Smarter Stimulus Package
03-15-2009, 07:32 PM
#1
NorTechNorth.com
Offshoreonly AdvertiserThread Starter
Smarter Stimulus Package
Injecting good news into the marketplace is a positive stimulus. One thing that we at Double R are fortunate to have is contact with dozens of people every day in a virtual cross section of the economy. I personally speak with manufacturers in the marine industry, dealers, haulers and every other aspect of the marine industry. But I also speak with boat owners who are plumbers, doctors, car dealers, inventors, dentists, engineers, pavers, scrap metal dealers, accountants, restaurant owners, realtors, carpenters, home builders, oil drillers, demolition contractors, lawyers, truckers, furniture installers, road line painters, chocolate bar packagers, drywall hangers....you name it.
Do our customers complain about the economy? Sure. But that is not all I hear.
HERE IS AN INTERESTING FACT:
Of the more than 70 offshore boat owners we regularly service around Canada, USA and Europe, we have had a grand total of ZERO customers who have lost their businesses since the news channels told us that the world was ending last October. Sure, we hear that business is down from many of them. Sure, their portfolios are down so they may have to work a couple more years before retirement. But the lights are on, the workers are still there and life is going on. As business owners, they seem to have a little better view of the economy than the general population who rely on the news media to read the pulse. The general consensus is that we are in a bit of a storm, but it will pass.
THIS IS THE PROBLEM:
Businesses surviving and staying in business do not sell any advertising on the news. We have 24 hour news now. Google News, CNN, New York Times, alerts to your Blackberry, electronic billboards... Good news does not sell advertising. Blood and guts sell advertising. Blood and guts. Plant closures, stock plunges, people in line at the welfare office, people having their homes foreclosed upon... Let me repeat once more. Blood and guts sell advertising.
No matter how much money you inject into struggling sectors of the economy, if you continue to scare your consumers with constant negative messages, constant doom and gloom, constant blood and guts, they will not spend. When you hear there is a storm coming in, you conserve your food. Even if they are in the 92% of the population that is still employed (and never mentioned on the news,) people can be scared out of spending.
You can take any time, boom or recession, and find some economic failures to talk about. There may be more economic failures than usual right now. But there has never been a time when they have been so publicized, so exploited.
HERE IS MY STIMULUS PACKAGE:
For a tiny portion of the money the government is earmarking for industry stimulus, the government buys every page and second of advertising of the top news channels and newspapers in the country for the next year. "OK networks. Your advertising is sold now. Report the news. Feel free to talk about the 92% of the population that IS employed a little bit. No need to put a disproportionate amount of blood and guts in there. The advertising is already sold for the next year. If you can't sell it next year, we will subsidize that too. Just take it easy on the blood and guts." The beautiful thing is, it would hardly cost anything because the government could still resell the advertising space!
Of course the freedom of speech people will freak out. I could care less. Times of war call for drastic measures. Right now, the news media is at war with our economy.
Call me crazy. But stopping the constant stream of negative messages the public is being force-fed would be the best money the government has spent in a long time.
If you want to come on this thread and talk about how bad the economy is, feel free. I don't think you are helping yourself or anyone else. But feel free. It is an open forum after all. Maybe some people would like to come on here and let us know they are doing ok. In my opinion, we don't think to do that often enough. Doing ok isn't sensational enough for us. According to the cross section of people in different industries I speak with every day, I think we will be fine. Some of the fat will be trimmed off the economy and there have been some casualties. But as a whole, life will go on. Just my two cents.
Do our customers complain about the economy? Sure. But that is not all I hear.
HERE IS AN INTERESTING FACT:
Of the more than 70 offshore boat owners we regularly service around Canada, USA and Europe, we have had a grand total of ZERO customers who have lost their businesses since the news channels told us that the world was ending last October. Sure, we hear that business is down from many of them. Sure, their portfolios are down so they may have to work a couple more years before retirement. But the lights are on, the workers are still there and life is going on. As business owners, they seem to have a little better view of the economy than the general population who rely on the news media to read the pulse. The general consensus is that we are in a bit of a storm, but it will pass.
