Page 46
Strategy – Mission – Customers (Subjects/Citizens) – Foreign Direct Investors Page 48
Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – How to Grow the Economy to $800 Billion – US Example of Economic Bubbles Page 69
Tactical –  Separation of Powers: – State Department – Special Interest Group Page 80
Tactical –  Separation of Powers: – State Department – Self Governing Entities Page 80
Implementation – Assemble Existing Regional Organizations into CU Page 96
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change – SGE Licenses Page 101
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives Page 117
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region – Self Governing Entities Page 127
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade – Trade Missions Page 131
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 Page 136
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration – SGE Labor Rules Page 174
Advocacy – Ways to Market Southern California Page 194
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street Page 200
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class Page 223
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the One Percent Page 224
Appendix – Job Multipliers Page 259
Appendix – List of One Percent Billionaires and Giving Pledge Signatories Page 292

Allowing a super-rich minority to wield unchecked influence could be destructive to a society – the rich would get richer while the poor gets poorer. But the structure of SGE’s would allow the participation of the super-rich class in a manner that would not foster conflict with democratic principles – of the people, by the people, for the people.

Imagine a parade of workers entering an industrial park in the morning, then returning to their individual communities in the evening. This is the exact model of the City of London, described in the Appendix below. This model creates direct jobs on the SGE campuses/parks and a multiplier-effect for indirect jobs in the neighboring communities.

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” – Old adage.

While the Go Lean book details these specifics, it also stands “on guard” as a Sentinel against possible abuses and threats to the economic/financial eco-systems. There it is: “plutocracy in a bottle”.

“Tame the market’s excesses” – Theodore Roosevelt.

According to the referenced documentary, the Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt made great gains in curtailing the market excesses of that day; (there was a Depression in the 1870’s and Recession in the 1890’s). The oil industry and railroads were dominated by a small number of individuals. This Roosevelt Administration presided over a divestiture of Standard Oil and the railroad barons.

In addition, the Presidency of Franklin Roosevelt also made great gains in curtailing the market excesses of Wall Street and the Big Banks, the dysfunctional source of the Great Depression (1929 – 1933). The New Deal initiatives balanced the scales of justice for rich versus poor Americans.

Is the US a plutocracy today? Not technically, but the trending has been leaning in that direction, especially with the downward pressures on the middle classes.

The purpose of this commentary is not to assess and fix the challenges of an America plutocracy trend, but rather to identify, qualify and propose arrangements for Direct Foreign Investments in the Caribbean without creating the dreaded plutocracy. The Go Lean book declares that the Caribbean can “count on the greedy to be greedy”, (Page 26).

Opportunities will abound in this new Caribbean … for the rich, the poor, and the middle classes. Everyone is urged to lean-in to this regional empowerment roadmap, to “go lean“. Everyone can contribute to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———————–

Appendix – Plutocracy Definition and Relevance

Retrieved from Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia; 09/14/2014: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutocracy

Plutocracy defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The first known use of the term was in 1652.[1] Unlike systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism or anarchism, plutocracy is not rooted in an established political philosophy. The concept of plutocracy may be advocated by the wealthy classes of a society in an indirect or surreptitious fashion, though the term itself is almost always used in a pejorative sense.[2]

The term plutocracy is generally used as a pejorative to describe or warn against an undesirable condition.[3][4] Throughout history, political thinkers such as Winston Churchill, 19th-century French sociologist and historian Alexis de Tocqueville, 19th-century Spanish monarchist Juan Donoso Cortés and today Noam Chomsky have condemned plutocrats for ignoring their social responsibilities, using their power to serve their own purposes and thereby increasing poverty and nurturing class conflict, corrupting societies with greed and hedonism.[5][6]

Examples

Examples of plutocracies include the Roman Empire, some city-states in Ancient Greece, the civilization of Carthage, the Italian city-states/merchant republics of Venice, Florence, Genoa, and pre-World War II Empire of Japan (the Zaibatsu).

One modern, formal example of what some critics have described as a plutocracy is the City of London.[7] The City (not the whole of modern London but the area of the ancient city, about 1 sq mile or 2.5 km2, which now mainly comprises the financial district) has a unique electoral system for its local administration. More than two-thirds of voters are not residents, but rather representatives of businesses and other bodies that occupy premises in the City, with votes distributed according to their numbers of employees. The principal justification for this arrangement is that most of the services provided by the Corporation are used by the businesses in the City. In fact about 450,000 non-residents constitute the city’s day-time population, far outnumbering the City’s 7,000 residents.[8]

Modern politics

Historically, wealthy individuals and organizations have exerted influence over the political arena. In the modern era, many democratic republics permit fundraising for politicians who frequently rely on such income for advertising their candidacy to the voting public.

Whether through individuals, corporations or advocacy groups, such donations are often believed to engender a cronyist or patronage system by which major contributors are rewarded on a quid pro quo basis. While campaign donations need not directly affect the legislative decisions of elected representatives, the natural expectation of donors is that their needs will be served by the person to whom they donated. If not, it is in their self-interest to fund a different candidate or political organization.

While quid pro quo agreements are generally illegal in most democracies, they are difficult to prove, short of a well-documented paper trail. A core basis of democracy, being a politician’s ability to freely advocate policies which benefit his or her constituents, also makes it difficult to prove that doing so might be a crime. Even the granting of appointed positions to a well-documented contributor may not transgress the law, particularly if the appointee appears to be suitably qualified for the post. Some systems even specifically provide for such patronage.

