Clinton, Obama, Promise to Raise Gas Prices

If you are not paying enough for gas now, you will be if Hillary Clinton or Obama get elected. People are clearly tired of outrageous gas prices and are looking for relief -- and solutions -- from elected officials. They don't appear to be getting it from the Democrats.

Senator Clinton has a proposal that would provide a "tax holiday" that would lower costs around 20 cents a gallon, but the other tier of her program will devastate these savings -- a windfall profit tax for oil companies. The tax holiday is fine and I have proposed such on the radio and in this blog, but it should only be a small part in helping relieve our energy crisis.

Obama is worse, he wants nothing to do with a tax holiday and is asking for a windfall profit tax like Clinton's. How big of a tax? 50% once an oil company reaches a certain level of revenues. How will this lead to a tax increase? Such also leads to shortages and long lines like we experienced in the 1970s. You remember those "good old days." It is really that simple.

Prohibitive windfall profit taxes give businesses an incentive to stay away from that magic number, what ever it is and it actually leads to a decrease in production. Lower production, leads to higher demand, which in turn leads to higher prices. It is simple economics 101.

The heart of John McCain's program is tax holiday as well, which is fairly benign in a negative arena and should provide some modest relief. The good thing about McCain's proposal is that it won't undermine production and won't fuel higher profits or shortages.

For a copy of the free audio program and free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Steve Stockman on the Radio

Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the radio, Steve Stockman has his own show. The former Republican Congressman will be on every Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 PM on CNN 650.

I have known Steve for years. He and I were both members of Young Conservatives of Texas and I found myself on the front lines helping to fight for his reelection in 1996 when I hosted a radio show in the heart of his Congressional District. A fight he almost won in spite of the enormous amount of resources thrown at him by the Democratic Party that year (he was the number one Congressional target).

Stockman will bring an unusual amount of honesty and experience to the radio, especially for a former Congressman. And he won't have any problem telling listeners the way he feels about today's political issues. He will easily speak his mind. Knowing Steve, this is a mere first step for something bigger, it will be interesting to see how his program goes.

Until Stockman, I have been one of the few political voices on CNN 650. Sure, there are others on the station with opinions, but few seem very passionate. I think Steve is an excellent added voice.

Hear a recent interview between Steve Stockman and Kevin Price here.

For a copy of the free audio program and free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Is the Dollar Too Weak or Strong?

Whenever the dollar becomes particularly strong and we can travel around the world for a song, buy foreign goods for a fraction of what we would pay here, and we become the currency standard for the rest of the world, we begin hearing concerns of the dollar being "too strong." Then when the dollar declines and we can't afford globe trekking, and certain countries start seeing our goods as "cheap", and the Euro begins to look like the future financial standard, we cry the dollar is "too weak."

This is indicative of the way it is with the media. They are never satisfied. More importantly, they don't have a clue of what they are talking about any way. Most journalists are in the bad news business, so when they find the economist that is advocating pro-weak dollar or pro-strong dollar, they simply focus on the one who provides the most negative spin on the economy.

For the record, a strong US dollar is always a good thing. It is better to be able to get foreign goods at a lower cost than here because it shows how valuable our currency is and is bolstered
by a highly productive economy (productivity, in relation to money supply is the primary factor for a dollar's value). A strong dollar is a good thing and knowing that is part of all our responsibility, since the media has abdicated reporting such.

For a copy of the free audio program and free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Your Marketing May Be Broke

Recently I was handed an audio program from Monopolize Your Marketplace that was refreshing to hear. The two CD program -- available for free from the organization -- was better than many programs that you have to pay substantial money to purchase. It reminded me of some conclusions I have acquired over time myself but have often gotten lost in the noise of marketing today.

The "branding" style of marketing used by mega corporations often fails to work for them -- in spite of their ability to spend millions on such. Instead, there is a simple methodology that has worked well for customers for centuries. In fact, maybe as long as commerce itself. Here is a quick breakdown of the four steps all marketing should take.

* Interrupt. You have to get the consumers attention or you will be ignored. Unfortunately, most advertising does only that and leaves the audience at that point when the advertiser should be doing the next step...

