Tag: Detroit

Marijuana in Detroit – Chaos on Chaos

Go Lean Caribbean

Recreational Marijuana use became legal in the US State of Michigan on December 1, 2019.

Ouch! This brings so much chaos to the fore!

We have spent a lot of time observing-and-reporting on the metropolitan area of Detroit and the State of Michigan in general. Now, we come back here to observe-and-report on this new change: legalization of recreational Marijuana use – the nearby City of Ann Arbor is in fact the first to launch this new allowance. It turns out that we are not the only ones observing-and-reporting; other stakeholders in the State are doing the same as well; see here:

There were plenty of people around the state who had Ann Arbor envy, with news reports of hundreds of people lined up to buy adult-use marijuana.

It turns out that the Marijuana eco-system brings chaos. If the community is already chaotic, then that disposition is heightened, intensified and exacerbated. This summary is highlighted in this “Feature News” article here which relates to the adoption of Recreational Marijuana on top of the existing Medical Marijuana eco-system:

Title: Michigan’s new pot industry has some green with envy — though there are still kinks to work out
By:

Higher Ground readers know that Detroit City Council opted out of adult-use marijuana until at least Jan. 31. Councilman James Tate told Metro Times said that it was because Council was working to put together a good social equity program. Social equity is called for in the law that legalized marijuana in order to promote participation in the business from communities disproportionately impacted by marijuana prohibition. Tate didn’t talk about any proposed details of that program.

“I believe the city’s dilemma is more available space — the restrictions on what can be and where it can be,” says Joe White, director of Detroit NORML. “They need to expand the available space.”

When Council adopted zoning ordinances for where there could be a provisioning center, the result was almost nowhere. Now much of the available space has been taken by medical marijuana provisioning centers. There are no social-equity provisions in the medical marijuana law, and any marijuana arrests from the past disqualified one from getting a provisioning center license. On top of that, the state is only taking adult-use marijuana applications from already established medical marijuana provisioning centers.

That leaves the social equity Detroiters out in the cold as far as retail storefronts. Licenses for micro-businesses will be available, but where will they go? According to city zoning as it stands, nowhere within 1,000 feet of a school, church, daycare center or park. That’s in addition to some other rules about industrial and main street areas.

“If there are only 100 chickens available and 75 are sold, what the hell are we going to do?” says White. “If they’re going to do the right thing, they’re going to have to open up more available space.”

That’s got to be complicated. It took a long, long time to come up with the medical marijuana zoning rules we have now. It involved protests, petitions, an election, and lawsuits as provisioning centers fought it out with city officials. I remember sitting at a City Planning Commission meeting one time and asking the city employee who had just done an informational presentation if we were going to have to go through this again when we get recreational marijuana. He said yes.

If he was right, then buckle up for another roller-coaster ride of a process. Hopefully, this time around Council has a better handle on how to get this done. According to Tate, Council has already got past issues with the conservative church crowd. However, it looks like they’ll have to undo a bit of what they did before in order to open this up for more Detroiters.

Pending legislation to expunge the records of some folks with marijuana convictions opens up opportunities that weren’t available when this legalization thing started. Generally, these are the folks with experience in the marijuana business, and the social-equity provisions give them some advantages for legal re-entry into the business. And this isn’t just about Detroit; there are 41 Michigan social-equity communities listed on the MRA website.

Ann Arbor envy
There were plenty of people around the state who had Ann Arbor envy in their hearts, with news reports of hundreds of people lined up to buy adult-use marijuana when sales began last week. That envy was high among provisioning center owners who have been struggling to get by financially. Those retail outlets collected a reported $221,000 in marijuana sales on Dec. 1. There literally were not enough hours in the day to sell marijuana to all the people who wanted to buy some on the historic first day of sales.

Watching coverage of Ann Arbor’s festive opening day, River Rouge-based Herbology Cannabis Co. owner Tarek Jawad felt hopeful. “I can’t wait to be a part of it,” he said.

Jawad says that he’s been pre-approved for an adult-use license at one of his locations and expects to have one any day now. He admits that, financially, things have been “tight for the most part” for the past couple of years, so the bump of adult-use sales will make a difference.

Anqunette Sarfoh, co-owner of BotaniQ provisioning center in Detroit, had an emotional response. “I was so jealous,” she says. “It would have been cool to be a part of history, but if it’s going to be anywhere, it should be in Ann Arbor. And how poetic to have John Sinclair buying joints 50 years after he was busted for [having] them. You can’t make that stuff up.”

The way that Opening Day was decided and announced probably caught some provisioning centers off guard. The prevailing wisdom was that the first day of sales would be in 2020, but the Marijuana Regulatory Agency surprised most of us with the Dec. 1 decision just a few weeks before it happened. Even if state regulators had been able to get licenses out, the retailers didn’t have much time to prepare.

“We weren’t really focused on the recreational, so it didn’t concern us,” says Amy Jackson, a receptionist at The Reef in Detroit. “It’s kind of disappointing, but we couldn’t be ready by December 1.”

Another irony
Just to be clear: Because he doesn’t have a state license to do so, John Sinclair could still be busted for selling joints today. This license thing is kind of weird because that’s kind of how prohibition started, with the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. It didn’t make marijuana illegal, but it imposed serious taxes ($1 per ounce in 1937) and required anyone selling marijuana to acquire a federal tax stamp. It also required anyone paying the tax to “register his name or style and his place or places of business with the collector of the district in which such place or places of business are located.” One had to tell the government what you had, how much you had, and where you got it.

The Marijuana Tax Act was later replaced in 1971 by the Controlled Substances Act. However, it’s kind of funny that taxation was used to make marijuana illegal. Now taxation is a big part of the drive to legalize marijuana. Stuff just keeps coming back around dressed up all different.

By the way, that $1 per ounce tax in 1937 is equal to about $18 in today’s money. For comparison, a top-shelf medical flower such as GMO costs $380 per ounce at The Reef in Detroit. The 6 percent state sales tax on that brings the total price to $402.80. That’s a total of $22.80 in taxes, more than the rate that was set by the Marihuana Tax Act. Every provisioning center or retail store will charge the state sales tax.

It’s a new era for marijuana in Michigan. Sign up for our weekly weed newsletter, delivered every Tuesday at 4:20 p.m.

——–

Related:

Source: Posted Detroit’s Metro Times December 11, 2019; retrieved December 16, 2019 from: https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/michigans-new-pot-industry-has-some-green-with-envy-though-there-are-still-kinks-to-work-out/Content?oid=23318366

In our observation and reporting, chaos goes hand-in-hand with Detroit – and the surrounding areas – under normal circumstances; see the following list of previous blog-commentaries from the movement behind the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean; this is before the heightened, intensified and exacerbated effects of adult-use / recreational marijuana:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=18566 JPMorganChase valiant efforts to save Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14825 May Day! May Day! Detroit Needs Help With Jobs!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10140 Lessons Learned: Detroit demolishes thousands of abandoned structures
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 An Ode to Detroit – Good Luck on Trade!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 Beware of Vulture Capitalists – Lesson from Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7268 Detroit giving schools their ‘Worst Shot’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7235 Flint, Michigan – A Cautionary Tale on Infrastructure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6965 Secrecy, corruption and ‘conflicts of interest’ pervade state governments
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4476 De-icing Detroit’s Winter Roads: Impetuous & Short Term
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3713 NEXUS Model: Facilitating Detroit-Windsor Cross-Border Commerce
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326 M-1 Rail: Finally, Alternative Motion in the Motor City
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3311 Detroit finally exited their historic bankruptcy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3164 Michigan Unemployment – Then and Now

The Caribbean member-states model the Detroit Metro area in so many aspects: economic chaos, security deficiencies, abandonment and municipal dysfunction. This sad reality – managing a Failed-State or a Failed-City – was actualized in our tour of Detroit. It is hard to reboot, recover and turn-around such a society. Now, their community stewards have to throw in the prospects of a liberal drug culture, this heightens, intensifies and exacerbates the challenge even more. See this recent study that was published about Marijuana usage and Psychosis:

VIDEOMarijuana use and psychosis, new study associates usage with health risks https://youtu.be/BIE-Lbz2PbQ

Published on Mar 25, 2019 – Weed use is taking off as more states move to legalize it. Despite the buzz over marijuana, there are some severe health risks linked with frequent use.

 Yet, this is the reality that many people in the Caribbean seem to want to invite, as we have previously reported how many advocates in local Caribbean communities seem to want to legalized – or de-criminalized – Marijuana use for adults, here as well. See these previous submissions here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16938 Jamaican-American (Pot-Smoker) Kamala Harris Runs for US Presidency
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14836 Counter-culture: Pushing for Change in Marijuana Acceptance
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14480 Managing Mental Health in the Caribbean – Marijuana Use Intensity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13882 Managing this ‘Change’ in California for Recreational Marijuana
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12703 Lessons from Colorado: Legalized Marijuana – Heavy-lifting!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9646 The Emergence of ‘Big Pot’ in America
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1386 Marijuana in Jamaica – Puff Peace

The eco-system around Marijuana use is not purely an economic equation; it also addresses security concerns, medical needs, and the Mental Health eco-system.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean (Page 36), posits that the Mental Health eco-system in the Caribbean region must be improved and elevated to better facilitate the needs of the people in our communities, for our normal everyday circumstances – for the pursuit of happiness. Further, it is the assertion that no one member-state in the Caribbean is equipped to handle the Mental Health challenges when a liberal Marijuana policy is added – albeit for adult use.

Ouch!

Ouch again, when we add the touristic elements! (Imagine visitors coming just to consume Marijuana).

In truth, we are not currently ready for this.

As related above, the Mental Health eco-system must be optimized to address the needs of all the people all the time; no one is spared from Mental Health challenges; consider these everyday realities:

  • Bereavement
  • Post-Partum Depression (for new mothers)
  • Post Trauma Stress Disorder
  • Drug Abuse and Alcohol Counseling
  • Suicide Prevention

Caribbean stewards have to do some heavy-lifting to address the Mental Health needs of our society. No one should invite more chaos to an already chaotic situation; this is what a legal Marijuana eco-system brings: Chaos.

The Go Lean book provides a roadmap for Caribbean stakeholders to do better; it details 370-pages of turn-by-turn directions to better optimize the societal engines of economics, security and governance. First, we must come together and confederate, then we can organize, consolidate, streamline and empower the relevant agencies so as to better deliver on the implied Social Contract …

… where citizens surrender some of their freedoms and submit to the authority of the State in exchange for protection of remaining natural and legal rights.

All segments of the population need support with their Mental Health concerns; we strongly urge the governing stakeholders to slow down with any social evolution regarding Marijuana; we must get our house in order first; we must empower our economic engines, and our security apparatus, and our governing models, and our Mental Health deliveries.

Only then can our homeland be a better place to live, work and play. We urge all Caribbean stakeholders to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 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 ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

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, mental health, 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.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

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.

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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An Ode to JPMorganChase – This is how ‘Change’ happens

Go Lean Commentary

Plan. Do. Review.

We told you change was imminent … for Detroit.

We, the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean for the introduction of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), published a detailed blog-commentary on May 22, 2014 – 5 plus years ago – on the plans for this one bank, JPMorganChase, who was advocating for a turn-around for the distressed City of Detroit in Michigan (USA). This is an excerpt from that previous submission:

The same as there is profit involved in destruction and construction, there is profit to be made in community redevelopment, within a city or even for a region. …

The City of Detroit is in crisis. In July 2013, Detroit became the largest U.S. city to seek bankruptcy protection. It is currently $19 billion in debt and has an unemployment rate of about 14% – more than double the national average. This is why the study of Detroit is such an ideal model for the Caribbean. We have many communities within the Caribbean’s 30 member-states with similar unemployment, urban blight, brain drain, and acute hopelessness.



… the rebirth of Detroit will be financed, in part, with $100 million of community investment dollars from JPMorganChase. The Go Lean roadmap presents a plan to generate funding to Pay for Change (Page 101). Both the JPMorganChase / Detroit plan and the CU/Go Lean plan extend over a 5 year period. The Detroit plan is branded the “Motor City Makeover”; this branding and messaging is important for soliciting support and participation from the community in general. This parallels to the CU/Go Lean effort to foster the attitudes and motivations to forge change from Caribbean stakeholders. This is defined in the book as a community ethos. One such ethos is turn-around: a collective vision, succeeded by appropriate steps and actions, to reject the status quo and demand change.

How has the “Motor City Makeover” been received in the 5 years since? Has the community responded? Have they supported this advocacy? Has there been return on the investment?

Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes.

See here, this review of the JPMorganChase effort from the news magazine 60 Minutes, as broadcasted on November 10, 2019. See this VIDEO here:

VIDEO – A mega-bank’s data-driven investment in Detroit – https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jamie-dimon-jp-morgan-chase-ceo-makes-data-focused-investment-in-detroit-60-minutes-2019-11-10/


Published on November 10, 2019 – JPMorganChase is using data to invest more efficiently, helping entrepreneurs open businesses in parts of the city that most need their services.
Used for entertainment [and educational] purposes only. The property and rights for this video/audio go to ©CBS.

In summary, JPMorganChase invested in Detroit and now has returns on that investment. This is how ‘Change’ happens.

The Go Lean movement also invested (time) in Detroit …

… we too have returns, rewards and reflections from our time of observing-and-reporting from there – which started 5 years ago. Consider the many lessons-learned about turn-around and re-development from these previous blog-commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=14825 May Day! May Day! We Need Help With Jobs!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11453 Location Matters, Even in a Virtual World
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11386 Building Better Cities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10140 Lessons Learned: Detroit demolishes thousands of abandoned structures
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8669 Detroit makes Community College free
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 An Ode to Detroit – Good Luck on Trade!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 Beware of Vulture Capitalists – Lesson from Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7268 Detroit giving schools their ‘Worst Shot’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7235 Flint, Michigan – A Cautionary Tale on Infrastructure
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6965 Secrecy, corruption and ‘conflicts of interest’ pervade state governments
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6609 Before and After Photos Showing Detroit’s Riverfront Transformation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6269 Education & Economics: Welcome to Detroit, Mr. President
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6022 Caribbean Diaspora in Detroit … Celebrating Heritage
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5055 A Lesson from an Empowering Family in Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4913 Ann Arbor: Model for ‘Start-up’ Cities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4476 De-icing Detroit’s Winter Roads: Impetuous & Short Term
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3713 NEXUS: Facilitating Detroit-Windsor Cross-Border Commerce
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326 M-1 Rail: Alternative Motion in the Motor City
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3311 Detroit to exit historic bankruptcy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3164 Michigan Unemployment – Then and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3152 Making a Great Place to Work® – A Detroit Example
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2480 A Lesson in History: Community Ethos of WW II
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1656 Blue is the New Green – Managing Michigan’s Water Resources

These past 5 years have been busy for the Go Lean movement. In addition to observing-and-reporting on Detroit, we have also observed-and-reported on JPMorganChase – from the inside; (this writer worked for JPMorganChase and Jaime Dimon on 2 separate occasions). See the lessons-learned from this financial institution from these previous Go Lean commentaries:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16836 Crypto-currency: Here comes ‘Trouble’; Here comes “JPM Coin”
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=16002 Good Governance: Good Corporate Compliance; JPMC Model
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11184 JPMorganChase spent $10 billion on ‘Fintech’ for 1 year
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=970 JP Morgan Chase $100 million Detroit investment not just for Press

This tenure with JPMorganChase now comes to an end; as we repatriate back to our Caribbean homeland. And so we say:

Ode to JPMorganChase; thanks for  the lessons-learned.

These lessons-learned may be more than just pedestrian; they may actual change our Caribbean world. Like Detroit, we need to redevelop, turn-around and reboot. The JPMorganChase example above may just be an example of the Corporate Vigilantism that we need to forge change in society.

Corporate Vigilantism?

This has been exhaustingly defined in a previous Go Lean commentary; consider this excerpt:

Corporate Vigilantism – can be effective for forging change. Imagine the pressure: no credit line, mortgage, installment loan, credit card processing, nor check-cashing for the business. This can affect a company’s ability to meet payroll or operate as an ongoing concern. This is called controlling the purse strings.

And what is the bank asking for their continuation of business-as-usual?

Common sense … regulations …

We have been paying more than the usual attention to this banking industry, company (JPMorganChase), City of Detroit and turn-around advocacy. It is past time now to manifest the needed change in our Caribbean society.

This corresponds to the 5-L’s approach that we have previously defined:

  • Look
  • Listen
  • Learn
  • Lend-a-hand
  • Lead

Let’s get busy …

The JPMorganChase tenure … is now over! (The same as the Detroit tenure is over; goodbye and good luck to them).

The Go Lean book doubles-down on lessons-learned from the other communities, past and present. The book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. Many of these strategies-tactics-implementations were conceived based on lessons-learned from the other observed stakeholders.