United States

Some modern historians, politicians and economists state that the United States was effectively plutocratic for at least part of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era periods between the end of the Civil War until the beginning of the Great Depression.[9][10][11][12][13][14] President Theodore Roosevelt became known as the “trust-buster” for his aggressive use of United States antitrust law, through which he managed to break up such major combinations as the largest railroad and Standard Oil, the largest oil company.[15]According to historian David Burton, “When it came to domestic political concerns, TR’s Bete Noire was the plutocracy.[16] In his autobiographical account of taking on monopolistic corporations as president, TR recounted:

’’ …we had come to the stage where for our people what was needed was a real democracy; and of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy.’’[17]

The Sherman Antitrust Act had been enacted in 1890, with large industries reaching monopolistic or near-monopolistic levels of market concentration and financial capital increasingly integrating corporations, a handful of very wealthy heads of large corporations began to exert increasing influence over industry, public opinion and politics after the Civil War. Money, according to contemporary progressive and journalist Walter Weyl, was “the mortar of this edifice”, with ideological differences among politicians fading and the political realm becoming “a mere branch in a still larger, integrated business. The state, which through the party formally sold favors to the large corporations, became one of their departments.”[18]

In his book The Conscience of a Liberal, in a section entitled The Politics of Plutocracy, economist Paul Krugman says plutocracy took hold because of three factors: at that time, the poorest quarter of American residents (African-Americans and non-naturalized immigrants) were ineligible to vote, the wealthy funded the campaigns of politicians they preferred, and vote buying was “feasible, easy and widespread”, as were other forms of electoral fraud such as ballot-box stuffing and intimidation of the other party’s voters.[19]

Post World War II

In modern times, the term is sometimes used pejoratively to refer to societies rooted in state-corporate capitalism or which prioritize the accumulation of wealth over other interests. According to Kevin Phillips, author and political strategist to U.S. President Richard Nixon, the United States is a plutocracy in which there is a “fusion of money and government.”[20]

Chrystia Freeland, author of Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else,[21] says that the present trend towards plutocracy occurs – and is self-justified – because the rich feel “[their] own personal self-interest is in the interests of everybody else.”[22][23]

Some researchers have said the US may be drifting towards a form of oligarchy, as individual citizens have less impact than economic elites and organized interest groups upon public policy.[24] A study conducted by political scientists Martin Gilens (Princeton University) and Benjamin Page (Northwestern University), which was released in April 2014,[25] stated that their “analyses suggest that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts.” that Gilens and Page do not characterize the US as an “oligarchy” or “plutocracy” per se; however, they do apply the concept of “civil oligarchy” as used by Jeffrey A. Winters[26] with respect to the US.

Most recently, Jeffrey Winters has posited a comparative theory of “Oligarchy,” in which the wealthiest citizens – even in a “civil oligarchy” like the United   States – dominate policy concerning crucial issues of wealth- and income-protection.[27]

On August 13, 2014, on Al Jazeera, in response to questions related to US responses to the Israeli/Gaza situation, professor Noam Chomsky of MIT effectively repeated the quote on American public influence over policies. When questioned further, he suggested that significant amounts of research indicated that the US was in effect a plutocracy.

As a propaganda term

In the political jargon and propaganda of Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and the Communist International, western democratic states were referred to as plutocracies, with the implication being that a small number of extremely wealthy individuals were controlling the countries and holding them to ransom.[28][29] Plutocracy replaced democracy and capitalism as the principal fascist term for the United States and Great Britain during the Second World War.[29] For the Nazis, the term was often a code word for “the Jews”.[29]

Cited References

  1. “Plutocracy”. Merriam Webster. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
  2. “The study of attitudes is reasonably easy […] it’s concluded that for roughly 70% of the population – the lower 70% on the wealth/income scale – they have no influence on policy whatsoever. They’re effectively disenfranchised. As you move up the wealth/income ladder, you get a little bit more influence on policy. When you get to the top, which is maybe a tenth of one percent, people essentially get what they want, i.e. they determine the policy. So the proper term for that is not democracy; it’s plutocracy.” Extract from the transcript of a speech delivered by Noam Chomsky in Bonn, Germany, at DW Global Media Forum, 15 August 2013.
  3. Fiske, Edward B.; Mallison, Jane; Hatcher, David (2009). Fiske 250 words every high school freshman needs to know. Naperville, Ill.: Sourcebooks. p. 250. ISBN 1402218400.
  4. Coates, ed. by Colin M. (2006). Majesty in Canada: essays on the role of royalty. Toronto: Dundurn. p. 119. ISBN 1550025864.
  5. Conservative thinkers: from John Adams to Winston Churchill. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. 2006. pp. 19–68. ISBN 1412805260.
  6. Toupin, Alexis de Tocqueville; edited by Roger Boesche; translated by James; Boesche, Roger (1985). Selected letters on politics and society. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 197–198. ISBN 0520057511.
  7. The medieval, unaccountable Corporation of London is ripe for protest, The Guardian, retrieved 01/11/2011 from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/31/corporation-london-city-medieval.
  8. René Lavanchy (12 February 2009). “Labour runs in City of London poll against ‘get-rich’ bankers”. Tribune. Retrieved 14 February 2009 from: http://www.tribunemagazine.org/2009/02/labour-runs-in-city-of-london-poll-against-‘get-rich’-bankers/.
  9. Pettigrew, Richard Franklin (2010). Triumphant Plutocracy: The Story of American Public Life from 1870 to 1920. Nabu Press. ISBN 1146542747.
  10. Calvin Reed, John (1903). The New Plutocracy. Kessinger Publishing, LLC (2010 reprint). ISBN 1120909155.
  11. Brinkmeyer, Robert H. (2009). The fourth ghost: white Southern writers and European fascism, 1930-1950. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 331. ISBN 0807133833.
  12. Allitt, Patrick (2009). The conservatives: ideas and personalities throughout American history. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 143. ISBN 0300118945.
  13. Ryan, foreword by Vincent P. De Santis; edited by Leonard Schlup, James G. (2003). Historical dictionary of the Gilded Age. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. p. 145. ISBN 0765603314.
  14. Conservative thinkers: from John Adams to Winston Churchill. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers. 2006. p. 103. ISBN 1412805260.
  15. Schweikart, Larry (2009). American Entrepreneur: The Fascinating Stories of the People Who Defined Business in the United   States. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn.
  16. David Henry Burton: Theodore Rooselvelt, American Politician, An Assessment, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 1997
  17. Theodore Roosevelt: Theodore Roosevelt: an autobiography. New York, Macmillan, 1913
  18. Bowman, Scott R. (1996). The modern corporation and American political thought: law, power, and ideology. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press. pp. 92–103. ISBN 0271014733.
  19. Krugman, Paul (2009). The conscience of a liberal ([Pbk. ed.] ed.). New York: Norton. pp. 21–26. ISBN 0393333132.
  20. Transcript. Bill Moyers Interviews Kevin Phillips. NOW with Bill Moyers 4.09.04 | PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript_phillips.html.
  21. Freeland, Chrystia (2012). Plutocrats: the rise of the new global super-rich and the fall of everyone else. New York: Penguin. ISBN 9781594204098. OCLC 780480424.
  22. National Public Radio (October 15, 2012) “A Startling Gap Between Us And Them In ‘Plutocrats'”. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/2012/10/15/162799512/a-startling-gap-between-us-and-them-in-plutocrats
  23. See also the Chrystia Freeland interview for the Moyers Book Club (October12, 2012) Moyers & Company Full Show: Plutocracy Rising. Retrieved from: http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-plutocracy-rising/
  24. Piketty, Thomas (2014). Capital in the Twenty-First Century. Belknap Press. ISBN 067443000X p. 514: “the risk of a drift towards oligarchy is real and gives little reason for optimism about where the United States is headed.”
  25. Gilens & Page (2014) Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens, Perspectives on Politics,PrincetonUniversity. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  26. Winters, Jeffrey A. “Oligarchy” CambridgeUniversity Press, 2011, p. 208-254
  27. Gilens & Page (2014) p. 6
  28. http://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/fi/vol02/no02/editors2.htm
  29. Blamires, Cyprian; Jackson, Paul (2006). World fascism: a historical encyclopedia, Vol. 1. ABC-CLIO. p. 522. ISBN 978-1-57607-940-9.

