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The Main Thing: Shoes and Taxes

I want to write a book about how cheap we are as Americans. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, the people, the institutions, and the freedoms we have. But let’s face it, we are a bunch of cheapskates (an old school word which has now been replaced by ‘cheap f*****s’) for those not familiar with language from the sixties and seventies.

We aren’t willing to pay the real price for our lifestyles and what we want. So many of our public-facing arguments center around taxes, privacy, and who is right and wrong in how this country is run. We want and want, but are we willing to pay?

We want everyone to have jobs and get off the public dole, but did you know your desire to have cheap products, gasoline, good roads, sewer, and police protection prevents that from happening?

Read my theory and logic in my most recent blog post. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Weekly Focus: Smart Cities

I have added a focus on Cities as a Curated Morning topic because as I review the hundreds of articles and reading material each week for this newsletter, the topic of how cities function and the level and quality of their infrastructure keeps popping up.

A smart city uses technology to become more efficient and effective in delivering services and creating a quality environment to live, work, invest, and recreate. These features are more important every day as talent attraction is almost more important than any other attribute a City might have in attracting new investment.

Therefore, you must have a highly functioning city; that is where a smart City comes in. A combination of technology, humanity, and ethical implementation makes a City smart and provides a strong foundation for economic development, growth, and fulfillment.

Here are some articles focusing on the City:

​How 3 cities are improving snow removal with software by Paige Gross | Smart Cities Dive

The kids pray for a snow day, but roads must be cleared for public safety, and some people must get to work. Cities struggle with clearing the streets of snow and ensuring people are safe. They also need to provide timely and correct information about their progress. Most recently, the community I worked in as an Interim City Administrator had a system allowing residents to see what streets had been plowed. It was tough as we probably had more cul de sacs per 100,000 people than many cities. Plowing a cul de sac is difficult (think about it). Read about what these bigger cities are doing about using technology to clear the snow. Sorry, kids, class is in session.

​Consumers Want Downtown Density Without Downtown Disorder by Aaron M. Renn | Governing

The old Coke bottling plant in Indianapolis was on the edge of downtown and housed the School District's warehouse operations. The sprawling campus caught the eye of a creative developer, and now it is an in-demand mixed-use quasi-downtown development with restaurants, shops, housing, and office uses. This development exemplifies how developers create " insulated " city spaces. The perception of crime and other deleterious activities in downtown forces some developments behind walls. Read about this trend in this article.
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​High-speed rail gains steam as Atlanta Dallas aims to come aboard by Dan Zukowski | Smart Cities Dive

The USA is still trying to catch up with the rest of the world regarding high-speed rail. Any decent rail service between communities would be excellent to see. However, we are such a car-centric society; are we willing to give up control of our transportation that is inherently more convenient (or could be)? This story covers the progress being made in some communities with high-speed rail.

Other Articles of Interest this week:

Economic Development -- $40 million in SEEDS could soon take root in Alabama, growing the state’s economic development prospects by Michael Tomberlin

Technology/AI -- Banking, legal, and tech jobs most at risk for AI disruption by Patrick Kulp

Green Economy -- Utilities, EV charging companies must collaborate to avoid bulk power system disruptions: NERC by Robert Walton

Leadership -- Leaders can tackle team loneliness with a simple code: 0.6-1-5​

Instead of a guest blog, I have created a new feature in this week's newsletter called "Three Questions." I ask interesting people to answer three questions about various trends today.

Laith Wardi is known to many as the instructor for the Business Retention and Expansion portion of the IEDC Economic Development certification journey. His company, Executive Pulse, is the leading CRM for economic development organizations nationwide. He is a wealth of information on practically any subject of economic development, as he understands, like many, that BRE is the foundation of any successful economic development effort.

You will love this feature, and as usual, Laith comes through with some ideas and things every economic developer should consider.

Here are the three questions I asked him:
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1. What role does Artificial Intelligence have to play in BRE?
2. Why should climate change and green business be on the radar screen for economic developers?
3. What are some of the trends you are seeing in the world of BRE? What should professional economic developers be thinking about here?

​Read his answers here.​

Overheard :

– Andy Ashby, co-owner of Memphis Made Brewing in Tennessee, regarding proposed legislation that would ban the sale of cold beer across the state, warning of the potential impacts on his industry. State Sen. Paul Rose and state Rep. Ron Gant sponsored the legislation in hopes of reducing drunk-driving crashes by making alcohol less readily available. (The Hill — Feb. 15, 2024)

Listen, Eat, Drink, Watch, READ, VIEW

If you want data, Nate Bullard will give it to you. This website will provide you with every bit of data you would ever need to convince someone that our world is in grave danger regarding climate change (slides 4-19). That’s the bad news.

