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PUBLISHER'S Perspective
Lessons We Should Have Learned
from Mom
Universal truths that transcend virtually all societies
and cultures are the lessons that most, if not all, mothers
impart on their children. These are words of wisdom that we
all could, and should, live by such as: Save your money and
don’t spend what you don’t have. Don’t go into debt, if you
do, pay it off. Play nice; treat others as you would like to
be treated. Keep your room neat and tidy. Take care of your
possessions and don’t covet or ruin anyone else’s. Don’t cheat
or steal. These are just a few pearls, in one form or another,
that mothers around the world, from time immemorial have passed
on to their children. So, what have we done with these lessons?
A look at the U.S. economy can provide an interesting perspective
in light of the instructions we were all given as children.
Even though the recession started in March 2001 and ended around
November 2001, the economic recovery we are now experiencing
has provided far fewer jobs than when the recession started.
Supported by massive defense and consumer spending, the economy
grew at a 3.1 percent pace in the second three months of 2003,
but the unemployment picture has worsened. Americans still struggle
to find jobs, while more jobs are being lost.
Malfeasant behavior by corporate executives, stock market fraud,
and manipulation and irresponsible fiscal policy by the
federal government are weighing heavily on an already overburdened
economy. Add to this burden the federal budget deficit which
will approach half a trillion dollars next year, and will
be followed by huge deficits into the foreseeable future puts
the economic recovery on precarious footing.
Tax breaks have provided consumers a quick fix to fuel their
spending addiction which is being sustained by historically
low interest rates. Americans’ dependency on consumption
undermines everything our mothers and grandmothers have taught
us. Those who lived through the Great Depression and World War
II had a different economic philosophy: It was to save not spend,
pay off your home—not mortgage your equity to the hilt. People
did not buy something if they did not have the money. Consumerism
is as addictive as any drug and there are those who feel that
the only way the economy can continue to grow is to keep feeding
that addiction. But that is too leaky a vessel to hold the faith
of our economic future.
The continual loss of jobs combined with rising personal debt
will lead to a day of reckoning when the competition to borrow
money, exacerbated by the federal government’s need to borrow
to satisfy the massive deficit, heats up financial markets which
could result in higher interest rates. As consumers go deeper
into debt, borrowing against the equity of their homes, and
more people lose their jobs, many will no longer be able to
afford their homes or to enter the housing market. This irrational
cycle of borrowing and spending, while it is driving our economy,
certainly seems to be contrary to the common sense advice we
received from our mothers long ago.
The economy depends upon a number of levers that either stimulate
or arrest growth, such as government spending, business
investment and revenues, employment growth, and the willingness
of consumers to continue spending, to name a few. The hope is
that the momentum from consumers and government, two
powerful economic engines, will restart business investments
and speed up growth which will in turn stimulate job creation.
But, can the economic recovery be supported by two legs of a
stool—fickle consumer confidence and military spending which
provides limited value to the economy or society?
And, what does all this have to do with the geotechnologies?
A sharp rise in federal spending may have helped ease the recession
and reinforce signs of the current recovery, but, squeezed by
the worst budget crunch in decades, states are scrambling to
cut spending, avoid raising taxes, and spare education in the
process. If there ever was a question as to whether the geospatial
industry lags or precedes the economy, the former seems to indicate
where this industry falls in the economic cycle. This industry
felt the effects of the recession later in the downturn and
now that cities, counties, and states are feeling the full blow
of the economic truck that hit them, and there is no recovery
in sight, the large cadre of mapping companies that service
this sector are seeing times getting tougher, not better.
Competition from offshore production and a lack of business
in the federal, state, and local government sectors has left
many mapping/photogrammetry companies reeling—some are facing
layoffs for the first time in their history. This speaks to
the concerns some economists have about long-term structural
problems in the economy. The flood of U.S. jobs going overseas
which will get worse, not better, will include many high-paying
jobs lost to other countries. This economy must start creating
quality jobs in order to sustain economic growth and prevent
a backslide.
So, what should we have done? Well, as an industry, not much!
We are dependent on our primary markets. We could develop new
markets, but if a company has not already been doing that, it
is too late now because of the long-term payoff. The leading
companies have been pursuing that path for some time, and they
are the ones whose diverse portfolio has sheltered them from
the full effects of the economic downturn. However, what is
best for this industry is actually what is best for the country,
and it all comes back to what mom would have us do.
We should be investing wisely in the nation’s most pressing
needs. We need to make a commitment to rebuild our aging infrastructure—the
highways, bridges, tunnels, and dams, the water and sewage facilities,
the airports and transit systems. It is estimated that $1 billion
spent on highways creates 40,000 jobs. The recent electrical
blackout of the northeastern U.S. underscores the importance
of investing to refurbish our antiquated electrical grids and
the information systems that run them.
Military spending is going through the roof while homeland security
is getting second shrift. Recent reports show that two years
after the September 11 attacks we remain dangerously unprepared
for another terrorist strike inside the U.S. because so many
of the agencies responsible for our domestic defenses against
terror are underfunded.
We need to substantially reduce our dependence on foreign oil
and develop efficient and effective alternatives, and invest
in our environment so that it will be clean and safe for our
children’s children.
All of these issues, if approached properly, are job creators.
The big hang-up in the economic recovery we are supposed to
be currently experiencing is continued joblessness and underemployment.
It seems that following a mother’s advice would have multiple
benefits to society. The geotechnologies are integral tools
to achieving the benefits which will help attain our national
needs and sustain the high levels of employment that the nation’s
economy needs to keep humming. I can’t help feeling maybe we
would be better off letting moms run things for a while.
Until next time . . . Cheers!
Roland Mangold
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