We have looked, listened, learned, lend-a-hand in Detroit and at JPMorganChase; now we are ready to go back to the Caribbean … and lead. This is the approach for us to make our own homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

About the Book
The book Go Lean…Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

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

Who We Are
The movement behind the Go Lean book – a non-partisan, apolitical, religiously-neutral Community Development Foundation chartered for the purpose of empowering and re-booting economic engines – stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 14):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

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.

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like … Detroit … . On the other hand, the Federation must also implement the good examples learned from developments/
communities like … .

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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May Day! May Day! We Need Help With Jobs! – ENCORE

Today is May Day!

In many countries, this day is equivalent to Labor Day, a date set aside to honor and celebrate workers, or the movement to empower workers in society. Many of the historicity of these movements were tied to labor unions.

More than 80 countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1 – the ancient European holiday of May Day.

All Caribbean member-states need help with our job-labor eco-system. Our societal engines are so dysfunctional that our people flee … abandoning the homeland in search of jobs.

There is this prospect for help. This previous blog-commentary from June 18, 2015, discussed the trends in the labor markets, which depict a decline in collective bargaining. This Encore of that commentary is presented here with a plan to assuage this bad trend and create 2.2 million new jobs:

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

Title: Economic Principle: Wage-Seeking – Market Forces -vs- Collective Bargaining

Go Lean Commentary

The field of Economics is unique! We all practice it every day, no matter the level of skill or competence. There is even the subject area in basic education branded Home Economics, teaching the students the fundamentals of maintaining, supporting and optimizing a home environment. Most assuredly, economics is an art and a science, albeit a social science.

In a previous blog/commentary, Scotman’s Adam Smith was identified as the father of modern macro-economics. Though he lived from 1723 to 1790, his writings defined advanced economic concepts even in this 21st Century. His landmark book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations qualified the divisions of income into these following categories: profit, wage, and rent.[4] We have previously explored profit-seeking (a positive ethos that needs to be fostered in the Caribbean region) and rent-seeking (a negative effort that proliferates in the Caribbean but needs to be mitigated), so now the focus of this commentary is on the activity of wage-seeking, and the concepts of governance and public choice theory to allow for maximum employment.

This is hard! Change has come to the world of wage-seekers – the middle classes are under attack; the labor-pool of most industrialized nations have endured decline, not in the numbers, but rather in prosperity. While wage-earners have not kept pace with inflation, top-earners (bonuses, commissions and business profits) have soared; (see Photo).

CU Blog - Economic Principles - Wage-Seeking - Market forces -vs- Collective Bargaining - Photo 2As a direct result, every Caribbean member-state struggles with employment issues in their homeland. In fact, this was an initial motivation for the book Go Lean…Caribbean, stemming from the fall-out of the 2008 Great Recession, this publication was presented as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to elevate the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean region to create 2.2 million new jobs, despite global challenges.

Needless to say, the global challenge is far more complex than Home Economics. The Go Lean book describes the effort as heavy-lifting; then proceeds to detail the turn-by-turn directions of a roadmap to remediate and mitigate wage-seeking.

The roadmap channels the Economic Principles and best-practices of technocrats like Adam Smith and 11 other named economists, many of them Nobel Laureates. A review of the work of these great men and woman constitute “Lessons in Economic Principles”. Why would these lessons matter in the oversight of Caribbean administration? Cause-and-effect!

Profit 4The root of the current challenge for wage-seekers is income equality; and this is bigger than just the Caribbean. It is tied to the global adoption of globalization and technology/ automation – a product of global Market Forces as opposed to previous Collective Bargaining factors. This relates back to the fundamental Economic Principle of “supply-and-demand”; but now the “supply” is global. This photo/”process flow” here depicts the ingredients of Market Forces. When there is the need for labor, the principle of comparative analysis is employed, and most times the conclusion is to “off-shore” the labor efforts, and then import the finished products. This is reversed of the colonialism that was advocated by Adam Smith; instead of the developed country providing factory labor for Third World consumption, the developed nation (i.e. United States) is now in the consumer-only role, with less and less production activities, for products fabricated in the Third World. This reality is not sustainable for providing prosperity to the middle classes, to the wage-seekers.

As a community, we may not like the laws of Economics, but we cannot ignore them. The Go Lean book explains the roles and significance of Economic Principles … with this excerpt (Page 21):

While money is not the most important factor in society, the lack of money and the struggle to acquire money creates challenges that cannot be ignored. The primary reason why the Caribbean has suffered so much human flight in the recent decades is the performance of the Caribbean economy. Though this book is not a study in economics, it recommends, applies and embraces these 6 core Economic Principles as sound and relevant to this roadmap:

  1. People Choose: We always want more than we can get and productive resources (human, natural, capital) are always limited. Therefore, because of this major economic problem of scarcity, we usually choose the alternative that provides the most benefits with the least cost.
  2. All Choices Involve Costs: The opportunity cost is the next best alternative you give up when you make a choice. When we choose one thing, we refuse something else at the same time.
  3. People Respond to Incentives in Predictable   Ways: Incentives are actions, awards, or rewards that determine the choices people make. Incentives can be positive or negative. When incentives change, people change their behaviors in predictable ways.
  4. Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices and Incentives: People cooperate and govern their actions through both written and unwritten rules that determine methods of allocating scarce resources. These rules determine what is produced, how it is produced, and for whom it is produced. As the rules change, so do individual choices, incentives, and behavior.
  5. Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth: People specialize in the production of certain goods and services because they expect to gain from it. People trade what they produce with other people when they think they can gain something from the exchange. Some benefits of voluntary trade include higher standards of living and broader choices of goods and services.
  6. The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future: Economists believe that the cost and benefits of decision making appear in the future, since it is only the future that we can influence. Sometimes our choices can lead to unintended consequences.

Source: Handy Dandy Guide (HDC) by the National Council on Economic Education (2000)

The Go Lean book describes the end result of the application of best-practices in this field of economics over the course of a 5-year roadmap: the CU … as a hallmark of technocracy. But the purpose is not the edification of the region’s economists, rather to make the Caribbean homeland “better places to live, work and play” for its citizens. This branding therefore puts emphasis on the verb “work”; the nouns “jobs” and “wages” must thusly be a constant focus of the roadmap.

Brain Drain 70 percent ChartThis Go Lean book declares that the Caribbean eco-system for job-creation is in crisis … due to the same global dilemma. The roadmap describes the crisis as losing a war, the battle of globalization and technology. The consequence of the defeat is 2 undesirable conditions: income inequality and societal abandonment, citizens driven away to a life in the Diaspora. This assessment currently applies in all 30 Caribbean member-states, as every community has lost human capital to emigration. Some communities, like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have suffered with an abandonment rate of more than 50% and others have watched more than 70% of college-educated citizens flee their community for foreign shores. Even education is presented as failed investments as those educated in the region and leave to find work do not even return remittances in proportion to their costs of development. (See Table 4.1 in the Photo)

The Go Lean book therefore posits that there is a need to re-focus, re-boot, and optimize the labor/wage-seeking engines so as to create more jobs with livable wages. Alas, this is not just a Caribbean issue, but a global (i.e. American) one as well. See the following encyclopedic references for wage-seeking and Collective Bargaining to fully understand the complexities of these global issues:

Encyclopedia Reference #1: Wage-Seeking
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage)

A wage is monetary compensation paid by an employer to an employee in exchange for work done. Payment may be calculated as a fixed amount for each task completed (a task wage or piece rate), or at an hourly or daily rate, or based on an easily measured quantity of work done.

Wages are an example of expenses that are involved in running a business.

Payment by wage contrasts with salaried work, in which the employer pays an arranged amount at steady intervals (such as a week or month) regardless of hours worked, with commission which conditions pay on individual performance, and with compensation based on the performance of the company as a whole. Waged employees may also receive tips or gratuity paid directly by clients and employee benefits which are non-monetary forms of compensation. Since wage labour is the predominant form of work, the term “wage” sometimes refers to all forms (or all monetary forms) of employee compensation.

Determinants of wage rates
Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates will be influenced by market forces (supply and demand), legislation, and tradition. Market forces are perhaps more dominant in the United States, while tradition, social structure and seniority, perhaps play a greater role in Japan.[6]

Wage Differences
Even in countries where market forces primarily set wage rates, studies show that there are still differences in remuneration for work based on sex and race. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007 women of all races made approximately 80% of the median wage of their male counterparts. This is likely due to the supply and demand for women in the market because of family obligations. [7] Similarly, white men made about 84% the wage of Asian men, and black men 64%.[8] These are overall averages and are not adjusted for the type, amount, and quality of work done.

Real Wage
The term real wages refers to wages that have been adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account for changes in the prices of goods and services, real wages provide a clearer representation of an individual’s wages in terms of what they can afford to buy with those wages – specifically, in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought.

See Table of European Model in the Appendix below. (The European Union is the model for the Caribbean Union).

———-

Encyclopedia Reference #2: Collective Bargaining
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_bargaining)

WPR: Marches & PicketsCollective Bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.[1]

The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company’s shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions.

The industrial revolution brought a swell of labor-organizing in [to many industrialized countries, like] the US. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was formed in 1886, providing unprecedented bargaining powers for a variety of workers.[11] The Railway Labor Act (1926) required employers to bargain collectively with unions. While globally, International Labour Organization Conventions (ILO) were ratified in parallel to the United Nations efforts (i.e. Declaration of Human Rights, etc.). There were a total of eight ILO fundamental conventions [3] all ascending between 1930 and 1973, i.e. the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1949).

The Go Lean book presents a roadmap on how to benefit from the above Economic Principles – and how to empower communities anew – in the midst of tumultuous global challenges. This roadmap addresses more than economics, as there are other areas of societal concern. This is expressed in the CU charter; as defined by these 3 prime directives:

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

Early in the Go Lean book, the responsibility to create jobs was identified as an important function for the CU with these pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 14):

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.

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.

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.

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, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

According to an article from the Economic Policy Institute, entitled The Decline of Collective Bargaining and the Erosion of Middle-class Incomes in Michigan by Lawrence Mishel (September 25, 2012), the challenges to middle class income are indisputable, and the previous solution – Collective Bargaining – is no longer as effective as in the past. (The industrial landscape of Michigan had previously been identified as a model for the Caribbean to consider). See a summary of the article here (italics added) and VIDEO in the Appendix:

In Michigan between 1979 and 2007, the last year before the Great Recession, the state’s economy experienced substantial growth and incomes rose for high-income households. But middle-class incomes did not grow. The Michigan experience is slightly worse than but parallels that of the United States as a whole, where middle-class income gains were modest but still far less than the income gains at the top. What the experience of Michiganders and other Americans makes clear is that income inequality is rising, and it has prevented middle-class incomes from growing adequately in either Michigan or the nation.

The key dynamic driving this income disparity has been the divergence between the growth of productivity—the improvement in the output of goods and services produced per hour worked—and the growth of wages and benefits (compensation) for the typical worker. It has been amply documented that productivity and hourly compensation grew in tandem between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, but split apart radically after 1979. Nationwide, productivity grew by 69.1 percent between 1979 and 2011, but the hourly compensation of the median worker (who makes more than half the workforce but less than the other half) grew by just 9.6 percent (Mishel and Gee 2012; Mishel et al. 2012). In other words, since 1979 the typical worker has hardly benefited from improvements in the economy’s ability to raise living standards and, consequently, middle-class families’ living standards have barely budged since then. This phenomenon has occurred across the nation, including in Michigan.

This divergence between pay and productivity and the corresponding failure of middle-class incomes to grow is strongly related to the erosion of collective bargaining. And collective bargaining has eroded more in Michigan than in the rest of the nation, helping to explain Michigan’s more disappointing outcomes.

Research three decades ago by economist Richard Freeman (1980) showed that collective bargaining reduces wage inequality, and all the research since then (see Freeman 2005) has confirmed his finding. Collective bargaining reduces wage inequality for three reasons. The first is that wage setting in collective bargaining focuses on establishing “standard rates” for comparable work across business establishments and for particular occupations within establishments. The outcome is less differentiation of wages among workers and, correspondingly, less discrimination against women and minorities. A second reason is that wage gaps between occupations tend to be lower where there is collective bargaining, and so the wages in occupations that are typically low-paid tend to be higher under collective bargaining. A third reason is that collective bargaining has been most prevalent among middle-class workers, so it reduces the wage gaps between middle-class workers and high earners (who have tended not to benefit from collective bargaining).

Collective bargaining also reduces wage inequality in a less-direct way. Wage and benefit standards set by collective bargaining are often followed in workplaces not covered by collective bargaining, at least where there is extensive coverage by collective bargaining in particular occupations and industries. This spillover effect means that the impact of collective bargaining on the wages and benefits of middle-class workers extends far beyond those workers directly covered by an agreement.

Source: http://www.epi.org/publication/bp347-collective-bargaining/

The siren call went out 20 years ago, of the emergence of an “Apartheid” economy, a distinct separation between the classes: labor and management. Former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993 – 1997 during the Clinton Administration’s First Term) identified vividly, in this 1996 Harvard Business Review paper, that something was wrong with the U.S. economy then; (it is worst now):

CU Blog - Economic Principles - Wage-Seeking - Market forces -vs- Collective Bargaining - Photo 3That something is not the country’s productivity, technological leadership, or rate of economic growth, though there is room for improvement in all those areas. That something is an issue normally on the back burner in U.S. public discourse: the distribution of the fruits of economic progress. For many, the rise in AT&T’s stock after it announced plans [on January 3, 1996] to lay off 40,000 employees crystallized the picture of an economy gone haywire, with shareholders gaining and employees losing as a result of innovation and advances in productivity.

Has the distribution of the benefits of economic growth in the United States in fact gone awry? Is the nation heading toward an apartheid economy—one in which the wealthy and powerful prosper while the less well-off struggle? What are the facts? What do they mean? Are there real problems—and can they be solved?

Deploying solutions for the problem of income equality in the Caribbean is the quest of the Go Lean/CU roadmap. The book identified Agents of Change (Page 57) that is confronting the region, (America as well); they include: Globalization and Technology. A lot of the jobs that paid a “living wage” are now being shipped overseas to countries with lower wage levels, or neutralized by the advancement of technology. Yes, computers are reshaping the global job market, so even Collective Bargaining may fail to counter any eventual obsolescence of wage-earners, their valuation and appreciation; (see Encyclopedic Article # 2). The Go Lean book, and previous blog/commentaries, therefore detailed the campaign to not just consume technology, but to also innovate, produce and distribute the computer-enabled end-products. Therefore industries relating to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics/Medicine) are critical in the roadmap. Not only do these careers yield good-paying direct jobs, but also factor in the indirect job market, and the job-multiplier rate (3.0 to 4.1) for down-the-line employment (Page 260) opportunities.

The Go Lean… Caribbean book details the creation of 2.2 million new jobs for the Caribbean region, many embracing ICT/STEM skill-sets. This is easier said than done, so how does Go Lean purpose to deliver on this quest? By the adoption of certain community ethos, plus the executions of key strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies. The following is a sample from the book:

Assessment – Puerto Rico – Extreme Unemployment – The Greece of the Caribbean Page 18
Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments 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 Intellectual Property – Key to ICT Careers Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research and Development – Germaine for STEM jobs Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Close the Digital Divide – Vital for fostering ICT careers Page 31
Strategy – Mission – Education Without Further Brain Drain Page 46
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – East Asian Tigers Model Page 69
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – High Multiplier Industries Page 70
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – Trade and Globalization Page 70
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Commerce Department – Patents & Copyrights Page 78
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities – As Job-creating Engines Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization – Technology: The Great Equalizer Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade Page 128
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 – Income Equality Now More Pronounced Page 136
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education – e-Learning Options Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Labor Markets and Unions – Collective Bargaining Best-Practices Page 164
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration – STEM Resources Page 174
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology – Credits, Incentives and Investments Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Foster e-Commerce – Optimize Remittance Methods Page 198
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class – Exploit Globalization Page 223
Appendix – Growing 2.2 Million Jobs in 5 Years Page 257
Appendix – Job Multipliers – Direct & Indirect Job Correlations Page 259
Appendix – Emigration Bad Example – Puerto Rican Population in the US Mainland Page 304

The CU will foster job-creating developments, incentivizing many high-tech start-ups and incubating viable companies. The primary ingredient for CU success will be Caribbean people, so we must foster and incite participation of many young people into fields currently sharing higher job demands, like ICT and STEM, so as to better impact their communities. A second ingredient will be the support of the community – the Go Lean movement recognizes the limitation that not everyone in the community can embrace the opportunity to lead in these endeavors. An apathetic disposition is fine-and-well; we simply must not allow that to be a hindrance to those wanting to progress – there are both direct jobs and indirect jobs connected with the embrace of ICT/STEM disciplines. The community ethos or national spirit, must encourage and spur “achievers” into roles where “they can be all they can be”. Go Lean asserts that one person can make a difference … to a community (Page 122).