* Engage. It should begin a dialogue with the audience that makes them want to listen for more and learn more, very few advertisers provide such, let alone the next important step of...

* Educate. This is the advertisers opportunity to separate themselves from the competition and to begin to blow them away. Customers are not stupid, they want and deserve to be informed, this step is crucial and is best followed with...

* Offer. You have to give the customer a reason to contact you, even if they are not ready to "buy" today. This interested party today could be a great customer tomorrow.

All four of these elements need to be in their marketing program and the Houston Business Media Group (sponsors of the Houston Business Show) have always helped clients in that objective. I suggest reviewing your marketing against this criteria today.

The link above is to order the mp3 version of the CD program I recently listened to. Enjoy it as a gift from Monopolize Your Marketplace.

For a copy of the free audio program and free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

The American Magazine: Excellent Reading

One of the great things about the Internet is the huge volume of information that is available in virtually every area under the sun. It is also one of the biggest problems with the Internet, creating a massive recycling of content and quite difficult to find anything remotely original.

With that, I was thrilled to stumble on the new American Magazine. The writing is sharp and concise and (more importantly) the thought is very original. It doesn't bore you by acting smart (long and laborious), but by being smart in the way it approaches problems and polices.

One of my favorite sections of the magazine is "The American Scene," which provides windows of what is going on in the economy. Recent articles included:

* The Venti Effect. This article examines the positive impact that Starbucks Coffee has had on smaller competitors. Who would have guessed that a big chain like Starbucks would do the necessary market research to tell smaller competitors where to place stores? Because of Starbucks pricing model, this smaller stores can typically compete quite well when it comes to pricing. This is a very contrarian view of large businesses.

* The Myth of Offshoring Pollution. Extreme environmentalists are continually arguing that the sky is falling, and if there has been any reduction in pollution in the US it is because the manufacturing jobs have been exported. A telling article from the American points out that in areas where there have been higher manufacturing production in this country, there has been a decrease in polution. What is the real cause of reduction? New technology.

* In Ease of Paying Taxes, We're #76. We hear many platitudes about the great free enterprise system in the United States. There is no doubt about it, the US is wildly successful by world standards, but a recent report from PriceWaterhouse and reviewed by the American shows that we are ranked 76 in terms of ease of payment of taxes. We are successful in spite of our system and not because of it.

There are other great articles through out the magazine and it will certainly become "must reading" in preparing for my radio show and writing in this blog. On its excellent website you will also find great audio programs with some of the finest minds in business, politics, and culture today, like this interview with author Tyler Cowen (author of Markets and Cultural Voices).

I suggest spending time with American today.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Rich Republicans and Poor Democrats

How many times have you heard about "rich Republicans" and "poor Democrats"? I am sure the answer is often; but I am also sure you are confused about what is going on in the political market place today.

First, let's look at the incomes of the two major Democrats and the presumptive nominee of the Republicans.

* Sen. John McCain made approximately $400,000 in 2007. Certainly an impressive income and not one that would make you cry "poverty".

How about the "poor" Democrats?

* Sen. Barack Obama made ten times more than McCain in '07 with over $4 million in income. Meanwhile his wife cries poverty over having to have to make "outrageous" student loan payments to their old schools -- Princeton, Columbia, and Harvard (where's the violin music when you need it?).

* Sen. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, made a whopping five times more than Obama at approximately $20 million. I won't even try to calculate that difference with McCain.

But how much candidates make isn't the only point, is it? It is about the level of financial support they get. Surely McCain receives much more from his rich Republican buddies than either (or even both) of the Democrats? The reality is the exact opposite, McCain has raised a fraction of the $40 million that Obama raised last month or any month for a long time and Clinton consistently raises significantly more than McCain.

The debate about wealth, poverty, and politics, is really quite cloudy. I sincerely doubt that homeless and other poor people (the alleged beneficiaries of Democrat policies) are fueling their Presidential campaigns. In fact, a Fortune Magazine article implied that business was voting for Hillary. What kind of business? The big corporations that can actually afford liberal and big government policies and see such as a way of keeping smaller competitors at bay.

