Victor Lund

Tax Reform and Lies

2017-09-06T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had a curious chat with a friend yesterday. He is in his early 50s and the story he relayed to me referenced his father, presumably retired in his 70s or 80s. With passion my friend conveyed the lessons of his youth, which flourished with impassioned equality for all races and religions. With great lament, he also shared how his father has changed over the years. He switched teams and is now an R instead of a D. Even as a scientist, his father no longer acknowledges the particulate matter that industry has deposited in our atmosphere to create a greenhouse effect and contribute to global warming.

“Your dad was successful,” I commented. “Taxes have a way of changing a man.”

“Yes,” he replied. “And now I am beginning to see the tears in the fabric of my long held beliefs,” he added.

If you are a friend that follows this blog, you know that I party with the Democrats on social issues, and party with the Republicans on fiscal issues. I am an independent because I think we desperately need a third party in our nation that gives me a voting platform. Like so many others, I hated both options in the last election.

The Tax Burden to American Businesses is the highest in the world.

You will hear this again, and again, and again as President Trump opens the door to tax reform. He is accurate. According to the OECD, the United States taxes corporations at 35%. But the data is a bit misleading because we have a complicated tax code with deductions. After deductions, our tax rate is the 4^th highest in the world, falling in behind Argentina, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom charges 19% but does not have the deductions. Other taxes like sales tax, VAT, and State Taxes are not included in this calculus. Trump is recommending 15% tax rate but has not discussed deductions.

Liars figure and figures lie

There is an ugly truth behind all of this data. It’s shaped by politics. If I wanted to combat Trump’s position, I would indicate that as a percentage of

Gross Domestic Product or GDP, net of taxes – the United States ranks 32 among developed nations with an effective tax rate of 26% of GDP. By this measure, the tax rate in the United States is super low. Notice how the countries in each list are different. Notice how India and China are not on this list?

Our retirement will suck

I feel deeply for my friend. To watch a father become overwhelmed by taxes, low yield on savings, and rapidly escalating health care costs is real. When you are retired, the more you have the more they take. Retirement is a personal tax issue, unless you have investments on your savings. When you see profitable companies write a check to the federal government for 35% of the profit before paying dividends, it hurts. If you take the approach of many retirees who have low risk portfolios, interest on cash and bonds is less than inflation. Just holding your money generates losses in value. As for healthcare – it’s free to those who have no assets and more than the cost of a mortgage for those who have been saving their whole lives.

I understand his father’s curmudgeonous view of the world. He probably worked 10-hour days his whole life. He probably sacrificed life’s indulgences he earned for the safety and security of savings in retirement, only to see more and more of his savings taken from him because of his success.

America has lost its sense of equal opportunity. We are not all equal under the tax law or the health care law. Some get more than they give and others give more than they get.

My Utopian Tax Code

As for me, I would love to see the removal of all corporate taxes. The government could set a threshold of reserves – say 6 months operating expenses. After that, corporations must distribute all profits to shareholders or employees. That goes for State taxes on corporations, which are not even discussed by the OECD. All income should be taxed at an individual level and it should be equal for all citizens (FLAT TAX) regardless of how much you make. Remove all personal deductions too. Remove cash. All money should be electronic to remove the incentives to cheat. Illicit business would need to transact in goods or services rather than money. Lets see you buy your next dose of heroin with a used set of golf clubs or your favorite chair. All healthcare should be priced the same too – one price for every citizen.

It’s too bad that my friend’s dad has lost his liberal spirit. I wonder if he would agree with my thesis for utopia?

Why National Healthcare Continues To Fail

2017-06-25T09:14:00.001-07:00

The data on the expenditures related to healthcare in America are alarming. National health care spending is growing at a rate of 5.6% a year. There are arguments that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) has curbed the growth of costs related to healthcare, others argue that it has compounded the growth in costs. The current system covers about 90.9% of the us population. 10% of the population would rather pay the tax penalty (typically less than $1000) than pay for health insurance (typically $600 to $1200 per month depending on income level).

Health Care as a Percentage of GDP

As you can see from this chart published by the National Health Care Expenditures, about 17.8% of the nation's Gross Domestic Product goes to pay for healthcare. Let me put this into perspective. The cost of heath care has reached beyond the cost of housing in America - According to data from the National Association of Home Builders, the percentage of GDP for housing is roughly 12% to 13% of GDP.

The Affordable Health Care Act was signed into law in March of 2010. Using the data from the National Health Care Expenditures site, I charted the cost of healthcare for the 5 years before and 5 years after Obamacare was signed into law.

Obamacare has not slowed the cost of health care

In 2005, the average cost of healthcare $6855 per person. The price of care was raising at a rate of $300 to $500 per year from 2005 to 2010. Since 2010, the cost of healthcare has risen by $400 to $500 per year. The Affordable Health Care act has not done anything to lower the cost of healthcare in America.

The Biggest Benefit to Today's Healthcare

Yes, health care cost in America have gotten worse. But, you must realize that health care is not available to every American regardless of prior conditions. No American can be denied health care coverage.

Perhaps a simple law would be the simple solution

The governments of America at the State and National levels believe that they can be the grand negotiator of health care. This is a false hope. Here is a simple concept that would represent the most fair distribution of costs.

Every citizen in America pays $6855 ($600 per month) for basic healthcare coverage regardless of age, sex, income, race, or any other discriminatory attribute. If you cannot afford to pay, you need to apply for federal assistance.

Retired People on Social Security will get hit hard

The average retired person in America gets $1425 per month from Social Security. That is about $17,000 per year. 50% of their social security income will go toward paying healthcare, making it difficult to pay for housing and food. Retirees would need to get creative to make it work. But it is possible. This group consumes the largest portion of health care costs in America.

According to the National Library of Medicine, the total health care costs per American is $316,000 over a lifetime. The average lifetime is 79 years - hence the cost is about $4000 per year - significantly less than than the $6855 being paid today. Not sure why the costs to not add up, but you know how it goes with these types of calculations - data has its limitation.

Healthcare is eating away at our Nation

Not only is healthcare eating away at the pocketbooks of Americans, but it is becoming an overwhelming consumer of the cost of operating the federal government. Social Security, Medicare, and other safety net policies in America consumer 59% of our federal tax dollars.

Why National Healthcare Continues to Fail

The average American pays about 19.8% of their income in Federal Tax today according to Time magazine. And remember, over 25% of the cost of operating the Federal Government - healthcare - is going up at a rate of nearly 6% a year. In an of itself, these rising costs would require raising Federal taxes by 1.5% a year.

If you want to win an election today in America, you better be focused on how you will cut taxes. The American voter does not trust the government to manage money and budgets. They prefer to have the national market economy do that. Voters in America do not trust the government to manage the $650 Billion dollars a year that is paid out to healthcare providers. America is in a place where if someone wants to get elected, they need to sell false hopes to the American voter. American need to face reality.

Hope for Lowering Healthcare Costs

American's pay roughly two and a half times the price for health care as other developed nations around the globe.

The average developed county in the world spends about $3200 per citizen for healthcare coverage. Just to our north, Canada spends $4400. The United Kingdom spends $3400. Japan spends $3000. To our south, Mexico pays under $1000.

Perhaps our best plan would be to outsource our healthcare to one of these other countries. Rather than building boarders, lets make healthcare a product of North America. Let the Canadians and the Mexican governments come up with a healthcare plan for North America - they might do a better job.

P.S. I would definitely prefer to rehabilitate in Cabo San Lucas after a major surgery!

Sleeping Through The Alarms of Life

2017-03-21T09:41:00.001-07:00

Everyone chooses a philosophical camp about daylight savings time. Some people love it, others hate it. I will spare you the suffrage of rehashing the key points here. Suffice it to say that daylight savings time causes an adjustment in your sleep patters. On that, we must all agree.

