Go Lean Commentary
The dominant employment engine for the Caribbean involves tourism, but the regional tourism business models are being strained. The primary target market, American middle class have suffered crises and now harsh realities have come to fruition. The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits that there is a need to re-focus, re-boot, and optimize the engines of commerce so as to make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play for all.
Where are the jobs … that the Caribbean people need today and will need even more so in the future?
A key answer is in the quotation: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.
This is the underlying principle of the recycling-scrap-metal industry. This industry is a “destruction services” business model, a subset of the “turn-around” community ethos. Jobs can be created in the art and science of destruction (demolition, recycling and junkyards). But this industry does not “play well with others”, it makes a bad neighbor. It is dirty, wet, Blue-Collar and noisy. But, if done right, this model could be successful, and can impact a “turn-around” for many stakeholders.
This new focus on the “turn-around” community ethos, and the accompanying jobs, appears on the surface to be a win-win for all involved, but a more careful examination highlights some serious economic, security and governing obstacles/issues.
The Go Lean book calls for the optimization of these economic, security and governing engines for the Caribbean region:
- Economics – Jobs, business models, industrial neighborhoods constitute the economic dimensions of this industry. Overall the roadmap calls for the optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion GDP and create 2.2 million new jobs. There is another economic element to this recycling-scrap-metal industry sphere of activity, that of an entrepreneurial hustle – Scrapping. A person can generate self-employment income by gathering scrap-metal, recycled commodities, re-manufactured raw materials and transport them to junkyards. While this may be an occasional chore for some people, for others, this can be a daily hustle, their source of steady income. See photo examples here and VIDEO below:
- Security – The above trash-versus-treasure quotation introduces the security dimension of the commentary. The entire eco-system of recycling assumes that the “trash” holder of a commodity surrenders possession. If/when the commodity changes hands prematurely, the events are often associated with a crime: burglary, robbery, theft, vandalism, house-stripping, etc. For this reason, the Go Lean roadmap commandeers jurisdiction of salvage/recycling/scrap-metal functions for federal regulation/promotion. This stipulates that activities within the “turn-around” sphere will be marshaled by regional police authorities, with the application of best-practices: Verified Identification, Closed Circuit Surveillance Camera, Serial Number registration/tracking, etc.
- Governance – In line with the Go Lean roadmap, many junkyards are identified as ideal for the structure of Self-Governing Entities (SGE), the bordered/fenced controlled campuses/compounds. This approach allows for initiation, cooperation and coordination of SGE’s to effectuate change in the region.
The alignment of strained economic-security-governance engines against the recycling-scrap-metal “turn-around” community ethos have been successfully championed before, particularly in the US during World War II. There is much to learn from this example and lesson in history.
Consider a modern example of this Los Angeles company, and imagine similar installations throughout the Caribbean region:
C & M Metals is a provider of Scrap-Metal Recycling and Metal Trading Services
1709 E. 24th St., Los Angeles, CA90058 | Phone: 323-234-4662 | Fax: 323-234-5844 | sales@cmmetals.net
C&M Metals Inc. is a corporation dedicated to the, “Green Movement.” We have showed this by being one of the pioneers in the recycling of secondary metals and scrap metal waste for over 50 years. Our experience comes second to none and our long history speaks for itself. Call us today to inquire about how we could be of service to you.
Industries Served:
Metal Fabricators Demolitions Electricians Machine Shops Networking Contractors Electronic Manufactures Auto Repair Centers Auto Wrecking Plumbers Contractors Yards Maintenance Contractors Radiator Repair Shops Medical Industries Wheel and Tire Centers Installers Auto Dealerships
C & M Metals, Inc. – Los Angeles Premier Salvage Services – Retrieved 11-09-2014 –
http://www.cmmetals.net/index.html
The book Go Lean… Caribbean, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) with the charter to facilitate jobs in the region. Early in the Go Lean book, the responsibility to create jobs was identified as an important function for the CU with this pronouncement in the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 14):
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.