If people do just a little homework, their views of "rich" and "poor", "Republican" and "Democrat" could actually change.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Couric Won't Replace King Any Time Soon

Rumor had it that Couric would soon be departing CBS due to her anemic ratings for CNN and would be replacing Larry King. That rumor largely came to halt with the announcement that CNN would extend its contract with King. This exclusive came from Media Bistro:

Sources tell TVNewser that CNN and Larry King have agreed to a contract extension, which will keep the anchor with the network through 2010, beyond his 77th birthday.

A recent New York Times

story speculating about Katie Couric's future reported that King's contract was set to expire in the summer of 2009.

The article also revealed the CBS Evening News anchor was eying King's CNN slot as a possible move if she were to leave CBS. "Couric discussed several things she might do if she left the anchor post, according to the executives, including a daily talk show to be syndicated by CBS, or replacing Larry King in a prime-time position on CNN," the Times story claimed.

CNN doesn't comment on employee contracts, but a CNN spokesperson tells TVNewser, "Larry is the best there is, he'll be here for a long time."

There was no talk on money, which surprised me, but I am sure it is significant.

I am no Larry King fan -- half the time he doesn't seem quite sure where he is or what he is doing. However, I think he makes far more sense for the format approach of his show then Couric would provide. Couric is about to become a media orphan, in my opinion. She is perfectly suited for early morning news shows (like Today, for which she is famous) and I am sure she probably believes that such programming is beneath her.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

David and Goliath on the Credit Front

I just received word that the Bank of America had a devastating quarter with a 77 percent drop in profits. It, of course, reminded me of Calvin Brown's recent interview on the Houston Business Show on the subject of the worst companies with whom to have open accounts. Here's a quick list of those banks:

* Bank of America

* Capital One

* Discover Financial

* Verizon Wireless

* WFNNB

* Washington Mutual/Providian

* Americredit

* Diamond Shamrock

* Best Buy

* Citibank

You can read the list with details here.

It appears to be a "David and Goliath" story, with Calvin taking focus on the banking giant. It may be mere coincidence, but we can't help but think people are getting the Credit Restore message.

Above is a recent video interview of Calvin Brown on the credit situation in the United States. Click the video and click "Movers and Shakers" to view this program.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Is There a "Best Time" to Run a Craigslist Want Ad?

In spite of what we have been told by the media, unemployment is incredibly low and I have found it difficult to find quality people for my business. I have used several avenues including radio, classified ads, and (of course) Craigslist. Craigslist has an amazing reach and the success stories surrounding it are numerous. I, on the other hand, have had very little success with it. Until recently.

Over the last several months, at the end of a long business day, I would sit at my computer and put up a Craigslist ad while watching TV. Most of the time I received little to no response. Today, I ran an ad just before my radio show began and before an hour was over I had several responses directly related to the advertisement.

So what made the difference? Unemployment is almost identical to what it was a couple of weeks ago when I ran an a very similar advertisement to what I submitted today. I thought about it and I think the major difference is timing. My earlier ads often began to run at around 9 PM, when the last thing people want to think about is their employment situation. By the time morning came and people began to look, my advertisement was buried under others who chose to do their ads through out the evening. Today, this ad came out right in the middle of the business day when people are most hungry for new opportunities. It is simple common sense and something to think about the next time you put an ad in one of the country's best sources for making connections.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Historians to Bush: the Worst President?

One of the things I learned in the pursuit of my history degree is that the subject requires a long term perspective. There should be some time between the person and his or her impact on society before historians size them up. Many of my professors at Abilene Christian University -- conservative or liberal -- would say that if they are sizing up a President's impact before his time is done, they are political scientists, not historians. Many of those same professors would say "and, after all, political science isn't a real discipline."

Seriously though, these words of wisdom are being largely ignored by historians today. According to a recent US News & World Reports, "President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history."

The worst ever? I'm sorry, but I was just talking to someone today about applying for a cashier job at a grocery store and stood in a line that went all the way around the corner. There were two openings at that store. During that time when President Carter was in charge, 13 countries fell to Communism, we had hyperinflation by US historical perspectives, and we were a laughing stock around the world. During that time, we were told by Carter that it was America's fault for being in such a sorry state. We no longer believed in ourselves, we were told.