This morning, my daughter slept through her alarm. She went to bed at 10 PM last night and planned to have her alarm go off at 4:30. Hit the snooze button until 5 AM, then get up and study for a makeup test at 7 am.

Like a lot of people over 45, I have a natural alarm that has developed. I wake up naturally at 5 AM every day, almost to the minute. daylight savings time has disrupted my pattern a bit. During the first week of daylight savings time, I was waking up at 6 am (my normal 5). Now I am waking up at 5:30 as my internal clock moves into its natural rotation.

I was well into my morning routine of answering emails when I realized that it was 6:30 and I had not heard any movement from my daughter’s room. 6:30 was about 20 min before the time we needed to leave for school. I woke her up and she was immediately struck with the stressful realization that she had to take a test that she was not fully prepared to take. It’s a feeling that we have all experienced.

In our personal lives and in our professional lives we learn about process. We plan or work and work our plan. There is a lot of time pressure and time compression though out each of our lives. Responsibility is defined by how each of us complete the milestones and deliverables for our plans.

I guess my daughter learned an important lesson in responsibility and time management today. As a parent, you hate to see your child suffer when a good plan fails. But you also recognize that this lesson is an important and valuable experience. The pain of being late and unprepared is the teacher.

Interestingly enough, her test this morning was on Darwin and the concept of Natural Selection. You know, survival of the fittest. In so many ways, she will learn the hard way about what it takes to be successful. She will also learn that the ability to operate her alarm clock and get out of bed is fundamental to her success.

We are all a little too overscheduled in our lives. Any eventuality can throw us off track. And we all suffer from things slipping though the cracks or missed alarm clocks. The truest measure of our character is how we respond.

Super Bowl Lesson - Have Confidence In your Plan

2017-02-06T17:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's Super Bowl between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons was gut wrenching for every spectator. At any given point in the game, viewers were either disgusted or elated.

First Quarter -

Every fan was disappointed in the first quarter. The two most high scoring offenses in football did not score. Even the defensive teams were sluggish. Nobody really made a great play. Nothin happened. But underneath it all, each team was getting comfortable. They were probing and reacting. It was like a couple of heavy weight fighters dancing around the ring, jabbing at each other with neither team really landing.

Second Quarter -

Atlanta Fans jumping from their seats while New England fans sat back, disgusted, hope was lost. The data says that no team in history has ever come back from a 21-3 deficit. In fact, according to Sporting News, there were 20 points in the game where the Falcons had a 99% chance of winning. At one point, they had a 99.7% chance of winning.

Half Time

Atlanta fans must have enjoyed the Lady Gaga halftime. I cannot even imagine the locker room discussion of each team. But somewhere inside of me, I must believe that the Patriots came out of half time thinking that they could still win. They did what they do. They adjusted.

Third Quarter

The third quarter started out with a spiriting lift to New England. Somewhere in here, the announcer mentioned that the Falcons Offense had not been on the field in nearly an hour and a half. They held Atlanta to a quick 3 and out, and had great field position after a fair punt and a decent return. But that excitement quickly wained as Atlanta quickly shut the Patriots down and forced a punt.

The one thing that you noticed about the second half of the game was that neither team was really rattled. Atlanta was comfortable with their lead. They knew that the Patriots would have their plays on both sides of the ball. The Patriots finally scored a touchdown, but missed the extra point. Atlanta scored one too. Atlanta added another point to their lead in the third, so they won another quarter.

Fourth Quarter

You had a sense that the Patriots had to take risks in the forth quarter. They needed to outscore the Falcons by 19 points to tie the game. They needed to outscore the Falcons by 20 points to win. And remember, the Falcons were the highest scoring team in Football during the season with a quarterback who won the MVP award during the regular season for scoring a lot and not turning the ball over. New England had to do to the Falcons what the Falcons did to them in the second quarter, only better.

Confidence

New England must have had a strange feeling about this game. If you did not look at the score, and simply looked at the stats, you would think that New England was crushing the Falcons. Their time of possession on offense was double that of Atlanta, as was their yardage from scrimmage. The two teams were pretty equal on their ground game, but the Patriots were gaining far more yards through the air on short and mid range throws.

You must think that somewhere in the heads of the coaching staff of New England they felt like they were executing their plan perfectly. They may have felt that they were on the track to winning.

Check Out These Stats

If you did not look at the box score, and only looked at the performance, you would think that New England blew out the Falcons. And interestingly enough, this was the highest margin of victory for the New England Patriots.

The Patriots had 20 more first downs than the Falcons
The Patriots passed for 200 more yards than the falcons.
New England only had 4 penalties to Atlanta's 9
New England held the ball for 17 minutes longer than Atlanta (more than a full quarter).

Giving Back During the Holiday

2016-12-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

I am always the first person to get up at our house on Christmas morning. And if the truth be told, I am the first to get up most any other day too. Its not intentional, but I embrace it. There is a silence about the morning that is different from the late night silence. It is a silence that precedes a new day, with all of the possibilities that each new day brings. But Christmas Day is different.

Every family has its Christmas traditions, and we have ours too. But there is a funny thing about traditions. If you do the same thing each year, with the same people, the same food, etc. The only thing that differentiates this Christmas from any other are the photographs. We try to mix it up a bit each year, and celebrate as much about what is new as the traditions of old.

Up until a few years ago, we were big into giving gifts to everyone – business associates, neighbors, every kid that Alexandra knows, all of our friends – busy shipping everything all over the world…..It was stressful, and perhaps a bit insane. Like everyone, I appreciate the cards and gifts that we receive, but have long wondered if that effort is not spreading abundance rather than gratitude.

Homelessness is a big problem

I guess that it is a combination of reasonable weather and high housing costs that we have such a widespread homeless problem here on the central coast. The problem is compounded by drug epidemic, underfunded shelters, and other social services. There is another group of people that can afford housing but little more. There are many people that could use help to find a little joy at Christmas.

If you look around your community, you can find organizations that do a lot of good for people who are outside, or living day to day. There are families who cannot afford to buy even the most basic gifts of clothing for their children. Others may be living in their cars, or worse yet – on the street. These organizations provide relief to those people. You notice that I do not mention the social services provided by tax dollars - ask any homeless person and they will tell you that government is a nightmare and ineffective. It would be interesting to learn how many government employees (and associated employee costs) there are to every homeless person.

Support Private Non Profits

We help women and children escaping violence. They often run out the front door with little more than the clothes on their back – no money, no home, only seeking to get away from the abuse. These people need help. Thank you CASA for all that you do..

We try to help veterans who return from service with little capacity to manage life after the theatre. War leaves scars that never heal, and it is our obligation to make an effort to safeguard those who have given their lives to safeguard us. I would greatly prefer that we avoid all armed conflicts, but be that as it is, my heart goes out to those who have served. A great charity is Operation Surf. They teach our heroes who have lost hope, and often limbs, how to surf. (Don't Google Operation Surf - their website was hacked - I called them and we will be fixing it for them.....damn hackers!).

We try to help the poorest families by making their Christmas – a Christmas tree, wrapped gifts for everything on their Christmas list, and a Christmas dinner with all the fixings.

New Story

This year, we learned that in many South American countries, farm workers sleep on the ground, sheltered by plastic huts with no door and no plumbing. We bought one such family a home – only a few hundred square feet – check out https://newstorycharity.org to understand how so little can go so far. - Here is a link to the campaign https://impact.newstorycharity.org/collections/bhgre-funds-a-community

I would like to think that Christ, over 2000 years ago, set an everlasting example that inspires us all, regardless of any religion, to help those less fortunate. It is that humanity that defines us.

Election Observations - What Just Happened

2016-11-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

Like every American, I found distaste with both candidates for President of The United States. Indeed, my negativity for both of them exceeded the redeemable qualities of either. Like everyone in America, I find myself trying to sort out what just happened. But Americans should wake up to some realities in the wake of this election. There are three important ones.

