Deporting the Immigrants - Bad Economics?

Deporting all these immigrants and keeping out those refugees could put a serious dent in our economy.

How an Illegal-Immigrant Crackdown Could Hit US Economic Growth - Wall Street Journal Blog

NY / Region|'Economic Tsunami': Fearing Donald Trump ... - NY Times

Head off Trump-style anti-immigrant politics by using economics to ...  - CBC

Refugees revitalize American cities - Boston Globe

If Trump cuts DACA US loses $433.4 billion in GDP - Fusion

Globalism -- Not Nativism -- Is What Made America's Cities Great - Forbes

The Insane Numbers Behind Trump's Deportation Plan - Money

National Academy of Science: Immigrants benefit US - The Tennessean

Two cities that have seen growth by accepting immigrants? Dayton, Ohio and Ithaca, New York.

So...what's the wisdom of closing the borders and expelling the outsiders? 

Race in America

Post Racist America?

I don't think so!

I see and hear racism a lot. Maybe it's because of how my family embraces diversity. Maybe it's because of how this election has brought a deep divide about hate and bigotry.

I was waiting in line to buy a newspaper this morning. The man in front of me was teasing the woman behind the counter calling her Momma. After he left she confided, "I'm not his Momma. I hate when he calls me that. He works here. They're all like that, you know." 

He was black. She was an older white woman.

There was an implicit bias in what she said. I was on the verge of saying something like, "This man does not represent an entire race. His actions represent himself. Why don't you just ask him nicely to stop?"

I let it pass. Maybe I shouldn't have.

Layoffs - Are they the easy way out?

I was reading about layoffs at a public media company. For this particular company, layoffs are commonplace. They've been a common tool...a regular part of the corporate landscape for nearly 30 years. The human toll created by the constant cycle of hiring and layoffs has mounted over the years. Is this really an effective management tool or is this a sign of poor management? Hiring is done in anticipation of funding from viewers, listeners, corporations and foundations. When the funding doesn't reach anticipated goals, shortfalls result and layoffs follow.

Recently I ran across this article which states, "Layoffs are often a sign of failure by top executives to properly manage a business and forecast needs — and failure of board members to ensure that the right management is in place."


Why Layoffs Are for Lazy Corporate Overseers


Other highlights...

• Compensation insulates most executives from layoff shocks. 
• Layoffs often demolish an employee’s social circle and identity.
• CEO's have come to think of certain employees as deadwood.
• CEOs weren’t concerned with employee hardship, layoffs don’t bother board members much either.
• Boards show a lack of accountability, because rather than ding management for these failures, boards reward management for these missteps.

In reality there is ample evidence to suggest that companies that constantly layoff staff are not really positioning themsleves for a recovery. They are actually in trouble. A recent paper published by the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania says that instead of laying off companies should be investing in people and innovation. That's not going to happen if a company hires an innovator and then eight months later lays that person off.

According to the article companies can offer early retirement, slowing down hiring and retraining workers.

For more go to  How Layoffs Hurt Companies.

Are We Focused on the Listener?

Kyle Munson, a columnist with the Des Moines Register, admits I'm a public radio nerd and proud of it. 

Kyle values the sane approach and depth of understanding that Iowa Public Radio and NPR provides in the tumultuous and hateful atmosphere of this political season.  "I crave the sane, illuminating haven of IPR, where not everything must be staged as arch conflict."

 Kyle typifies the core listener as defined by PRPD's Core Values. The measurable cohort that defines the audience is education. No matter the political leanings there is a thirst for knowledge and understanding. A variety of experiences enhances their lives and those experiences are actively sought.

In a competitive marketplace it is seldom possible for public media outlets to be all things to all people. Focusing on a single format and doing a few things well often make more sense. But...there is room for more voices.

Think about this...In the bigger markets there is room for creativity and diversity if all involved share in the effort. The same model could then be applied in all markets. There needs to be a willingness play well with others. If we are focused on the listener and how they use media, we can better understand how to serve them. If we work together, we will succeed.

Using The Public Radio Business Model

After the Fact Funding

Actually, it's a business model that has been used by non-profits, including religious groups, for decades...even centuries.  Giving hinges on, "Does the content or the outcomes match the values and lifestyles of a targeted audience?" 