We didn't stop believing in America, just the politicians running this country. It lead to a mandate going to Ronald Reagan and an American Renaissance. I come from a multi-generational family of Democrats and Carter single handily changed that view. With that, I'm not even sure if Carter was the worst (although he was certainly on the short list of such), but he makes Bush look absolutely brilliant.

In a recent blog post I discussed how the media has altered our perceptions of the economy. We have been fed recession garbage for years and are starting to believe it. Economist John Lott, Jr pointed out that our economic numbers are generally better than a decade ago when Clinton was President -- a period described as economically prosperous. I expect some of the average news consumers to buy into this media propaganda, but not serious historians.

George Bush will not be one of my favorite Presidents, I am sure. His failure to promote free enterprise and its success in the 2006 Congressional races haunts us today (and likely will in 2008), his expansion of government in several areas has been damaging, his inability to articulate the case for the war, and his haphazard and often liberal answers to our current credit crisis leaves much to be desired. But this is a man who presided over the country on September 11th, 2001 and helped restore confidence in this country that lead to a 17 percent growth of the economy under his tenure and remarkably low unemployment. The best President? No. The worst President? Give me a break.

Historians should know better and give history time to judge Bush and leave, what appears to be political agendas to political scientists. After all, they don't know any better.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Is Being "Contrary" A Good Thing?

To be "Contrary" is to disagree or to have a minority view. To be "contrarian" is to go against the conventional wisdom. So the question is, is being "contrary" or a "contrarian" a good thing? You would have to think so in light of what you see and hear from the media. There is a contrarian economist, chef, publisher, financial advisor. There are contrarian travelers (who discuss why less popular routes may be the best), a progressive rock group called "Contrarian," contrarian diet experts, and others who simply have a different view of things.

I wonder why being contrian is so attractive and I wonder if such a thing translates well in other cultures. On the latter, I really doubt it. I spent some time online and virtually every reference of the two million plus on "contrarian" refer to the United States. Here are a few reasons why being a contrarian might sell:

• I think there is a certain amount of suspicion towards popular or majority thinking. So many can't be right.


• There are those who believe that the media is the primary driver of conventional wisdom, and we all know what most people think about the media. The media elite has become increasinly less trusted in recent decades because it is simply unaware of that which it writes and speaks in the minds of most.


• Question authority. Convential wisdom speaks of authority. To have a contrarian view is to question the collective authority of the many. I really think people love to do that.


• Out of the box. Often, contrarian thinking is attractive because it has people thinking "out of the box." It is the means of finding the answer through unconventional means.
  

Regardless of the reasons why contrarian thinking is hot, it clearly is and has been for years. Furthermore, it might makes sense for the business person who is trying to differentiate him or herself to get themselves out there as the contrarian in their fields.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

On the Show: Charles Payne Tackles Poverty

Charles Payne of Wall Street Strategies (and of Fox News and Fox Business) was recently on the Houston Business Show discussing the problem of poverty facing many minorities today. Charles brings a unique perspective on the subject since he has faced both poverty as a young boy raised by a single parent and wealth because of his entrepreneurial success as an adult. As a result of his up bringing, Charles takes a some what contrarian view of poverty.

Conventional wisdom is that poor people should be given hand outs and that the poor should be treated as victims rather than as people merely seeking opportunity. Conventional wisdom fails to understand that the more you subsidize something, the more you get of it. Subsidizing poverty generates more of it.

Payne says that a big part of the poverty problem as that the focus is on the wrong thing. We don't need a "Poverty Czar" as advocated by many liberal leaders, but a "Wealth Czar" who points people away from poverty. We need to tackle the real causes of poverty in this country -- excessive taxation on wealth creation that prevents many businesses and opportunities to be created, excessive regulation that deters business growth, and licensure laws that inhibit people from entering the market place.

I love Charles' insights and he is one of my favorite contributors to the Houston Business Show. Listen to this informative two part interview here and here to understand America's poverty problems from someone who has experienced them.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Obama Goes From Frying Pan to Fire

Any questions about Obama's true values and beliefs should now be history. He has made that clear in recent months and Obama's most recent comments among the West Coast elite should be the most alarming to average Americans everywhere.

