I found reference to this article in Tim O’Reilly’s tweets. I’m a fan of George Soros… he’s rather successful and wonderfully thoughtful. His thinking about markets and how they behave is always insightful. He stepped it up when commenting on the current situation (my emphasis):
We are currently experiencing the bursting of a credit bubble that has involved the entire financial system and, at the same time, a rise and eventual fall in the price of oil and other commodities that have had some of the characteristics of a bubble. I believe the two phenomena are connected in what I call a super-bubble that has evolved over the last quarter of a century. The fundamental trend in the super-bubble has been the ever-increasing use of leverage—borrowing money to finance consumption and investment—and the misconception about that trend was what I call market fundamentalism, the belief that markets assure the best allocation of resources.
WOW! Read it slowly - that’s George Soros implying that the market is not always the best mechanism for allocating resources.
This paper was released recently by the US National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine:
How did life evolve on Earth? The answer to this question can help us understand our past and prepare for our future. Although evolution provides credible and reliable answers, polls show that many people turn away from science, seeking other explanations with which they are more comfortable.
In the book Science, Evolution, and Creationism, a group of experts assembled by the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine explain the fundamental methods of science, document the overwhelming evidence in support of biological evolution, and evaluate the alternative perspectives offered by advocates of various kinds of creationism, including “intelligent design.” The book explores the many fascinating inquiries being pursued that put the science of evolution to work in preventing and treating human disease, developing new agricultural products, and fostering industrial innovations. The book also presents the scientific and legal reasons for not teaching creationist ideas in public school science classes.
Mindful of school board battles and recent court decisions, Science, Evolution, and Creationism shows that science and religion should be viewed as different ways of understanding the world rather than as frameworks that are in conflict with each other and that the evidence for evolution can be fully compatible with religious faith. For educators, students, teachers, community leaders, legislators, policy makers, and parents who seek to understand the basis of evolutionary science, this publication will be an essential resource.
Well another NZ manufacturing company has decided to chuck it in and open shop in China.
I am up to my ears in the area of manufacturing these days and I am a little shocked at the level of debate going on. Manufacturers are saying that if the corporate tax rate was dropped to between 20 and 25% then they would be ok and wouldn’t have to move. The sad news is that YES YOU WOULD!
The traditional manufacturing model is broken … there are now only very few areas where you can sustain-ably mash atoms on the edge of the world and move them 1000s of km to your market to sell them. Tax cuts aren’t going to help you. You’re competing on COST against companies that move their entire corporate structures to squeeze every last cent, rupee and yuan out of the process. They are going to kick the collective ass every single time - because while you were sleeping they changed the rules on you.
Should NZ close up the manufacturing shop? One of my advisors regularly says that the manufacturers should cut a deal with go-karters, ten-pin bowlers and anyone else who needs a large covered space ‘coz it’s game over. It’s going to be more profitable to rent out the space by the game. He’s right … the answer isn’t in big spaces here in NZ or, importantly, even in big spaces in China. The answer lies in changing the rules again. The pieces are there to be put together. If you permit me to be a little parochial we’ve just got to behave like Kiwis again. A good Rodquote is:
“This is a global opportunity that we can credibly take from New Zealand. We really do understand how small businesses work and the sort of issues our small businesses have are the same as the UK and Australia.”
The same logic applies when it comes to atoms. NZ has always been on the edge of the world and that experience is something that can’t be replicated and is rich loam in which to grow new ideas. We have always known the constraint of moving stuff around the world. It’s time our manufacturers stopped asking for tax breaks and started working out how to own a manufacturing game they can win.
amend the provision relating to technological protection measures—
so that the prohibition against the making, importing, hiring, and selling of devices, services, or information designed to circumvent “copy protection” be expanded to cover devices, services, or information that circumvent technological protection measures that protect all rights provided to copyright owners (including communication, not just copying); and
to facilitate the actual exercise of permitted acts where technological measures have been applied:
introduce an offence (carrying a sentence of a fine not exceeding $150,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both) for commercial dealing in devices, services, or information designed to circumvent technological protection measures:
provide protection for electronic rights management information that identifies content protected by copyright and the terms and conditions of use, but not for the tracking functions associated with this technology:
introduce an offence provision (carrying a sentence of a fine not exceeding $150,000 or a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both) for commercial dealing in works where the electronic rights management information has been removed or altered:
It hasn’t worked in the States… why on earth do they think it’s going to work here? This is one of the approaches to the problem that has the words “Will Back Fire” written all over it.
The solution to this problem is one that enables services that embody the concept of giving consumers the content they want at a price that makes sense.
Drop the Hon Judith Tizard an email and tell her that this approach is more of a problem than a solution.
There are certain types of disappointment that cause an intake of breath - the cognitive dissonance so jarring you can’t think straight. My Hilton experience was one of those… I kinda sat on the edge of the bed and my teeth jangled. Not only had I been ripped off… I had been Taken.
U2 played in Auckland over the weekend. Seeing as I was up there with the Missus I figured it would be nice to spend a little more cash and experience how the other side live. Good U2 tickets and a swanky hotel… should make for a nice weekend. I got two out of three…
It turns out that the other side are suckers. In comparison to the other hotel rooms in Auckland you’re looking at paying a good set of multiples for a Hilton room. I know that that at a certain point a hotel room is a hotel room… but I also know that it is the type of experience where you can put a smile on the face of your customer face. It’s the type of experience that is a rich seam of “wow!” moments… but the Hilton guys are just shipping gravel. You don’t get a better room, you don’t get better fittings, you still get nickel-and-dimed to death (laughably so in some cases) and you don’t walk out feeling like you’ve had an even vaguely better experience. There isn’t a single part of the Hilton experience where you go “oh! I get it!”
Now I get branding and I know how the bait’n’switch works, but it has been a really really long time since I have experienced such a distance between the sell and the reality. I’ve sold and I’ve delivered in my life - I know the rules of engagement. I wasn’t looking for anything spectacular - I was simply looking for something, a single magical “I get it” moment, it wasn’t there.
I know that in the scope of life it’s a pretty meaningless thing to write about. But I haven’t had an experience like that in a long time. Hi, I’m Dave and I was a schmuck that got taken by Hilton (LOL… yes I know - but going there, well, that’s too easy).