 

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New Hope in the Fight against Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on July 17, 2014 in Ethos, Planning

 Go Lean Commentary

Be careful what you pray for. You just might be blessed with it.

This is the scenario to consider when campaigning to repatriate the Caribbean Diaspora. We just might succeed! And when we do, then we have to contend with the challenges of those blessings: the good, bad and ugly of the aging Diaspora.

Alzheimer’s disease is described as a “long goodbye”. It is one of those “challenges of blessings” that comes with an aging population.

Considering the attributes of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, this disease robs all three. But now, there is new hope, and some measurements for positive progress.

An eye exam that looks to detect plaque buildup in the brain is one of two new developments in the field of Alzheimer’s research.

These constitute New Hope. See VIDEO here:

NBC News Online Video – Retrieved 07-15-2014
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/new-hope-fight-against-alzheimers-disease-n155841

CU Blog - New Hope in the Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease - Photo 1Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death. It was first described by German psychiatrist and neuro-pathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him.[a]Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age,[b]although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier. In 2006, there were 26.6 million people worldwide with AD. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.[c][d]

This subject matter aligns with the publication Go Lean … Caribbean, which serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The Go Lean roadmap posits that expatriating to foreign lands should only ever be considered as a temporary measure. The book quotes (Page 144) the Bible examples of Jacob/Joseph emigrating to Egypt for refuge from the sever famine in their Promised Land of Canaan. Eventually the famine abated, and the Promised Land was “flowing with milk and honey” again. It was time to go home.

This situation parallels the Caribbean today. The region is arguable the best address on the planet. But so many of its citizens seek to flee because of the lack of economic opportunities. Something is clearly wrong, broken and must be fixed. The Go Lean roadmap specifies where we are as a region (with 70% brain drain among the college educated), where we want to go (elevation of Caribbean society in the homeland for all citizens to return and enjoy) and how we plan to get there. While the Go Lean book strategizes a roadmap for economic empowerment, it clearly relates that healthcare, disease management, and medicines are germane to the Caribbean quest for health, wealth and happiness. At the outset of the Go Lean book, in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 10 & 11 respectively), these points are pronounced:

Preamble: And while our rights to exercise good governance and promote a more perfect society are the natural assumptions among the powers of the earth, no one other than ourselves can be held accountable for our failure to succeed if we do not try to promote the opportunities that a democratic society fosters.

ix.     Whereas the realities of healthcare and an aging population cannot be ignored and cannot be afforded without some advanced mitigation, the Federation must arrange for health plans to consolidate premiums of both healthy and sickly people across the wider base of the entire Caribbean population. The mitigation should extend further to disease management, wellness, obesity and smoking cessation programs. The Federation must proactively anticipate the demand and supply of organ transplantation as developing countries are often exploited by richer neighbors for illicit organ trade.

Alzheimer is pandemic, with the projections of 1 in 85 people globally by 2050. This scourge was not the motivation for composing the book Go Lean … Caribbean, but rather the bigger goal of elevating Caribbean society. The Caribbean Union Trade Federation has the prime directive of optimizing the economic, security and governing engines of the region. The foregoing article/VIDEO depicts the benefits that can emerge as a result of innovation in science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM).

Under the Go Lean roadmap, these types of developments will also emerge from the Caribbean. The following list details the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to optimize the region’s health deliveries:

Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Non-Government Organizations Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development (R&D) Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Separation of Powers – Patent, Standards & Copyrights Office Page 78
Separation of Powers – Health Department Page 86
Separation of Powers – Drug Administration Page 87
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Implement Self-Government Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Trade Mission Objectives – Diaspora Outreach Page 116
Implementation –  Reasons to Repatriate Page 118
Implementation –  Ways to   Benefit from Globalization Page 119
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Healthcare Page 156
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Cancer Page 157
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Entitlements Page 158
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social   Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Foundations Page 219
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Elder-Care Page 225
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Persons with Disabilities Page 228
Appendix – Healthways Model – Disease Management Page 300

While dementia has been a constant among the elderly from the dawn of time, it does appear to be that Alzheimer’s disease is more prevalent today. Some studies have shown an increased risk of developing AD with environmental factors such as the intake of metals, particularly aluminum. [e] The quality of some of these studies has been criticized [f] and other studies have concluded that there is no relationship between these environmental factors and the development of AD. [g] Other studies suggest that extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields may also increase the risk for AD [h], but reviewers found that further epidemiological and laboratory investigations of this hypothesis are needed. [i] Smoking is undoubtedly a significant AD risk factor.[j] Lastly, systemic markers of the innate immune system are identified as risk factors for late-onset AD.