While in California raising money, Obama stated "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said. "And it's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Mr. Obama to the rescue! These poor pathetic masses who didn't go to Columbia or Harvard, who can't adequately articulate their concerns so they cling to their "religion" or "guns." They "need" an Obama to come to the rescue, in his view.

Obama's near paternal attitude towards these voters show a deep seated belief of superiority that we saw from John Kerry in 2004 and becomes a reoccurring theme of the most liberal of Democratic candidates.

This elitism is more pervasive in almost direct proportion to their liberalism. This is because liberals sincerely believe that many (if not most) simply can't take care of themselves. Middle Americans are "like sheep" in their eyes, needing protection against big business, or the risks of the free market, or any other danger (imaginary or real) they use to create fear among voters.
Middle Americans often flirt with extremely liberal candidates -- the McGoverns, the Kerrys, and the Obamas; but in the end they typically come to their senses. These type of candidates want to help the poor, by making all Americans poor, so the economically weakest don't "feel" quite as bad. Middle America has seen too many like them who pull up the economic ladder and achieve economic success and don't want to cut themselves from future opportunities by supporting candidates that will kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

The situation has gotten worse. Instead of merely owning his words and apologizing, he is making the situation worse by trying to discredit Clinton's and McCain's criticism. He has gone to the extreme of stating that Clinton is trying to make herself into an "Annie Oakley" type character. In other words, a woman taking tough positions on the issues facing middle America is reduced to one that most know today as more myth than reality, more comic book than history. This is the kind of offensive rhetoric that only further damages his hopes to becoming the next President.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at www.HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here. "

Where are You Spending Your Time?

I am reading a very interesting and useful book to entrepreneurs and business leaders called Always On, about how consumers are taking control of media, marketing, and advertising. The book, by Chrisopher Vollmer with Geoffrey Precourt, boldly asserts that the "thought leaders of Booz Allen Hamilton and strategy + business magazine have collaborated to create an up to minute exploration of this turbulent yet promising new digital era and its implications for corporate executives and marketing and advertising professionals." Its a funny statement coming from a book that praises the far reaching power of the Internet, which is about the only place that is close to "up to the minute" in its ability to keep us informed. Books, including this one, typically have portions that are obsolete before the ink drys. In spite the boldness and the potential inaccuracy, this book is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

The "Media Migration" section of the book shows the shift in where people spend time being entertained or getting information between 2001 and 2006. Here is a breakdown of some of the most interesting numbers:

* There has been an 18 percent decrease in the amount of time people spend listening to music. This is one of the many problems facing the music industry.

* There has been a thirteen percent decrease in the amount of time spent watching broadcast television.

* An 11 percent decrease of time reading a newspaper. This was a surprise to me, I expected it to be a much bigger number.

* A 5 percent decrease of time reading magazines. This is surprising, considering the huge increase in business magazines.

* A 2 percent decrease in time on the radio. Although I know from (HoustonBusinessShow.com), many are going online to hear radio programs.

Where have people moved their attention?

* There has been a 3 percent increase in book readership. This is one of the more startling statistics.

* There has been a 15 percent increase in video game playing.

* There has been a 28 percent increase in cable and satellite viewing.

* There has been a 31 percent increase in home video (much of which shows up online).

* There has been a 41 percent increase in Internet usage. This is no surprise at all.

* There has been a 1,264 percent increase in mobile usage. This was the most startling increase of all. I have a Blackberry and spend a huge amount of time on it now, I must admit. I am not only looking at my email, but surfing for information online, but this is still an amazing number to me. It is a little distorted, since people largely only used their phone for conversation five years ago, but these numbers are significant.

The last figure explains why we are increasingly told on TV, in magazines, and on the radio to not only get additional information on the Internet, but on mobile devices. Smart businesses are certainly focusing their energies on the Internet to attract customers. The smartest ones are figuring out how to reach them via mobile.