The Election Is Rigged
Donald Trump kept saying that the election is rigged, but I have never agreed with his reasoning. However, I do agree with his conclusion. The money, media, the polls, and the pundits completely missed the mark. All of the money, media, polls, and pundits were betting on Hillary, betting on the establishment. It is impossible for me to believe that the data was wrong. The people behind the data had an agenda and they made the data work for their agenda. There is no "Fair and Balanced," in the media. They are corrupted by the money and the status quo. (p.s. We are not alone - Britain's media completely missed both the US Election and the decision to leave the European Union).

The process for nominating the candidates is also abysmal. Only 28% of voters participated in the Primaries.

Hillary Clinton won the Presidency by count of the total votes, which certainly points to problems with our Electoral process, but I understand that if total votes were defacto process, high population States like New York State, California, Florida, and Texas would win every election. Our heartland (what I call the fly over States) would not have any voice in Washington. On the other hand - we have a huge problem in the way that voting districts are drawn across America. That is totally rigged - but has little implications to the Presidential race.

Republicans Control the White House, Senate, and the House of Representatives
I am an independent, but usually align with Republicans on tax and social policy. So this observation comes from a place where you would naturally think that I would support all three branches of government on the same team. But I do not! Much in the same way that I was horrified that the democrats would have a super majority in the California Assembly, I am equally horrified that the Republicans will have the upper hand for the next two years at passing legislation. This type of control is a huge risk to our nation. Too much power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

I have written plenty about my belief that we need a safety net in America, but we have gone overboard on tax and spend policy. The government has a failed economic policy and is horrible at administrating everything. Social benefits are choking our nation. The Republicans have the deck set to reel back these programs, but I am afraid that they may go off the deep end - and that is not any good for anyone.

Your Vote Matters
Voting was up 4.7% in this election according to USA Today, but we did not set a record for the percentage of Americans who vote. Presidential election years have the highest voter turnout - 6 out of 10 Americans. In two years, only 4 out of 10 people will vote. Those of you who did not vote need to get involved. There are 200 Million registered voters - that means that 80 million did not cast a vote. America has the lowest voter participation in established democracies in the world.

Political Reform In America

2016-11-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

During my life, I have become increasingly anti-political. In America we have a system that is broken. Our heartfelt and sincere efforts to provide a safety net for our citizens, national sovereignty, and economic stability have all failed. I believe that it is because of the corrupt political system we have in our nation.

The United States has a failed political system. Last week a political party induced over $1 Million dollars into a campaign for our local State Assembly race. There are 80 members of the California State Assembly, and one particular party is a few seats away from establishing a Super Majority. In American politics, a Super Majority is akin to a dictatorship. This is an example of an insanely overfunded political war chest that seeks to “buy” elections in America.

Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the money that is left over from political campaigns? Look no further than any past President, Senator, or other government official to see the rancor of this grotesque system. That money is used to legally bribe people in office. It is used to sway votes, and to control the legislative process. Its called Crony Capitalism.

Obamacare Supermajority Case Study?

Obamacare, President Barack Obama's overhaul of the health insurance system, needed to pass through both chambers of Congress to become a law. The seeds for this passing were sown during the 2008 elections. That evening, the Democratic party came away with a 257 to 199 seat advantage in the House, and Obama was elected president.

In the Senate, the Democrats gained eight seats to hold 57 out of 100 seats. At the time, there were two Independent Senators, and each was expected to vote for the law. The Democrats needed one more seat in the Senate to gain a supermajority, which is 60 seats, and ensure that the Republicans would be unable to block the passage with a filibuster.

This 60th seat would come unexpectedly, when Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat on April 28, 2009. On December 24, 2009, the Senate passed the Obamacare bill by a 60 to 39 vote. It would take another three months for the House and Senate bills to be reconciled. President Obama signed the ACA into law on March 23, 2010.

Democracy did not pass that law. The controlling political party with a super majority in the Senate and a sitting President did that. The legislation is not a failure. Anytime you spend $1.7 Billion on something you get some results. What this exemplifies is the failure of our political system that allows a single agenda to pass without influence the process.

Want to know about some of the bribes issued when Obamacare passed?

· Verizon received $162 Million to fund insurance for people who retire early. AT&T received $213 Million.
· National Carriers Conference Committee received $60 Million
· Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio received $180 Million
· Teacher Retirement System of Texas received $70 Million
· California Public Employee Retirement System received $131.5 Million.
· GE received $38 Million.

Verizon has contributed $3 Million to political campaigns in 2016, and $7 Million in Lobbying. I would say that they are getting a great return on that money. AT&T has contributed $11.5 Million to campaigns and spent $12 Million in Lobbying.

The American political system is corrupt. Our citizens should be appalled. If you want to see Organized Crime in America – look no further than our lifelong politicians.

I have voted for the 2016 Election. My 13 year old daughter and I have discussed the issues. She already sees the impact of taxes in the money she earns as an Actor and Dancer. She has filed her returns for the past three years. She understands that 45% of Americans do not pay any income tax. She asked me "Are 45% of Americans destitute today, living without basic necessities?"

"What do you think," I asked?

"Well, everyone I know has a cell phone, drives a car, has nice clean clothes. I know that there are a handful of kids who are homeless - but nowhere near 45%." Alexandra attends a High School with more than 2400 students. "Is the Government paying for half of the people I go to school with to have a home, clothes, a cell phone," she asked?

"I don't know," I replied. "What I do know is that your mom and I work very hard and pay more and more each year in taxes and healthcare costs. It limits our ability to invest in growing our business to create more jobs or increase wages for the people that work with us. And, we have been saving since you were born to try to put aside the $350,000 that it will cost us to send you to college."

"Thats Insane," she replied!

"With any luck, you will follow your father to Oxford, Price is only $19,000 per year for foreigners, and its only a three year program" I suggested.

National Sovereignty

Our military is to protect our citizens and participate in NATO led relief efforts. We have gone so far beyond this mission, acting at the police of the globe. Enough said.

Economic Stability

Our economic stability in America is a complete sham. Look at the huge drops and falls that are created by this artificial, overly regulated system. Government needs to stop influencing our economy with deficit spending and corporate welfare.

San Luis Obispo is First In America to Reform Election Funding

2016-03-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

By all measures, San Luis Obispo County is a small community. We have just over 250,000 residents and our County Seat of San Luis Obispo has just short of 50,000. It is not exactly what you would call metropolitan. Situated along the Pacific Coast half way between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, it is sort of a quaint jewel of California that few have discovered. Regardless, we are a COMMUNITY THAT CAN, like the little train that labors up the hill. Our County leaders just passed a policy that each citizen will get a $20 voucher to give to local politicians running for office if those local politicians refuse to take outside money!

Money buys politicians, and causes corruption in our democracy. San Luis Obispo seeks to eliminate electioneering by putting the people in the drivers seat for campaign finance. It should also go a long way toward encouraging citizens to engage in the process and vote! The $20 is called a “democracy voucher.” The Council was split 3-2 on the decision. Guess where the financing came from for the two who were in the minority. Yup, you guessed it. Not a surprise, eh?

If you have been reading this blog for a few years, you know that this is not the first time that San Luis Obispo has been a leader in pioneering legislation. In 2010, the County was the first in the nation to ban smoking in all outdoor areas frequented by the public, including sidewalks, parking garages, 20 feet from any building entrance, outdoor stadiums, and even the beach. In 2012, the County also banned the use of Styrofoam containers for restaurant and plastic bags in stores. See this post http://www.victorlund.com/2014/09/san-luis-obispo-county-first-to-ban.html

I am super proud of our little community and its elected officials who do the right thing.

Shattuck School Song

2015-06-03T08:11:00.002-07:00

I am making the journey back to Shattuck-St. Mary's this week. Its one of those reunions that is counted by decades rather than years. I am really exited to see my classmates and recall the stories of our youth. I try to make it back every year, with special emphasis on our 5 year and 10 year marks - but its hard.