These questions/statements demonstrate that there is a need for more R&D on Alzheimer’s disease. Progress can emerge from anywhere around the world. In fact, the reports in the foregoing VIDEO depicted medical innovations fostered in the country of Finland. These innovations could easily have come from the Caribbean as well – for example, Cuba currently performs a lot of R&D into cancer, diabetes and other ailments. The Go Lean roadmap posits that more innovations will emerge as a direct result of the CU prioritization on science, technology, engineering and medical activities on Caribbean R&D campuses and educational institutions.

CU Blog - New Hope in the Fight Against Alzheimer's Disease - Photo 2This is the heavy-lifting that the CU is designed to bear, with investments made in R&D. Such investments are designed to benefit those who suffer from AD and the many caregivers who love them. This then is serving the Greater Good.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

——————————————————————————————————————————

Photo Credit: The Alzheimer’s Association … for care, support and research – http://www.alz.org/

References:

a.     Berchtold NC, Cotman CW. Evolution in the Conceptualization of Dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease: Greco-Roman Period to the 1960s. Neurobiology of Aging. 1998; Volume 19 Number 3; Pages 173–89.

b.     Brookmeyer R, Gray S, Kawas C. Projections of Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States and the Public Health Impact of Delaying Disease Onset. American Journal of Public Health. (1998) Volume 88 Number 9. Pages 1337–42. Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1509089/

c.     Brookmeyer R, Johnson E, Ziegler-Graham K, Arrighi HM. Forecasting the global burden of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 2007 Volume 3 Number 3; Pages186 – 91. Retrieved 18 June 2008 from: http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1022&context=rbrookmeyer

d.     2007 Report retrieved 27 August 2008 from: http://un.org/esa/population/publications/wpp2006/WPP2006_Highlights_rev.pdf.

e.     Shcherbatykh I, Carpenter DO. The Role of Metals in the Etiology of Alzheimer’s Disease. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2007;11(2):191–205. PMID 17522444.

f.      Santibáñez M, Bolumar F, García AM. Occupational Risk Factors in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Review Assessing the Quality of Published Epidemiological Studies. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2007;64(11):723–732. doi:10.1136/oem.2006.028209. PMID 17525096.

g.     Rondeau V. A Review of Epidemiologic Studies on Aluminum and Silica in Relation to Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Disorders. Reviews on Environmental Health. 2002;17(2):107–21. doi:10.1515/REVEH.2002.17.2.107. PMID 12222737.

h.     Kheifets L, Bowman JD, Checkoway H, Feychting M, Harrington JM, Kavet R, Marsh G, Mezei G, Renew DC, van Wijngaarden E. Future needs of occupational epidemiology of extremely low frequency electric and magnetic fields: review and recommendations. Occupational and Environmental Medicine. February 2009. Volume 66 Number 2. Pages 72–80.

i.      Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR). Health Effects of Exposure to EMF. January 2009 Retrieved 27 April 2010 (Page 4–5) from: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_o_022.pdf

j.      Cataldo JK, Prochaska JJ, Glantz SA. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease: An analysis controlling for tobacco industry affiliation. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2010; Volume 19 Number 2: Pages 465–80.

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Future Bahamian Astronaut – Not so improbable

Posted on June 11, 2014 in Implementation, Industries, Locations

Go Lean Commentary

The first response in looking at this photo is usually: ”Oh, so cute!”

Astro 1

But a more careful analysis of the future forecast from the book Go Lean…Caribbean, helps us to appreciate that having a true Bahamian astronaut is highly probable, in the not so distant future. The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a 5-year roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). In Year 5, the roadmap calls for expansion/annexation; this will allow for the invitation/inclusion of French Guiana (neighbor of Suriname). This country is home to the European Space Agency (ESA). Under the Go Lean roadmap, this technology base would fit/continue under the plan for a Self-Governing Entity (SGE), ideal for this type of installation to thrive and foster regional impact. In truth, the roadmap features 3 prime directives, including:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Go Lean roadmap posits that occupations and education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields are vital for the Caribbean to have economic empowerment – the US model was one of vigorous job creation during the Mercury/Apollo space programs of the 1960’s/70’s. With due progress in these STEM fields, no imagination is needed to envision a Bahamian/Caribbean astronaut jetting off into space. It would just be a matter of time, as the ESA already has an Astronaut corps, and have put men in space (see photo) – the assumption is that the CU would join the ESA, much like the EU has done.

Astro 2

The young astronaut photo, though, was an advertisement for a financial services company. Their contention is that financial/ economic fundamentals are essential for individual and societal progress. From the perspective of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap for the entire region, the publishers of this book/blog concurs with this exclamation: Ditto!

The Go Lean roadmap provides turn-by-turn directions on how to elevate the Caribbean economy and STEM education eco-systems. As a planning tool, the roadmap commences with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the need for regional integration (Page 13 & 14) to foster the foundation to forge a better future. The declarative statements are as follows:

xxi.      Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxvi.      Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries… In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries … – impacting the region with more jobs.

xxvii.      Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

Change has now come to the Caribbean. The driver of this change is technology and globalization. The Caribbean region cannot just watch a man walk on the moon; we must put our men on the moon. This effort should not be pursued for some nationalistic pride, but rather the bottom-line motive should be the Greater Good.

The Go Lean book envisions the CU as a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean to do the heavy-lifting of empowering and elevating the Caribbean economy.

The book details the community ethos to adopt so that all the people would lean-in to this dream of our young men (and women) exploring space. The roadmap also details the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge this progress in the region:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 48
Tactical – Confederating a Non-Sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing Economy – New High Multiplier Industries Page 68
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Self-Governing Entities – i.e. ESA Page 80
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Education Department Page 85
Implementation – Annexation of French Guiana Page 98
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Planning – 10 Big Ideas Page 127
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Page 197

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the changes described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. To the young model in the foregoing photo, posing as a Bahamian Astronaut, and to all young Caribbean dreamers, the publishers of the book Go Lean…Caribbean entreat you: study hard, pursue your dreams. We will have the infrastructure in place for you in the not so distant future.

The Go Lean roadmap is a complete solution for Caribbean elevation – elevating right into space – thus helping the region to be better place to live, work, learn and play.

Blast-off! Let’s soar…

Astro 3

 
Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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The need for highway safety innovations – here comes Google

Posted on June 10, 2014 in Implementation, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

Don’t text and drive!