This book is a relatively easy read and the information is crucial for those in business who want to compete in our competitive environment today. Order that important book here.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

On the Show: The Media Attack on Biodiesel

The media is like the kid who is always demanding something, often (if not usually) without regard to consequences. Furthermore, when they get what they want, they tend to dismantle it with passion.

A great example of this is the recent attack by the media on biodiesel fuels. For years, maybe decades, the media has told us we needed something different from the fossil fuels that are destroying the environment and are in limited supply. The free market responded to the criticism by developing natural alternatives such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Recently, Time Magazine wrote a scathing article about "bio fuels" and, in typical media ignorance, treated ethanol and biodiesel as if they are synonyms. They are not. On a recent show, Kent Batman of Hardin Fuels decisively showed the differences. Kent also wrote a persuasive article on the debate in the Houston Business Show and Review site that was further picked up in Houston's dBusinessnews.com under the title "Time Magazine vs. Biodiesel?"

In the article he tackles the following major myths:

• The biodiesel industry "takes food" and makes it into fuels.


• Biodiesel increases pollution and must have additives to be used, or mixes must be limited to 20%.


• We could never replace fossil fuels w bio-fuels.


• Biodiesel uses as much energy as it creates.
  

Kent's article is powerful, persuasive, and concise and you can find his response to these statements here. Or you can hear his interview where he discusses these issues in two parts, here and here.

In sum, the Time piece is filled with a mixture of arrogance and ignorance. The writer was clearly unaware and uninformed. The goal seemed to be to inflame, rather than inform the reader. Like many of those in the media, they know not what they write, but they know they need to sell magazines.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

On the Show: Craig Smith Speaks His Mind

Craig Smith of Swiss America is a well known financial advisor that is a frequent guest on MSNBC, Fox Business, and CNBC. He is one of the leading advocates for investing in gold and a strong proponent of a free market economy.

On a recent Houston Business Show, Smith took the government to task over its recent actions to bail out financial institutions and its plans for seriously revamping the regulation of such firms. In typical government fashion, Smith warns, the "cure" is going to likely be worse than the illness.

My view is that the government should do little or nothing at this time, mainly because we are not even sure how bad the damage will be. Wouldn't it make sense to "fix" our problems once we understand what those problems are? Especially since it is an election year and decision making is often driven by polls rather than common sense. I'm glad, however, that there are some with a more reasoned approach to such problems. Check out my interview with Craig Smith here and here.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Charlton Heston, 1923-2008

One of my favorite movies as a child and still a favorite today, is The Ten Commandments. It is the story of how Moses successfully challenged -- with alot of help from God -- the Egyptians, which was arguably the greatest empire in the world at the time.

I love the movie and the role made famous by Charlton Heston, because the principle acted like a man who believed in what he said (he did). Not only was that message about Biblical beliefs and principles that were associated with the great actor all the remaining days of his life, but also the many lines pervasive in the movie about "freedom" and the opposition of "tyranny," which are American values as well. He embraced all of this principles.

Heston was old fashioned, not only by Hollywood standards, but by modern ones in general. He met his future wife in 1944 and was with her until his death this past weekend. There were never scandals about him in the tabloids or on TV, because he was known as operating with integrity in all things. He stood for what he believed in, be it equal rights for all Americans regardless of race or the right to bear and own guns as sanctioned in the Constitution. He held his beliefs, regardless of how politically unpopular. He was a man of enormous conviction.

I recently watched The Ten Commandments again over the Easter holidays with my oldest son. I thought about Heston during that time. I have seen that movie, I'm sure, more than any other and will likely do so again at every opportunity. It is a great story about an event in history, greatly conveyed by a person who understood it.

God Bless Charlton Heston.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Is Bartering Practical?

Since ITEX has become a sponsor of BizPlusblog, people have asked me, "what is 'cashless marketing'?" Cashless marketing means bartering, which is the trading of goods and services and ITEX is one of the most established companies when it comes to such a system.

Bartering was the prevalent means of exchanging goods and services long before money. Money replaced bartering only because cash and coins were easier for such trades than finding a perfect match for a product or service. When countries had irresponsible monetary policies (like Germany after World War I), it was often natural to go back to trade.

