Questions to Stir the Heart

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleaders.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

January 21, 2009

As an American, I am so very happy to the people starting to unite. For decades, we have become more and more splintered, everyone going in their own direction, pulling the nation apart. President Obama's charisma has pulled the people together again, but for how long.

Leaders, true leaders, must challenge the people. They must move people from where they are to a new place, a new level. Charisma, by itself, will not move the people to the next level. Yes, it does have the effect, often temporary, of pulling people together, but more is needed. The heart must be stirred and inflamed.

Nothing stirs the heart like probing questions, reflective questions, innovative questions. The leader not only asks these questions, but also gives us answers to them, the answers we need to follow. That is what all the great leaders have done to move the people from the pulling together stage to the action stage.

I was watching for President Obama to do this at his inauguration; however, he only asked one question. He made many statements, but only one question.

Review some of our great leaders, Washington, Lincoln, and Kennedy. They asked questions of the people, heart stirring questions, reflective questions, innovative questions. They also gave the answers, answers, which pointed in the direction in which the people needed to go.

To unite Americans, move them into a new and better America, it will take more than charisma, it will take leadership and motivating them to do what they would not do by themselves. That is why the questions are so important. The questions prick the consciousness and the heart. Afterwards, the answers the leaders gives provides the direction to move in. the questions will linger in the heart to remind the people of why they are moving in a particular direction.

That is why the questions are important for a leader. Without the questions to stir the people, they will loose the motivation, which was ignited by the charisma. The questions keep the direction alive. The questions keep the motivation alive. The questions provide the reason to continue. The questions stir our hearts.

The hopes of America lie with President Obama. He will need to go past his charisma and ignite a permanent flame in the people as our other great leader did. I hope he is up to the task.

Charisma and Show, But is Obama a Leader

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleaders.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

January 19, 2009

No one would doubt that Mr. Obama is charismatic. He has a strong appeal factor working for him. He is good at words and knows how to put on a show. His trip to Washington is a prime example. However, I still wonder about him as a leader.

I am not a pessimist, but each day I doubt him a little more. Charisma is not everything. Yes, it helps a leader. In fact you really can not be a leader unless you have a certain amount of charisma, but you need more.

There are 10 main points to be a good leaders and I am wondering if Mr. Obama will stack up. My doubts really started to surface when he backed down on a fight with congress on, what I considered, a vital part of the stimulus plan.

If you remember, Mr. Obama proposed to give a tax credit to companies which retained present workers and a larger credit if they hire new employees over and above the replacement of exiting employees. This would have done wonders for the economy and for the morale of the people, but congress said no we don't want it and Mr. Obama cut it out of the package, without a fight.

A leader has to be prepared to fight when the fight is worthwhile and this was a worthwhile fight. Keeping Americans working is more important that protecting the profits of huge dinosaur corporations.

You will say that if the big corporations and the banks go under there will be no jobs. Yes and No! The government has already set a precedence of taking over institutions and could step in and take control of the failing corporations. As for the banks, their greed led to their downfall and now the government wants to protect their greed.

Let's face it, if the banks failed who would get hurt? Only the big guys! 83% of Americans (the average American) do not have over $100,000 in any one account. Therefore they would not lose one dime. The government would give them their money back, only the big guys would lose, the same big guys who, through their greed, caused this mess. Mr. Obama should have fought congress to keep Americans working.  

In other words, keeping the average American working instead of protecting big money is a battle worth fighting for and Mr. Obama did not take the challenge, he caved in to congress and their desire to protect big money. That makes me think that he lacks two of the essential points to be a good leader; concern for the people and willing to fight when it is necessary.

Only time will tell if Mr. Obama is a true leader or just another silver tongued politician. Good luck Mr. Obama.

While Rome Burns, the Leaders Fiddle

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleaders.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

January 13, 2009

As with Nero fiddling while Rome burned, so with our country's leaders. They are lagging behind on a crisis which affects all of us. Rep. John Boehner says that the treasury still needs to clearly define what the problem is. Wake up! I think that is apparent.

I believe that everyone is well aware that we are in a depression. Yes, the US economy was over blown and the slightest imbalance was going to send us down. However, now that we are heading down, the government needs to put the breaks on this slide.

They could have stopped this problem long before it got started, but like the others in the banking and corporate world, they were enjoying the ride (hoping it would not end while they were around). Now we have a problem.

Very simply, the problem is that people are losing jobs because the economy is depressed. As people lose jobs, less is spent and more people lose their jobs and the spiral continues.