TM BlogNo serious, don’t text and drive.

In addition, don’t drink and drive. In fact, don’t subject yourself to any influences while driving: drugs (legal/illegal), distractions and even sleep deprivation. The public service announcements can go on and on. Perhaps what is needed is some tool, some technology that can assist weary drivers. Here comes Google…

… and Mercedes Benz, Nissan, GM, Ford, etc..

Bet your bottom dollar that other automakers will step up and forge a “space race” for progress in this industry sector. NBC’s Craig Melvin contributed this story – see VIDEO – on the Today Show on Tuesday June 10; (http://www.today.com/video/today/55372906), as a supplement to the foregoing news article fron the CNET trade journal.

To the victor goes the spoil.

By: Steven Musil
Title: Google unveils self-driving car

Google has built a self-driving car from scratch — a vehicle that has no steering wheel or accelerator or brake pedals.

A two-seater prototype of the vehicle was unveiled Tuesday by Google CEO Sergey Brin during an onstage interview at the Recode Code Conference in Palos Verdes, Calif. Instead of the car controls indispensable to today’s drivers, Google’s prototype relies on built-in sensors and a software system to safely maneuver the vehicle.

“We took a look from the ground up of what a self-driving car would look like,” Brin said.

The goal of the project is for self-driving cars to be “significantly” safer than human-driven cars in a few years, Brin said. He said that that the project has experienced no crashes during testing, but the cars only operate at speeds of around 25 miles per hour, which gives them more time to react to obstacles.

Google’s self-driving car is an ambitious project that hopes to end human error behind the wheel with a very Google-y solution: software. The tech titan’s robo-cars have logged more than 700,000 miles since it began working on the vehicles in 2009. Google expects to have them ready for public use between 2017 and 2020.

A demonstration earlier this month by Google’s Self-Driving Car Project team shows how the vehicle depends on a Google-made topographical map to get a sense of what it should expect. The map includes the height of the traffic signals above the street, the placement of stop signs and crosswalks, the depth of the sidewalk curb, the width of the lanes, and can differentiate lane markings from white and dashed to double-yellow.

The company announced major progress last month in improving how the system responds to objects not on a map. In a YouTube video, the Web giant demonstrated some of the circumstances its self-driving cars now handle, such as bicyclists signaling to move across a lane of traffic, railroad crossings, and parked cars protruding into the lane of traffic.

While Google has been at the forefront of developing and testing self-driving technologies, it’s not alone in its driverless vision for the future. Nissan, General Motors, and automotive supplier Continental expect self-driving cars on the road by 2020. Ford Motor Co. has unveiled a self-driving prototype car. Telsa Motors wants its system to handle 90 percent of driving duties by 2016 — a more aggressive schedule and one that’s more like what Google has said is attainable.

CNET – Tech Industry trade Magazine (Posted 05-27-2014; retrieved 06-10-2014) –
http://www.cnet.com/news/google-unveils-self-driving-car-sans-steering-wheel/

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

TM Blog 2Highway safety in the US is in crisis. Every state has banned texting-&-driving. Additionally, some states (i.e. California) even banned talking … on a mobile phone without a hands-free device. Just this past week, famed comedian Tracy Morgan was seriously injured in a car accident with a semi-trailer (18-wheeler) truck. The initial reports indicate that the truck driver may have worked/driven a 24-hour shift … with unavoidable fatigue factors. See related article at: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/06/10/tracy-morgan-crash-walmart-truck-driver-center-accident-investigation/

This constitutes a crisis in highway safety; and a crisis, any crisis is a terrible thing to waste!

This is the premise of the book Go Lean…Caribbean, that a crisis can always be exploited to sieze opportunities. This race to create technological solutions is in response to dealing with the highway safety crisis – the resultant innovations will spurn new economic activity. This book purports that a new industrial revolution is emerging and the Caribbean people and society must engage. This is pronounced in the Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14), with this opening statement:

xxvii.  Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.

This book Go Lean… Caribbean, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This effort will marshal the region to avail the opportunities associated with technology and automobiles – there is a plan to foster a local automotive industry. In fact The CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

There is a lot at stake for the Caribbean in considering this subject area. According to the foregoing article and VIDEO, research-and-development (identified as a community ethos) has begun to deploy workable solutions. There is the need for a Caribbean solution. Engaging this process early can result in many new jobs, and most importantly, many new opportunities to save lives and impact the Greater Good.

The book details other ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge research-and-development and industrial growth in Caribbean communities:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments (ROI) Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development Page 30
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 48
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing Economy – New High Multiplier Industries Page 68
Separation of Powers – Public Works & Infrastructure Page 82
Separation of Powers – Department of Transportation Page 84
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Planning – 10 Big Ideas Page 127
Planning – Lessons from Detroit Page 140
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Transportation Page 205
Advocacy – Ways to Develop the Auto Industry Page 206

Historically, forging change in the automotive sphere of the Caribbean has been a “tall order”. The region was very slow to adopt common sense provisions like mandatory seatbelts and unleaded gasoline. So managing change for the region must be viewed as both an art and a science. For change is something the region must adapt to; and managing this change is something the CU will spearhead.

The insights from the foregoing article and embedded VIDEO help us to appreciate that the future is now! (Though, there is no talk of flying cars). We must engage, empower and equip the people of the Caribbean if we want to make our home a better place to live, work and play. And we must do it now. Everyone in the Caribbean is urged to lean-in to this roadmap.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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The Art & Science of Temporary Stadiums – No White Elephants

Posted on June 5, 2014 in Industries, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

Learn from Greece – Why build expensive permanent stadiums for temporary (sports/cultural) events, when there is such an effective art and science with temporary stadiums?! This important lesson was ignored in Brazil for the FIFA World Cup 2014.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean, serving as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), advocates this lesson and declares that “a mission of the CU is to forge industries and economic drivers around the individual and group activities of sports and culture”. There is the need for temporary stadiums for events and festivals; (see Temporary Structures Models & Systems Appendix below).

This temporary stadium was erected in Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup championship game.

This temporary stadium was erected in Germany for the 2006 FIFA World Cup championship game.