So, why would cashless marketing, like that facilitated by ITEX, make sense today?

It has an outstanding history that make as much sense today as it did in the early 80s when it was founded. This is from its website: Founded in 1982, ITEX is a leading marketplace for cashless business transactions across North America. ITEX processes over $250 million a year in transactions across 24,000 member businesses and 95+ franchisees and licensees. Member businesses increase sales and open new markets by utilizing ITEX dollars to exchange goods and services. ITEX is powered by ITEX Payment Systems, the leading payment technology platform for cashless business transactions. ITEX is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.

What are its other advantages?

ITEX dollars are used to buy and sell products and services among members instead of spending cash

Record keeping services for expediting and simplifying the transaction process

Access to "Trade Directors" in local regions for facilitating new business among members

Private membership directory reaching new customers and moving idle inventories

24x7 online account access

ITEX offers thousands of ways to spend your dollars. In hot economies, people buy vacations and in cold ones, they cover business expenses. Whatever the reason, it makes sense in this writer's opinion. That is why I have been a member for over a year.

Kevin Price is an ITEX member and was a member before ITEX became a sponsor of BizPlusBlog. Consider the above video with the CEO of ITEX.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Oink, Oink from the Federal Government

The government is at it again. They are feeding the pork at the expense of taxpayers. Each year Citizens Against Government Waste releases its annual report of wasteful government programs designed to assure the reelection of politicians. "Earmark" spending is used by Members of Congress to bring home projects to Congressional districts and states that politicians can point to in order to help get reelected. What did they find in 2008?

Citizens Against Government Waste has dug up $17.2 billion in pork and that waste covers a plethora of areas. Here are a few examples:

In Agriculture: "$15,115,446 for 17 projects by Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), including: $3,723,750for a Natural Products Lab; $2,780,400 for the Jamie Whitten Delta States Research Center; $1,075,419 for the Agricultural Wildlife Conservation Center; $849,015 for genomics for southern crop stress and disease research; $511,395 for biotechnology research;and $229,383 for rural systems research."

In Commerce: "$146,708,000 for 63 projects by CJS Appropriations Subcommittee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), including: $5,640,000for the Marshall Space Flight Center; $470,000 for a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)Maritime Museum in Mobile; $329,000 for American Village Citizenship Trust Montevallo for character programs in at-risk areas (the group’s website boasts that its mission is to “...to strengthen and renew the foundations of American liberty and self-government through citizenship education.”In addition to these lofty goals, young lovers can rent out the chapel and the barn to get married for $2,650.); $235,000 for the Foley Police Department for communications upgrades; and$235,000 for West Alabama Marine Shrimp and Fish Aquaculture to develop new methods and find efficiency in the development of marine shrimp and fish aquaculture using ponds and the salinic water of West Alabama."

In Defense: "$173,200,000 for 25 projects by Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), including:$25,000,000 for the Hawaii Federal Health Care Network;$23,000,000 for the Maui Space Surveillance System operations &research; $10,000,000 for the National Defense Center of Excellence for Research in Ocean Sciences; $5,000,000 for the Maui High Performance Computing Center; $3,500,000 for Army conservation and ecosystem management; $3,000,000 for the Hawaii National Guard Counter-Drug Program; and $2,000,000 for Brown Tree Snakes."

The list goes on and includes energy, finances, and other guilty culprits. I recommend reading the summary here. The criticism crosses party lines and guilty parties among the GOP and Democrats are quick to throw hand grenades. But I have been familiar with the group for 25 years, back when it was called the Grace Commission, which was appointed by Ronald Reagan and led by J. Peter Grace. I, for one, have long been grateful to the contributions they make.

How did the Presidential candidates fair in the Report? Well, Senator Hillary Clinton secured 281 projects totaling $296 million, and Obama won 53 projects totaling $97 million, according to the group. How about John McCain? Zero. He doesn't believe such an approach to government spending is ethical and votes against earmarks at every opportunity and will not offer them (and hasn't offered them in years).

How did your elected officials spend?

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Economist on the Media and Recession

For quite some time I have been telling readers of this blog and listeners of my show that the media has wanted a recession. Furthermore, the media has reported an economy in decline while it reflected numbers reminiscent of a strong economy. Now a serious leader in academia has recently validated this assessment.

