Romney For President

So Rick Santorum has thrown in the towel. My man wins as I wanted. So what next:

1. The General Election has now started. Obama v Romney will start clashing daily.

2. Gingrich and Paul need to be told to poke off. They are now a distraction sapping energy out of the main effort. My guess is they will be forced to desist.

3. Who will the running mate be? Needs to be a conservative Southerner. Christie? Santorum? Perry?

Why the US Economy Grows Faster Than Ours?

Ah, those ‘green shoots’. Early indications are that, putting aside Eurozone meltdown which has been delayed not slayed by the latest bailout of Greece, things are perhaps beginning to turn around for Boy George. Forecasters are being more positive, inflation is coming down as promised and the FTSE has been on an upward trend. We’re not out of the woods by any stretch. There will be more ups and downs for sure. But the strategic trend is that one by one, key long term indicators are looking decidedly better.

Mr Yvette Cooper will of course doom and gloom away because he has to. That’s what Oppositions do. But despite these long term indicators looking better, growth is still anaemic and may well technically show us in recession shortly. God, that ‘growth’ thing is hard to come by! Meanwhile, with way more debt - the next big problem for the global economy after the Presidential election is over - the good old US of A is doing growth much better than us and always seems to. Why so?

Now, before all you Lefties out there say it’s because Obama’s stimulus is working better than Boy George’s ‘too far, too fast’ austerity - which isn’t true by the way - let’s look at why the US always does growth better than us.

First, let’s get the easy answer to the question out of the way. The US economy is big. Almost as big as the 27 countries that make up the EU. So who would bet against that enormous engine of an economy; once it's motoring, it powers along. Check.

Then we get to the second answer, which is tricky because no UK government can do anything about it. The USA has a very 'can do' business culture. Now that's a very glib statement but having recently worked for an American company for six years I can vouch for the fact that Americans have the absolute opposite attitude to us on all matters business. We see all the problems, take refuge in lawyers ironing out all the wrinkles before we do anything and then behave cautiously thereafter. Call it British ‘reserve’. Americans only see opportunity, don’t worry about the downside and charge at every deal foregoing heavy lawyering safe in the knowledge that they’ll sue each other to death if the downside arrives. Call it ‘pioneering spirit’. Now that’s just a cultural difference. Bugger all anyone can do about it.

But number three on the list is something our Government can tackle with the right political resolve: the dead hand of employment law. (Calm down, Lefties, calm down). You see, for Lefties, suggesting that we reduce employment rights is the most heinous right wing Tory sin second only to saying we should reorganise the NHS.

But here’s the rub: higher unemployment and slower private sector growth is the price for all those employment rights we have. Here’s why…

When I worked for my Americans, I was always mesmerised by how keen they were to recruit more staff. Before the income was in place, they were off recruiting more staff. Conversely, when the shit looked like it was going to hit the fan, they just ‘let people go’. And US staff were much more sanguine about being ‘let go’. Running the European operation, I always resisted my part of their empire taking on staff until we were drowning in income and then held off redundancies until we really had no alternative when the income went down.

As the only European and non-American at the top of the company, it took a while for me to spot this and for the penny to drop.

You see all US staff are employed ‘at will’. And I mean all staff, from the CEO downwards. They have virtually no employment rights. No notice periods. No verbal warnings. No written warnings. No industrial tribunals. No such thing as redundancy. (The redundancy word does not exist in American English in the way we use it. In fact, my Americans used to laugh and joke about redundancy - ‘Melvin, what’s that thing you guys have over there called? Ha, ha, ha!’ And if I wanted to give a room full of Americans hysterics, I would then explain ‘gardening leave’).

So US companies can hire and fire with ease. And do. Which means that when businesses grow, they grow fast and load up on staff. Good for growth. By contrast, we Brits are really cautious, putting off the cost of hiring and employing new staff with all the attendant long term cost of getting rid of them until we really, really have to.