Solution -

1)      Keep us working in our present jobs. Provide us with some security. If we feel secure, we will spend again. If we spend we start the economy on the road to recover.

2)      Get the people who have been unemployed working. It will take 6 months to 2 years for the psychological scars to heal, but as soon as they do, these people will start spending, improving the economy

3)      Keep the banks afloat so the people do not panic. Then as spending starts, get the banks to start loaning again.

It will take some GOOD administrators watching over everything, not like they have with TARP. If some good people are placed in charge, there is hope.

While people are being kept in their jobs and new jobs created, congress can argue on how to prevent this from happening again, but at this minute they need to serve the people who elected them.

We need a closer watch on the financial institution and the corporate world. it may sound like Big Brother, but those who have been in charge have proven they can not be trusted. Even with a big brother system, those who do the correct thing do not have to worry. The only ones who worry about someone looking over their shoulder are the one who are doing what is right. Then we should start to get back on track again. Hopefully the right track this time.

Resurrecting the US Economy

Or fighting the snowball effect

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleaders.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

www.edu-talk.info

The US is facing one of the worst crisis in over a century, not an attack from hostile forces outside the country, but an implosion of the economy. The problem; too much, too fast and in the hands of too few.

To add to this problem Mr. Obama's advisors did not have a clue to what was happening or they were extremely optimistic. To give you an example; before Mr. Obama was elected he was going to create 1 million jobs, at the middle of December 2.5 to 3 million jobs, just before New Year's 3.5 million jobs and today 4.1 million jobs.

It would appear that our new president's advisors do not understand the economics of a depression or the consequences of it, even though they are economists. A recession or depression is like a snowball rolling downhill. It will continue to get bigger until something stops it. This snowball has gathered a lot of momentum. It would have been easier to stop 2 or 3 months ago, but no one was looking at the snowball at that time. Now, it is racing down on America and will do a lot of damage if it is not stopped within 12 weeks. I will present you with two scenarios - the good and the bad.

Scenario One - The Good

This scenario requires President Elect Obama to use all his charisma and leadership skills to push this through. It is similar to his current plan with only a few twists, but these twists are the parts that will stop the snowball.

With the remaining emergency funds, President Obama bails out the industries which employ the most Americans. Part the bailout for the industries carries the clause that no employees get laid-off. He also starts his reconstruction of the US infrastructure.

Not laying off employees is a two edged sword. First it keeps the morale of the US workers up and second if the people were laid-off they would be collecting unemployment benefits which the government has to pay out on top of the bailout. Therefore keeping the people working serves three purposes - morale stays up, less money out of the government, taxes still being paid into the government.

Of the 3 million unemployed American, Mr. Obama's plan to reconstruct the infrastructure of the US would put many of them back to work. This should help to bring more money back into the government via income taxes and hopefully create some new 'permanent' jobs.

I am not addressing the banks because they are falling due to people not having money to pay their mortgages. If the people are working again, they will be able to pay their bills and the banks will not be in dire straits. Therefore further bank bailouts would be unnecessary.

Yes, this is a very simplified outline. I have a written a 20 page analysis of the situation using this scenario, however no one would want to sit on the internet and read 20 pages.

Scenario Two - The Bad

Now we look at the flip side of the coin. If the lay-offs are not stopped, there will be over 6 million Americans unemployed by the end of March 2009. Remember the snowball, as companies lay-off workers there are less people to purchase goods and more companies will lay-off workers and it continues to grow.

This high unemployment will mean the continued bailout of the banking system and other entities. More people unemployed means more defaults on loans. More defaults on loans means more banks going under.

Next stop, the US defaults on its loans. Yes, our country can default on its loans. With the government paying out to create jobs (not at the same speed as jobs are being lost) and paying out to bailout banks and other entities and having a severely depleted income tax base, it needs to get loans from other countries. All the other countries are in a recession / depression and do not have money to lend. Therefore the US would be forced to not pay back loans it has already taken out, leading to a default on its loans.

This would destroy the confidence in the US and lead to further the world economic crisis beyond the proportions of the Great Depression. The world is too interconnected today. In 1930 the countries were still basically independent. Today the economies are so intertwined that this would cause a collapses of the entire world economic system, leading to chaos.

If you would like to read the entire analysis, you may request either the GOOD SCENARIO or the BAD SCENARIO or both. The good scenario is approximately 20 pages and the bad scenario is approximately 27 pages.