Economist John Lott, Jr. of the University of Maryland was cited on Fox and Friends as quantifying the distorted views purported by the media about the economy. In an article by Lott on FoxNews.com, the scholar noted that:

A Nexis search on news stories during the three-month period from July 2000 through September 2000 using the keywords “economy recession US” produces 1,388. By contrast, the same search over just the last month finds 3,166. Or, even more telling, take the three months from July through September last year, when the GDP was growing at a phenomenal 4.9 percent. The same type of Google search shows 2,475 news stories.

Over 78 percent more negative news stories discussed a recession when the economy under a Republican was soaring than occurred under a Democrat when the economy was shrinking.
A little perspective on the economy would be helpful. The average unemployment rate during President Clinton was 5.2 percent. The average under President George W. Bush is just slightly below 5.2. The current unemployment rate is 4.8 percent, almost half a percentage point lower than these averages.

Therefore the economy was seen as healthy and vibrant under Clinton with higher unemployment than it is today under Bush at level that is .4 percent lower. The comparison doesn't stop with unemployment, however:

The average inflation rate under Clinton was 2.6 percent, under Bush it is 2.7 percent. Indeed, one has to go back to the Kennedy administration to find a lower average rate. True the inflation rate over the last year has gone up to 4 percent, but that is still lower than the average inflation rate under all the presidents from Nixon through Bush’s father.

Yet, again, the news tends to describe the economic situation in this economy as dire and you would think we were at the brink of economic ruin. Lott goes on to quantify other areas.

The issue I would love to see discussed more thoroughly are the reasons why this is happening. All I can do is speculate, based on approximately two decades of being involved with the media on several levels, but the causes could include:

* The liberal bias in the media. According to the Pew Research Center, there are five liberals for every one conservative in the media. This would certainly lead to the media giving Conservatives a negative spin.

* I personally believe that the media benefits from a bad economy. Much of what we have seen and heard has reflected "wishful" thinking. Why? When the economy is hot, businesses simply don't need as much advertising. A soft economy makes businesses more inclined to invest in marketing.

* Finally, bad news equals big ratings. There is a belief that if all news was good news, people would not be nearly as interested in watching TV, listening on the radio, or reading stories.

I'm impressed with Lott's work and am eager to find more who contribute to this debate.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Congress Poised to Raise Gas Prices

You haven't seen that headline, have you? But the recent hearings being held by Congress on how the tax laws benefit the oil companies gives me every reason to believe that they are looking at legislation that will close "loopholes" in the tax system. Closing those loopholes will, in turn lead to price increases. Why do I come to that conclusion? Because corporations don't pay taxes, they are merely tax collectors.

Simply put, businesses are not philanthropic, but are in the business of making a profit. Taxes on business are always absorbed by their customers either through high prices or lower quality (or both). High taxes will eventually lead those businesses to pursue those options are relocate.

If Congress is doing more than election year rhetoric (a huge possibility, of course), than expect them to raise your prices through what essentially will be a tax increase. Because "closing loopholes" has that exact same effect.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Bob Barr Running for President?

Just when it appeared that we were thinning out the number of candidates in the race for the Presidency, it appears another might be jumping in. Former Republican Congressman Bob Barr of Georgia is poised to announce his candidacy.

Bob Barr, who lead the charge for impeachment against Bill Clinton, became the target of Democratic revenge and lost his seat in 2002. Barr eventually left the Republican Party and joined the Libertarian Party. This departure was due to Barr's opposition to the war in Iraq and the failure of Republicans to tackle fiscal problems.

He and Ron Paul are allies and the latter has yet to endorse McCain or even formally withdraw from the race. However, Paul has sacrificed his House seat before for a third party Presidential run and he is likely gun shy to pursue such again. Furthermore, the 71 year old might like to "pass the torch" to Barr after the long campaign. The two are old friends with very similar beliefs. Both Barr and Paul have been very critical of Senator McCain.

This has the potential to muddy the waters, although I think most Republicans will see that this race is too important for us to cast a protest vote.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.