Other subjects related to job empowerments for wage-seekers in the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4240 Immigration Policy Exacerbates Worker Productivity Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3694 Jamaica-Canada employment programme pumps millions into local economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3473 Haiti to Receive $70 Million Grant to Expand Caracol Industrial Park to Create Jobs and Benefit from Globalization
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3446 Forecast for higher unemployment in Caribbean in 2015
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3164 Michigan Unemployment Model – Then and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2857 Where the Jobs Are – Entrepreneurism in Junk
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2800 The Geography of Joblessness
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750 Disney World’s example of Self Governing Entities and Economic Impacts of 70,000 jobs; 847,000+ Puerto Ricans now live in the vicinity.
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=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 Caribbean is arguably the best address on the planet, but “man cannot live on beauty alone”, there is the need for a livelihood as well. This is the challenge, considering the reality of unemployment in the region; the jobless rate among the youth is even higher.

The crisis of income inequality for the US is a direct result of free trade agreements, like NAFTA, and China’s Preferential Trading Status. Despite this status, we can benefit from the realities of globalization; jobs are being moved to conducive locations with lower labor costs.  We should invite these investors to look for cheaper labor options, here in the Caribbean region (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, etc.). This is the same reality as in Europe with different wage levels for the different countries (see Appendix below); the Caribbean also has these wage differences.

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to foster higher-paying job options: Call Centers, Offshore Software Development Centers, R&D Medical campuses, light-manufacturing and assembly plants for “basic needs” products (food, clothing shelter, energy, and transportation) for Caribbean consumption. This is the successful model of Japan, China and the “East Asia Tigers” economies; these are manifestations of effective Economic Principles.

The Go Lean book therefore digs deeper, providing turn-by-turn directions to get to the desired Caribbean results: a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

————-

Appendix – List of European countries by average wage (USA & Japan added for comparison)

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage)

2014 Annual values (in national currency) for a family with two children with one average salary, including tax credits and allowances.[1] Net amount is computed after Taxes, Social Security and Family Allowances; the result is provided in both the National Currency and the Euro, if different. The table, sorted from highest Net amount to the lowest, is presented as follows:

State Gross Net (Natl. Curr) Net (Euro)
Switzerland 90,521.98 86,731.20 71,407.21
Luxembourg 54,560.39 52,041.36 52,041.36
Norway 542,385.96 415,557.87 49.,741.20
Denmark 397,483.78 289,292.48 38,806.20
Iceland 6,856,099.69 5,872.114.66 37,865.07
UNITED STATES 56,067 45,582 37,671
Sweden 407,974.45 335,501.45 36,874.37
Netherlands 48,855.70 36,648.71 36,648.71
United Kingdom 35,632.64 28,960.38 35,925.65
Belgium 46,464.41 35,810.55 35,810.55
Italy 41,462.67 24,539.93 35,539.93
Germany 45,952.05 36,269.23 35,269.23
France 38,427.35 30,776.75 34,776.75
Ireland 34,465.85 34,382.63 34,382.63
Austria 42,573.25 33,666.04 33,666.04
Finland 42,909.72 32,386.59 32,386.59
JAPAN 4,881,994.24 4,132.432.02 29,452.16
Spain 26,161.81 22,129.78 22,129.78
Greece 24,201.50 17,250.24 17,250.24
Slovenia 17,851.28 15,882.53 15,882.53
Portugal 17,435.71 15,140.25 15,140.25
Estonia 12,435.95 11,176.87 11,176.87
Czech Republic 312,083.83 306,153.76 11,118.31
Slovakia 10,342.10 9,778.16 9,778.16
Poland 42,360.01 34,638.77 8,278.27
Hungary 3,009,283.93 2,530.280.97 8,196.30
Turkey 28,370.00 21,072.12 7,250.00

————-

Appendix VideoCollective Bargaining and Shared Prosperity: Michigan, 1979 – 2009 http://youtu.be/PcT4jK89JmE

Published on September 27, 2012 – This VIDEO depicts the positive effects of Collective Bargaining on the quest for income equality in the US State of Michigan; and the sad consequence of the widening income inequality when Collective Bargaining is less pervasive.
This reflect the “Observe and Report” functionality of the Go Lean…Caribbean promoters in the Greater Detroit-Michigan area.

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Location Matters, Even in a Virtual World

Go Lean Commentary 

CU Blog - Location Still Matters in a Virtual World - Photo 1Location, location, location …

Despite the direct references to the physical world, it turns out that ‘location’ is equally important in the virtual world.

The consideration of location is the most important factor in the Art-and-Science of Marketing. That field has these 4 charters, considered the 4 P’s, but location rises to the front of the priorities:

  • Place – Location, location, location… (See Appendix below).
    Can also refer to distribution; the destination and activities that make the product available to consumers.
  • Product – The goods and/or services offered by a company to its customers.
  • Price – The amount of money paid by customers to purchase the product
  • Promotion – The activities that communicate the product’s features and benefits and persuade customers to purchase the product.
    Source: Marketing Online Journal

But for the virtual world – or electronic commerce – the discussion of location considers “community” more so than buildings. “Community” as in community ethos; this is defined as the fundamental character of a culture, that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of a group or society.

So where – which community – an e-Commerce company is located in really matters … for access to the right ethos, skilled talent, support services and capital. Is the Caribbean a good location for electronic commerce? No, we are not!

Can we be a good location for electronic commerce? Yes, we can!

We must simply adopt the appropriate community ethos; then execute the proper strategies, tactics and implementations to foster the industrial policies, entrepreneurial opportunities and jobs.

There is a model for us to follow:

Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In a previous blog-commentary on April 16, 2015 by the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean, the college-town of Ann Arbor was examined as part of a year-long tour of the economic anatomy of City of Detroit and surrounding Michigan cities. The book identified the Detroit metropolitan area (Page 140) as a Failed-City that parallels many Caribbean communities. Yet still, out of the “ashes of decay”, a few positive innovations were observed-and-reported on, such as the impactful community of Ann Arbor. That previous blog quoted the following:

The idea of impactful cities aligns with the book Go Lean…Caribbean in stressing the elevation of the societal engines through entrepreneurial endeavors. The book asserts that Caribbean society can be elevated by improving the eco-system to live, work, learn and play. This is the example of Ann Arbor.

The Go Lean roadmap accepts that change has come to the global marketplace, due mostly to the convergence of Internet & Communications Technology (ICT). The book posits that size no longer matters, that from any location – like Ann Arbor … – innovative solutions can be developed and promoted to an appreciative audience. What matters most is the innovation, not the location; so any Caribbean member-state, large or small can be impactful. The first requirement is the community ethos of valuing intellectual property. This ethos would be new for the Caribbean market; it is therefore a mission of the CU to forge.

The Go Lean roadmap asserts that one individual or community can make a difference in the quest to elevate Caribbean society – the promoters of Go Lean have come to Ann Arbor to observe and report on their progress. We want the same outcomes by fostering genius qualifiers in our region; we therefore need impactful college-towns in the Caribbean.

Consider this example of a world renowned company, based in Ann Arbor, that embraced that city’s spirit and most-assuredly rebooted their company, culture and fortunes. That company is Domino’s Pizza. Yes, a pizza company with more staff in Information Technology than any other department in the corporate headquarters. They place a huge emphasis on developing- deploying technology-based solutions, while also improving their underlying product, Pizza. This story is portrayed in this VIDEO here:

VIDEOBehind Domino’s Pizza’s recipe for successhttp://www.cbsnews.com/videos/dominos-pizzas-recipe-for-success

Published on Mar 25, 2017 – Domino’s Pizza is hotter than ever.
One big reason has to do with marketing seven years ago that helped save the day when the flat-bread company was flatlining… .
“In 2009, we decided that technology was going to be a big deal,” CEO Patrick Doyle said. Domino’s has more people working in IT than anywhere else in the company, at its Ann Arbor, Michigan, headquarters. CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller reports.
(Read the full transcript here: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/dominos-pizzas-recipe-for-success)

CU Blog - Location Still Matters in a Virtual World - Photo 2

See a related VIDEO here: Domino’s® Pizza Turnaround by Domino’s Pizza on YouTube

The book Go Lean…Caribbean strategizes technology as well; in fact that Internet & Communications Technologies (ICT) – e-Commerce is one such economic activity – is presented as a great equalizer for Small Country-States versus Big States on the world stage. The book stresses this point early (on Page 14) in the opening Declaration of Interdependence:

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.

The Go Lean book details technology and other strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge a cyber-friendly community ethos in the Caribbean. The book presents one such advocacy on Page 127, entitled:

10 Big Ideas … in the Caribbean Region

8 Cyber Caribbean
Forge electronic commerce industries so that the internet communications technology (ICT) can be a great equalizer in economic battles of global trade. This includes e-Government (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems) and e-Delivery, Postal Electronic Last Leg mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives.

The opening Declaration of Interdependence also stressed the need for entrepreneurship and job creation. The book relates that the right community ethos can be – must be – forged, especially if we want to create jobs … in this new economy; (we want those jobs). See that pronouncement here also in the opening Declaration of Interdependence on Page 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, like … frozen foods …. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism… – impacting the region with more jobs.

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of all 30 member-states of the Caribbean. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and 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 commentary examined many other companies and many other cities, detailing their successes and failures in transforming their communities. Consider this sample of earlier blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10449 Model of an ‘empowering’ family/company empowering a city: Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10140 Lessons Learned from Detroit demolishing thousands of structures
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8982 GraceKennedy: Profile of a Caribbean Transnational Corporation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8669 Detroit makes Community College free
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7586 Company Blink Health: The Cure for High Drug Prices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7235 Flint, Michigan – A Cautionary Tale
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5155 Tesla unveils super-battery to power homes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4587 Burlington, Vermont: First city to be powered 100% by renewables
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3152 Making a Great Place to Work®
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3490 How One Entrepreneur Can Rally a Whole Community
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2488 Role Model Jack Ma brings Alibaba to America
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1416 Role Model Amazon’s new FIRE Smartphone

The Go Lean book and these accompanying blogs posit that the economic failure in the Caribbean in the past in general is the result of the lack of diversity in our industrial development. The region depends too heavily on tourism. We need to be prepared for the new economy – with the tenants of ICT. While location does not matter online, when it comes to e-Commerce, location does matter for having a community that fosters the right attitudes and achievements.

The Go Lean book asserts that the Caribbean nations must do better! We must look for these ICT opportunities for economic expansion; consider “10 Ways to Foster e-Commerce” (Page 198).

The requisite investment of the resources (time, talent, treasuries) for this goal may be too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone, so shifting the responsibility to a region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy will result in greater production and greater accountability.

The Go Lean roadmap is designed to facilitate economic growth and job creation, by modeling companies like Domino’s and cities like Ann Arbor. We want to be their protégés … and definitely not their parasites.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people, entrepreneurs, business establishments and even the governing institutions, to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap to make the Caribbean homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

Sign the petition to lean-in for the roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Appendix Title: Who coined the phrase ‘location, location, location’?

Language expert William Safire searches for who came up with the phrase “location, location, location” in the Times Magazine this weekend after a colleague working on a wedding announcement said the phrase was attributed to a British real estate tycoon named Lord Harold Samuel. Lord Samuel’s 1987 obituary names him as the phrase coiner, but the editor of the “Yale Book of Quotations” found the phrase used in a real estate classified ad in the Chicago Tribune in 1926.

Lord Samuel was 14 years old at the time. Safire said the context of the 1926 ad suggests it was already a familiar phrase in Chicago and phrasal etymologists are not yet finished with this challenge.
Source: The Real Deal – South Florida Real Estate News – Posted June 9, 2009; retrieved April 24, 2017 from: http://bit.ly/2jyEzbD

 

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Building Better Cities

Go Lean Commentary

Truth be told, it is hard to fix (reform) the broken processes of a whole country.

It is easier to fix a broken family; and easier to fix/reform just a broken neighborhood.

So a formula for success would be to reform broken neighborhoods (and broken families) one after another, and just like that, the country is transformed.

CU Blog - Building Better Cities - Photo 3

This “bottoms-up” approach is also the premise of the Six Sigma Quality Management concept (see Appendix below):

Do not try to perform 1 million perfect iterations; rather try to perform 1 iteration perfectly; then repeat it 1,000,000 times.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean presents the quest to elevate the 30 member-states in the Caribbean region. It does not limit the focus to the state governments; it drills down to a subset level: the cities. The book asserts that reforming and transforming cities would be integral to reforming and transforming entire countries.

Fix the cities; fix the world!

This is the theme of these many source materials. Consider the AUDIO Podcast, VIDEO and magazine column/article here:

AUDIO Podcast – Building Better Cities – http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/462178064/building-better-cities?showDate=2017-03-31


Posted March 31, 2017 – Cities are among our greatest experiments in human co-habitation. Do they also hold the answers to some of our biggest problems? This hour, TED speakers explore how cities can change the world. Listen to the full hour here: http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/462178064/building-better-cities?showDate=2017-03-31

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VIDEO – Atlanta’s Kasim Reed: How Are Mayors Better Poised to ‘Get Things Done’?https://youtu.be/semT61CCNEE


Published on Oct 20, 2014 – “Cities are where hope meets the streets,” says Kasim Reed, mayor and son of Atlanta. In this powerful talk, he argues that transformation is really possible at the municipal level. Reforming the city he loves was not just a matter of tough financial calls, but of really listening to the wisdom within the community.

See more: tedcity2.org

  • Category: Nonprofits & Activism
  • License:   Standard YouTube License

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Title: The Issues That Drive America’s Mayors
Sub-Title: Whether they’re Democrats or Republicans, a new survey shows that poverty and wealth inequality are what concern them most.
By: Bob Annibale, Mick Cornett

CU Blog - Building Better Cities - Photo 1

Before he died in 2014, Thomas Menino, a visionary urban leader who served as mayor of Boston for more than two decades, declared that we are living in “the era of the city.” This has never been truer than it is today.

As the world continues to urbanize at an unprecedented rate, cities and their surrounding areas wield more power than ever. Currently over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and that is expected to grow to 70 percent by 2050. In the United States, 82 percent of Americans live in metropolitan areas, an increase of 12 percent just since 2000.

Cities are rich with diversity and serve as vital hubs of innovation, culture and commerce. The world’s top 10 cities by GDP, five of which are in the United States, have economies rivaling all but the 10 most prosperous countries. But while the populations, capital and political power of many cities is enormous, so are the scale and complexity of their challenges — making insight into their leadership important.

Motivated by the belief that “the era of the city” is upon us, Boston University’s Initiative on Cities, with support from Citi, recently published the findings of its 2016 Menino Survey of Mayors to understand the important challenges facing these cities’ leaders. Named for the great Boston mayor, the survey gathered the perspectives of more than 100 sitting mayors from 41 states on contemporary issues through a series of one-on-one interviews conducted last summer.

The survey’s findings reveal that despite remarkable societal advancements in urban centers, new and more complex problems are cropping up or increasing in severity. The environment, infrastructure, public services and household financial security are presenting challenges at a level that cities have never experienced before.

Not surprisingly, the survey found that two of the central issues in the 2016 presidential campaign – wealth inequality and the shrinking middle class — were also of deep concern to mayors of cities throughout the country. Nearly half of those surveyed ranked poverty as their most pressing economic concern. In fact, 48 percent of mayors feel that those living in or near poverty are the most excluded group in their cities; when asked which constituency they need to do more to help, nearly a quarter named poor residents.

What is slightly more surprising is the level of agreement on the top issues regardless of mayors’ party affiliation or city size. Mayors from cities big and small are highly attuned to the plight of their most vulnerable residents, and even in this polarized political climate the focus on poverty is shared by both Democratic and Republican mayors. That’s also true of the benefits of diversity. While issues of economic inclusion and diversity illuminated deep divisions among the presidential candidates, the country’s mayors were united in the goal of building more inclusive cities that are welcoming to all.

The Menino Survey provides a window into how our nation’s mayors think, act and perceive their world. By gathering and synthesizing the priorities and challenges of our cities from the perspective of their leaders, the survey offers a roadmap of opportunities for civic innovation.

It also provides stakeholders in the nonprofit and private sectors with valuable insights that can inform the development of new programs, policies and partnerships, such as universal youth savings accounts in San Franciscocommunity land trusts in Washington, D.C., or a small-business support program for public-housing residents in New York City.

These types of innovations, often forged through public-private partnerships, enable us to tackle complex urban challenges such as poverty and economic insecurity and build more inclusive cities — ones where residents can fulfill their potential and contribute to thriving urban economies.