The need to optimize sports/cultural events & festivals have previously been addressed in the following Go Lean blogs entries:

a. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1148 Sports Bubble – Franchise values in basketball
b. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1020 Sports Revolutionary: Advocate Jeffrey Webb
c. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=676 PM Christie responds to critics of Bahamian ‘Carnival’
d. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=498 Book Review: ‘The Sports Gene’
e. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=334 Bahamians Make Presence Felt In Libyan League
f. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=318 Collegiate Sports in the Caribbean
g. https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=60 Could the Caribbean Host the Olympic Games?

All in all, the book and accompanying blogs declare that the region needs to learn lessons from other sporting venues like Athens-Greece, South Africa and Brazil. The people of the Caribbean cannot afford such monumental mis-steps – see VIDEO below. So this Go Lean… Caribbean roadmap applies the lessons learned and details the following 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This roadmap commences with the recognition that genius qualifiers can be found in many fields of endeavor, including music, sports and the performing arts. To exploit the economic benefits of these fields require some facilitation, like stadia, arenas and theaters. The roadmap pronounces the need for the region to confederate in order to invest in the facilitations for the Caribbean genius to soar. These pronouncements are made in the Declaration of Interdependence, (Pages 13 & 14) as follows:

xxi.      Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxii.      Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism – modeling the Olympics.

The Go Lean vision is a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean forming a proxy organization to do the heavy- lighting of building, funding and maintaining sports/event venues. The strategy is to deploy temporary structures where appropriate on CU fairgrounds, as some events may require specific configurations, but only for a few days every year. Tactically, the Go Lean roadmap calls for a separation-of-powers between the member-state governments and the new federal agencies; so the CU will serve as the landlord for local, national and regional events.

The subsequent article and VIDEO (from the cable channel HBO’s documentary Real Sports) describes the folly for expensive permanent stadiums for short-term events; especially while the art and science of temporary stadiums is so effective.

Title: HBO’s Real Sports tackles the white elephants of the World Cup and Olympics
Posted by Joe Lucia on May 20, 2014 10:31
(http://awfulannouncing.com/2014/hbos-real-sports-tackles-the-white-elephants-of-the-world-cup-and-olympics.html)

The lead story of May’s episode of Real Sports on HBO tackles the World Cup, but in a different way …

Next month’s World Cup in Brazil (starting June 12, 2014) has resulted in numerous brand new soccer stadiums being built all across the country. Once the World Cup ends, the stadiums will more than likely remain dormant – which is where the “white elephants” title of the segment comes into play. In South Africa four years ago, ten stadiums were built at the cost of billions of dollars. Nine of those stadiums stand relatively unused today.

The same thing happens when countries host the Olympics – it doesn’t take too much effort to find evidence of stadiums or arenas being built solely to hold events and then be used for nothing or razed years later. The 2004 Olympics in Athens are a stark example of the waste that goes into holding events like the Olympics and the World Cup, as many of the arenas and stadiums built for the events stand empty.

Perhaps even more shocking – the organizers of these events in those host countries openly admit to having no plan for the future of the venues. The Greek economy collapsed in large part to the massive amount of waste that went into the Olympics a decade ago, with the crumbling stadiums as reminders of that waste.

Today, Brazil is preparing by the World Cup by spending more money than any country in history. A brand new, $270 million stadium was built in the remote town of Manaus for just four games this World Cup. Manaus is so remote that many Brazilians can’t even drive there. Materials to build the stadium were shipped from Portugal, across the Atlantic Ocean and transported down the Amazon River. All that for four games in a town that HBO described as “a weigh station.”

The organizers are oblivious to this. The designer of the stadium in Manaus claims that when people watch the games on television, they will become aware of the city, and tourism and investment opportunities will increase. Apparently, eight hours of soccer over the month of June will create all of that goodwill.

For a country like Brazil, bathed in poverty, to burn away billions of dollars on stadiums and arenas for the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics is shameful. Once the World Cup ends and Olympics preparation begins, homes in Rio de Janeiro will be razed to make room for the venues, sending many Brazilian citizens into homelessness for the sake of a two week sporting event.

… in a country like Brazil that is teetering on the edge of financial chaos, dumping billions of dollars into sports while a bulk of your citizens are poor, starving, and lacking healthcare seems like a recipe for a disaster, with nothing but empty stadiums and a page on Wikipedia to show for it when all is said and done.

VIDEO: Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel: Episode #206 Web Clip – White Elephants (HBO Sports) – http://youtu.be/lHUiyxKgg1s

Jon Frankel travels to Athens, Greece plus Manaus and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and looks for answers to the question of: Are billions being wasted on World Cup and Olympic venues?

The Go Lean book details these series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies designed to re-boot the delivery of the regional solutions, so badly needed and hoped for:

Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness Page 36
Strategic – Visitors – Snow Birds at RV Campgrounds Page 55
Strategic – Staffing – Events at Fairgrounds Page 55
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Sports & Culture Administration Page 81
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Fairgrounds Administration Page 83
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Government – Parks & Recreation Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Events Page 191
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Fairgrounds Page 192
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology Expositions Page 197
Anecdote – Model of Miami-DadeCounty Youth Fair Page 227
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Sports Page 229
Advocacy – Ways to Improve the Arts Page 230
Advocacy – Ways to Promote Music Page 231
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Urban Living – Sports Leagues Page 234
Temporary Stadiums - Golf

This stadium is the Pakar Seating Grandstand system. It is so versatile that it’s suitable for any type of Golf Competition event.

The foregoing article discourages investment in permanent venues unless there is a solid long-term business plan. The Go Lean roadmap concurs – Greece did not recover from the flawed Olympic build-out for facilities that were never used again after the 2004 Games. On the other hand, here is the encouragement and recommendation to develop fairgrounds and deploy temporary stadia, arenas and theaters. Imagine a golf tournament; no one would expect bleachers and grandstands at the putting greens to be permanent structures. No, there is a place for temporary structures in the world of sports.

Temporary Stadiums - Beach Volleyball

The Bondi Beach Volleyball Stadium was constructed for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and stood for just six weeks. The temporary stadium was constructed on the world-famous Bondi Beach and had over 10,000 seats.