I attended Shattuck in the post Military school days - the early 80s. The school has evolved from an Episcopal Mission School in the 1800s to a Military school until the Vietnam era. Then it became the college preparatory boarding school which it is today. In may day, boys were on one campus and the girls were on the St. Mary's campus. At the time, the boys all required to gather each Wednesday night at the Chapel of the Good Shepard to celebrate our faith and sing the Shattuck School Song.

I do not ever remember looking at the words to the song. We sang it from our hearts. Over the years some of the words were blurred and I was more than surprised to see that Google could not find it for me. A former classmate who works in the Alumni office, Heather Hyslop was kind enough to send me a copy. For posterity, I am adding it to the internet.

Shattuck Men

Shattuck Men, we've trod the paths together,

Sons of a Mother wise and true;

Now we're bound by ties we will not sever

All our whole lives through.

Shattuck brothers here we found

Friendships that will never die

Light to lead us in the shining future

To our purpose high.

Valiant sons who gave their full devotion

Dwelt 'neath thy ivy mantled tow'rs

Vanished now a far o'er boundless ocean

Still real those hours

On the fields their voices rang

In thy halls they served thee well

And though time and space have come between them

Still thy glories tell

We have found that ever living glory

Where those same men ye knew of old

Wrote thy fame in legend and in story

Brighter far than gold.

March together hand in hand

The time will come when we must part

Still The love of Shattuck days will linger

Ever in each heart.

The song is an adaptation created by Claiborne R. Hill in 1955 from the original Amherst Senior Class song written in 1906.

For those who would like the music

Do You Have A Hand Phone

2015-03-16T12:33:00.001-07:00

My desk faces the sidewalk on Grand Avenue in Arroyo Grande. Outside my office is a park bench, a planter, and a garbage can. I cannot help but to watch the life on the street as it reveals itself to me.

When I lifted the blinds this morning, I noticed a pizza box on the park bench. . I resigned myself to walk out and put the box in the garbage at my earliest convenience. Throughout the morning, I watched as a number of people would walk by and lift the cover of the box. One man walked by with a dog that also used his nose to inspect the contents. But as I watched passers by interact with the box, I delayed my commitment to go put it in the garbage.

After about four hours, someone moved the box about five feet to the garbage can. I missed out on seeing who it was. The box was placed on top of the can. Although helpful, the person did not go as far as to break the box in half so it would fit into the can.

The trashcan is a daily source of visits. I am beginning to take note of the people that stop by. Today I decided to give them names. Some visitors have baskets, others just reach in and look around.

One of the reach-around people is a man about 50 to 55 years of age. He looks pretty clean with decent sneakers, sweat pants, and wears a jean jacket with a hoodie underneath. He has had a haircut and his beard is well maintained. His first dip into the can produced a Styrofoam cup with a lid and a straw. He opened the cup and tipped it upside down, noting that the contents were all gone. On his second attempt he pulled out another Styrofoam cup. This time he was more satisfied with his discovery. He removed the lid and straw and sat down cross legged on the bench. He smelled the contents of the cup before taking a drink.

I often see people talking to themselves when they pass by my window. But this fellow was very different. As he sipped from the Styrofoam cup, he placed his hand to his ear and began having a cell phone conversation with his hand. Anyone driving by would not take another look, as his mannerisms were perfect. He looked like any ordinary man sitting on a bench drinking coffee and talking on his cell phone.

When he finished his drink and concluded his hand call, he put the cup back in the garbage can and even made an effort to fold up the pizza box and fit it through the hole in the lid. Then he continued on with his day. He crossed the street and reached into another garbage can. This time, it revealed nothing. Away he walked.

I guess the reason why I wrote this down was that I was stricken by the plight of the homeless in a very intimate, yet unconnected way. After all, my window separated us. I sit in my office in the mornings drinking coffee and talking on my cell phone just as he did on the bench. It made me wonder if I was observing him or if he was observing me? There is a tint to my window, but you can make out some of what is happening when you are on the outside looking in. He did not do anything to acknowledge me – no wave, no smile, no eye contact of any time.

I observed a homeless man fighting hunger and possibly delusion. I thought about our national healthcare system. I thought about the ban on styrofoam cups in our county and the impact they would have on people. I wonder what he observed, if anything at all.

Help Artists Get Paid When Their Music is Played on Radio

2015-02-19T08:57:00.000-08:00

First there was Napster, and now this. The Radio Broadcasters lobby is trying to pass legislation that would allow Radio stations to play an artist's music without paying any royalties.

Please sign this petition to stop big business from avoiding payment to musicians.

My daughter Alexandra dba Sparkles Lund is a professional dancer and the SAG-AFTRA Union makes sure that dancers and other artists get paid when they work. Musicians pay dancers, so if their income gets truncated by legislation, opportunities for dancers will be seriously diminished. Every tax payer can weigh in on this. This issue has nothing to do with government taxation, nor is the Union trying to drive up the rates of royalties. This effort is simply to block legislation that would cut off payments to artists when their music is played on the radio.

Please help

More Information

Dear SAG-AFTRA Member,

We need your voice.

Did you know recording artists and session singers are not paid anything when their performance is played on AM/FM radio? Our effort to fix this long-running inequity with our recording artist members is gaining momentum. It is long past due for recording artists to gain a performance right (royalty) for their music when it is played on AM/FM radio. However, radio broadcasters are fighting this effort with a deceptively named resolution called the Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA). The LRFA directly opposes our efforts and those of our allies, including the American Federation of Musicians, the AFL-CIO and the musicFIRST Coalition. Even the U.S. Copyright Office is on our side.

The Copyright Office just issued a report strongly recommending reforms to the laws affecting music licensing, including creating a performance right for recording artists in radio. The office said music creators deserve an AM/FM performance right and that radio broadcasters’ arguments against it “ring hollow.”

The radio broadcasters LRFA resolution calls a performance right a “tax.” But in reality, no money goes to the government. It is not a tax at all, it is payment to artists for their work.

AM/FM radio pays nothing to performers when their songs are played, unlike satellite radio and Internet radio. That’s unfair to performers and it creates an uneven playing field between radio competitors.

Let your members of Congress know you support fair pay for performers and oppose big radio’s LRFA bill. Click on the link below, enter your zip code and tell your congressional representative to say NO to LRFA.

Take Action Now! Tell your Representative to value the work of SAG-AFTRA recording artists across the country.

Share on social media and encourage your friends and followers to #valuemusic.

In unity,

SAG-AFTRA

SAG-AFTRA is a union that has among its members a diverse group of performers, broadcasters and newscasters. Opposition of this bill should not be interpreted as a personal statement of opinion by or of any specific member of the union.

First Delayed Flight of the Year

2015-01-26T07:44:00.000-08:00

The holidays are over and 2015 is out of the gate faster than any year I can remember. I had hoped to take some time over the holiday to relax, but a crazy combination of activities for Sparkles Lund combined with construction at my house and houseguests consumed us. Nevertheless, the new year is here and we are as busy as ever.

This morning I got up at 4 a.m. for my second flight of the year. A 6 a.m. departure to LAX then on to JFK arriving in time for dinner. Just before bed my JFK flight was cancelled because of a nor’easter that is expected to bring 3 feet of snow to Manhattan. My go-to-sleep plan was to get to LAX and sort it out from there. At 1:30 a.m. the flight was reinstated and I could feel my body relax as I fell back asleep.

At 3 a.m. a notification came through on my phone that the flight to LAX was delayed due to crew availability. “Just my luck,” I thought. For the next hour, I tossed and turned knowing that I was to wake up in an hour to get started on what is sure to be a long day. As a seasoned traveler, I know that the best practice is to get to the airport even when your flight is delayed.

