“Time is appropriate for reflection, action,” The Colorado Springs Business Journal, October 10-16, 2014, 23.

Time for Reflection and Action

Every businessperson knows that there isn’t enough time to think through decisions, that time for reflection isn’t usually scheduled during a hectic week.

The Jewish High Holidays are just that kind of time, asking us to stop and reflect, in a span of ten days, on what happened last year and what we hope to accomplish in the next year. 

The yellowing aspen leaves remind us of this time of the year as well; time for change.

Young residents cynically say that we should keep Colorado Springs “lame,” that in fact nothing has or will change in this sleepy village just south of the vibrant Denver metropolis. Should we?

As a challenge, I suggest four ways in which we can overcome our lameness and think of ourselves as potentially good enough, if not great. Yes, it’s about conceptualizing first and then doing, the way we offer a business plan to be executes later.

First, we should acknowledge past grievances in order to overcome them. Enough with the political bickering between the Mayor and City Council. Unless they want to compete with the low approval rate of Congress, they should change.

The Mayor should meet with each councilmember alone (with a therapist in tow?) to air old concerns in order to build a civil environment if not outright trust. If the Truth and Reconciliation Commission worked in South Africa after apartheid, it can work among our leaders.

Second, whatever has gone on in the past with city utilities, it’s time to think ahead to the future of our young entrepreneurs, those who care about the air they breathe and want to ensure a bright and healthy future for their children.

Why is CSU the “other” rather than “our” very own utility? Our best interests should be on their minds rather than threats of rate increases; as stakeholders and outright legal owners, we should determine the future of CSU.

Looking around the country at what is happening in every utility enterprise, we can quickly conclude: coal is out, renewal energy is in; old plants are out, efficient new ones are in. It’s not complicate to figure out how to be stewards of our environment—just some common sense and goodwill.

Third, let the City of Champions come forth and bring some fresh air to our stale old city. Despite the bickering and power moves, despite the concerns about wasting money and raising taxes, what else can transform the old warehouse district into a viable center?

Look northward to Denver and see what it did, with city leadership and financial support, to renew various areas that were moribund, that could be crime scenes rather than party spots. Has anyone been recently up there? It’s alive!

The four parts of this grandiose plan, the Air Force Academy—a federal entity that will take care of its allotted share, UCCS—a state entity that can be counted to take care of its future leaves the other two. Rumor has it that Dick Celeste said that he’ll lead the effort on behalf of the Olympic Museum; so what’s left? One fourth of the total, and we can’t find out how to handle it?

Fourth, I have proposed for years (to two different heads of the Convention and Visitors Bureau) to copy Colorado’s mountain towns. They somehow managed over the past decade to transform their heavy reliance on the ski season into a year-round programming that brings visitors every weekend for different festivals.

Breckenridge, with about 5,000 residents, hosts over 1.5 million guests annually. Can Colorado Springs, with 500,000, at least match that? I proposed to have something called “100 days of summer” (to Ms. Palus—Director of Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services—with no response). Here’s the plan.

Starting sometime in May or June, going all the way to late August or September, we should have an event every day in Acacia Park downtown: from farmers’ market to a local band, poetry reading and silent movie projection with a live piano player, all the way to street chalk paintings, mimes, and puppeteers. You name it, we can do it.

Who’ll fund this? I suggest we ask local individuals and business to contribute $500 for each day, thus completely underwriting the 100 days; some things will require less, some more, but $500 daily average should cover the costs. I volunteer to fund 2 days. Is anyone listening? Does anyone care?

These are just four ideas that I’m sure others can improve on. These are just some reflections that deserve to be heard and debated, just as I’m sure others, younger and smarter than I can offer theirs. What forum can they use? CSBJ? Social Media?

Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com

“Convenient capitalism deviates from ideals,” The Colorado Springs Business Journal, May 16-22, 2014, 25.

CONVENIENT CAPITALISM

Academic circles and news media are abuzz with the latest French critique of capitalism by Thomas Picketty. In his historically-informed tome (685 pages), Picketty illustrates how capitalism over the last three centuries retains its tendency to concentrate wealth in the hands of the few, so that overall inequality increases (except for three decades in 20^th century America).

Just like all other major academic accomplishments, what’s missing is as important as what is emphasized. Though critics and pundits are fixating on the difference between wealth and income inequality (especially in light of gigantic Wall Street salaries), there is something important that is glossed over.

Are we indeed practicing capitalism in America? Are we true to the principles advocated by Adam Smith and his fellow classical political-economists? Their principles were modeled on Enlightenment ideals, such as freedom and equality, moral respect and public education. They also believed that the capitalist marketplace could cure all the ills of the feudal and mercantile systems.

Have these ideals been accomplished? Outside of the complaint about the unintended consequences of capitalism (wealth inequality), are the actual legal and political guards supportive of these classical ideals?

Instead of surveying the national or international landscape, let’s focus on our immediate surroundings to see how capitalism is conveniently (or lazily) applied. What’s at stake is consistency of thought and practice—practice what you preach!

First and foremost, if the marketplace is supposed to be in private hands, if the government is supposed to get out of the way and let private industry determine the direction of our city, why are we so dependent on the Department of Defense? Why does our Chamber of Commerce look like the Chamber of Defense? Is it just all too convenient to have the federal government subsidize our local economy?

Second, if we believe in markets being more efficient mechanisms to decide how to allocate resources (capital and labor), and if we believe that the role of government is simply to accommodate the needs of the private sector, why has our City Council become such an obstacle to anything that happens locally? Is it simply that nine power players have forgotten how little we should be hearing from them?