There used to be this public radio fund drive pitch that asked, what if other businesses came to you after you used their product and services and asked if you would be willing pay whatever you feel the service was worth. Our answer was that pitch would not work in the business world, but somehow it worked for public radio.  Here's that pitch put toward the greater good.

This Store Lets You Pay What You Can For Groceries That Would Otherwise Be Tossed

It’s saving perfectly good food from going to waste

The food and Agricultural organization of the United Nations estimates that 33% of food produced for human consumption in the world gets lost or wasted. That's about 1.3 billion tons a year. Per capita waste is at its worst in Europe and North America.

SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Podcast Income

Can Podcasts be a source of income for public radio? From a station's perspective...Yes ...as long as expectations aren't too high.

There are three sources of income for public radio. Member Support - Underwriting - Grants. Listener support for podcasts has lagged. Is that changing?

The headline reads...WNYC boosts podcast income with text-to-donate efforts...which is a little misleading. Digging deeper into the article in Current you will find that the amounts are small ($10), and there's no way to mine the data for follow-up information.

Voluntary Support

Does this mean the experiment is a failure? No! It means there is the possibility stations could cover the cost of podcasts, and WNYC is continuing the experiment to find ways to continue the funding discussion with text-to-donate contributors. The willingness of podcast users to voluntarily contribute for the content they consume is a hopeful sign. Obviously, not everybody is willing to pay, but how is that different from the current membership model?

WNPR experimented with a text-to-donate fundrive in 2008. The sames issues arose. The donation amounts were small and the link between the donation and the donor was non-existent. WNPR's text to donate drive differed in that we used the airwaves to generate texts. The pitch breaks were short and the number of breaks were limited. We got about 100 texts and about $1,000.

Self Sustaining?

Given the huge demand for revenue to operate a public radio station, there was no follow-up on the project at WNPR. If the funding source is viewed as an additional revenue stream related to a separate platform, expectations might be more in line with reality. The other challenge is to convert the podcast cohort into public radio supporters. At least text to donate is a beginning. When combined with other sources like grants, advertising and pay walls, some podcasts could pay for themselves.

The Funding Trifecta

The renewal of grants depends on meeting stated expectations. The same could be said for advertising. As long as the podcast delivers an audience, the revenue will continue to come in. The public radio funding model has always been sustained by voluntary contributions. The most stable source of income for public broadcasters has always been its donors. If the other two sources lagged (grants and underwriting), contributions offered stability. The success of podcasts in public media will be measured by their appeal to the audience.

I Met a Man

There are great stories to tell everywhere. There are people doing incredible things in service to each other. Telling stories about communities coming together to support each other, can help us overcome the cynicism and negativity that seems to have taken over our politics and is on display every minute of every day on social media. The three stories below highlight people who are doing what they can to overcome crushing poverty in the richest state in the US.

Profiles From Grace Church, Hartford

I met a man who lost everything after his service to our country. He became homeless. When he was finally able to move into his family's home it had been vandalized. All the wiring and all the pipes had been stripped out of the walls. There's no heat, no water and no power. He lives there in the warmer months. He lives in a shelter in the winter. He considers himself lucky because he has VA benefits and his neighbors take care of his dog and two cats in the winter.

I met a man who spent four months in jail because he tried to help a woman who was the victim of a car jacking. He stood by this woman as the police arrived and lent his support. Because the man nominally fit the description of the carjacker (black, male, slender) he was arrested and thrown in jail. He could not afford bail, so he waited four months for the legal system to finally ask the victim if he was the one who assaulted her. She said no and he was finally released. He is clinically depressed, but has hope because of his part time employment made possible by Grace Church.

I met a woman at Grace Church who volunteers her time cutting the hair of the homeless and others who attend their weekly meal. Three weeks ago her house burned down. She missed one week, but was back after settling into a hotel room. She hopes to be back in her home six months from now.

Grace Church is stepping in where so many have failed.

According to NBC Connecticut in a report released in 2012, at 31.2 percent, Hartford's poverty rate is four times the 7.8 percent poverty rate of the suburbs, which include all 57 towns in Hartford County plus Tolland County and Middlesex County. City Data.com puts the percentage of families in Hartford below the poverty line at 43.4%.