The fist three weeks of the year saw mostly road trips. Sparkles is dancing with Will Adams on his Hip-Hop team – WildaBEAST. To prep for Carnival, and epic hip-hop event held each year in LA, he called rehearsals every Monday and Thursday for the month of January. Marilyn and I have been trading off on the 3-hour runs each way LA. Most times, we get home between midnight and 1 a.m. Sparkles does an excellent job of working on her homework on the way down and sleeping on the way home.

Weekends have been busy too. Sparkles worked with Team Hollywood Vibe at a convention in Pittsburgh; shot two dance videos along with and episode of show for Lifetime. In addition, she has been working on rehearsals for her competition team, DPAC and learning 4 solos. As you can imagine, we are working all day on our business while she is in school and working with her on evenings and weekends on dance. Somehow Sparkles manages to get 8 to 10 hours a of sleep, but little down time during the day – School – Homework – Dance – Sleep – School – Homework – Dance - Sleep – School – Homework - ………You get the picture.

I have been attending this conference in NYC for years. We always have a great party on Times Square. There is always a discussion about the insanity of planning a conference in the North East in January. But, the stoic in me likes the city in the winter. The astringent of cool air and snow dissipates the summer stench. Winter coats replace summer’s sweaty people. A few years ago I had an amazing experience during a Manhattan blizzard. The city was silenced by snow so deep that Taxi cabs and other vehicles were prohibited. I remember standing under the bright flickering lights of Times Square with my tongue stretched out to catch snowflakes, and a snowball fight in the middle of Broadway. The city was bright, snow white, and eerily quiet and peaceful.

That memory of Manhattan during a blizzard is what is drawing me back, overcoming the eminent anguish of travel delay. The hellish effort is also supported by the commitments I have made for meetings, a party planned for Wednesday night, and a video shoot for a friend on Thursday. It is an action packed week that may or may not happen. My hopes of being in the world’s greatest city while it is crippled by snow are driving me forward. I hope I get there. I hope to make the best of it. I hope once more to stand under the bright lights of Times Square as snowflakes fall and melt on my tongue.

If I get to LA, my options open up quite a bit. If I miss today’s flights to NYC, I can stay overnight and meet Marilyn and Sparkles for dinner. They are in town for Carnival dress rehearsal and a video shoot. I feel like even if I loose I will win. The film crew is scheduled to fly to NYC on Tuesday anyway. I can head out with them and even fly to DC or Philly and take the train in if necessary. One way or another, I will get there.

Happy New Year

Mandy Moore The Artist

2014-12-27T08:23:00.002-08:00

My daughter @SparklesLund is a dancer, so I have seen all kinds of great choreographers block their dances. Most are for a competition stage. As a chaperone parent, I have also had the opportunity to watch choreographers for commercials. Today, I got to watch Mandy Moore at the top of her game, building a dance for the live finale of Dancing with the Stars.

The kids arrived at the CBS lot off Genesee for a 10 a.m. call. Yes, it is weird to think that an ABC show would be on the CBS lot, but not really. From 10 a.m. to 12 a.m., the kids learned the choreography. Mandy showed some of it, but her assistants Alicia and Mike were more hands on. Mandy watched with bright eyes as her vision for the piece went from imagination to bodies in movement in front of her. A few corrections were made. Within two hours, the kids had the basics of the movement. Lunch break.

When the kids arrived back from lunch, they arrived on a fully constructed set. While everyone else was on break, Mandy and her assistants directed the final placement of the set – and lots of props. “Placements everyone,” she said. Then, like a puzzle, everything came together, and Mandy was back at it.

Mandy started with the “buckets team” – foot in a bucket, mop in her hand, “5-6-7-8.” She ran it with the kids a few times, her assistant watched. “Run it.” She instructed as she moved off to work with a different group, and the buckets team ran it, and ran it, and ran it. After awhile, Mandy stopped back to the bucket team and asked a question “Is it amazing? Is it clean? Is it ready for music?” The assistant replied, “not quite. 5-6-7-8.”

Mandy went back to the beds team. She rehearsed, and rehearsed, and rehearsed. You can tell that she loves working with kids. Laughter was the only sound on the set. “Ok, can we try this? Want to see it? Music” They run it. Laughter. Too funny!

Then the magic happens. “Come here!” she commands one of the dancers. “I need you to run down the stairs, hit a cartwheel then….” 5-6-7-8 and 1.” “And I need you throw your arm around like a cowboy as she pulls you across the floor, “go… Music.” Then more magic – “put your hands on their shoulder and jump to look out the window.” More laughter. “I love it. Now go back. Put your mop in the bucket. From the top and 1-2-“

“Wait, tug-a-warzie, camera goes in, how do they move the walls out with the buckets there? That’s tight.” Mandy makes a change, they run it again – “5-6-7-8 Much better! I like it. More Movement, I need you to kick you feet. Lets go from buckets! The brooms come next!”

Great vision, great management, great coaching, art.

Growing A Great Company

2014-11-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

Business is business. I tell our clients constantly that success requires a great idea, passionate execution and capital. You know the old saying, ideas are like……arms??? Everyone has them.

Passionate execution is vital to growing a great company. Entrepreneurs are humble by nature, but arrogant in their work ethic. They choose a life of 15 hour work days and shut down their social life, often sacrificing family contact. There is no such thing as luxury for a startup. I guy I know named Greg Robertson shared a story when he launched his start-up – CloudCMA. I asked him about his competitive differentiation and go to market strategy – typical consultant questions. I will never forget his answer. “I am the difference and my go to market strategy begins with me making the first 5000 sales calls.” To this day, years along the path to success, Greg is the guy in the booth at every show. He is passionate and relentless in his pursuit, like so many entrepreneurs that we know.

Capital is at least 1/3 of the struggle. Capital is both an offensive and defensive strategy. Offensively, it allows you to cover the costs of operating the business during its most difficult time. A company, like a young child, makes lots of mistakes in the early days. Some of those mistakes are very expensive. But failing and failing fast is the path to success. This is why early stage angel investors and venture capitalists what so much of the company. Failure is likely, success is uncommon. Defensively it protects you from parallel competition and unwarranted lawsuits.

I ran into this story by Art Cashin about a patent filed on Automobiles in 1895 that is worth sharing. If you want to know why I hate patent trolls – here is reason. By the way, kudos to my friend Randy who has everyone in the real estate industry dead to rights with his patent. You know who you are. You have not shot your patent gun yet, and I commend you for quietly going about negotiating with your competitors. It is courageous. Keep up the good fight.

On this day in 1895, a patent was issued to George B. Selden. It was the kind of patent mere mortals could only dream of. It ranked at or above those granted for the telephone or the electric light. What was it that Selden had invented that was so great - - it was the automobile - - only Selden didn't invent it.

Selden was a clever chap who had noticed the products being produced by the Duryea Brothers and Ransom Olds, in the preceding two decades. He had even read of the work of Karl Benz in Europe.

Since he was a patent attorney, he devised a broad based patent to cover all future automobiles. As the 1900's began, autos began to sell. Selden grabbed some Wall Street buddies and began to sue the early producers. Each one caved and Selden's Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers began to get a royalty from everybody.

In 1903, a guy named Henry Ford applied for membership. Hoping to up the ante, they turned Ford down. Ford (my hero - - he once said the role of your body is to carry your brain around) choose to keep making cars. For six years, they fought in Federal Court. Then a judge said Selden's patent was valid. The effect was electric. Everybody, including GM, decided to pay. Selden and the Wall Street types, sensing billions, magnanimously offered to let Mr. Ford pay at the old rate.

Ford told them where to place their offer and took them to Appeals Court, claiming the patent was too broad and counterclaiming they owned him and other damages. Two years later a judge with a sense of humor and a way with words held that Ford was right. Knowing when to cut and run (and save damages), the Selden/Wall Street Crowd puppied up. The automobile business was wide open and Ford became a multi-billionaire.