Update for President-Elect Obama

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleader.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

January 9, 2009

With less than two weeks until Barak Obama becomes our next president he is running into problems already. His fellow Democrats are not in favor of his budget cuts and tax cuts even though he has acknowledged that the US is in dire straits (JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent Jan. 08 2009) and something must be done.

We all know you have, what is supposed to be, some of the greatest minds in the country working on these problems. They have given you advise on how they think the country can be saved from this economic crisis. However, Mr. Obama, either they are not fully informing you of all pertinent data or it is just being ignored.

Let us look at some of the research data that the newspapers do not print. A report issued in 2007 (using data accumulated over 45 years) tells us that there is significant and lasting negative effects of displacement for workers displaced during their prime earnings years, ages 35-53 (which is the age of the majority of the workforce who are losing their jobs). What does that mean? Very simply, when a person losses his/her job there are long lasting negative effects to the person and the economy.

Our own government (Dept. of Agriculture) has done research on the negative effects and concurs with results found by [ Brenner & Starrin, 1988; Buss & Redburn, 1983; Dooley, Catalan & Willson 1994; Hamilton, Broman, Hoffman, & Renner, 1990; Hamilton, Hoffman, Broman & Rauma, 1993; Kessler, House & Turner, 1987; Iverson and Sabroe, 1988; Leana & Feldman, 1992; Liem & Liem, 1988; Ware, Jackson, and Banks, 1988 ] which tell us that individuals, displaced workers, experience heightened feelings of anxiety, depression, emotional distress, and hopelessness about the future, increases in somatic symptoms and physical illness, compromised immune system functioning, lowered self-esteem and self-confidence, and increased hostility and dissatisfaction with interpersonal relationships.

In other words, once a person loses his/her job they are depressed and they lose their confidence and feel hopeless about the future. Now I ask you Mr. Obama, if a person feels this way how likely are they to go out and buy things? After all it is spending money which will cause the economy to recover, true? If the people do not buy things, the companies will still go bankrupt. If the companies go bankrupt they default on their loans which cause the banks to go bankrupts; meaning more bailouts, etc.

Looking at this information what would be the best plan of attack to save the economy? Just give banks and companies bailout money? They did not operate their banks and companies correctly before, what makes you think they will do any better after you give them money? Let us look at the truth, they are wasting the money or using it for themselves. Will the bailout save our economy? How does that help the average worker? 

1.6 Billion dollars has been used for a handful of bank executives (FRANK BASS and RITA BEAMISH, Associated Press Writers Dec 21, 2008). That 1.6 billion would have kept 40,000 Americans working for the next 12 months. How many have lost their jobs so that these few can get their bonuses? Those 40,000 American would still be employed, still spending and that is what will bring the country out of this depression.

The only solution Mr. Obama is to keep people working in their present jobs. I have said it before and I will say it again, keep the people working in the present jobs! You will overcome the emotional hardship and the financial hardship experienced by displaced workers (people who have lost their jobs). You will keep their spirits up and the spending habits will return. If you continue with just your stimulus plan and putting people back to work, instead of protect current jobs, you will face a depressed America and a long, long economic downturn.

It is your choice Mr. Obama. What will you do?

References:

Baumol, William J., Alan S. Blinder, and Edward N. Wolff. 2003. Downsizing in America: Reality, Causes, and Consequences. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Bellah, Robert, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life Berkeley: Univ of California Press.

Baumol, William J., Alan S. Blinder, and Edward N. Wolff. 2003. Downsizing in America: Reality, Causes, and Consequences. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Bellah, Robert, Richard Madsen, William M. Sullivan, Ann Swidler, and Steven M. Tipton. 1985. Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life Berkeley: Univ of California Press.

Burgard, Sarah A. Jennie E. Brand, and James House. 2007. "Toward a Better Estimation of the Effect of Job Loss on Health." Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

Chan, Sewin, and Ann Huff Stevens. 2001. "Job Loss and Employment Patterns of Older Workers." Journal of Labor Economics 19:484-521.

Dooley, David, Jonathon Fielding, and Lennart Levi. 1996. "Health and Unemployment." Annual Review of Public Health 17: 449-465.

Fallick, Bruce. 1996. "A Review of the Recent Empirical Literature on DisplacedWorkers." Industrial and Labor Relations Review 50:5-16.

Farber, Henry S. 2005. "What do we know about Job Loss in the United States? Evidence from the displaced Worker Survey, 1984-2004." Working Paper #498, Princeton University, Industrial Relations Section. Farley, Reynolds. 1996.