About the Authors: 

  • Bob Annibale – Leader of CitiGroup’s partnerships with global, national and local organizations to support inclusive finance and community development
  • Mick Cornett – Mayor of Oklahoma City and president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

Related: 

It is important to glean these main points from the foregoing source media/articles:

  • This is “the era of the city”.
  • Cities are where hope meets the streets.
  • Currently, over half of the world’s population lives in cities, and that is expected to grow to 70 percent by 2050. In the United States, 82 percent of Americans live in metropolitan areas, an increase of 12 percent just since 2000.
  • Cities are rich with diversity and serve as vital hubs of innovation, culture and commerce. The world’s top 10 cities by GDP, five of which are in the United States, have economies rivaling all but the 10 most prosperous countries.

Reform the cities; reform the country!

The Go Lean book studies the good, bad and ugly lessons from a number of cities (New York City; Omaha, Nebraska; Detroit, Michigan; Los Angeles City-County, California); the book then proceeds to detail strategies, tactics and implementation to fix one particular Caribbean city (Freeport, Bahamas).

The Go Lean book presents a plan to grow the regional economy and create jobs. The Go Lean book asserts that this effort is too big a task for just one Caribbean member-state or city alone; all the 30 member-states and their cities must convene, confederate and collaborate in order to effect change. As such, the Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states, and all cities. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs. Caribbean cities need jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. This roadmap calls for mini-cities, referred to as Self-Governing Entities, as a solution to optimize industrial policy. See a model/example here.
    CU Blog - Disney World - Role Model for a Self Governing Entity - Photo 1
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines. The origins of cities were for protective walls around the city perimeters.
    CU Blog - Building Better Cities - Photo 2
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies. See a model/example here.
    CU Blog - Two Pies - Economic Plan for a New Caribbean - Photo 3

A mission of the Go Lean roadmap is to reboot urban communities – defining a concerted effort in a concentrated area – with empowerments like:

  • Transportation – “Out of the box” thinking to transport people to places; i.e. Streetcars.
  • Mixed-use Developments – Optimize communities with one building for retail, office and residences.
  • Healthcare … on controlled campuses – Facilitating hands-off administration for advanced medical R&D.
  • Improving Local Government – Connecting citizens online for more and more electronic delivery.
  • Public Works – Infrastructure projects elevate cities … economically.
  • Libraries – These are for more than just reading books in this New Economy.
  • Events/Festivals – Culture, community pride and revenues cannot be ignored.
  • Main Street – Local Downtowns can be tranformed for the Greater Good.
  • Sports – These Big Business activities can impact more than just the fans and players.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming Caribbean urban communities must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 11 – 14):

vi. Whereas the finite nature of the landmass of our lands limits the populations and markets of commerce, by extending the bonds of brotherhood to our geographic neighbors allows for extended opportunities and better execution of the kinetics of our economies through trade. This regional focus must foster and promote diverse economic stimuli.

vii. Whereas our landmass is finite and therefore limited as to population growth potential, it is imperative that prudent growth management be practiced so as to protect our legacy and still foster future opportunities for the hopes and fulfillment of a prosperous future for our children.

viii. Whereas the population size is too small to foster good negotiations for products and commodities from international vendors, the Federation must allow the unification of the region as one purchasing agent, thereby garnering better terms and discounts.

xi.  Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

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, prefabricated 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… – impacting the region with more jobs.

This commentary previously related details of city life – elevating society at the urban level – that can be applied directly in the Caribbean. Here is a sample of previous blogs:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=11244 ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ … City/County …
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4587 Burlington, Vermont: First city to be powered 100% by renewables
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3641 ‘We Built This City …’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326 M-1 Rail: Alternative Motion in the MotorCity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1918 Philadelphia Freedom – We can Look, Listen and Learn
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1596 Book Review: ‘Prosper Where You Are Planted’

The Go Lean book and these accompanying blogs posit that the economic failures in the Caribbean in general and in cities in particular are the direct result of the lack of diversity in industrial development, and the subsequent societal abandonment. The region depends too heavily on one industry: tourism.

The roadmap asserts that this strategy is flawed; that while prudence dictates that the Caribbean nations expand and optimize their tourism products, the Caribbean must also look for other opportunities for economic expansion. Cities can be laboratories in urban civilization, but the requisite investment of the resources (time, talent, treasuries) for this goal may be too big for any one city alone. So rather, this roadmap shifts the responsibility to a region-wide, professionally-managed, deputized technocracy that will result in greater production and greater accountability. The end result of these “urban laboratories” will facilitate economic diversity and job creation.

This is the charge of the Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap, to do the heavy-lifting, to implement the organization dynamics to impact Caribbean society here and now. The following are the community ethos, strategies, tactics and operational advocacies to effectuate this goal:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Systems Influences Choices & Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Make the Caribbean the Best Address on Planet Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Protect our residents, visitors and repatriates Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Fix the broken systems of governance Page 46
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Union versus Member-States Page 71
Implementation – Implement Self-Governing Engines Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Implementation – Ways to Re-boot Freeport – Sample City Page 114
Implementation – Ways to Promote Independence – Autonomous Cities Page 120
Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Page 127
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Lessons from New York City Page 137
Planning – Lessons from Omaha Page 138
Planning – Lessons from Detroit Page 140
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Governance Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Enhance Tourism Page 190
Advocacy – Ways to Market Southern California – Learning from L.A. City Page 194
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Main Street Page 201
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Urban Living Page 234

This Go Lean book accepts that the current State of the Cities does not have to be a permanent disposition. Under the Go Lean roadmap, cities can do better; all of the Caribbean can do better. This roadmap is a 5-year plan to effect change, to make our homeland a better place to live, work and play.

Now is the time to build better Caribbean cities; the people and governing institutions are urged to lean-in to this Go Lean … Caribbean roadmap. 🙂

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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

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Appendix – The Bottom Line on Six Sigma

CU Blog - Building Better Cities - Photo 4

Six Sigma is a set of tools and strategies for process improvement originally developed by Motorola in 1985, but popularized in 1995 by General Electric’s Jack Welch as his central business strategy. Today it is used in different sectors of industry. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors). It uses a set of quality management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization (Champions, Black Belts, Green Belts, Orange Belts, etc.) who are experts in these very complex methods.

With Six Sigma the maturity of a manufacturing process can be described by a sigma rating indicating its yield or the percentage of defect-free products it creates. A six sigma process is one in which 99.9999998% of products manufactured are statistically expected to be free of defects (3.4 defects per million). According to Wikipedia, Six Sigma projects follow a methodology, aimed at improving existing business processes, composed of five phases, bearing the acronyms DMAIC:

  • Define the problem, the voice of the customer, and the project goals, specifically.
  • Measure key aspects of the current process and collect relevant data.
  • Analyze the data to investigate and verify cause-and-effect relationships. Determine what the relationships are, and attempt to ensure that all factors have been considered. Seek out root cause of the defect under investigation.
  • Improve or optimize the current process based upon data analysis.
  • Control the future state process to ensure that any deviations from target are corrected before they result in defects.

Source: Go Lean … Caribbean (Page 147)

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ENCORE: Patriarch of an ’empowering’ family – Mike Ilitch dies; RIP

This is an ENCORE of the original blog-commentary from April 28, 2015 regarding empowering families in failing communities. The City of Detroit was cited, in comparison to select families in the Caribbean.

Mike Ilitch Dies - PhotoThat Detroit family, Mike Ilitch et al, now has to endure the loss of the family patriarch. This is a big loss for the family and a big loss for the Detroit community; see the full story here:

http://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/2017/02/10/ilitch-detroit-pizza-red-wings-tigers-hockey-forbes/91475642/

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean have observed-and-reported on the turn-around of the once-great City of Detroit. We learned to value and respect the Ilitch family as role models for the Caribbean to emulate. This loss is huge!

RIP Mike Ilitch.

See the original blog-commentary here:

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A Lesson in History – Empowering Families

Go Lean Commentary

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. – Source unknown

This familiar expression is not intended to give culinary instructions regarding “elephant” meat, but rather it relates a formula for taking on big goals. The answer is to attack the big goal with one small task at a time; taking one step after another in a journey towards a destination. The book Go Lean…Caribbean seeks to engage a big goal, that of elevating the Caribbean region through economic, security and governing empowerments.

This book declares this “elephant-size” goal is heavy-lifting; thusly the above advice applies. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to provide better stewardship for the Caribbean homeland. The book posits that we can do this. We can look internally for solutions, rather than expecting some external “actor” to come in and provide answers. No, we must not fashion ourselves as parasites, but rather protégés of those communities that have already completed these heavy-lifting tasks.

Here is where we benefit from the lessons in history from other communities, families and individuals that have demonstrated unity-of-purpose. We are taught that “bite-size morsels” of the regional “elephant” can be well-handled by strong families; therefore the need exists to strengthen and empower families to optimize their societal contributions.

This strategy of family empowerment is very critical, and has a successful track record. In a previous blog/commentary, the issue of the origin of powerful families was detailed at full length. A direct quote relates:

From the origins of slavery, the region traversed the historic curves of social revolution and evolution. In the 1500, the Protestant movement took hold. As other European powers deviated from Catholicism, Papal Bulls [- which awarded territories in this New World -] carried no significance to them and compliance was ignored. England and Holland established their own Protestant Churches with their own monarchs as head of Church and State; Papal decrees were replaced with Royal Decrees and Charters. The intent and end-result was still the same: territories and lands awarded (colonized) with the stroke of a pen by one European power after another. The Royal Decrees and Charters were then reinforced with a strong military presence and many battles…

[The resultant] “oligarchy” … power effectively rested with a small number of people. These people could be distinguished by royalty, wealth, family ties, education, corporate, religious or military affiliation.

In this discussion of oligarchy, focus is given to powerful families. There are encyclopedic references that relate that oligarchy structures are often controlled by a few prominent families, who typically pass their influence/wealth from one generation to the next, even though inheritance alone is not a necessary condition for oligarchies to prevail.

The islands of the Caribbean fit the story-line in the [Caribbean-Calypso] song lyrics: “Islands in the sun; willed to me by my father’s hand”.

This is the challenge that belies Caribbean society. Most of the property and indigenous wealth of the Caribbean region is concentrated amongst the rich, powerful and yet small elite; an oligarchy. Many times these families received their property, corporate rights and/or monopolies by Royal Charter from the European monarchs of ancient times. These charters thus lingered in legacy from one generation to another … until …

The Go Lean book pushes further and deeper on this subject of family empowerment, stressing that success can still be derived in the Caribbean, even without the legacy of 500 years of entitlement. The book therefore stresses certain best-practices to apply to the regional strategies, tactics and implementations.

The book and subsequent Go Lean blogs prescribed new empowerments like investments in intellectual properties, controlled mineral exploration & extraction, strategic ship-building and outsourced security services. The book/blogs also call for best practices to optimize the current business models of tourism, financial services and specialty agriculture/fisheries.

The lesson of best practices comes from another community, of which we can be a protégé. This is the City of Detroit, Michigan USA. This community is notorious for its urban failures, even filing Bankruptcy in 2013. But from these ashes we have the following example of the pivotal and empowering Ilitch Family. Their Ilitch Holdings, Inc. operates as a holding company for restaurants, sports clubs, real estate, and entertainment businesses. With 17,000 direct employees and annual revenues of $1.8 billion (estimated in 2007; privately held companies are not required to disclose), this family enterprise truly impacts and empowers its community. (Detroit is voted #1 Sports City in the USA). The family operates and franchises the Little Caesars Pizza global chain plus this entertainment company branded Olympia Entertainment:

CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - Photo 1In 1982, Michael and Marian Ilitch purchased the Olympia Stadium Corporation, the management company for Olympia Stadium and renamed it Olympia Arenas, Inc. (In 1927, the Olympia Sports Arena was built in downtown Detroit to accommodate Detroit’s NHL franchise, and serve as the premier venue for a variety of entertainment). The newly purchased business was responsible for managing events at Joe Louis Arena (which had been completed in 1979 as the home of the Detroit Red Wings), Cobo Arena and the Glens FallsCivicCenter. That same year, Mr. and Mrs. Ilitch purchased the Detroit Red Wings.

In 1987, the Ilitches purchased Detroit’s iconic Fox Theatre (built in 1928) and renovated the 4,800+ seat venue, saving 80% of the original surfaces. In 1988, the Ilitches re-opened the Fox as the hub of the Foxtown Entertainment District and the building now houses the offices of Olympia Entertainment and Little Caesars Pizza. In 1989, the National Parks Service designated the Fox Theatre as a National Landmark.

The Olympia Stadium Corporation was renamed Olympia Entertainment in 1996 to reflect the management company’s expanded operations and venues.

In April 2000, Comerica Park, the new home of the Detroit Tigers hosted Opening Day and ushered in a new era of MLB baseball in Detroit. The 41,000+ seat ballpark is owned by the Detroit-Wayne County Stadium Authority, and Olympia Entertainment operates Comerica Park.
(Source: http://www.olympiaentertainment.com/about-olympia-entertainment/company-history)

Why consider the Ilitch Family as a model? They are impactful in business, sports, entertainment and philanthropy. This applies to the patriarch (Michael, Sr.) and the next generation; thus forging a family legacy. The family enterprises plus the Olympic Entertainment are detailed in the Appendix below. This is truly a family endeavor; in addition to parents Michael and Marian Ilitch, they have seven children: Christopher Ilitch (current CEO and President of Ilitch Holdings, Inc.); daughter Denise Ilitch, an attorney; Ron; Michael, Jr.; Lisa Ilitch Murray; Atanas; and Carole (Ilitch) Trepeck.

Needless to say, the City of Detroit had/has to engage, cooperate and collaborate with this family to induce their investment in the community. This is an example of impacting the Greater Good.

The Go Lean roadmap calls for engaging families in the Caribbean that are committed to elevating the Caribbean. There are truly Ilitch-like families here as well. Just consider this simple list of the most influential families in just one Caribbean member-state, Jamaica; as published by the highly regarded regional online publication, Pan-American World:

Title: 8 Wealthiest and Most Influential People From Jamaica
Pan-American World Online Magazine  – Retrieved 04/21/2015 from:
http://www.panamericanworld.com/en/article/8-wealthiest-and-most-influential-people-jamaica

1. Joseph M. Matalon
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - MatalonMatalon is among the foremost leaders in Jamaica business, part of a family with a legacy of successful business practices for decades. He is the chairman of the ICD Group, a Jamaican investment holding company. For more than 20 years, his knowledge and expertise have been utilized in the areas of transactional finance, investments and banking in various institutions. He is the chairman of British Caribbean Insurance Co., the Development Bank of Jamaica and president of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ). He also is a director of the Gleaner Co. and Commodity Service Co. and a former director of the Bank of Nova Scotia (Jamaica Limited). In addition, he has been involved with a number of special committees to advise the government on financial and economic matters.

2. Michael Lee-Chin
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - Michael Lee-ChinHe is a self-made billionaire who started his career as a road engineer for the Jamaican government and gradually built his way up to chairman and founder of Portland Holdings, a thriving, privately held investment company in Jamaica. Additionally, Lee-Chin is executive chairman of AIC Limited and National Commercial Bank. Born in Port Antonio in the Portland Parish, the Jamaican-Canadian Lee-Chin also owns stakes in National Commercial Bank Jamaica and Total Finance in Trinidad and Tobago. His personal real estate portfolio includes 250 acres of beachfront property in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and homes in Canada and Florida, according to Forbes. He has been off the magazine’s billionaire list for the last four years, topping out at a net worth of $2.5 billion in 2005.

3. Chris Blackwell
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - BlackwellHe belongs to an affluent family that acquired its wealth through sugar and Appleton Rum. He established himself as a music mogul more than 50 years ago. His rise included introducing the world to reggae. He produced music for artists like Ike and Tina Turner, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Burning Spear and Black Uhuru, among others. He is also the founder of Palm Pictures and creator of the Golden Eye Film Festival that honors Jamaicans who excel in the arts and music. He was awarded the Order of Jamaica for his exemplary work in the entertainment industry in 2004. The Blackwell family name has been the inspiration for “Blackwell Fine Jamaican Rum.” Blackwell currently runs Island Outpost, which is a conglomerate set up to run a group of resorts in Jamaica and the Bahamas. He has an estimated net worth of $180 million, according to celebritynetworth.com.

4. Paula Kerr-Jarrett
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - JarrettShe is an attorney, philanthropist and influential presence in the Jamaican society circle. She and her husband, Mark, are working to bolster Montego Bay tourism. They announced two months ago a multibillion-dollar partnership project to construct 1,200 homes, a 48-acre tech park with enormous space for information technology that would bring 30,000 jobs and a new University of the West Indies that would accommodate up to 10,000 students. They estimate the investment value of this project to be $500 million. Her great-grandmother, Marion Louise Reece Bovell, was the first woman in Jamaica to run in the general elections of 1944 as an independent candidate. Kerr-Jarrett is connected by marriage to the prominent Jarrett family.