October is Over

2014-11-02T09:38:00.002-08:00

October is over, and I am over October. It was quite a month, and I did something that I have never done before. For the first time, I slept in a different city and in every time zone in North America in the same week. I started in California (Pacific) then went on to Salt Lake City (Mountain). From there I went to Omaha, NE (Central), which was a first time experience for me. It is a beautiful city that I hope to return to someday. From there I traveled to Boston(Eastern) for a night then back to Chicago for a night before going to Los Angeles for a night.

Although it hard, I managed to get through it pretty easily. I am convinced that participating in Sober October played a role in making it all manageable. I also shed about 5 pounds, which is always a nice benefit.

Alexandra and I were in Salt Lake separately in October. Alexandra went to work forDivina and modeled for their annual catalog. I went to the Ryan and Kelly Bucknam wedding. Early October is a beautiful time to be in Utah. Next time I will be going back for the film festival and, hopefully great skiing. The snow was pretty scarce last year.

Just for good measure, I threw in a trip to Seattle to close the month out. I celebrated my birthday by being treated to a nice lunch with Kevin Hawkins – who is running our new WAV Group Communications company (think PR firm but full service). We also launched a new WAV Group product called WAVes of Change this month. I watched the Giants win the World Series from the comfy Art bar at the Four Seasons on the waterfront with Greg Schwartz. To round out the night, I was able to meet up with John Brian Losh for dinner. I also had a nice breakfast with York Bauer before going to work that afternoon at the John L. Scott convention as a featured speaker.

Halloween was kind of a bummer for the kids. Total 2014 rainfall in Arroyo Grande this year is 1.4.” It all came Halloween night.

Alexandra had a pretty great month. She launched a new website and re-launched her YouTube channel. She is posting a blog article every week (target is Wednesday) and a video every Sunday – Sunday with Sparkles. She had the first video shoot a few weeks ago. She has another one today. Our goal is for her to learn how to write on a regular basis through her blog. The video is helping her feel comfortable in front of a camera. Our friends at Burn the Boats production and @directorBrazil have also started her out on interviewing people in the entertainment industry. She did her first interview last week.

Anything that you can do to help her out by subscribing to her Sparkles Lund website, and Sparkles Lund YouTube page would be excellent.

Don't forget to vote - need new leadership in our nation.

Fixing Government

2014-10-11T10:08:00.000-07:00

I had a long talk with one on my colleagues at RE Technology yesterday on many of the ills of our nation. Simply stated, government benefits are too high and unsustainable. When many of these programs were put into place (1945), the number of workers supporting programs like Social Security was 42 to 1. Over the years, the programs were expanded and the average lifespan increased. Today, according to Social Security, the number of workers to social security recipients is 2.9 to 1 (source: http://www.ssa.gov/history/ratios.html)

When it comes to government issues like this, there are no big sweeping solutions. I am an advocate of playing small ball. In baseball that term refers to tying to get base hits to advance runners rather than swing for the fences. Lots of little decisions to say "no" to new benefits and "yes" to ratcheting down benefits is the small ball solution that allows for progress to be made.

Our voting system in America is the cornerstone of democracy. Today, we have a majority of people whose life is improved when government increases benefits. Politically, the more benefits you give to the voting majority, the more likely you are to get elected. Today, the top 20% of wage earners in America pay 67% of all taxes (http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxtopics/currentdistribution.cfm). 47% of the tax is individual income tax. 34% is payroll tax. 10% is corporate tax. Lets think of this a different way. 80% of Americans only pay 33% of taxes. In America, if you want to get elected, raise taxes on corporations and increase benefits. You are guaranteed attract the 80% of Americans who will benefit. Today's voter is focused on what is in it for them today, not what is best for our Nation and its future. So, the dilemma becomes, how will our Nation claw its way back to sound fiscal policy?

California passed one of the greatest laws in America's history called Proposition 13. It set the tax level on properties and also set the bar really high on making any changes to the law. To overturn Prop 13, the state legislature must have a 3/4 majority or super majority. Most laws in America require a simple majority, lowering the bar to get new legislation passed. The super majority has protected against unsustainable taxation on home owners. FYI - the home owner tax is 1% of the purchase price of your home when you buy it, and also sets limits on the increases each year. It protects home owners from being taxed out of their homes.

The three quarter majority is a good thing for a lot of legislation. It would decrease new legislation across government in a significant way and require that the law may only be changed if it has the support of the super majority of citizens, not the simple majority. I am a compassionate libertarian. I believe in small government but am compassionate and supportive of government's role in tackling the really important bi-partisan efforts.

We need a Prop 13 style of super majority for more areas of government. Government benefits like social security are taxing away jobs and opportunities for the majority of American workers. No three workers can possibly pay for all of the benefits offered under the Social Security program, which is why our nation in adding so much debt.

Take a look at the Federal Budget for 2013.

Take a look at our Federal Debt

We will all be going to the polls this November. Our government approval rating is 8%. Hopefully we will vote the incumbents out of office and get some fresh thinking in our nation's leadership. If you want to be a radical - do not vote for anyone who has been in office for more than 10 years. Their track record stinks!

By the way - we are supporting Lynn Compton for San Luis Obsipo County Supervisor. Her thinking is based on her personal experience as a rancher, business owner, and mom. She is sharp and holds a strong long term vision for the impacts of local government. She plans to play small ball by making incremental choices that preserve the economic strength of our region and support reasonable efforts on important issues like affordable housing, infrastructure support, and water preservation. Go Lynn!

I encourage local south county residents to visit Lynn's website to learn about her and support her in winning the election http://lynncompton.com/

Say Nothing

2014-10-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Be all for it, or be quiet and say nothing. This is the type of thing that age teaches you. Too often we wear our opinions on our sleeve. Perhaps they belong in our pocket.

This is a waterfall moment for me. If you know me, I have an opinion on just about everything and even when I don't, I can think pretty quickly on my feet and outline some strategic principles to consider on a whim.

These days, I am learning to say less. Sometimes I see too deeply and I miss the stuff on the surface. Sometimes I only see the surface and do not see deeply enough. I guess that what I am learning is that there is a significant and positive measure to allowing people the opportunity to run off on the pursuit of a dream even if I know that the chance of success is limited.

Dreaming is good.
The courage to pursue a dream is divine.
Failure teaches the best lessons.

Having said all of that, there are boundaries to this type of thinking. When it comes to the people we love, it is impossible to let them run down a dead end street, dreaming of rainbows, when I have a strong instinct that failure is eminent. Does that make me a hypocrite?

We all have a tendency to hold back the ones we love. My parents held me back plenty, but they also held me back from things that I respect today much more than I respected them at the time. I would also add that for each time they held me back from a dream, they opened a door to another one.

Dream carefully, and listen to the ones that love you. But also, find times to say nothing when dreams are materializing and little is at risk.

By the way - heading to a private event to watch PINK tonight. Exciting! I don't think I have ever seen a superstar artist in such an intimate setting.

The Fall Season

2014-09-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Fall is here, although it is difficult to notice where I live. Days are getting shorter and life activity is full on. As the father of an 11 year old, I see the shift in family life when school kicks in. One of us spends at least a few hours each day engaged in school work. Kids need coaching to plan their work and work their plan. Left to their own, there are too many distractions.

Dance is kicking in full time. In addition to school - @sparkleslund is training a lot DPAC dance studio and layering in her professional work over the top. We have been working with a friend (@directorbrazil) of ours from Los Angles to rework her branding. It has been a great experience to watch professionals from the entertainment industry work their craft. She will be launching a new website sometime in the next month and she is doing a video project to share her values with other kids. I am amazed that someone so young can feel so natural in front of a camera. She has a long ways to grow, but she is starting off strong #proudpappa.