So Lefties, don’t compare US fast growth with UK and wider European slow growth, and realise that all your much treasured employment rights have a cost. More power to Steve Hilton and his agenda for starting to attack this.

Is Dan the Man?

I’ve never been too sure about DanHan. He is very clever and undoubtedly a brilliant, elloquent and witty speaker. But is he a bit too much of an obsessive, swivel-eyed, mouth foaming Eurosceptic nut job? Still not sure.

However, when you listen to his logical reasoning on the big issues, is does make you think and question some of the things we hold to be certain. Judge for yourself…

Back Romney

It is with wonder and awe that I look at our Republican brothers struggling to endorse Mitt Romney. Put simply, the rest of the field has included the mad, the bad and the even worse. The mere idea of Newt Gingrich - a proven liar, adulterer, incompetent and wild maverick Washington insider whom no one would have any idea what he was going to do next - is almost as risible as some of the other jokers who have put themselves forward. Judge a man by the company he keeps: endorsed by Sarah Palin, Herman Cain and the Rev Sun Myung Moon. 'Nuff said.

Americans

So Gordy and I have been here in the Great US of A, hence my lack of posts for the last couple of days.

He is here to try and make himself look big and leader-like and strong and international and brave and virtuous and altogether much more important and clever than Dave. Not sure that's really going to work really. Frankly, even God would struggle to pull him out of his nosedive.

I am here to meet with my American colleagues. I work in an international business. Whenever I visit the US, there are several things that jump out at me about Americans, both good and bad.

Good things

Can do attitude - This is such a refreshing change to British negativism. We are a pessimistic, dour, fault spotting nation. We always come up with 10 reasons why something won't work, rather than looking to see how to make it work. Americans are just so optimistic. Even when presented with a plan that clearly has serious flaws, their DNA is pre-programmed to be positive and look for the good rather than fixate on the bad.

Infectious enthusiasm - They are so goddam bouncy. They could enthuse you about your own death sentence. They often achieve things just through sheer force of enthusiasm alone. It's very energising.

Practicality - They are so astonishingly practical. Everything from business processes to retail experience to design to anything really. Some silly examples:

• Their road signs are held up by simple, cheap metal posts that have holes stamped all through them. They are as efficient as the much thicker metal posts we use, way cheaper and as they have holes in them any hurricane or wind of any strength just blows right through them. Why didn't we think of that?
• They have 'drive thru ATMs'. I know, fat Americans can't be assed to get out of the car. But think about those moments when we have all parked on a double yellow and dashed in the sheeting rain to the cash point!
• The snowy bits of the States actually have snow ploughs! They laugh at us and our gritting lorries. Before you even get to work, the bloody car park has been ploughed, let alone the roads.
• The nozzles on the end of the hose at any petrol station has a lever to hold the trigger down so that you can stand beside your car and watch it fill up, rather than grapple with freezing fingers having to keep the trigger depressed while the petrol flows into your tank.

Bad things

Immediate shallow friendliness - They are all over you when you meet them. They tell you their life history in the first 15 minutes and always tell you you must meet up, drop in, come round to dinner etc. But let's be clear: all that is American for 'hello'. They actually do not want to see you at all. They would be mortified if you showed up.

Baying voices - Certain states. Certain places. OMG, it can be awful. 'Nu Joisy' (New Jersy), 'Baastan' (Boston) etc. Painful on the ears.

Arrogance - They are just so oblivious to the ROW (rest of the world), almost as if it is actually just one other place. "How do you do this in Europe?" Honestly, I was asked that this week, as if Europe is one homogeneous landmass.

But, for all this, I love them. I find them fascinating, invigorating even. I even forgive their arrogance. It is the arrogance of the population of the unchallenged world superpower. I am sure the British in the early to mid 1800s were equally irritating for foreigners, as we wandered around the world invading everywhere and buying everything. The Chinese in 2050 will be the same.