The good news is that starting with slide 20, we as a population are doing something about it despite efforts by deniers. In addition, the investment in climate industries is through the roof. There will undoubtedly be ups and downs, but the transformation to a non-fossil fuel society is underway.

This comprehensive group of slides has well-documented sources. If you want to understand where the world is on climate, from the dangers to the promises, this slide deck will be very informative and help you with your comprehension.

​View and read it here.

LISTEN, Eat, Drink, Watch, Read, View

Can you name the first fast-food franchise in America? As you read this, I know you are thinking this is a trick question. The answer is not McDonald's. McDonalds wasn't the first franchise fast food restaurant in the USA. Credit goes to…drum roll please: White Castle!

Yes, it is home to the ubiquitous "slider." White Castle holds a special place to many college graduates, not because of their system of developing highly efficient operating systems, which they did, nor because of their logistical expertise or site location ability, but because of their "steamed" hamburgers that were misconstrued as a remedy to cure your hangover.

In my college hometown, we did not have a White Castle but relied instead on Steak' n Shake (the first SnS was just blocks from where I lived.)

In this article, we learn a little more about White Castle. It is also a Podcast episode on 99% Invisible, an excellent podcast with interesting stories you might want to explore a little more.

​Check it out here.

Listen, Eat, Drink, WATCH, Read, View

It looks like there is life after “Game of Thrones.” Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, the “Kingslayer” in the series, is now slaying the issue of global warming with this series produced by Bloomberg. As Coster-Waldau says, it’s about finding solutions; according to him, many people are working on the issues.

In the first part of the series, Coster-Waldau visits Greenland, where he and his wife, a native of Greenland, have a home where they live part-time. Coster-Waldau visits glaciers and talks with a geologist about how sediment from melting glaciers can be used as fertilizer and organic material in other parts of the world to assist crop production.

The views of Greenland are stunning and worth a watch. You can access the video here or through any number of streaming services.

Listen, Eat, Drink, WATCH, Read, View

One of the sweetest sounds a baseball fan hears when it’s cold and dreary outside is “pitchers and catchers report,” meaning Spring Training has begun. Pitchers and Catchers are usually the first to report to training camps so they can get a head start on their pitching skills.

Pretty soon, play will begin, and the first pitch is thrown at home ballparks across the country.

Some pitchers can bring some velocity to their fastball, but here’s a first pitch you may not want to see or experience.

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​Check out the video here.

Another Oppportunity:

After a long career in New York City at major media companies, my good friend Doug Latino has embarked on a second chapter, writing graphic short stories. (auto-bio comics) Doug is the principal writer of the satirical Wait...It Gets Worse is the work he created with his comics partner, award-winning artist Gideon Kendall, who both writes and illustrates. Wait's non-fiction stories explore issues, lessons, and self-deprecating themes from their teens, college days, adulthood, and parenthood.

A new hardcover collection of their autobiographical stories from 2014-22 will be available in March. The collection presents 270 pages of the original comic's greatest hits, including 10 new stories and nearly 50 pages of never-before-seen material. Preorders are open at Cosmic Lion Productions.​

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Another way you can help boost circulation is by forwarding this edition to someone who ought to be reading it. When you copy and paste this link, it will get them to an easy subscription page:

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Thanks!

Whenever you’re ready, there are several ways I can help you:

1. Economic Development; If you are looking to supercharge your economic development organization I can help by strategizing and developing a roadmap to success. Set up a time to talk to me here.

2. Climate Change Economics; There is so much going on in this space and I can help you sort through it. Are you ready to develop a plan. or just need some coaching? Set up some time to talk about here.​

3. Training and Coaching; I can train you and your team on high level productivity tools to get you into flow. Mindset, GRIT and flow come together in these sessions or through one-on-one meetings. Schedule a call here.

If you have any thoughts or comments regarding any articles in this newsletter please feel free to contact me through email at martin@martinkarlconsulting.com.

Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to someone who might find it useful. If you received this email as a forward and would like to subscribe you can do so at this link.​

Economic development, business development or leadership consulting is available by contacting me via email (see above) or calling me at 518-450-3250.

You can review my services and offerings at www.martinkarlconsulting.com.

Thanks for reading the Curated Morning.

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