I've been enjoying a lengthy respite from politics and my usual business.  I'm still on a limited schedule as far as that goes.  Sometimes, I find that I learn more from sitting back and reflecting about what is happening.  Still, I do read the news, and I feel like writing a little bit tonight about Arizona.

For those not already aware, Arizona has recently passed a controversial immigration law that allows state and local police to check to verify the citizenship of anyone being stopped for some valid reason.  It is important to note that this is not a law as some are reporting that is seeking to locate illegal immigrants directly, but rather to take action against those who commit some other action.  It has become a huge issue as there are accusations of racism flying already.

I tend to think that is crap.  I firmly and fully believe that identity politics, whether they be on the basis of gender, race, or any other category, serve only to engender hatred, mistrust, resentment, and are to the detriment of everyone.  You cannot slap a label on someone, give them a different status than another person, and think that creates equality.  I would fully agree that there are issues and people have racial biased attitudes, but the identity politics never solves these.  So, I will throw out the race card.

But, immigration is a real issue.  It's something that cuts to the center of American tradition, as we are almost all children of immigrants.  People wanting to come here, make money, contribute to society, and seeking a better life for their family are living the American dream.  I respect and honor that, but there has to be laws in place, and there desperately needs to be comprehensive immigration reform.  It needs to address the law enforcement issues and the fairness issues in a way that respects people as individuals.

To this point, neither side has done anything.  My presumption is that Republicans did nothing about the issue of illegal immigrants because they were scared of racial politics and because too many business owners liked using cheap illegal labor.  The Democrats did nothing because having the issue out there was a continuing way to motivate on a class basis, in an effort to make Latino voting patterns mirror that of black voters.  So, the Feds did nothing, and wanted the states to do nothing, because they accepted the status quo.  It's good that Arizona brought this up.

People have different views, of course, but here's my take on immigration.  I think we should be welcoming to workers who want to come here, but that they should have to follow the same rules as all other Americans.  Guest workers should be registered, should be paid the same minimum wages, should pay for the services they use, and should not be given an automatic path to citizenship via amnesty.  I think we should have a separate citizenship process, but one that is fair, inclusive, and gives an opportunity for people who want to move here to do so.  With such a program in place, those who are not registered should be deported back to their nations of origin.

I know that many people worry about illegal immigrants providing cheap labor that takes away jobs.  This solution would put American citizens on even ground.  I also think that states should go after business owners who seek to skirt these requirements.  America is not in the business of sweatshop labor, and we should hold ourselves to a higher standard.

The worry that a law like this one passing in Arizona will be used to execute mass deportations is just, and it will be destructive to certain areas of their economy.  Yet, it is an effort to deal with a law enforcement issue, as drug related violence coming north from Sonora and other Mexican states demands a response.  I wonder how many people know about the ransoms and kidnappings becoming more prevalent on that border, or the growing radical movements within certain Latino communities that seek separation from the United States.  Look up Aztlan if you're curious.

The Federal Government should have solved this issue and still can do so.  The sad thing is they won't, because it's political season always.  Both parties screwed this one up, and I hope someone has the guts to fix it.  But, if they don't, I'm glad to see states looking for their own answers.
 
 
Tomorrow, a war will begin.  It will rage across 16 cities in 2 nations.  It will continue for months, for those who are lucky.  And in the end, sweetness and success for one lucky city and one team.  The Stanley Cup Playoffs are here.

I don't usually write about sports, but you should know that I am a hockey fanatic.  The girl is afraid to talk during games, and my intensity goes through the roof.  I will be staring down the screen, letting myself get caught in what I find to be the pinnacle of sport here in North America (I think the World Cup compares similarly for Europeans, maybe).  There is the instant drama, the bone jarring hits, impressive skill, and pure desperation that no sport matches compared with playoff hockey.

Yes, it is promoted poorly.  You may live in a place where hockey is an afterthought.  But, take my advice and watch.  If you like sports with strength, speed, and skill, you will love the playoffs.  I know I do.  With that, here are my predictions:

First Round

Eastern Conference
Washington 4 - Montreal 1
Philadelphia 4 - New Jersey 3
Buffalo 4 - Boston 2
Pittsburgh 4 - Ottawa 1

Western Conference
San Jose 4 - Colorado 1
Chicago 4 - Nashville 3
Vancouver 4 - Los Angeles 2
Detroit 4 - Phoenix 2

Second Round

Washington 4 - Philadelphia 2
Pittsburgh 4 - Buffalo 1
Detroit 4 - San Jose 3
Vancouver 4 - Chicago 3

Conference Finals

Pittsburgh 4 - Washington 3
Detroit 4 - Vancouver 2

Stanley Cup Final

Pittsburgh 4 - Detroit 2

I get to be a homer.  But whatever happens, it will be fun to watch.  Until your heart gets broken, or you sip the sweet euphoria from Lord Stanley's Cup!
 