We expanded our WAV Group consulting firm by adding a corporate communications business. Here is the release on PR NewsWire.

http://www.ireachcontent.com/news-releases/wav-group-launches-new-communications-division-for-real-estate-industry-275724451.html

Launching a new service is a lot of fun. We have been busy creating presentations, proposals, and responding to a flurry of inquires from friends in the business that are supporting our launch. Our new teammate Kevin Hawkins will be running everything. He has been aces to work with. We also had a meeting with a bunch of clients at a conference last week and everyone liked him and appreciated his background. He is a solid executive and is full of great energy. WAV Group founding partner Mike Audet when to work full time for a company in the industry. We miss him.

Our RE Technology business is doing great. We are super close to a watershed moment. Since founding the company in May of 2010, we have been installing our solution into about 2 MLSs each month. We are pretty close to 100 publishing partners. I am not sure if we will ever hit 1 Million readers, but we are over 750,000 right now. The best part is that the team at RE Technology has been there for over three years, and that is when the magic happens in a business. They really understand our principles and our customers. It is a great groove to be in.

Our friend Dan Dow is taking the helm in the District Attorney's office. We are really excited for Dan and his family and have already heard from numerous people that work in the DAs office about the positive change he is bringing to the office. It is great for our county to have such a strong leader.

There are a few weeks to go in the election for County Supervisor and we are supporting Lynn Compton. Our county is strongly driven by agriculture and Lynn gets that. She is also raising a family here and understands the many ways that families play the most vital role in retaining the quality of life that is so fundamental to our community. Her focus is more on principles than on tactics. That is a good place to lead from.

I really have a good feeling that this election cycle is a boost to business. My hope is that private companies play a more significant role in the economy than government, but we are a long way from that in California today. There has been a ton of M&A activity among public companies in our industry, signaling that big business have lots of access to capital. I am hopeful that there will be more M&A activity among private firms - that is a stronger signal of health since most employers are small to mid-sized private companies.

Thats all I got. Welcome to October - one of my mother's favorite months of they year.

San Luis Obispo County First to Ban Styrofoam

2014-09-03T08:59:00.000-07:00

When we moved to California in 1999, we understood that it was the land of fruits and nuts. At the time, New York was struggling with passing legislation that would ban smoking in public buildings and such. San Luis Obispo County was way out ahead of rest of the planet, having banned smoking not only in pubic buildings, but all buildings, all streets, and even the beaches. Basically speaking, unless you are in your house (without a minor present) – you are breaking the law by smoking.

In January 2012, San Luis Obispo joined a number of othercounties in California in banning plastic bags in all retail stores. If you want a paper bag, you must pay for it. Bags are about $.05, so the cost is not a big deal – but the change has been amazing. Everyone keeps reusable bags in their trunk and hauls them into the store. It has taken a while for everyone to get used to it, but it is a largely harmless change of behavior that makes a huge difference to the environment.

San Luis Obispo County is now on track to be the first city in America to ban Styrofoam. The technical term is EPS containers. If you get take-out food, or bring home leftovers from a restaurant – you know exactly what I am talking about. Moreover, EPS containers will not be allowed to be sold in any stores.

San Luis Obispo has been progressive at using county regulations at creating change that is good for citizens and good for the environment. Although I am sure that there will be bumps in the road, eliminating Styrofoam is a pretty honorable stance to take as a community. I would be willing to wager that the costs of recyclable containers are higher and less effective than Styrofoam – but it seems like a small price to pay for the overwhelming benefit that generations will enjoy.

Kudos to San Luis Obispo County for progress.

As a libertarian-minded person, I am generally against government regulation. Hopefully this type of legislation will be similar to plastic bags. The laws are on the books but the county did not invest in enforcement or hire people to run around busting businesses that are breaking the law. Citizens police it and shame stores into compliance. The same is pretty much true for smoking. I have not seen any articles where anyone was fined for smoking - but smokers get the evil eye if they are breaking the law - and moms with kids in tow have been known to be pretty outspoken in helping tourists and others become aware of the law (I have not seen many signs).

Victor Lund on NPR Today

2014-08-15T09:30:00.000-07:00

If you have known me for a long time, you know that I owned a manufacturing company that made cookie cutters. The company was called WOW - for Wild Opportunities Worldwide and our product was the Wondermaker Cookie Cutter. It was not just any cookie cutter.

Sugar cookies are part of the magic of Christmas in America. If you close your eyes you probably have a memory of making cookies with your mom or grandmother. You can remember the sparkles you used as decoration, and the famous royal icing that you made in blue, white, and red. If you are really good, you can take a deep breath and bring back the smell.

The history of WOW was reactionary. My wife worked for a company that had sales people who were making huge incomes by taking orders at Walmart and other mass chains. They really did not do much selling. The brand and the products sold themselves (in my belief). To prove this point, I built a company and went to see buyers at Walmart. Not only Walmart, but Target, Kmart, and dozens of other outlets. We even built an eCommerce site and did a huge business with catalog companies. I proved my point, but it was not easy. Compliance with vendor requirements at Walmart and other mass merchants are significant, and the penalties loom large for anyone that fails to meet the requirements. I am not sure, but I believe that they fine a vendor $10,000 if the UPC code does not scan, and they send all the product back at your cost and you must pay them retail for the products. If you are lucky, they will reorder. In other words, don't screw up.

I wound up selling the company to another business who could not get a vendor number at Walmart - the vendor number was worth more than the company.

The National Small Business Associaton and National Public Radio did a segment on small businesses working with Walmart. I was interviewed for that segment. Have a listen!

United Airline Fail

2014-08-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

I plan ahead. When I have an important meeting and people are counting on me, I fly in the day before. It offers me the ability to meet my obligations. Its good business.

Today, I am at the airport on Sunday morning for a flight to Denver. I am here because my clients depend on me. I am a seasoned traveler - FourSquare told me this was my 60th check in at my local airport in San Luis Obispo. I checked the flight status before leaving my house. My wife drove me so I would not need to leave my car in the uncovered parking lot. She waited at the curb for a minute when I arrived at the airport so I could check the monitor for my flight status. At 8 am, my flight was looking good.

No bags to check, I rolled right through the security line for boarding at 8:27 am. At 8:31 came the dreaded announcement - 30 minute flight delay.

Delays happen. Planes are complicated and mechanical. Airports are busy places impacted by weather and many other issues. I don't get to crazy when there are delays. I just expect a certain number of them each year.

WHAT DRIVES ME CRAZY IS WHEN SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATIONS BREAK FOR NO APPARENT REASON.

This delay was related to the 1st Officer not arriving in time for our flight. The worse part is that it was not because his plane was late. Everyone knew that he was going to be late, but nobody cared and nobody who knew told anyone. This one person led to hundreds of people's stress, inconvenience, missed flights, hundreds of phone calls to rebook and reschedule. A single ripple created a tsunami. And it all could have been avoided if they would have simply marked the flight at delayed.

Grrrr.

Oh well.

Sparkles Lund Dances with Jason Derulo and Macy’s for Children’s Cancer Research Fund

2014-07-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

Alexandra Sparkles Lund

Arroyo Grande, Calif., July 8^th, 2014 – 11-year old Arroyo Grande dancer, Alexandra “Sparkles” Lund has been selected to perform in Macy’s Glamorama, featuring pop artist Jason Derulo for a three-city tour to raise donations for Children’s Cancer Research Fund. Pop artist and cancer survivor Sheryl Crow will join Lund and Derulo, and seven other dancers for an hour-long dance, music, and couture fashion show. The performances will take place this summer in Minneapolis, Chicago, and San Francisco. Lund was chosen during from audition against more than 500 professional dancers.