There is one sport, Beach Volleyball, which only uses temporary bleachers/grandstands – 100 percent.
So there is a place for the arts & sciences of temporary structures. There is the need for their economic impact.

The Go Lean roadmap anticipates 21,000 direct jobs at fairgrounds and sports enterprises throughout the region.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. Now is the time to make this region a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

========================

*** APPENDICES ***

Appendix A – Sample New Stadiums for Brazil
The permanent structures call for more elaborate construction schedules and risks. Some delays have been unavoidable – see this article (photos) on the Sao Paulo stadium slated for the opening game on June 12, 2014; posted and retrieved 06/04/2014:

http://www.businessinsider.com/bleachers-at-sao-paulo-world-cup-stadiums-2014-6#ixzz33iMAwtEf

Brazil prepares…
When Brazil drafted plans to host the upcoming World Cup, Natal, the Atlantic beach destination was exactly the type of city it wanted to show off. Five years later, and four weeks before kickoff, little besides the arena and a remote, untested airport are complete.

Almost half the more than $1.3 billion in promised developments [in Natal] never began. What did [begin] has languished, including ongoing road work that has rendered the stadium’s outskirts a raw sprawl of rebar, dust and concrete. (Reuters)

An aerial view of the Arena Pantanal soccer stadium in Cuiaba, April 25, 2014. Cuiaba is one of the host cities for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. See photos here (REUTERS/Joel Marcos):

Temporary Stadiums - Natal

An Aerial view of the Arena das Dumas from January 22, 2014; this stadium will host matches for the 2014 soccer World Cup.

Temporary Stadiums - Cuiaba

This is the incomplete stadium in Natal; with 4 weeks before the first event, the infrastructural improvements for the surrounding areas have still not been completed.

Temporary Stadiums - Sao Paulo

People stand in the bleachers during an infrastructure test at Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium, one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup, in the Sao Paulo district of Itaquera April 26, 2014.

Appendix B – Temporary Structures Models & Systems
Many examples of successful temporary stadia, arenas and theaters abound – see photos here.

Here are 2 reputable vendors for providing these products and services.

1. PAKAR Grandstand is extremely versatile, therefore, it can be installed either as a PERMANENT or REMOVABLE Grandstand. It can be displaced and re-installed at any location quickly and easily. The system of frames is pre-assembled with an interlocking system, ties, braces, beams and deck units that locks together for fast assembly. Our Grandstand can be installed on any type of surface i.e. concrete, grass and sand (Desert). It can be installed on a slope depending on soil condition. Our system can be used both Outdoor and Indoor. For Outdoor use, it can be equipped with a roof system (Complete roofing or Semi-roofing). Source: http://www.pakar-seating.com/

Temporary Stadiums - Padel

Padel is a relatively new racquet sport that is extremely popular in Spain. The logistics of this platform accommodates each individual sports event and is 600 square meters in size and has 3,000 seats around it.

Temporary Stadiums - Soccer

This stadium is a modular stadium built by NUSSLI who has developed flexible and sustainable concepts for popular global sports and cultural events

Temporary Stadiums - Theater

This stadium is not only for sporting events, but it is ideal for cultural activities as well.

Grandstand bleachers for a drag racing configuration

2. Temporary Stadium, Modular Stadium Construction, Stadia Expansion.

NUSSLI provides complete modular stadiums and arenas or additional grandstands – with or without roofing. We offer our stadium construction solutions for rental (temporary) or sale (permanent).

The experience gained from multifaceted stadium projects around the world makes NUSSLI a reliable partner in modular stadia construction and in stadium expansion. NUSSLI‘s mobile stadia fulfill the highest demands in regard to safety, functionality, and architecture.

The modular stadium® can be adapted to meet changing requirements and individual customer needs over and over again. The stadium can be installed in virtually no time and removed just as quickly after use.

The NUSSLI service range in stadium construction:
•Stadia and arenas (modular, temporary, permanent, mobile)
•Stadium expansion (modular, temporary, permanent)
•Additional grandstand, roofing
•Steel tube grandstand
•Service buildings

Modular Stadium® – a Convincing System.
Those who modularly build or expand stadiums and arenas enjoy considerable advantages over those using the traditional building method. The key factors of modular stadium construction are savings in cost and time.

Cost advantage: The use of modules can be temporally limited, therefore avoiding costs for possible surplus capacities. The standardization shortens planning and construction processes.

Fast and flexible: modular stadium constructions or expansions by NUSSLI beat any other system in regard to installation speed.
Source: http://www.nussli.us/services/stadium-construction.html

 Temporary Stadiums - Photo 1Temporary Stadiums - Grandstands Temporary Stadiums - Slopings 1 Temporary Stadiums - Slopings 2 Temporary Stadiums - Slopings 3

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Trucks and Trains Play Well Together

Posted on May 9, 2014 in Government, Industries, Tactical

Go Lean Commentary

Trucks 1Not In My Back Yard (NIMBY) – this refers to the dichotomy of modern living. Many people want all the convenience that modern industrial development brings to their communities, but they do not want it … in their back yards. The point is alluded to in the foregoing news article, as a strategic success for forging business opportunities while neutralizing the NIMBY opposition. In this case the strategy is to locate multiple industrial infrastructural projects (rail-yard-truck intermodal) – normally noise pollutants to neighbors – at the airport, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) – 1 – rail, 2 – trucks and 3 – air all in the same vicinity, This proved to be a smart move, neutralizing oppositions.

This strategic development corresponds with the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This publication serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), another smart move. There is no doubt that Trade and Transport goes hand-in-hand, so this issue is of utmost importance to this roadmap. Since, most of the CU is comprised of islands (and 3 coastal states), there is the need to add a 4th mode to the CU intermodal consideration: sea.

The prime directive of the CU is to optimize the economic engines of the Caribbean region. In the roadmap, this directive aligns with the Union Atlantic Turnpike, a virtual consolidation of all the above transportation modes, and the investments to build and optimize them. The biggest change of the CU transportation approach is the deployment of multi-functional ferry-boats. Now imagine one destination (one backyard) with intermodal exchange for air, rail, ferry, and trucks. Imagine too, the amount of cargo (including mail), passengers, jobs, and economic activity on the move. Now multiply that imagination for all 30 member-states, serving a Caribbean single market of 42 million people. The resultant growth to the region is undeniable.