Third, if the Austrian economists and their Chicago-University descendants got it right about minimal government intervention (except to enforce voluntary contracts among individuals), why has City Council regulated away recreational marijuana sales? The paradox must be obvious: the benefits of sales taxes will stay out of the city but the costs of policing problems will remain ours. Shouldn’t we let the marketplace decide what should be bought and sold?

Fourth, classical political economists worried about monopoly powers—the tendency for companies to buy each other and become dominant in a market—and oligarchical behavior—the tendency for collusion on prices and product quality. The marketplace is envisioned as a meeting place for “little” buyers and sellers none of whom can dictate prices when supplying or demanding goods and services. How come, then, that we have a utilities monopoly in our midst? With no competition or oversight, CSU can raise rates at will any time. Is this the most efficient way to handle a needed commodity—energy—for our city?

Fifth, from developmental economists to finance gurus there is a basic agreement on the need for the exchange of information as it is the most valuable commodity in the marketplace. The free-flow of information allows for minimal government coordination of long-term plans, such as our very own City of Champions. This is part of the capitalist framework as long as government agencies aren’t themselves involved in competing for resources and customers. Why not let a thousand lights shine on this city plan? Why hinder the private forces waiting to engage this four-pronged effort to revitalize the city?

Overall, we should be hearing about what companies and educational institutions, like UCCS, are doing in town as economic “engines” rather than what’s the latest scrimmage between the Mayor and City Council or between CSU and the rest of the politicians it is promoting and electing. Let’s stay focused on what could be an emerging and successful model that is based on the beauty of the city and its healthy environment.

Unlike the (federally funded) military bases we are so fond of, let’s focus on being the headquarters of the Olympic Committee and some of its affiliates (privately sponsored). If some of our wealthy leaders are proud to call themselves capitalists, let’s remind them not to be convenient capitalists but consistent ones! If these exhortations fall on deaf ears and anyone remains confused, look northward to Denver and see what is being done right…    

Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com

 

“Colorado Springs—a city in search of leadership,” The Colorado Springs Business Journal, February 28 – March 6, 2014, 21.

In Search of Leadership

From the Austrian School of Economics to its Chicago School descendent, it has been an article of faith that if left to its own devices the marketplace will perform more efficiently than if the government had anything to do with it. The rule of law, of course, should be upheld and deviant behavior—cheating, stealing, and misrepresentation—would be handled by courts of law.

Businesses could rely on the government to step in when needed, not too often but forcefully enough to punish and deter potential abusers. According to this model, political (and legal) authorities play a reactive (rather than proactive) role. So who leads the marketplace? Is it Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” or “impartial spectator”? Are the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerman needed?

Leadership is defined in most cases in terms of the social influence a leader exerts over others so as to move them towards the accomplishment of a common goal, whether it be military or moral. In some cases, we have tried to transform battlefield leadership into politics, assuming that the one is a proving ground for the other (from Washington to Eisenhower). What about market leaders?

Some argue that leadership grows organically when one company increases in size and importance and eventually sets the trends of the marketplace. Others suggest that trade organizations, such as the Chamber of Commerce, provide cooperative objectives that benefit all participants as a way of leading. And yet others are appalled by any claim for market leadership because it reeks of socialist-like planning that constricts the untethered competitive and entrepreneurial spirit.

When we think about our own microcosm, General Palmer and Spencer Penrose come to mind. In their respective ways, they have demonstrated how leadership in one field could be translated into founding a city and turning it into a mecca for prospectors as well as a health retreat for tuberculosis. Who are their successors today?

We have plenty of former military leaders in our midst, some retired generals and colonels; we also have some entrepreneurs for whom the city has been a source of wealth. Are they stepping up? Have they done more than field surrogates whose own statures aren’t up to par? Perhaps the conditions of a century ago don’t fit the present.

To begin with, the city’s reliance on government largesse flies in the face of its claims for conservative ideals of small or no government. Between military bases and a growing population of retirees (with “entitlement” benefits, Social Security and Medicare), it seems that the city’s marketplace is relatively small.

Second, if the city’s political leaders are indeed representing the sentiments of their conservative constituents, why aren’t they allowing a more laissez-faire economic climate in the city? Why outlaw recreational marijuana retail shops?

Third, given a utilities monopoly and a choice to retain it as a municipal entity, there is no political oversight. Instead of the CSU serving its ratepayers and minimizing waste, it has become its own political power-house insulated from transparency and accountability. Would Palmer or Penrose tolerate this situation?

Fourth, to promote economic growth, some forward-thinking and vision are required. Who, outside the embattled Mayor and the distant State authority, is leading the local charge for the City of Champions? If our local millionaires were more vocal in support, would the dysfunctional Council or Chamber of Commerce step in line?

Are the conditions nowadays so different from a century ago that no leadership can be expected? All we need to do is look at UCCS’ Chancellor as a leader. Perhaps her academic specialty gives her an edge; perhaps it’s the mountains where the university is perched that allows her to see farther; perhaps it’s just her DNA that makes her an effective leader. Whatever the reason, she leads.

Is UCCS all alone in this visionary quest for greatness? Is the city happy to slumber in its complacent hibernation since the days of Palmer and Penrose? With a contracting federal budget, perhaps it’s time to focus on the athletic and health advantage of our altitude. And while the winter Olympics is fresh on our minds, it’s time to focus on doing more for the USOC’s headquarters here than anything else.  

Wake up Colorado Springs! Every century we get an opportunity to remake ourselves. The City of Champions and the legalization of marijuana provide such opportunities. Since the “next Penrose” seems reluctant so far to do more than buy local gems (Broadmoor) or duds (Gazette), we have two choices: either implore someone to lead us to greatness or use what is within our reach to become a vital city that attracts young professionals to invest their energy here and now.

Raphael Sassower is professor of philosophy at UCCS. He can be reached at rsassower@gmail.com See previous articles at sassower.blogspot.com