In a response to a letter from an 8-year-old girl, the New York Sun opined in an editorial published in 1897 that yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Francis Pharcellus Church wrote the words that remain famous more than a century later: “He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and […]
Those weary of reading gloomy news as a stubbornly slow economy grinds along can take heart as such words as “recovery” and “rebound” start appearing in headlines. By many accounts, the economic news is improving, if not markedly so. The latest economic outlook report from the University of Colorado is especially upbeat in forecasting business […]
In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday and in recognition of the importance of an attitude of gratitude, here are some things for which Grand Valley business owners and managers can be thankful this year: The onset of the holiday shopping season. While no retailer longs for the long hours and hard work that comes […]
It was an interesting election year to say the least. Since what candidates and their parties tell voters resembles reality about as much as what parents tell their children about the tooth fairy, the weariness of months of electioneering occasionally was interrupted by brief moments of entertainment. A couple of notable examples included the attack […]
When I think about the ramifications of the upcoming election, it scares me to death, especially on the national scale. Everyone who knows me knows I don’t support President Barack Obama or his party pretty much across the board. But that doesn’t mean I think Mitt Romney is the answer. I simply don’t trust anyone […]
Benjamin Franklin is famously quoted as saying, “In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Death perhaps. But apparently not taxes, at least in terms of what tax rates will be imposed. And it’s this very uncertainty that keeps business owners and managers hesitant to expand their operations or staffs. The latest case […]
There’s been a lot of political rhetoric and, consequently, media coverage about Americans who pay no federal income taxes. Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was surreptitiously recorded as writing off the support of what he said was the 47 percent of Americans who don’t pay federal income taxes nad have become dependent on government assistance […]
Given the stubbornly slow recovery in Mesa County and elsewhere in the United States, it’s hardly surprising business development and job growth remain the predominant campaign issues in races for everything from the courthouse to the White House. As a strategist of former President Bill Clinton put it so eloquently way back in 1992: “It’s […]
Several times a year, the indicators tracking various components of the Mesa County economy all seem to come out at once. When that confluence occurs, it only makes sense to take a more thorough look at what the assembled pieces of the puzzle portray and to try to answer the question that invariably arises: What’s […]
“I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.” That announcement more often serves as the ironic punch line to a joke than a sincere assurance, especially when talking to beleaguered business owners who feel under siege these days by the dual threats of economic and regulatory uncertainty. Nonetheless, there are tantalizing indications from time […]