Alexandra Lund, who uses the stage name “Sparkles”, was inspired by the story of the Internet sensation Talia Joy who was diagnosed in 2007 with pediatric cancer at age 7. Joy rose in celebrity through Instagram and her YouTube channel that featured the bald Talia applying makeup. After attracting 1 million subscribers, her story was featured on the Ellen DeGeneres Show and on the cover of COVERGIRL magazine. “When you see the courage and determination of a kid like Talia, you cannot help to be inspired to work hard and appreciate what you have in life”, says Sparkles. @sparkleslund followed the daily posts of Talia on the popular social media network, Instagram until Talia’s death last summer on July 16^th. Lund uses the inspiration gained Talia Joy and others to juggle priorities in her own life including maintaining straight As at The Laureate School, where she has been recognized as a John’s Hopkins Scholar; training and competing as a national championship dancer; auditioning and performing as a professional dancer, model, and actress.

About Alexandra Sparkles Lund

Sparkles Lund began dancing at the age of 8 and won a national championship for Dancer of the Year at the age of 9. She trains and dances on the competition team for Dellos Performing Arts Center in Arroyo Grande under the guidance of Johnna Clark. Sparkles is also on the renowned Hip Hop crew, #lilbeasts with choreographer and director Will Adams “Willdabeast.” #lilbeasts performed last week at Pulse Summer Showcase in Las Vegas featuring Fik-Shun, season 10 So You Think You Can Dance winner.

Lund has been dancing professionally for two years and is represented by Clear Talent Agency in Los Angeles. Sparkles can be followed on Instagram @sparkleslund. Lund also publishes a blog at http://www.sparkleslund.com. She will be shooting a music video with #lilbeasts this week and performingg in the upcoming National Dance Day Event in Los Angeles. She is also a VIP Guest for the Dizzy Feet Foundation Gala to raise money for dance scholarships.

About Macy’s Glamorama

Macy’s Glamorama is Fashion For a Cause. In the past 31 years, over $44 million has been raised to help fight childhood illness, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Tickets are on sale for the events held in Minneapolis and Chicago at the event website www.Macys.com/glamorama. Tickets for San Francisco are not yet available. The first of the four events will he held in Minneapolis on August 1^st at 8 PM at the State Theatre. The Chicago event will be held on August 8^th at 8 PM at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance at Millennium Park. Ticket prices for the show only are $75, $185 and $300 for the show and after party, $1000 for VIP tickets.

About Jason Derulo

Jason Derulo is an American singer-songwriter and dancer who began his career as a solo artist in 2009, selling over 30 million singles with more than 5 hits including “Talk Dirty,” “The Other Side,” “Ridin’ Solo,” “In My Head,” and “Watcha Say,” and current hit single “Wiggle Wiggle.”

My Vote

2014-05-08T15:01:00.000-07:00

Here is how I voted for the June 3rd. Direct Primary Election - I am mainly writing this down to see how I did. I did not bother to write down the people that ran unopposed. The only two races that we contributed to were for County Supervisor and District Attorney. The rest of my vote ran on web search results. Its kinda funny, but Facebook played a major role in my vote - more than newspaper articles or candidate pages.

Governor - Neel Kashkari
Lieutenant Governor - David Fennell
Secretary of State - Pete Peterson
Controller - Ashley Swearengin
Treasurer Greg Colon
Attorney General -Ronald Gold
Insurance Commissioner Ted Gaines
Board of Equalization - James Theis
United States Representative - Chris Mitchum
State Assembly - Katcho Achadjian
Superintendent of Public Instruction - Tom Torklakson
County Supervisor - Lynn Compton
County Clerk-Recorder - Amanda King
District Attorney - Dan Dow

Prop 41 - no
Prop 42 - yes

Corporate Tax Backlash

2014-05-07T09:46:00.000-07:00

An economist friend of mine sent this to me today. I think that everyone should take a close look at this information.

I know that it is hard to understand some of these issues that businesses face in America, but everyone needs to think about it. It does not take a scholar to realize that some taxes by the Federal Government are ill conceived. Among them is the tax on money earned in foreign business operations that is levied when money comes back into the United States.

Pfizer's $106.4 billion buyout offer of British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca is being largely driven by high US corporate taxes. At yearend 2013, Pfizer had $70 billion of overseas earnings that, if repatriated, would result in huge US taxes. Buying AstraZeneca with the overseas earnings eliminates the tax bill on the $70 billion and moving the merged firm's headquarters from here to the lightly taxed UK reduces taxes on future earnings.

International corporations do this all of the time. Why on earth would our government require companies to pay taxes on money they bring back into America. Clearly that money would be moved into our economy where it will be paid out as taxable dividends to investors, taxable income to employees, or used to purchase taxable goods and services from US Merchants.

Does anyone else see the stupidity in our international corporate tax law? Don't others see that this practice simply undermines corporations from blustering the US economy by causing them to leave their money outside of the United States?

Seriously - all of us should be getting in touch with our senators and house representatives to get some action on repealing this insanely stupid tax on bringing money and profits into America. The way it is today - companies are incentivized to move away from our county.

This will be going to Barbara Boxer - not that she will respond - but I hope she will.

Travel and Credit Card Pain

2014-04-29T19:04:00.000-07:00

I was like every other boy in College. I wanted a job that allowed me to travel. I could not envision a life more grand than jet travel to America’s great cities, luxury hotels, and dining at the best restaurants. I do that now, and as nice as it is, there is a dark side that really sucks. That’s the thing about dreams, you only see the soft, glowing edges of the good stuff.

The reality is that air travel is painful. And, somewhere along the way, travel and credit cards fell into the same business category. I am not certain if banks are in the airline business or airlines are in the credit card business - but the two go hand in hand now.

You must show up to the airport about an hour before your departure at the latest. When you travel a lot, you begin to gain sensitivities like how long the security line will be at certain airports. You also learn about rush hour traffic to certain airports. Sometimes you have traveled three hours before you ever board your plane. You take an hour taxi ride, an hour in line through security, followed by an hour waiting time to board your flight. All of that is simply the set up for your 5 ½ hour flight, followed by a one hour layover, followed by another 1 hour flight. It makes for long days even when things go well. Little things like preferred lines at checkin, preferred lines at security, boarding in Zone 1 or 2, or a moment of refreshment and a battery charge in a club lounge make it somehow more bearable.

Even when things go well……those are great days. But things don’t go well. Travel without something going wrong seems to be about a 50% occurrence. Sometimes, even subtle things crush your expectations – like a flight that you expect to have Go-Go Wireless that gets switched out for a plane without it – so the work you expected to do on the plane does not get done – and you get where you are going and stay up late prepping the work that you had expected to get done on the plane. So instead of that nice meal you expected to have at Nobu when you roll into Manhattan ends up being unexpected room service.

Having the right credit card used to work miracles to help with the little things. The American Express Platinum card used to get you into all of the airline clubs for free. Moreover, the Chase Mileage Plus card used to get you free bags, double points, etc. That all changed recently. The airlines dumped their partnership with American Express. I did not think I had a problem because I had a Chase Mileage Plus card….That is until I learned that I needed to get the new Chase Mileage Plus Club card. Of course, it would have been nice if I could have called Chase and told them to simply switch my account over. I would have even been happy to pay a service fee. Nope! Had to cancel one card, order another card. Set up a new online account. Set up another set of credentials. Set up auto-pay with my bank. Set up a new account with Online Sync with Quickbooks. I made the switch, and it was a pain. But hopefully it will ease up some of my travel woes. It seems like the airlines care more about the credit card you are using than the miles you have racked up on your travel account.

I am pretty sure that I resolved to dump the American Express Platinum card. I really liked the perks and was hopeful to reach the Black level. But it did not happen, and probably never will. Our 29 year old relationship will come to an end. If you are going to travel - it helps to stick to one airline and use their mileage rewards credit card.

Regardless, the biggest pain with travel is the time away from your family and friends. You miss a lot. You also eat poorly and do not get enough exercise. It is fun when you hook up with old schoolmates or you happen to work with great people in your industry. I like that part. But the rest of it is pretty rough.