5. Dr. Blossom O’Meally-Nelson
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - NelsonO’Meally-Nelson is Jamaica’s first female postmaster general. She is the former pro-chancellor and chairman of Council for the University of Technology (UTECH). Against the background of her outstanding achievements in public service, O’Meally-Nelson is making inroads in the private sector with a family-owned logistics company, Aeromar Group.

6. Joseph John Issa
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - IssaKnown mostly as Joe Issa, he is the founder of Cool Group, a multibillion-dollar entity that is made up of more than 50 companies; the chairman of the SuperClubs all-inclusive resort chain, and vice chairman of the Gleaner Co. Issa is credited with introducing the all-inclusive concept into Jamaica more than 30 years ago. He introduced the concept during the tourism slump in the 1970s when many hotels were struggling to break even. It was and remains a booming success. He also maintains a commitment to helping the community, especially children from underprivileged areas in education. He said, ”Born into a rich family, I cannot imagine what it would be like going to school without lunch or books.”

7. Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - StewartStewart reigns as the chairman of Sandals Resorts International, The Jamaica Observer and more than 20 other companies that fall under the Appliance Traders empire, one of the largest private-sector conglomerates in the Caribbean. He has a net worth of $1 billion. His working life began at the age of 12, when he borrowed his father’s fishing boat and began selling his catch of the day and ferrying the rich and famous between their anchored yachts and the harbor front. It was during those times he said he learned the elements of success.

8. Wayne Chen
CU Blog - A Lesson in History - Empowering Families - Wayne ChenWayne Chen, the chief executive officer of Super Plus Food Stores, is also the man behind a massive expansion in the local supermarket business in Jamaica. Super Plus is a large supermarket chain with at least 30 stores across the island. He wears other hats, too: chairman of NCB Insurance Co. Limited and West Indies Trust Co. Limited. He is also a director of NCB (Cayman) Limited, AIC (Barbados) Limited and the Christiana Town Centre Limited. He is also a younger brother of billionaire Michael Lee-Chin.

So the consideration of the Go Lean book, as related to this subject is one of governance and economic empowerment. The book posits that empowerment does not only need to emanate from government, but rather individuals and empowering families can have a positive impact. These points were pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 12) with these acknowledgements and statements:

xi.   Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xii. Whereas the legacy in recent times in individual states may be that of ineffectual governance with no redress to higher authority, the accedence of this Federation will ensure accountability and escalation of the human and civil rights of the people for good governance, justice assurances, due process and the rule of law. As such, any threats of a “failed state” status for any member state must enact emergency measures on behalf of the Federation to protect the human, civil and property rights of the citizens, residents, allies, trading partners, and visitors of the affected member state and the Federation as a whole.

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.

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like … Detroit…

The same as empowering families ruled in colonial times, based on special favor granted to their forebears by Royal Decree, the family dynamic can help the region again; this time for the Greater Good. While collaboration is so much harder on a societal level – there is the need for buy-in, compromise and consensus – families are already attuned to instinctively trust each other, work together and foster unity-of-purpose. Lastly, families often invest with a deferred gratification ethos, expecting many times that only the next generation will reap the returns on these investment. This eco-system is the microcosm of societal progress.

This Go Lean roadmap calls for incentivizing and engaging many empowering families; and to do so on a regional basis.

In general, the CU/Go Lean roadmap will employ strategies, tactics and implementations to impact its prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

  • 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 and mitigate internal and external threats.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

In much the same way the Ilitch Family seeks to transform Detroit, the Go Lean book stresses key community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies necessary to transform and turn-around the eco-systems of Caribbean society. These points are detailed in the book; the following is a sample:

Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Choose Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Choices Involve Costs Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices Page 21
Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future Page 21
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Minority Equalization Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Return on Investments Page 24
Community Ethos – Governing Principles – 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 Turn-Arounds – Learning from Detroit Page 33
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Vision – Confederate all 30 member-states/ 4 languages into a Single Market Page 45
Strategy – Mission – Build   and foster local & regional economic engines Page 45
Tactical – Ways to Foster a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing the Economy – Repatriate & Reunite Families Page 70
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers – CU Federal Government versus Member-State Governance Page 71
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Reasons to Repatriate Page 118
Planning – Anatomy of Advocacies – One person can make a difference Page 122
Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better Page 131
Planning – Lessons Learned from Detroit – Turn-around from Failure Page 140
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Anecdote – Caribbean Industrialist – Butch Stewart Page 189
Advocacy – Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Retirement Page 221
Advocacy – Ways to Impact the One Percent Page 224
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Elder-Care Page 225
Advocacy – Ways to Empower Women – Focus on Families Page 226
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth Page 227
Advocacy – Ways to Re-boot Jamaica Page 239

There are other lessons for the Caribbean to learn from considering the historicity of empowering families, those in the past, present and future. Whether these families prospered due to their own business acumen and hard work, or were entitled by some Royal Decree, we must all be judged on what we do with the gifts we are blessed with.

Our region has experienced a lot of abandonment over the decades; this status quo cannot persist. We have suffered the same as many other failing communities – like Detroit.  But the families depicted in this commentary, in Detroit and in the Caribbean, prove that despite hardships, if there is some unity-of-purpose, success can still be fostered even in the most trial-some conditions. Looking and learning at these communities, we glean that we can confer, convene and collaborate with empowering families to positively impact our communities.

Let’s get started! Let’s make our Caribbean homeland – and our individual communities – better places to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix – Ilitch Family Holdings and Olympia Entertainment Group

Fox Theatre Opened: September 21, 1928 Re-opened: November 19, 1988 after Michael and Marian Ilitch bought and restored the theatre to its original splendor; saving 80 percent of the original surfaces.Features: The Fox Theatre was the crown jewel of Detroit’s theater district during the first quarter of the 20th Century playing host to some of the biggest names in show business and showing first-runs of some of the greatest films in history. The Fox Theatre has played host to some of the greatest names in entertainment including Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross. Designated a National Landmark in 1989, the Fox is the second largest surviving theatre (over 4,800 seats) in the nation and has the second largest functioning Wurlitzer organ.
Joe Louis Arena Opened: In December 1979. Joe Louis Arena (The Joe or JLA) became the home-ice of the Detroit Red Wings NHL hockey franchise, replacing Olympia Stadium, the former home of Detroit’s NHL team for 72 years.Features: The 20,058-seat arena is Detroit’s largest indoor venue and has hosted a wide variety of events in its 30-year existence including the NHL All-Star Game (February 5, 1980), the Republican National Convention (July 14-18, 1980) and six Stanley Cup Finals. The arena is named after boxing legend and long-time Detroit resident, Joe Louis. First event: December 23, 1979 — University of Detroit vs. University of Michigan basketball; First Red Wings Game: December 29, 1979
Comerica Park Opened: April 11, 2000 Features: The 45,010 seat, open-air ballpark is home to the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball franchise. The ballpark has hosted more than 850 ball games as well as concerts with more than 80,000 fans. Comerica Park has hosted Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, KISS, Eminem, Jay-Z, The Rolling Stones and Kid Rock.First Event: Detroit Tigers vs. Seattle Mariners on April 11, 2000First Concert: The Dave Matthews Band on July 5, 2000
City Theatre Opened: September 15, 1993 as the Second City-DetroitReopened: October 6, 2004 as renamed City TheatreFeatures: An intimate, 472-seat theatre with the atmosphere of a Broadway house.
Affiliates
Little Caesars Pizza Little Caesars Pizza founders Michael and Marian Ilitch opened their first restaurant in Garden City, Michigan, in 1959. Little Caesars, the fastest growing pizza chain, built more stores in the   world in 2009 than any other pizza brand and today is the largest carry-out   chain globally with restaurants on five continents. Little Caesars is growing in prime markets across the country, and is offering strong franchisee candidates an opportunity for independence with a proven system. For the third year in a row, Little Caesars was named “Best Value in America”* of all quick-serve restaurant chains. In addition, Little Caesars offers strong brand awareness with one of the most recognized and appealing characters in   the country, Little Caesar.
“Highest-Rated Chain – Value for the Money” based on a nationwide survey of quick-service restaurant consumers conducted by Sandelman & Associates, 2009
Detroit Red Wings One of the Original Six franchises in the National Hockey League, the Detroit Red Wings have won more Stanley Cup Championships than any other American franchise. Purchased in 1982 by Mike and Marian Ilitch, the Red Wings have stood as one of professional sports’ premier franchises with the most recent Cup victories in 1997, 1998,   2002 and 2008. The Red Wings play in front of sellout crowds of 20,000-plus fans at Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit. Visit us at http://www.detroitredwings.com.
Detroit Tigers In 1992, Mike Ilitch purchased the Detroit Tigers, Detroit’s major league baseball team, which plays in Comerica Park. The ballpark is located directly across the street from the Fox Theatre. ComericaPark opened in 2000 to rave reviews. Sports Illustrated called Comerica Park a “brilliant ballpark”, among the top two or three in the country.
In 2005, the Detroit Tigers hosted the 76th All-Star game at Comerica Park. All-Star Week in Detroit produced the highest grossing revenue in the history of the All-Star Game. Comerica Park has also hosted numerous concerts and the 2006 World Series. Visit the Detroit Tigers website at www.detroittigers.com
Little Caesars Pizza Kits Since its introduction in the Detroit area in 1997, Pizza Kits has become the “Hottest Fundraiser in America” for all types of   nonprofit organizations. Pizza Kits contain all the ingredients to make delicious pizza at home. The Pizza Kit Program now offers a variety of family favorites: 9 Pizza Kits, 3 Breads, and 3 Specialty Items.
In Fall 2003, the Little Caesars Cookie Dough Program was launched with 8 great tasting varieties including: Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Raisin.
Today, Little Caesars Fundraising Programs proudly helps raise millions of dollars for thousands of schools, churches, sports teams and nonprofit organizations throughout the continental United States. Visit us at www.pizzakit.com or call us toll free at 1-888-4-LC-KITS.
Olympia Development Olympia Development, L.L.C. was established by the Ilitch organization in 1996 to cultivate and attract   development in downtown Detroit. The company was instrumental in negotiating the side-by-side Detroit Tigers and Detroit Lions stadiums. As a result, the 76th All-Star Game played at Comerica Park in 2005 and the XL Super Bowl that played at Ford Field in 2006. Olympia Development is dedicated to supporting further growth with the new Foxtown sports and entertainment district in downtown Detroit; see VIDEO below.
Uptown Entertainment Uptown Entertainment includes two of Detroit’s finest movie theatres – the historic Birmingham 8 and Ren Cen 4. In addition to featuring first-run movies, Uptown   Entertainment offers unparalleled event services in a variety of unique settings. Uptown is dedicated to faithfully providing our guests with the ultimate in theatre projection, sight, sound, and service. Special features of Uptown Entertainment theatres include stadium seating, digital surround sound, wall-to-wall curved screens and full bar service is available for any private theatre reservations.
In 2010, the Birmingham 8 theatre was one of the first in the area to offer Sony Digital Cinema 4K projection and RealD 3D, which provides the highest resolution projection   available, 3D capability and a superior viewing experience for guests. The technology also allows for a variety of alternative content such as live concerts, sporting events, operas and more! Visit UptownEntertainment.com. The Destination for an Exceptional Entertainment Experience.
Hockeytown Cafe Voted the No. 2 sports bar in the country week after week by ESPN2’s Cold Pizza,   Hockeytown Cafe is the hottest place to take part in the action before, during and after both Red Wings and Tigers games with live bands, great food and drink and the best view of Comerica Park in the MotorCity! Visit us at www.hockeytowncafe.com.
Blue Line Foodservice Distribution Blue Line Foodservice Distribution was established in 1971 in Farmington Hills, Michigan as a premier foodservice distribution company. With 14 distribution centers in North America and satellite locations within the U.S., the company distributes food and equipment to Little Caesars® stores as well as many other customers throughout the world. Through its West Coast centers, Blue Line provides exporting services to the Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific Rim and other territories; through its East Coast centers support is provided to the Caribbean, Europe, the Middle East and South America. Blue Line, with 700 employees, offers a single point of contact for product purchasing, replenishment, equipment, customer service and logistics. Learn more about Blue Line Foodservice Distribution at www.bluelinedist.com.
Champion Foods Champion Foods is a premier manufacturer of top quality private label and branded food products. Its specialty products are high quality packaged retail pizzas and   breadsticks, par-baked pizza crusts and premium cookie dough. Champion Foods services many customers including major grocery retailers, food service distributors, restaurant chains and industrial toppers. Its experienced and professional staff makes dozens of products, any of which can be customized to specific customer needs at their state-of-the-art manufacturing research center located in Metro Detroit. Champion Food offers an expansive distribution network to ship throughout North America.   www.championfoods.com
The Little Caesars Amateur Hockey League Little Caesars Amateur Hockey League (LCAHL) is the nation’s largest amateur youth   hockey league, involving teams from all over America’s Midwest — Michigan, Ohio and Indiana including Nashville, Tennessee — with more than 700 Travel and House Teams and over 11,000 players in 45 affiliated Associations.
Little Caesars AAA Hockey Little Caesars AAA Hockey is one of the most recognized and respected organizations in amateur travel hockey. A cornerstone of the Midwest Elite Hockey League   since 1968, the program has captured numerous state championships and   tournament titles over its 30-plus year history. Mike and Marian Ilitch, owners of the Little Caesars Pizza chain, have been sponsoring amateur hockey teams since 1968 and are a major reason for the club’s success. Visit us at www.littlecaesarshockey.com.
Little Foxes Fine Gifts Little   Foxes Fine Gifts, located in Downtown Detroit’s Fox Theatre Building, offers Metro   Detroiters unique gifts for every occasion. You’ll find one-of-a-kind gifts from around the world including pottery, fine crystal, art, jewelry and home furnishings. Established by Marian Ilitch in 1992, Little Foxes is the premiere downtown location for all your gift giving needs! Free Parking is available. Visit us at www.littlefoxes.com.
MotorCity Casino Hotel Motor City Casino Hotel has 400 rooms and suites. Dining options include Iridescence, Detroit’s only AAA Four Diamond Award-winning restaurant, Grand River Deli, and Assembly Line Buffet. With live entertainment nightly at Chromatics, Detroit’s only Radio Bar, Spectators sports bar to watch the game, and Amnesia, Detroit’s only ultra lounge, there’s something for everyone. For more information please visit www.motorcitycasino.com. Due to Sports league ownership rules, the casino is directly owned by Marian Ilitch.
Coming Development
The District Detroit (See VIDEO below) Ilitch Organization Achieves Zoning Approval for New Detroit Events CenterOur Vision for Affordable Housing and Plan for Renovation of Eddystone Hote. lDetroit Businesses Win Majority of Contract Awards for New Detroit Events Center. The District Detroit: Six Job Fairs in 60 Days

(Source: http://www.olympiaentertainment.com/about-olympia-entertainment/company-history)

VIDEO – Ilitch Organization unveils sports and entertainment district plans – https://youtu.be/3fSVcsNWhjk

Published on Jul 21, 2014

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Lessons Learned: Detroit demolishes thousands of structures

Go Lean Commentary

Lights, camera, action …

That expression is used to initiate a filming session on a movie set. It is symbolic of manifestation; “coming to a head” after a long series of planning steps.

“You have planned the work; now its time to work the plan”.

Engage!

This book Go Lean…Caribbean – published in November 2013 – analyzed the once-great-but-now-distressed City of Detroit (Michigan, USA); it embedded the lessons learned from Detroit in a page entitled:

10 Lessons Learned from Detroit (Page 140)

Afterwards, the book’s publishers went to Detroit (for almost 1 & 1/2 years) to “observe and report” on the turn-around and rebirth of the city. The motivation was that the Caribbean region could learn a lot from the strategies, tactics and implementations to mitigate this community’s “Failed-State/Failed-City” status. The recommendation of the book and countless blogs – 34 not including this submission – was always the same that Detroit can benefit by engaging in a demolition of so many of its blighted buildings. This is described as exercising the mastery of destruction arts and sciences – salvage, removal, recycle, redevelopment, rebirth, reboot and “right-sizing”.

Those pleas have been heard: Detroit has now commenced the recommended action of demolishing structures. See a full news article relating this here:

Title: Detroit demolishes thousands of structures; many more to go
By: Corey Williams

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DETROIT (AP) — Remnants of the roof and walls creaked, groaned and then crumpled to the ground Wednesday from what once was an industrial building that covered an entire city block, likely the last structure demolished this year under Detroit’s massive blight elimination program.