Hauser, Robert and John Robert Warren. 1997. "Socioeconomic Indexes for Occupations: A Review, Update and Critique." Sociological Methodology 27:177-298.

Hammermesh, Daniel S. 1989. "What Do We Know About Worker Displacement in the United States?" Industrial Relations 28:51-59.

Kessler, Ronald C., J. Blake Turner, and James S. House. 1989. "Unemployment, Reemployment, and Emotional Functioning in a Community Sample." American Sociological Review 54:648-657.

Kletzer, Lori. 1991. "Earnings after Job Displacement: Job Tenure, Industry and Occupation." in Job Displacement: Consequences and Implications for Policy, edited by J. T. Addison. Detroit: Wayne State University Press.

Kletzer, Lori. 1998. "Job Displacement." Journal of Economic Perspectives 12:115-136.

Levy, Frank. 1995. "Incomes and Income Inequality." in State of the Union: America in the 1990s, edited by R. Farley. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Podgursky, Michael and Paul Swaim. 1987. "Job Displacement and Earnings Loss: Evidence from the Displaced Worker Survey." Industrial and Labor relations Review 41:17-29.

Rain, Jeffrey, Irving Lane, and Dick Steiner. 1991. "A Current Look at the Job Satisfaction/Life Satisfaction Relationship." Human Relations 44: 287-307.

Ruhm, Christopher J. 1991. "Are Workers Permanently Scarred by Job Displacement?" The American Economic Review 81:319-324.

Seitchik, Adam. 1991. "Who Are Displaced Workers?" in Job Displacement: Consequences and Implications for Policy, edited by J. T. Addison. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.

Stevens, Ann Huff. 1997. "Persistent Effects of Job Displacement: The Importance of Multiple Job Losses." Journal of Labor Economics 15:165-188.

Warr, Peter and Paul Jackson. 1985. "Factors Influencing the Psychological Impact of Prolonged Unemployment and Reemployment." Psychological Medicine 15: 795-807.

Wetzel, James R. 1995. "Labor Force, Unemployment and Earnings." in State of the Union: America in the 1990s, edited by R. Farley. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.

Dear President Elect, What do Economists Know?

By Dr. Edwin Weaver

www.uniqueleaders.org

www.we-develop-leaders.com

January 3, 2009

Today President Elect Obama said, "Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double-digit unemployment and the American dream slipping further and further out of reach," (AP News on Yahoo. Com http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090103/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama ) This was in reference to creating new jobs.

Creating jobs will help, but the psychological effect of losing one's job demoralizes. Have you ever lost your job? It hurts. It takes months, years to fully recover from losing one's job.

I have worked for Rescue missions and other organizations which help the needy and homeless. I have seen men, women and families hit hard times. It demoralizes them completely. Even after they got work it would take months, even years before they started to get back to normalcy.

Yes Mr. Obama, you may create jobs and the person may be working again, but they are still demoralized and will not return to their old habits until they have fully recuperated from the stigma. That means they will not return to their old spending habits for quite some time, which also means a long recovery from this recession.

I have watched these people. I have worked with them. They did not want to spend money for fear of what might happen. They bought only what was absolutely necessary. They feared going back to the streets again. Their self esteem was destroyed and it took time before they felt confident that they could succeed again.

Dear Mr. President Elect, a great leader worries about the people, not only that they are working and that they have food and money, but the great leader worries about their morale also. Their moral is the highest concern.

Economists know about numbers, not people and feelings, that is why economists are not leaders. President elect Obama, you know that it is the people who will make or break this recession. Mr. President, you must focus on keeping the people working at their present jobs. Keep them from falling into a demoralized state which will hurt the recovery of the country.

I am not an economist, but I know people. I have worked with and helped people for over 30 years. Mr. President Elect, you need some people on your team who know the common man and how he/she thinks and feels. If you want our country to recover soon, keep the people working in their current jobs and create jobs for those who are out of work. You will kill two birds with one stone.

You will keep the income taxes coming in from those who are still employed. You will keep their morale up and their spending up, which will help to create new jobs. You will put the unemployed to work giving them a little hope. Between the enthusiasm and the spirit of those who are still working and the chance at a new position by those who are unemployed, the country will take on a new hope. With your charisma leading them, they will pull together to make a new America and the road to recovery will be short.

However, if you let the people become unemployed, they will lose hope. Even your charisma will not excite them. The road to recovery will be long and hard.

Best regards and best of luck

Dr. Edwin Weaver