By: Gina Carroll Howard

Trucks, trains, and planes mean hours of fun for children. But for Charlotte USA, they mean business.

Norfolk Southern Corporation is betting that road and rail cargo transport will play an increasing role in the Charlotte region’s economy.

Since intermodal facilities can take a decade or more to build, the railroad looks for cities that are ripe for significant growth. Charlotte fits that profile, thanks to its progressive nature and pro-business culture — not to mention its prime location in the middle of the railroad’s Crescent Corridor.

Norfolk Southern recently relocated its local intermodal operation from a landlocked 40-acre site with encroaching residential growth to 200 acres at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). With its main line running right past the airport and easy highway access for trucks, the location in the world’s second-largest hub is ideal. As planes taxi, take off, and land nearby, about 200,000 cargo containers will transfer annually between trucks and trains. And that’s just the beginning.

“From Charlotte, we can move domestic and international traffic from anywhere in the U.S.,” says Jeff Heller, Norfolk Southern vice president of intermodal and automotive marketing.

“The Charlotte region has a huge consumer base. It’s a magnet that pulls trade into the area. This new facility is a showcase and can be front and center in business development. It’s modern and has access to both coasts and all major manufacturing and distribution centers in the country. It helps reinforce Charlotte’s reputation as a viable manufacturing and distribution center.”

It also helps the Charlotte airport retain its low-cost status.

“Norfolk Southern’s lease provides the airport with a secondary revenue source that directly offsets airport operating costs,” says Brent Cagle, interim aviation director. “This is a tremendous benefit to our airline partners and ultimately to the passengers they serve.”

Trucks 2Cagle believes that complementary companies will locate distribution centers on surrounding properties that the airport has acquired. These leases would provide the airport with another secondary revenue source.

The airport/railroad relationship is a symbiotic one that benefits CLT, Norfolk Southern, and Charlotte USA. Both Cagle and Heller agree that the two operations are highly compatible.

“With the airport site, we’re not creating any more noise or lights than already are there,” Heller notes.

And Cagle predicts that Norfolk Southern’s intermodal facility and Charlotte Douglas International Airport “will be great neighbors.” It sounds like they’ll play well together.

US Airways Inflight Magazine – April 2014 http://charlotteusa.com/news-media/blog/trucks-and-trains-play-well-together-/

The Go Lean roadmap quantifies the economic growth, from this and other industrial initiatives, and counts 2.2 million new jobs and the elevation to an $800 Billion regional economy.

As the foregoing article highlights, as children play with trucks, trains, and airplanes, the CU treats these (and ships/boats) as serious business. This commitment is codified in the roadmap, with details of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocates; as follows:

Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Return on Investments Page 24
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization Page 57
Separation of Powers – Transportation Dept. Page 84
Implementation –  Consolidating Mail Service Page 108
Implementation –  Benefit from Globalization Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade Page 128
Planning – Ways to Improve Interstate Commerce Page 129
Government – Impact Public Works & the Turnpike Page 175
Industries – Ways to Improve Transportation Page 205
Appendix – Model of a Marine Highway System Page 280

Welcome to a new Caribbean, that’s on the move. Go Lean!

Download the Book- Go Lean…Caribbean Now!!!

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PR’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Project Breaks Ground

Posted on March 24, 2014 in Economics, Ethos, Industries, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

imgresThe forgoing article touches on a critical mission and motivation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU): to impact the battle against cancer. The roadmap for the implementation of the CU, Go Lean … Caribbean highlights that 1 in every 3 Americans are at risk of cancer, so surely the Caribbean rate of affliction cannot be far behind. Therefore the Caribbean region must prepare. Cancer treatments are expensive! Some treatments can cost $20,000 – $30,000 each month for 4 – 6 month stretches. Our population, like many other societies, continues to age, get sick and battle cancer, so we cannot be ill-prepared. Lives are at stake!

The CU mission is to prepare in advance for cancer: to install the mechanisms to garner as much cost-savings as possible while delivering the highest quality of care and health-related services for our people. And while we are making efforts to save lives of Caribbean citizens, Diaspora and visitors, we also want to exploit any economic opportunities.

By: The Caribbean Journal staff

A major new hospital project has broken ground in Puerto Rico, Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla announced.

The new Comprehensive Cancer Center Hospital project is being built with an investment of $196 million. The 12-floor facility will include eight operating rooms and 72 beds.

Construction on the project, which is located in Rio Piedras, is projected to last around 30 months, with a completion date set for April 2016.

The government said the project could create more than 1,300 direct and indirect jobs during construction and 750 once the hospital is up and running.

“These types of centers are characterized by scientific excellence and the capacity to integrate a diversity of research approaches to investigating the problem,” Garcia Padilla said in a statement. “They have a key role in advancing the cause of reducing deaths from cancer.”

The Governor said the hospital is aiming to be a “primary source for discoveries about the nature of cancer and the development of new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and therapy.”

Construction of the hospital had initially been slated to begin in 2010.

“The ultimate recovery of Puerto Rico depends on economic development and the jobs we create,” the Governor said.

Source: http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/02/19/puerto-rico-comprehensive-cancer-center-project-breaks-ground/

The Go Lean roadmap takes a strategic approach. There is the need for cancer and medical research, so the CU promotes and invites the establishment of medical research parks, laboratories and campuses as Self-Governing Entities (SGE). These bordered facilitates, similar to the PR project depicted above in the artist rendition, would only submit to CU jurisdiction and authorities – no FDA regulations! This freedom allows for more latitude and creativity in the pursuit of cancer cures and treatments.

Without a doubt, this strategy of SGE’s fulfills many CU objectives. In addition to the life-saving potential of local cancer research, the CU seeks to improve the environment for academic and occupational endeavors for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Medical) professionals. The region would now offer an alternative to the debilitating brain drain. In fact, the opposite would occur: the region invites empowering immigrants to help facilitate this vision. The Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap describes that the Diaspora and their legacies (foreign-born children), would see a Welcome Mat to “come in from the cold” – welcome home – to a better place to live, work, learn, heal and play.

Download the Book- Go Lean…Caribbean Now!!!

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