The Go Lean book also details the principle of job multipliers, how certain industries are better than others for generating multiple indirect jobs down-the-line for each direct job on a company’s payroll. The recycling-scrap-metal “turn-around” industries have impressive indirect job multiplier rates, hereby estimated at 5.0. This is important, as the Go Lean… Caribbean book details the creation of 2.2 million direct/indirect jobs in the region during the 5-year roadmap, including income-generation from entrepreneurial hustles.
The subject of SGE’s has been directly addressed and further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750 | Disney World – Example of SGE |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2338 | Using SGE’s to Welcome the Dreaded ‘Plutocracy’ |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2003 | Where the Jobs Are – Ship-breaking under SGE Structure |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1214 | Fairgrounds as SGE and Landlords for Sports Leagues |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=286 | Puerto Rico’s Comprehensive Cancer Center Project Breaks Ground – Model of Medical SGE |
In addition, the subjects of self-employment opportunities and entrepreneurial hustle have been explored in previous blog/commentaries:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1325 | Puerto Rico Governor Signs Bill on Small-Medium-Enterprises |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=599 | Ailing Puerto Rico open to radical economic fixes – with focus on Informal Economy |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=398 | Self-employment on the rise in the Caribbean – World Bank |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=214 | LCD versus an Entrepreneurial Ethos |
The adoption of new community ethos, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies will foster the returns on the “turn-around” investments:
| Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification | Page 21 |
| 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 Choices & Incentives | Page 21 |
| Economic Principles – Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth | 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 Help Entrepreneurship | Page 28 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development (R&D) | Page 30 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Turn-Around: Recycling and Demolition Industries | Page 33 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Mission – Foster Local Economic Engines. | Page 45 |
| 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 – SGE Licenses | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities | Page 105 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Self-Governing Entities | Page 127 |
| Planning – Ways to Improve Trade | Page 128 |
| Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better | Page 131 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives | Page 176 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Emergency Management Processes and Systems | Page 196 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street | Page 201 |
| Appendix – Job Multipliers | Page 259 |
The CU will foster industrial developments in support of turn-around industries. While these industrial developments may feature physical-grounds like high-tech R&D campuses, medical parks, and technology bases, they will also include low-tech scrap-metal junkyards. So the Go Lean roadmap covers clean-and-dirty, wet-and-dry activities.
While STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) attributes maybe the target activity for future-focused genius qualifiers, not all Caribbean stakeholders will be included among this grouping. In fact, STEM candidates are projected to only be a small minority in any community. Not everyone can be in the “Geek Squad”, or White Collar classes for that matter. So the Blue Collar classes must be accommodated as well in the Go Lean roadmap. This entrepreneurial hustle is an example of that total inclusion. As such, community investments must be made to facilitate the needs of Blue Collar workers. See below for Appendix – Cooperatives in Salvage.
The Caribbean is arguably the best address on the planet, but there are a lot of missing ingredients so as to be the best address for everyone. Some of the missing ingredients are jobs. The plan identified in the Go Lean book and blog/ commentaries is a good start to create employment opportunities for the region. This, the Go Lean roadmap, is where the jobs are! There are other benefits too; in general, the end result of this roadmap is a clearly defined destination: a better place to live, work and play. 🙂
Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
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Appendix – VIDEO: How to make money scrapping – http://youtu.be/6eggQxy4Tdk
Mike the Scrapper Introduction to Scrapping: “We all have to live and make money so this is for my new fellow scrappers and the one’s that have been already scrapping”.
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Appendix – Cooperatives in Salvage:
The CU will structure cooperative endeavors to marshal the economic and homeland security interest of the region. As such, the creation of “Worker” cooperatives will be incentivized for enterprises to assist the population to find gainful employment, even through entrepreneurial “hustles”.
Recycling-Scrap-Metal Industries are ideal for Worker cooperatives. But to facilitate these endeavors, large investments are needed to be made for industrial equipment, sampled as follows (from http://grindercrusherscreen.com/):