 
When I was younger, I used to write poems.  I don't do this too often anymore, but I felt like expressing something this morning.  We'll see if you like it:

The Well-Rounded Man
I am the circle
Touch me for a moment
Before I go

My side is just one
Banking and ever mobile
This tangent I show

Outside, perfection
Inside no one can see
Who will ever know
What it means to be me?
 
 
Before I begin, I just want to thank those of you whom I had a chance to speak with last Saturday at the event at Allegheny Landing.  We're very excited about The Point, and hope that you will be also.  The response we received was very encouraging.

As I grow older, I've spent more time trying to understand economics and what it means.  I'll admit that I probably grew up with the prejudice that politics was more important because the imposition of force (the root of politics) seems to be a decisive factor in many instances over the fulfillment of desires (the root of economics) in the great game of history.  That said, in better times, it is economics that shapes so much of our lives and human progress, so I'm trying to better understand.

We live in a very challenging economic environment.  Leaving aside the traditional rub about government involvement and the problems of regulation, I think our larger issue is the societal transformation that is happening as we proceed from an industrial economy to an informational one.  It has cost many jobs, but has also created many opportunities, as we have access to so many new means of communication, such as the internet.

I've been reading about the subject quite a bit (and will be reviewing some books in the forthcoming weeks), and it seems to me that for the first time in history, we might have the potential for an economy of virtue.  Winners in the old industrial regime were those who could produce the most cheaply, quickly, or efficiently, as cost production meant largest market share.  It was a very competitive model, but one that discouraged collaboration, and led to monopolization in many areas.  Obviously, the industrial economy will continue as we still need many material goods, but the difficult thing about that is that the nature of the products themselves ensures this will most often be a race to the bottom.  Good for the consumer, perhaps, but hard on businesses and communities.  Living in Western Pennsylvania, the destructive impact is obvious.

But the informational economy is different.  In so many ways, cost ceases to be the same determinant because the real good provided, data, has such limited actual marginal expense.  For instance, we can produce The Point, depending on what features we choose, with either zero expense to meet our basic needs, or with a minimal expense to provide a higher quality experience.  (We chose the latter, incidentally.)  All businesses living in the digital world have a similar experience in comparison to their previous counterparts, and having information be your key item means that the important issue has evolved.  Customer service is and has always been the key element of successful business, but where cost considerations were king once, in a free market where most information is already free, other attributes become magnified in importance:  accessibility, quality of content, depth of networking, and ambiance.  Those businesses which do best are often those which act best.

In all, this creates a new form of business production, driven not by profit, but by content.  I've had to learn a lot about the difficulties of newspapers, for instance, and they have two huge problems.  First, they can't really afford their own distribution costs for print materials on a daily basis when the same content is available online for free.  Second, their ad revenue from classifieds has shrunken immensely because retailers have their own sites, free sites, and places such as craigslist that are much more efficient, friendly, and free.  When the internet didn't exist, these challenges didn't exist either, and papers served a purpose that the community desired that was not easily filled through another means.  That is changing.

I pick these examples to make something abstract into concrete realities.  The way we charge for things has changed.  For instance, anyone who expects pay media will be able to succeed online is being shortsighted.  There are simply too many other options.  Instead of looking to make money on the product directly, businesses must learn to work with one another, trading goods and services for the networking that exists between them.  In the information fields, this means getting the money from retailers and other businesses because their readers trust their information, and will therefore support their advertisers.  There is more transparency, and with more options, the demands have risen for quality.

Taking a step back, I've been thinking what this means for the economy of the future.  I try often to think of how a region where I live, heavily invested in industrial heritage and with hard working people who are better geared toward that economy, how they can make the transition to a digital future.  I begin to think that path is to embrace the future more fully, and make bets that the world will become more connected.  Ideas travel at the speed of light, but they still need broadband infrastructure, wireless nodes, and as time becomes more flexible, I think the future will see a rise in leisure activities as well.

I call this an economy of virtue not because I think anyone can define that clearly.  But, I say it, because for the first time, the choice has finally shifted from the manufacturers to the consumers, and they will determine what will and will not succeed in a way the old monopolistic structures often could prevent.  It will be interesting to watch and to devel