THIS IS THE PROBLEM:
Businesses surviving and staying in business do not sell any advertising on the news. We have 24 hour news now. Google News, CNN, New York Times, alerts to your Blackberry, electronic billboards... Good news does not sell advertising. Blood and guts sell advertising. Blood and guts. Plant closures, stock plunges, people in line at the welfare office, people having their homes foreclosed upon... Let me repeat once more. Blood and guts sell advertising.
No matter how much money you inject into struggling sectors of the economy, if you continue to scare your consumers with constant negative messages, constant doom and gloom, constant blood and guts, they will not spend. When you hear there is a storm coming in, you conserve your food. Even if they are in the 92% of the population that is still employed (and never mentioned on the news,) people can be scared out of spending.
You can take any time, boom or recession, and find some economic failures to talk about. There may be more economic failures than usual right now. But there has never been a time when they have been so publicized, so exploited.
HERE IS MY STIMULUS PACKAGE:
For a tiny portion of the money the government is earmarking for industry stimulus, the government buys every page and second of advertising of the top news channels and newspapers in the country for the next year. "OK networks. Your advertising is sold now. Report the news. Feel free to talk about the 92% of the population that IS employed a little bit. No need to put a disproportionate amount of blood and guts in there. The advertising is already sold for the next year. If you can't sell it next year, we will subsidize that too. Just take it easy on the blood and guts." The beautiful thing is, it would hardly cost anything because the government could still resell the advertising space!
Of course the freedom of speech people will freak out. I could care less. Times of war call for drastic measures. Right now, the news media is at war with our economy.
Call me crazy. But stopping the constant stream of negative messages the public is being force-fed would be the best money the government has spent in a long time.
If you want to come on this thread and talk about how bad the economy is, feel free. I don't think you are helping yourself or anyone else. But feel free. It is an open forum after all. Maybe some people would like to come on here and let us know they are doing ok. In my opinion, we don't think to do that often enough. Doing ok isn't sensational enough for us. According to the cross section of people in different industries I speak with every day, I think we will be fine. Some of the fat will be trimmed off the economy and there have been some casualties. But as a whole, life will go on. Just my two cents.
Nice Word's 
03-16-2009, 04:45 AM
#6
Registered
I agree, I hear people say they are not spending like they used to even when their job is stable. I don't get it, if I wasn't loosing my job I would be taking some advantage of the sales.
03-16-2009, 07:42 AM
#7
Gold Member
I'm pretty luck now. Busier than a one-arm paper hanger. I think overall here, things have somewhat stabilized due to lower fuel and heating costs, and not too many huge layoffs. One problem remains banks too scared or unable to lend. Even car dealers turn away one after another, and trade ins are crap, just as in boats.
I think working on our devastated infrastructure will help a great deal. We need great jobs, especially in construction. The more positive tone set by Citi was a definite plus, there needs to be more. Hopefully the layoffs will subside by summer.
I think working on our devastated infrastructure will help a great deal. We need great jobs, especially in construction. The more positive tone set by Citi was a definite plus, there needs to be more. Hopefully the layoffs will subside by summer.
03-16-2009, 10:02 AM
#8
Charter Mod
Charter Member
Sorry for trying to point out some positive news? I don't personally enjoy hearing the negative gossip about Fountain, Outerlimits, Lake Cumberland, etc possibly going under? I'd like to see as many of these custom shops still around as possible down the road?
If the media would try reporting some positive news, the sheep that allow them to dictate their lives might start to "stimulate" the economy, instead of making everyone feel like armageddon is tomorrow. The overall morale of population has more to do with the economy than most would assume.
If the media would try reporting some positive news, the sheep that allow them to dictate their lives might start to "stimulate" the economy, instead of making everyone feel like armageddon is tomorrow. The overall morale of population has more to do with the economy than most would assume.
My comments above were in response to a member shooting down myself and a few others' attempt at some positive news last week, so I'm really glad to see someone else trying to be positive as well!
Nice thread!