Blows from an excavator methodically destroyed a portion of what had been a 60,000-square-foot building on Cloverdale Avenue in a west side neighborhood of homes, auto repair shops and other light industrial buildings.

When leveled, the structure that a local resident said had once housed an industrial laundry or dry cleaners, will mark about 3,130 structures cleared in 2016 and about 10,700 — mostly houses — razed since 2014. The vast majority are owned by the city’s Land Bank Authority.

But the city has a long way to go. A blight task force in 2014 said 40,000 needed to be torn down and 38,000 others were falling apart in one of the nation’s poorest major cities that emerged in December 2014 from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Many blocks have more abandoned houses and empty lots than lived-in homes, a result of the exodus of whites and much of the black middle class from the city. About 1.8 million people lived in Detroit in the 1950s. Fewer than 700,000 currently call Detroit home, according to the U.S. Census.

Mayor Mike Duggan has said the mass demolitions are necessary for Detroit to attract families to city neighborhoods and stop decades of population loss.

“I’m so excited about this,” said an almost gleeful Sandra Pickens as the excavator clawed at brick and wood.

Pickens is president of the Littlefield Community Association. The neighborhood group met over the summer with Duggan about the empty building and other concerns.

“This was an eyesore for us,” she told The Associated Press Wednesday. “I’ve seen people come and dump things here; come in at night and steal the beams. We shouldn’t have anything looking like this.”

Mike Douglas works in a muffler shop on Cloverdale. He remembers the neighborhood and small businesses in the area as “thriving” 20 or so years ago. He believes the building across the street has been empty a dozen or so years.

The area had “deteriorated to the point that we were having a tough time actually keeping our business here,” said Douglas, 55.

By removing dangerous buildings and empty houses, safety and quality of life in Detroit is improved, according to Fire Investigations Division Capt. Winston Farrow.

“It eliminates the opportunities for criminals to set fires in vacant houses,” Farrow said. “The problem was more just the sheer numbers of dwellings that we had.”

The average sale prices of over 100 houses sold in the city also has increased over the past three years, according to the Land Bank.

The problems haven’t been resolved completely, “but it’s much better,” said Linda Smith, a blight task force co-chair and executive director of a nonprofit that builds homes in Detroit and provides resources to city residents.

“Maintaining and securing all of the homes that need some work done to them is the next step,” Smith said.

Not everyone is as optimistic.

“You can tear down a house on one block and go back several months later and where houses were occupied (they) are now abandoned and need to be demolished,” said Sheila Dapremont, owner of Detroit demolition company 3D Wrecking.

“It just seems like it never ends,” she said.

On average, it costs Detroit $12,616 to knock down a house. More than $128 million in federal funds over the past three years have helped pay for the work. Another $130 million was approved this year.

About $40 million in the city’s general fund has been set aside for demolitions.

Federal funding was temporarily halted earlier this year and resumed after an audit determined demolition costs above a federal cap of $25,000 per house were redistributed to 350 other properties to have those houses appear to meet the cap. Amounts over the cap should have been billed to the city. The city says controls have since been tightened.

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Detroit Demolition Tracker: http://www.detroitmi.gov/demolition

Despite these events being in Detroit and not the Caribbean, the foregoing can still impact the Greater Good for the Caribbean. It provides us an exact role model of what to do … and not do. Lessons learned …

The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to elevate Caribbean society. Detroit is not in scope for this effort, but as detailed in a previous blog-commentary, an examination of the details of Detroit can be productive for the Caribbean effort. The Go Lean roadmap therefore has 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.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

Early in the Go Lean book, the point of lessons from Detroit was pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14), with this opening statement:

xxxiii. Whereas lessons can be learned and applied from the study of the recent history of other societies, the Federation must formalize statutes and organizational dimensions to avoid the pitfalls of communities like … Detroit…

As a “failed-city”, Detroit has suffered abandonment; first “white flight”, then eventually everyone else; (the population peak was 1,849,568 in 1950, but only 713,777 in 2010). The need for demolition is tied to the fact that many of the buildings from that population peak were still standing in the city, though now blighted.

According to the foregoing article, the city has more to do to right-size to an optimized city. The city’s disposition is still dire (brain drain, unemployment, urban blight and acute hopelessness); but there is hope for a better future. This is very familiar for Caribbean communities. This is why the study of Detroit is such an ideal model for the Caribbean.

Previous Go Lean blogs highlighted some specific lessons from Detroit and other nearby Michigan cities, as sampled in this detailed list here:

Detroit makes Community College free
An Ode to Detroit – Good Luck on Trade!
Beware of Vulture Capitalists
Detroit giving schools their ‘Worst Shot’
Flint, Michigan – A Cautionary Tale
Secrecy, corruption and conflicts in State governance
Before and After Photos of Detroit’s Transformation
Education & Economics: Welcoming Obama to Detroit
Ann Arbor: Model for ‘Start-up’ Cities
Big Salt: Short-term Benefit; Long-term Damage
NEXUS: Facilitating Detroit-Windsor Commerce
M-1 Rail: Alternative Motion in the Motor City
JP Morgan Chase $100 million Detroit investment

The foregoing news article (and VIDEO in the Appendix below) relates more to the art and science of destruction-recycling than it does to Detroit. This has also been a consistent theme for the Go Lean movement. Consider these previous blog-commentaries that advocated developing business models around destruction/recycling/turn-around:

A Lesson in ‘Garbage’
Where the Jobs Are – Entrepreneurism in Junk
Where the Jobs Are – One Scenario: Ship-breaking
‘Only at the precipice, do they change’

The CU/Go Lean effort is focused on forging change in the region; this does not start with the demolition process, rather it starts with attitudes and motivations to reject the status quo. This positive attitude is defined in the Go Lean book as the community ethos for “turn-around”. Here is a sample of the text relating to turn-around practice (Page 33):

… dispositions of abandoned buildings in the member-states still relate to CU missions, as in the protection of image (“psychological trauma” is inflicted daily on neighbors of abandoned structures) and the quest for beauty. While beauty, aesthetics and preservation may be paramount for communities, these should only be a concern after basic needs are satisfied – housing is a basic need. The economics of housing can be impacted with the over-supply of abandoned buildings, as it brings the value down for other properties, and sends out the false vision, like Detroit’s abandoned structures, that just a “little rehab” and their new manifestations will be readily available. Learning from Detroit, it is more beneficial to raze abandoned buildings and build anew turn-around, rather than considering restoration or preservation.

Accordingly, demolition of blighted buildings can reinvigorate a community. The building materials can be re-purposed. Bricks can simply be re-used; scrap metal can be recycled; the wood can grind down to chip/saw-dust; concrete can grind down to sand-fill; and on and on.

  • Imagine the jobs.
  • Image the restoration, the renewal, the refresh … in the community.
  • Even the newly-razed land-lots can be put into service as community gardens; or just left as vacant land-lots, therefore posing no risk or dangers to the community – see VIDEO below.

The book details other ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to impact the reboot and turn-around of Caribbean communities:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Light Up the Dark Places Page 23
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 a Turn-Around Page 33
Community Ethos – Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Customers – Foreign Direct Investors Page 48
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Modeling Post WW II Germany – Reboot with Marshall Plan Page 68
Tactical – Modeling Post WW II Japan – Reboot with no Marshall Plan Page 69
Separation of Powers – Public Works & Infrastructure Page 82
Separation of Powers – Housing and Urban Authority Page 83
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Ways to Re-boot Freeport – Sample Failed City Page 112
Planning – Ways to Improve Failed-State Indices Page 132
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 Page 136
Planning – Lessons from Detroit Page 140
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Local Government Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Ways to Reboot Cuba Page 226
Advocacy – Ways to Reboot Haiti Page 238
Advocacy – Ways to Reboot Jamaica Page 239

The foregoing news article aligns with the publishers of the Go Lean book for the purpose of empowering and rebooting economic engines. The roadmap calls for the heavy-lifting of working with individuals, families, communities and nation-states to turn-around and reboot the region’s future prospect. There is the need for this re-boot so as to make the Caribbean better.

The Caribbean is arguably the best address on the planet, but there is a lot missing; like Detroit we have blight and urban decay (with dangerous buildings). So the example from Detroit is a good model to reboot the societal engines in our region. There are benefits to demolition, but there is also the need for caution. Crony-Capitalism can easily seep in to exploit public funds for private gain. So there are security and governing concerns as well. See the photos here of the Detroit Demolition Tracker, attempting to provide transparency for better governance.

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The Go Lean roadmap provides a complete plan to reboot Caribbean economic-security-governing engines. The region is hereby urged to lean-in to this roadmap, to make the homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix VIDEO – Watch Detroit Demolish 2 Houses in 2 Minuteshttps://youtu.be/ML5l8GrJEe0

Published on Jul 6, 2016 – Watch the time lapse video of two demolitions in Detroit. For more information, visit detroitmi.gov/demolition.

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ENCORE: A reflection on ‘Labor’ on Labor Day

In the US and Canada, it is the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Many countries have an equivalent of Labor Day, a date set aside to honor and celebrate workers, or the movement to empower workers in society. Many of the historicity of these movements were tied to labor unions.

More than 80 countries celebrate International Workers’ Day on May 1 – the ancient European holiday of May Day.

Consider this Encore of the blog-commentary from June 18, 2015, discussing the trends in the labor markets, which depict a decline of collective bargaining:

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Title: Economic Principle: Wage-Seeking – Market Forces -vs- Collective Bargaining

Go Lean Commentary

The field of Economics is unique! We all practice it every day, no matter the level of skill or competence. There is even the subject area in basic education branded Home Economics, teaching the students the fundamentals of maintaining, supporting and optimizing a home environment. Most assuredly, economics is an art and a science, albeit a social science.

In a previous blog/commentary, Scotman’s Adam Smith was identified as the father of modern macro-economics. Though he lived from 1723 to 1790, his writings defined advanced economic concepts even in this 21st Century. His landmark book An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations qualified the divisions of income into these following categories: profit, wage, and rent.[4] We have previously explored profit-seeking (a positive ethos that needs to be fostered in the Caribbean region) and rent-seeking (a negative effort that proliferates in the Caribbean but needs to be mitigated), so now the focus of this commentary is on the activity of wage-seeking, and the concepts of governance and public choice theory to allow for maximum employment.

This is hard! Change has come to the world of wage-seekers – the middle classes are under attack; the labor-pool of most industrialized nations have endured decline, not in the numbers, but rather in prosperity. While wage-earners have not kept pace with inflation, top-earners (bonuses, commissions and business profits) have soared; (see Photo).

CU Blog - Economic Principles - Wage-Seeking - Market forces -vs- Collective Bargaining - Photo 2As a direct result, every Caribbean member-state struggles with employment issues in their homeland. In fact, this was an initial motivation for the book Go Lean…Caribbean, stemming from the fall-out of the 2008 Great Recession, this publication was presented as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU) to elevate the economic, security and governing engines of the Caribbean region to create 2.2 million new jobs, despite global challenges.

Needless to say, the global challenge is far more complex than Home Economics. The Go Lean book describes the effort as heavy-lifting; then proceeds to detail the turn-by-turn directions of a roadmap to remediate and mitigate wage-seeking.

The roadmap channels the Economic Principles and best-practices of technocrats like Adam Smith and 11 other named economists, many of them Nobel Laureates. A review of the work of these great men and woman constitute “Lessons in Economic Principles”. Why would these lessons matter in the oversight of Caribbean administration? Cause-and-effect!

Profit 4The root of the current challenge for wage-seekers is income equality; and this is bigger than just the Caribbean. It is tied to the global adoption of globalization and technology/ automation – a product of global Market Forces as opposed to previous Collective Bargaining factors. This relates back to the fundamental Economic Principle of “supply-and-demand”; but now the “supply” is global. This photo/”process flow” here depicts the ingredients of Market Forces. When there is the need for labor, the principle of comparative analysis is employed, and most times the conclusion is to “off-shore” the labor efforts, and then import the finished products. This is reversed of the colonialism that was advocated by Adam Smith; instead of the developed country providing factory labor for Third World consumption, the developed nation (i.e. United States) is now in the consumer-only role, with less and less production activities, for products fabricated in the Third World. This reality is not sustainable for providing prosperity to the middle classes, to the wage-seekers.

As a community, we may not like the laws of Economics, but we cannot ignore them. The Go Lean book explains the roles and significance of Economic Principles … with this excerpt (Page 21):

While money is not the most important factor in society, the lack of money and the struggle to acquire money creates challenges that cannot be ignored. The primary reason why the Caribbean has suffered so much human flight in the recent decades is the performance of the Caribbean economy. Though this book is not a study in economics, it recommends, applies and embraces these 6 core Economic Principles as sound and relevant to this roadmap:

  1. People Choose: We always want more than we can get and productive resources (human, natural, capital) are always limited. Therefore, because of this major economic problem of scarcity, we usually choose the alternative that provides the most benefits with the least cost.
  2. All Choices Involve Costs: The opportunity cost is the next best alternative you give up when you make a choice. When we choose one thing, we refuse something else at the same time.
  3. People Respond to Incentives in Predictable   Ways: Incentives are actions, awards, or rewards that determine the choices people make. Incentives can be positive or negative. When incentives change, people change their behaviors in predictable ways.
  4. Economic Systems Influence Individual Choices and Incentives: People cooperate and govern their actions through both written and unwritten rules that determine methods of allocating scarce resources. These rules determine what is produced, how it is produced, and for whom it is produced. As the rules change, so do individual choices, incentives, and behavior.
  5. Voluntary Trade Creates Wealth: People specialize in the production of certain goods and services because they expect to gain from it. People trade what they produce with other people when they think they can gain something from the exchange. Some benefits of voluntary trade include higher standards of living and broader choices of goods and services.
  6. The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future: Economists believe that the cost and benefits of decision making appear in the future, since it is only the future that we can influence. Sometimes our choices can lead to unintended consequences.

Source: Handy Dandy Guide (HDC) by the National Council on Economic Education (2000)

The Go Lean book describes the end result of the application of best-practices in this field of economics over the course of a 5-year roadmap: the CU … as a hallmark of technocracy. But the purpose is not the edification of the region’s economists, rather to make the Caribbean homeland “better places to live, work and play” for its citizens. This branding therefore puts emphasis on the verb “work”; the nouns “jobs” and “wages” must thusly be a constant focus of the roadmap.

Brain Drain 70 percent ChartThis Go Lean book declares that the Caribbean eco-system for job-creation is in crisis … due to the same global dilemma. The roadmap describes the crisis as losing a war, the battle of globalization and technology. The consequence of the defeat is 2 undesirable conditions: income inequality and societal abandonment, citizens driven away to a life in the Diaspora. This assessment currently applies in all 30 Caribbean member-states, as every community has lost human capital to emigration. Some communities, like Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands have suffered with an abandonment rate of more than 50% and others have watched more than 70% of college-educated citizens flee their community for foreign shores. Even education is presented as failed investments as those educated in the region and leave to find work do not even return remittances in proportion to their costs of development. (See Table 4.1 in the Photo)

The Go Lean book therefore posits that there is a need to re-focus, re-boot, and optimize the labor/wage-seeking engines so as to create more jobs with livable wages. Alas, this is not just a Caribbean issue, but a global (i.e. American) one as well. See the following encyclopedic references for wage-seeking and Collective Bargaining to fully understand the complexities of these global issues:

Encyclopedia Reference #1: Wage-Seeking
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage)

A wage is monetary compensation paid by an employer to an employee in exchange for work done. Payment may be calculated as a fixed amount for each task completed (a task wage or piece rate), or at an hourly or daily rate, or based on an easily measured quantity of work done.

Wages are an example of expenses that are involved in running a business.

Payment by wage contrasts with salaried work, in which the employer pays an arranged amount at steady intervals (such as a week or month) regardless of hours worked, with commission which conditions pay on individual performance, and with compensation based on the performance of the company as a whole. Waged employees may also receive tips or gratuity paid directly by clients and employee benefits which are non-monetary forms of compensation. Since wage labour is the predominant form of work, the term “wage” sometimes refers to all forms (or all monetary forms) of employee compensation.

Determinants of wage rates
Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates will be influenced by market forces (supply and demand), legislation, and tradition. Market forces are perhaps more dominant in the United States, while tradition, social structure and seniority, perhaps play a greater role in Japan.[6]

Wage Differences
Even in countries where market forces primarily set wage rates, studies show that there are still differences in remuneration for work based on sex and race. For example, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007 women of all races made approximately 80% of the median wage of their male counterparts. This is likely due to the supply and demand for women in the market because of family obligations. [7] Similarly, white men made about 84% the wage of Asian men, and black men 64%.[8] These are overall averages and are not adjusted for the type, amount, and quality of work done.

Real Wage
The term real wages refers to wages that have been adjusted for inflation, or, equivalently, wages in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought. This term is used in contrast to nominal wages or unadjusted wages. Because it has been adjusted to account for changes in the prices of goods and services, real wages provide a clearer representation of an individual’s wages in terms of what they can afford to buy with those wages – specifically, in terms of the amount of goods and services that can be bought.

See Table of European Model in the Appendix below. (The European Union is the model for the Caribbean Union).

———-

Encyclopedia Reference #2: Collective Bargaining
(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_bargaining)

WPR: Marches & PicketsCollective Bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at reaching agreements to regulate working conditions. The interests of the employees are commonly presented by representatives of a trade union to which the employees belong. The collective agreements reached by these negotiations usually set out wage scales, working hours, training, health and safety, overtime, grievance mechanisms, and rights to participate in workplace or company affairs.[1]

The union may negotiate with a single employer (who is typically representing a company’s shareholders) or may negotiate with a group of businesses, depending on the country, to reach an industry wide agreement. A collective agreement functions as a labor contract between an employer and one or more unions.

The industrial revolution brought a swell of labor-organizing in [to many industrialized countries, like] the US. The American Federation of Labor (AFL) was formed in 1886, providing unprecedented bargaining powers for a variety of workers.[11] The Railway Labor Act (1926) required employers to bargain collectively with unions. While globally, International Labour Organization Conventions (ILO) were ratified in parallel to the United Nations efforts (i.e. Declaration of Human Rights, etc.). There were a total of eight ILO fundamental conventions [3] all ascending between 1930 and 1973, i.e. the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1949).

The Go Lean book presents a roadmap on how to benefit from the above Economic Principles – and how to empower communities anew – in the midst of tumultuous global challenges. This roadmap addresses more than economics, as there are other areas of societal concern. This is expressed in the CU charter; as defined by these 3 prime directives:

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

Early in the Go Lean book, the responsibility to create jobs was identified as an important function for the CU with these pronouncements in the Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 14):

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.

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.

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.

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, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.

According to an article from the Economic Policy Institute, entitled The Decline of Collective Bargaining and the Erosion of Middle-class Incomes in Michigan by Lawrence Mishel (September 25, 2012), the challenges to middle class income are indisputable, and the previous solution – Collective Bargaining – is no longer as effective as in the past. (The industrial landscape of Michigan had previously been identified as a model for the Caribbean to consider). See a summary of the article here (italics added) and VIDEO in the Appendix:

In Michigan between 1979 and 2007, the last year before the Great Recession, the state’s economy experienced substantial growth and incomes rose for high-income households. But middle-class incomes did not grow. The Michigan experience is slightly worse than but parallels that of the United States as a whole, where middle-class income gains were modest but still far less than the income gains at the top. What the experience of Michiganders and other Americans makes clear is that income inequality is rising, and it has prevented middle-class incomes from growing adequately in either Michigan or the nation.

The key dynamic driving this income disparity has been the divergence between the growth of productivity—the improvement in the output of goods and services produced per hour worked—and the growth of wages and benefits (compensation) for the typical worker. It has been amply documented that productivity and hourly compensation grew in tandem between the late 1940s and the late 1970s, but split apart radically after 1979. Nationwide, productivity grew by 69.1 percent between 1979 and 2011, but the hourly compensation of the median worker (who makes more than half the workforce but less than the other half) grew by just 9.6 percent (Mishel and Gee 2012; Mishel et al. 2012). In other words, since 1979 the typical worker has hardly benefited from improvements in the economy’s ability to raise living standards and, consequently, middle-class families’ living standards have barely budged since then. This phenomenon has occurred across the nation, including in Michigan.

This divergence between pay and productivity and the corresponding failure of middle-class incomes to grow is strongly related to the erosion of collective bargaining. And collective bargaining has eroded more in Michigan than in the rest of the nation, helping to explain Michigan’s more disappointing outcomes.

Research three decades ago by economist Richard Freeman (1980) showed that collective bargaining reduces wage inequality, and all the research since then (see Freeman 2005) has confirmed his finding. Collective bargaining reduces wage inequality for three reasons. The first is that wage setting in collective bargaining focuses on establishing “standard rates” for comparable work across business establishments and for particular occupations within establishments. The outcome is less differentiation of wages among workers and, correspondingly, less discrimination against women and minorities. A second reason is that wage gaps between occupations tend to be lower where there is collective bargaining, and so the wages in occupations that are typically low-paid tend to be higher under collective bargaining. A third reason is that collective bargaining has been most prevalent among middle-class workers, so it reduces the wage gaps between middle-class workers and high earners (who have tended not to benefit from collective bargaining).

Collective bargaining also reduces wage inequality in a less-direct way. Wage and benefit standards set by collective bargaining are often followed in workplaces not covered by collective bargaining, at least where there is extensive coverage by collective bargaining in particular occupations and industries. This spillover effect means that the impact of collective bargaining on the wages and benefits of middle-class workers extends far beyond those workers directly covered by an agreement.

Source: http://www.epi.org/publication/bp347-collective-bargaining/

The siren call went out 20 years ago, of the emergence of an “Apartheid” economy, a distinct separation between the classes: labor and management. Former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (1993 – 1997 during the Clinton Administration’s First Term) identified vividly, in this 1996 Harvard Business Review paper, that something was wrong with the U.S. economy then; (it is worst now):

CU Blog - Economic Principles - Wage-Seeking - Market forces -vs- Collective Bargaining - Photo 3That something is not the country’s productivity, technological leadership, or rate of economic growth, though there is room for improvement in all those areas. That something is an issue normally on the back burner in U.S. public discourse: the distribution of the fruits of economic progress. For many, the rise in AT&T’s stock after it announced plans [on January 3, 1996] to lay off 40,000 employees crystallized the picture of an economy gone haywire, with shareholders gaining and employees losing as a result of innovation and advances in productivity.

Has the distribution of the benefits of economic growth in the United States in fact gone awry? Is the nation heading toward an apartheid economy—one in which the wealthy and powerful prosper while the less well-off struggle? What are the facts? What do they mean? Are there real problems—and can they be solved?

Deploying solutions for the problem of income equality in the Caribbean is the quest of the Go Lean/CU roadmap. The book identified Agents of Change (Page 57) that is confronting the region, (America as well); they include: Globalization and Technology. A lot of the jobs that paid a “living wage” are now being shipped overseas to countries with lower wage levels, or neutralized by the advancement of technology. Yes, computers are reshaping the global job market, so even Collective Bargaining may fail to counter any eventual obsolescence of wage-earners, their valuation and appreciation; (see Encyclopedic Article # 2). The Go Lean book, and previous blog/commentaries, therefore detailed the campaign to not just consume technology, but to also innovate, produce and distribute the computer-enabled end-products. Therefore industries relating to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics/Medicine) are critical in the roadmap. Not only do these careers yield good-paying direct jobs, but also factor in the indirect job market, and the job-multiplier rate (3.0 to 4.1) for down-the-line employment (Page 260) opportunities.

The Go Lean… Caribbean book details the creation of 2.2 million new jobs for the Caribbean region, many embracing ICT/STEM skill-sets. This is easier said than done, so how does Go Lean purpose to deliver on this quest? By the adoption of certain community ethos, plus the executions of key strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies. The following is a sample from the book:

Assessment – Puerto Rico – Extreme Unemployment – The Greece of the Caribbean Page 18
Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Anti-Bullying and Mitigation Page 23
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Return on Investments 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 Intellectual Property – Key to ICT Careers Page 29
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research and Development – Germaine for STEM jobs Page 30
Community Ethos – Ways to Close the Digital Divide – Vital for fostering ICT careers Page 31
Strategy – Mission – Education Without Further Brain Drain Page 46
Strategy – Agents of Change – Technology Page 57
Strategy – Agents of Change – Globalization Page 57
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – East Asian Tigers Model Page 69
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – High Multiplier Industries Page 70
Tactical – Tactics to Forge an $800 Billion Economy – Trade and Globalization Page 70
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Commerce Department – Patents & Copyrights Page 78
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities – As Job-creating Engines Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Benefit from Globalization – Technology: The Great Equalizer Page 119
Planning – Ways to Improve Trade Page 128
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 – Income Equality Now More Pronounced Page 136
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs Page 152
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education – e-Learning Options Page 159
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Labor Markets and Unions – Collective Bargaining Best-Practices Page 164
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration – STEM Resources Page 174
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology – Credits, Incentives and Investments Page 197
Advocacy – Ways to Foster e-Commerce – Optimize Remittance Methods Page 198
Advocacy – Ways to Help the Middle Class – Exploit Globalization Page 223
Appendix – Growing 2.2 Million Jobs in 5 Years Page 257
Appendix – Job Multipliers – Direct & Indirect Job Correlations Page 259
Appendix – Emigration Bad Example – Puerto Rican Population in the US Mainland Page 304

The CU will foster job-creating developments, incentivizing many high-tech start-ups and incubating viable companies. The primary ingredient for CU success will be Caribbean people, so we must foster and incite participation of many young people into fields currently sharing higher job demands, like ICT and STEM, so as to better impact their communities. A second ingredient will be the support of the community – the Go Lean movement recognizes the limitation that not everyone in the community can embrace the opportunity to lead in these endeavors. An apathetic disposition is fine-and-well; we simply must not allow that to be a hindrance to those wanting to progress – there are both direct jobs and indirect jobs connected with the embrace of ICT/STEM disciplines. The community ethos or national spirit, must encourage and spur “achievers” into roles where “they can be all they can be”. Go Lean asserts that one person can make a difference … to a community (Page 122).

Other subjects related to job empowerments for wage-seekers in the region have been blogged in other Go Lean…Caribbean commentaries, as sampled here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4240 Immigration Policy Exacerbates Worker Productivity Crisis
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3694 Jamaica-Canada employment programme pumps millions into local economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3473 Haiti to Receive $70 Million Grant to Expand Caracol Industrial Park to Create Jobs and Benefit from Globalization
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3446 Forecast for higher unemployment in Caribbean in 2015
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3164 Michigan Unemployment Model – Then and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2857 Where the Jobs Are – Entrepreneurism in Junk
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2800 The Geography of Joblessness
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2750 Disney World’s example of Self Governing Entities and Economic Impacts of 70,000 jobs; 847,000+ Puerto Ricans now live in the vicinity.
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=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 Caribbean is arguably the best address on the planet, but “man cannot live on beauty alone”, there is the need for a livelihood as well. This is the challenge, considering the reality of unemployment in the region; the jobless rate among the youth is even higher.

The crisis of income inequality for the US is a direct result of free trade agreements, like NAFTA, and China’s Preferential Trading Status. Despite this status, we can benefit from the realities of globalization; jobs are being moved to conducive locations with lower labor costs.  We should invite these investors to look for cheaper labor options, here in the Caribbean region (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, etc.). This is the same reality as in Europe with different wage levels for the different countries (see Appendix below); the Caribbean also has these wage differences.

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to foster higher-paying job options: Call Centers, Offshore Software Development Centers, R&D Medical campuses, light-manufacturing and assembly plants for “basic needs” products (food, clothing shelter, energy, and transportation) for Caribbean consumption. This is the successful model of Japan, China and the “East Asia Tigers” economies; these are manifestations of effective Economic Principles.

The Go Lean book therefore digs deeper, providing turn-by-turn directions to get to the desired Caribbean results: a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

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

————-

Appendix – List of European countries by average wage (USA & Japan added for comparison)

(Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_average_wage)

2014 Annual values (in national currency) for a family with two children with one average salary, including tax credits and allowances.[1] Net amount is computed after Taxes, Social Security and Family Allowances; the result is provided in both the National Currency and the Euro, if different. The table, sorted from highest Net amount to the lowest, is presented as follows:

State Gross Net (Natl. Curr) Net (Euro)
Switzerland 90,521.98 86,731.20 71,407.21
Luxembourg 54,560.39 52,041.36 52,041.36
Norway 542,385.96 415,557.87 49.,741.20
Denmark 397,483.78 289,292.48 38,806.20
Iceland 6,856,099.69 5,872.114.66 37,865.07
UNITED STATES 56,067 45,582 37,671
Sweden 407,974.45 335,501.45 36,874.37
Netherlands 48,855.70 36,648.71 36,648.71
United Kingdom 35,632.64 28,960.38 35,925.65
Belgium 46,464.41 35,810.55 35,810.55
Italy 41,462.67 24,539.93 35,539.93
Germany 45,952.05 36,269.23 35,269.23
France 38,427.35 30,776.75 34,776.75
Ireland 34,465.85 34,382.63 34,382.63
Austria 42,573.25 33,666.04 33,666.04
Finland 42,909.72 32,386.59 32,386.59
JAPAN 4,881,994.24 4,132.432.02 29,452.16
Spain 26,161.81 22,129.78 22,129.78
Greece 24,201.50 17,250.24 17,250.24
Slovenia 17,851.28 15,882.53 15,882.53
Portugal 17,435.71 15,140.25 15,140.25
Estonia 12,435.95 11,176.87 11,176.87
Czech Republic 312,083.83 306,153.76 11,118.31
Slovakia 10,342.10 9,778.16 9,778.16
Poland 42,360.01 34,638.77 8,278.27
Hungary 3,009,283.93 2,530.280.97 8,196.30
Turkey 28,370.00 21,072.12 7,250.00

————-

Appendix VideoCollective Bargaining and Shared Prosperity: Michigan, 1979 – 2009 http://youtu.be/PcT4jK89JmE

Published on September 27, 2012 – This VIDEO depicts the positive effects of Collective Bargaining on the quest for income equality in the US State of Michigan; and the sad consequence of the widening income inequality when Collective Bargaining is less pervasive.
This reflect the “Observe and Report” functionality of the Go Lean…Caribbean promoters in the Greater Detroit-Michigan area.

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Detroit makes Community College free

#GoLeanCommentary

Its back to school time again – college students in Detroit have to report to classes on August 22.

CU Blog - Detroit makes Community College free - Photo 2

And now, if they enroll in a Detroit area community college, the tuition could be free.

Now that’s what I’m talking about!

This too, is a lesson learned from Detroit. The publishers of the book Go Lean…Caribbean have been in Detroit to “observe and report” the turn-around and rebirth of the once-great-but-now-distressed City of Detroit and its metropolitan area. The following article relates a strategy that is apropos for remediating and mitigating a failing community – education:

Title: Detroit makes community college free
Sub-title: Detroit high schoolers just got a free ticket to community college.
By: Katie Lobosco

Starting this year, any graduating high school senior who is accepted to one of Detroit’s five community colleges won’t have to pay a dime for tuition.

CU Blog - Detroit makes Community College free - Photo 1The Detroit Promise Zone program, officially launched on Tuesday, will make it possible. At first the funds will come from a private scholarship foundation. But starting in 2018, some of the money will come from property taxes already earmarked for the program.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a high school senior preparing for college now or a second-grader whose college career is years away. The Detroit Promise will be there to help make a college education a reality,” said Mayor Mike Duggan.

He hopes that the program will eventually expand to cover the cost of four years of college tuition at a state school for each Detroit student.

To be eligible, a student must have completed their junior and senior years at a public, private or charter high school in Detroit. It doesn’t matter how much their family earns, but the student must fill out the federal financial aid form called the FAFSA. The Detroit program will pick up the difference after any other federal and state grants and scholarships have been used.

About 500 students are expected to take advantage of the program and enroll at a community college each fall, according to a spokesman for the Detroit Regional Chamber, which helps administer the scholarship.

It will cost an average of $680 per person, annually, though each scholarship amount will vary depending on how much in other awards the student received.

The privately funded Detroit Scholarship program is already in place and has granted 2,000 students free tuition over the past three years. The Michigan Education Excellence Foundation raised the funds from a mix of companies, charitable foundations, and individuals.

CU Blog - Detroit makes Community College free - Photo 3But now that the Detroit Promise Zone has officially launched, scholarship funding will eventually move away from private donations toward earmarked tax funds. There isn’t an exact timeline for that transition, a spokesman said.

Detroit is one of 10 “promise zones” the state created in 2009 as a way to send more Michigan residents to college. The programs designate a share of state property taxes within the zone to pay for the scholarships.

“We are confident that Detroit’s future will be even brighter now that our city’s future leaders will be able to go to college at no cost,” said Detroit Promise Zone Authority Board Chairwoman Penny Bailer.

Tuition-free college is an idea that’s gaining traction. While President Obama has pushed for it nationally, Tennessee made community college tuition-free for graduating seniors last fall, and Oregon is set to launch a similar program next year.

High school seniors must register for the Detroit Scholarship Fund online by June 30 to be eligible.
Source: CNN Money (Cable News Network) – Posted 03-22-2016; retrieved 08-14-2016 from: http://money.cnn.com/2016/03/22/pf/college/detroit-tuition-free-college/index.html

As related, other communities are launching similar endeavors to this Detroit initiative:

Tennessee is picking up the tab for community college students.

How New York City would make community college free.

Oregon is set to launch a similar program next year.

This Go Lean movement has always been a big proponent of college education for Caribbean citizens. Our one caveat is that the education takes place in the Caribbean.

So yes, this movement (book and blog-commentaries) is a big opponent of a college education for Caribbean citizens in foreign colleges and universities. The reason for this reticence, is the incontrovertible brain drain among the Caribbean college-educated population. Previous Go Lean commentaries related the proverb of “fattening frogs for snake” referring to the preponderance for Caribbean college educated citizens to abandon their tropical homes for foreign shores in the US, Canada and Europe, and take their Caribbean-funded education and skill-sets with them.

On the other hand, if the region is able to offer college education locally, then it is win-win for the Caribbean, as a college education brings social mobility, facilitating new economic opportunities. Yes, college education is great for the individual. The Go Lean book quotes proven economic studies showing the impact that every year of college education improves an individual’s earning power by 1 percent (Page 258). See related VIDEO here:

VIDEOUnderemployment rate for college grads dropshttp://money.cnn.com/video/news/economy/2015/12/01/romans-numeral-underemployment-college-graduates.cnnmoney/

We need this upward mobility for Caribbean citizens in the Caribbean.

Since the Great Recession of 2008, the world – including the Caribbean – has seen a preponderance for income inequality: the rich has gotten richer and the middle class has shrunk.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean posits, along with most economists, that education elevate individuals and entire communities. The book states the Caribbean experience has been sour only for the reasons that so many students do not return home after matriculation; or expatriate shortly after returning for a short period. This has been measured by the World Bank; they reported that the Caribbean has a 70% abandonment rate among their college graduates.

This Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This represents the change that the region badly needs. The CU/Go Lean roadmap has 3 prime directives:

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

Indeed, change has now come to the Caribbean. The driver of this change is technology and globalization. Under these tenants, many college institutions can provide e-Learning and Distant Learning schemes through internet deliveries. If the Caribbean regional education administrations could invest in more technological deliveries, they may be able to offer free (or reduced) tertiary education to worthy students. As related in the foregoing article, once private, charitable and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are factored in, more and more students would be able to enjoy the benefits of a college education.

As for governing administrations, the vision of the CU is a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean into a Single Market – a federal government – to do the heavy-lifting of championing better educational policies. Confederation would bring better leverage across the population of 42 million people, adopting more best-practices for education in all 4 regional languages (Dutch, English, French and Spanish). So we should cease-desist bad education policies, like government scholarships for foreign matriculation – as is the usual practice. The Go Lean/CU plan is for forgive-able loans only.

This would be a winning strategy for Caribbean communities; and appears to be the election for Detroit as well. This is a full reflection of the community ethos of the Greater Good.

The Go Lean roadmap provides turn-by-turn directions on how to reform the Caribbean tertiary education systems, economy, governance and Caribbean society as a whole. The roadmap opens with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the approach of regional integration (Page 12 & 14) as a viable solution to elevate the region’s educational opportunities:

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

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.

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.

The Go Lean book details how education is a vital consideration for Caribbean economic empowerment, but with lessons-learned from all the flawed decision-making in the past, both individually and community-wise. The book details those policies; and other ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to deploy better education options in the region:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
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 Foster Genius Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Help Entrepreneurship Page 28
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 28
Strategy – Mission – Facilitate Education without Risk of Abandonment Page 45
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Education Department Page 85
Tactical – Separation of Powers – Labor Department – Job Training Page 89
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Planning – Lessons Learned from 2008 Page 136
Planning – Lessons Learned from Detroit Page 140
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 Impact Student Loans Page 160
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Better Managed the Social Contract – Education Optimizations Page 169
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Libraries – Anchors for e-Learning Page 187
Appendix – Education and Economic Growth Page 258
Appendix – Measuring Education Page 266

Detroit is presented in the Go Lean book as a cautionary tale for the Caribbean.. Previous blogs had detailed so many lessons from the City of Detroit, and other metropolitan Michigan communities. Consider this sample:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 An Ode to Detroit – Good Luck on Trade!
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 Beware of Vulture Capitalists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7268 Detroit giving schools their ‘Worst Shot’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7235 Flint, Michigan – A Cautionary Tale
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6609 Before and After Photos Showing Detroit’s Riverfront Transformation
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6269 Education & Economics: Welcome to Detroit, Mr. President
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6022 Caribbean Diaspora in Detroit … Celebrating Heritage
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5597 The Dire Strait of Unions and Collective Bargaining
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5055 A Lesson from an Empowering Family in Detroit
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4913 Ann Arbor: Model for ‘Start-up’ Cities
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4476 De-icing Detroit’s Winter Roads: Impetuous & Short Term
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3713 NEXUS: Facilitating Detroit-Windsor Cross-Border Commerce
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3326 M-1 Rail: Alternative Motion in the MotorCity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3311 Detroit to exit historic bankruptcy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3164 Michigan Unemployment – Then and Now
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2480 A Lesson in History: Community Ethos of WW II
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1656 Blue is the New Green – Managing Michigan’s Water Resources
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=970 JP Morgan Chase’s $100 million Detroit investment

The above list features a lot of examples of Detroit’s bad behavior, but this commentary here is highlighting something positive, investing in community college education for young people. This is good, and for the Greater Good.

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. This presents a win-win for the Caribbean. This is conceivable, believable and achievable. Educational options can help to make our homeland a place to live, work, learn and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Now it’s Detroit’s turn to rescue Silicon Valley

Go Lean Commentary

“I see dead people.” – Movie quote from The Sixth Sense (1999); see Appendix VIDEO below.

This is what Detroit is saying to Silicon Valley: “they see dead people” along the road of development for the autonomous vehicle (AV). Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death in most countries, therefore developing cars that drive themselves and interact with real world conditions on real streets is bound to have some mishaps/fatalities along the way.

CU Blog - Now it's Detroit's turn to rescue Silicon Valley - Photo 2

CU Blog - Now it's Detroit's turn to rescue Silicon Valley - Photo 4

Detroit: “Been there, done that!”

This consideration is in line with the book Go Lean… Caribbean; it serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). One of the features of the Go Lean/CU roadmap is the development of an automotive industry for the Caribbean region. Of course the reference here to Detroit is a metonym; so too the reference to Silicon Valley. Other metonym references were defined in a previous Go Lean blog-commentary, which detailed these ones in the book:

  • Detroit – Page 206 – American Automakers Planning/Design
  • Silicon Valley – Page 30 – AmericanHighTechCenter
  • Wall Street – Page 155 – Big Banks/Financial Center
  • Hollywood – Page 203 – US Movie/TV/Media Producers

The issue now is the risk associated with road traffic. Detroit has been there before. They were the Silicon Valley of the early 20th Century, as regards innovation for the automotive industry. Detroit has competence for this industry. Today, Silicon Valley wants inroads in the automotive industry. They need to tap Detroit’s legacy and insights. See the related article here:

Title: Now it’s Detroit’s turn to rescue Silicon Valley

CU Blog - Now it's Detroit's turn to rescue Silicon Valley - Photo 1
Five years ago, when the U.S. auto industry was just beginning to recover from the Great Recession, there was widespread speculation that the old model of the car business was broken, and that only the new economy could come to the rescue.

And with good reason. The U.S. auto market had cratered, plunging from a peak of over 17 million to a devastated 10 million in yearly sales.

Both General Motors and Chrysler had been bailed out by the federal government and gone bankrupt. Ford saw its stock price fall to less than $2 a share. Gas had spiked to over $4 a gallon in some parts of country. Credit, the lifeblood of the car business, had been wiped out.

Meanwhile, Apple was on a path to become the world’s most valuable company. Facebook was tasking over the media landscape. And Tesla, after suffering a brush with financial death in 2009, looked like the most innovative company of four wheels.

Silicon Valley and California in general was suddenly filled with new and futuristic ideas about transportation, from Google driverless cars to numerous electric-car startups. Detroit, by contrast, was lurching toward the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history (it would come in 2013), and its great automakers looked to be crippled dinosaurs, completely out of step with the times.

The U.S. auto industry was a problem to be solved, and Silicon Valley specialized in solutions.

A doomed industry?
“The automobile industry is in the middle of a fundamental transformation,” wrote in 2009. “There is a lot of information available on how companies have dealt with major changes in their business environments, but little is known about the transformation of entire industries.”

“History shows that most companies do not deal well with transformation.” he continued. “One reason has to do with senior managers. They usually ‘don’t get it.’ They have a difficult time accepting that the future will be vastly different from the present because they rose to power in the old business environment. They excelled in the old environment and didn’t acquire skills necessary to operate in the new.”

Fast forward to 2016 and the senior mangers in Detroit that Grove worried about have deepened their engagement with Silicon Valley and the technology industry to an unprecedented degree. General Motors already had a venture-capital arm before it invested $500 million in Lyft and bought Cruise Automation for its innovative self-driving tech.

Ford had such a solid connection with Microsoft that outgoing CEO Alan Mulally was discussed as a successor to Steve Ballmer, earlier this year. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has teamed up with Google to create driverless minivans. And all the automakers have a Silicon Valley presence, which enables them to scout emerging technologies and act on them quickly.

An auto sales boom in the U.S. that started in 2013 and set a record in 2016 with 17.5 million new cars and trucks delivered has fueled Detroit’s engagement, as has the broad realization among the car maker’s executive teams that this is their opportunity to disrupt themselves and profit from the experience. Cheap gas, an improving employment picture, and ample credit means that Detroit is selling pickups and SUVs and raking in cash. The game plan is to take some of those winnings and send them in search of rapid innovations that Motown can’t create on its own.

Not-so-smooth sailing
At the same time, Silicon Valley has started to encounter some investor turbulence. Startups with hefty valuations don’t see IPOs as a way to pay back their investors. That leaves getting acquired as an option, but a level of saturation with social networking and apps might have set in.

The Detroit automakers aren’t in the market for messaging apps, but they are looking for technologies that can future-proof them, or advance the process of making cars smarter. In conversations with people in the auto industry, there’s a sense that the tech sector has begun to figure out that Motown has money and wants to spend it.

The signals from the top are also strong. “We’re going to disrupt ourselves, and we are disrupting ourselves, so we’re not trying to preserve a model of yesterday,” . “And when you think of the assets the company has — the scale, the control of the vehicle platform, the ability with embedded connectivity, the knowledge we have of just every aspect of the vehicle and how we’re putting it together now — I think there’s a lot of plus signs, and we can lead.”

That attitude was echoed by Ford CEO Mark Fields, who BI also interviewed. “It’s a very exciting time at Ford, because we are transitioning from an auto company to an auto and a mobility company,” he said. “Mobility for us, at the very simplest level, is to allow people to live, play, and work where they want. How do we help enable them to get around to do that? And there’s a lot of talk around technology companies disrupting the auto industry. Our approach is very simple: We’re disrupting ourselves.”

Birds of a feather
So how did this reversal come about? Even if Detroit isn’t really in a position to rescue Silicon Valley — Silicon valley doesn’t really need to be rescued — then why is the dinosaur now so enthusiastic about participating in its own disruption?

Simple: Detroit was the Silicon Valley of the early 20th century, a hotbed of entrepreneurship, fascinated with the most high-tech contraption of the time — the automobile. True, over the decades the culture of the auto industry has become stratified and bureaucratic, but despite that, the car itself has been steadily improved. Detroit has never backed off from technology, and the engineers and executives who have chosen to work for Ford or GM are still excited about new stuff.

When they look at Silicon Valley, they see a place ruled by engineers, a contemporary version of Detroit’s own origin story.  And that’s why Silicon Valley and Detroit’s newfound mutual admiration could be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship that stretches from the Bay Area to the banks of the Detroit River.
Source: Microsoft Network (MSN) Technology Column – Retrieved 08-14-2016 from: http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/now-its-detroits-turn-to-rescue-silicon-valley/ar-BBvrK0K?li=BBnbfcN&ocid=1PRCMSE

VIDEO – Inside Silicon Valley’s secretive test track for self-driving cars – https://youtu.be/xILioJ7ZfQU

Published on Jun 2, 2016 – A former military weapons depot is now a track where companies can test their autonomous cars in private​. The media has never set foot in the guarded GoMentum Station, until now. The track is not only attracting the attention of automakers like Mercedes and Honda, but also tech companies like Google and Apple. CNET’s Brian Cooley shows us how Honda is testing its latest self-driving car there.

See a more detailed VIDEO on GoMentum Station and a competing Michigan site in this VIDEO here:
“Inside the self-driving car facilities of Silicon Valley and Detroit” – http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/BBvrK0K?ocid=se

For the Caribbean effort, it will be important to observe-and-report on the developments of the Detroit-SiliconValley synergy. Both industries are being transformed. What can we learn about cooperation, collaboration and coordination among aligning stakeholders? There are jobs, public safety and public administration at stake. This relates to the CU/Go Lean roadmap, which also has a focus on the same 3 areas. This is communicated as the prime directive of the roadmap, pronounced as follows:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy, and create jobs (2.2 million new ones).
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these above engines, considering the separation-of-powers between Caribbean member states and the CU federal government.

The Go Lean roadmap recognizes the benefits of Research & Development (R&D). The book presents R&D as a community ethos, the fundamental spirit of a culture that drives the beliefs, customs and practices of a society.

Caribbean society must embrace the R&D of autonomous vehicles, automobile advances, safety innovation, and transformative technologies. We cannot ignore the formations of industrial advances. We must not just consume; we must produce as well. This is where the next generation of jobs are to be found.

The automotive industry have always been a source of high-paying jobs, that in previous generations, have transformed society. Today, Silicon Valley is a source of high-paying jobs. The transformations are continuing.

This aligns with the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14) in the Go Lean book, as conveyed by these statements:

xxvii. 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 … automobile manufacturing. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries … impacting the region with more jobs.

xxviii. 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.

Producing and not only consuming – especially related to autonomous vehicles and robotic technologies – has been a consistent theme in prior Go Lean blog/commentaries; see this sample here:

Building the Infrastructure for Streetcars
‘Olli’ – The Self-Driving Public Transit Vehicle
3D Printing: Here Comes Change
Drones to be used for Insurance Damage Claims
Robots help Amazon tackle Cyber Monday
Here come the Drones … and the Concerns
Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market
Google conducting research for highway safety innovations
Ghost ships – Autonomous cargo vessels without a crew

The Go Lean book provides a roadmap for developing and fostering a domestic automotive industry, and for fostering R&D. The process starts with the spirit to want to improve the status quo, to innovate and make things better and safer. This spirit is described in the book as a community ethos for Research-and-Development. The book details other ethos to adopt, plus the executions of the following strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge innovation in Caribbean communities:

Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification Page 21
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – “Crap” Happens – Like Car Accidents 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 – Vision – Caribbean Integrated Single Market Page 45
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 Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Planning – 10 Big Ideas – Cyber Caribbean Page 127
Planning – Lessons from Detroit Page 140
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
Appendix – Job Multipliers – Detroit’s 11.0 Rate #1 of all industries Page 260

There is a business axiom:

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.

This is the goal – autonomous vehicles not mousetraps – of so many stakeholders in the technology and automotive industry space, in Silicon Valley and in Detroit; see Appendix VIDEO 2. A self-driving car is not the future, it is now; well soon. (According to the foregoing VIDEO, one automaker projects an AV for the 2020 Model Year).

Mideast Dubai Driverless CarsThis is the type of innovation now being urged for the Caribbean. Yes, we can … make an impact in this industry. We do not have to be the inventor, but at least an “early adopter”. The controlled environment of a Self-Government Entity – campus or corridor – is ideal for AVs. Imagine a toll-road across a Caribbean member-state (island or mainland) that traverses 70 miles that encourages self-driving cars, buses and trucks.

This vision is being fostered … elsewhere. Why not here?

The Caribbean region has historically been slow at adopting technological innovation. This roadmap presents a change to the Caribbean status quo. We urge all stakeholders – governments, businesses, and drivers – to lean-in to the innovations detailed in the Go Lean book. With the proper planning, preparation and participation, yes we can, we make our homeland a better place to live, work and play.:-)

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

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Appendix VIDEO 1: Next Big Thing – Self-driving cars: Why? – https://youtu.be/QUYKSWQmkrg

Published on Oct 9, 2013 – http://cnet.co/1bfQkWn – Why self-driving cars make a whole lot of sense, how gesture control will augment — but probably not replace — a lot of technology, and is there even a third seat left at the mobile platform table?

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Appendix VIDEO 2: The Sixth Sense ….. I See Dead People …scene – https://youtu.be/QUYKSWQmkrg

Published on Sep 9, 2012 – In Your Dreams ? ….No. While You’re Awake? …Yes. All The Time, They’re Everywhere.

 

 

 

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