Anthony Ricigliano - Latest Anthony Ricigliano News and Advice:
With an economy burdened by a slow recovery from the great recession and the government hamstrung by skyrocketing deficits, the suggested solutions for getting us back on track seem to be coming from all directions. The thing is, the answer for hi-tech lies in the same model it has operated on for the last few decades, not a new plan based on theoretical economics.
This model is based purely on building the best mousetrap possible, and if there is intense competition, so be it. Using this model, U.S. companies kept high value talent in-house and outsourced the lower value skill sets. In this model, product designers would stay in-house while tasks like assembly would be outsourced.
The environment in hi-tech has always been one of high risk and high reward with promising companies attracting funding from venture capital firms and the like. Successful companies reaped huge rewards as they either went public or were acquired by other hi-tech companies. This bred an environment that encouraged risk taking with rewards that reached into the billions of dollars.
The highly competitive nature of the field meant that there were losers in the process as well. For the uninitiated, the industry felt like it was made up of parts from the Wild West combined with a healthy serving of anarchy. The system worked however, enabling start ups to get to market and then compete and win against slower moving competitors.
The foundation of this model is still basically intact, but the recession and credit crunch have tamed the industry to an extent. With capital more difficult to come by, the appetite for risk has been muted as well. The financial crisis has changed the political winds as well with a seeming preference to focus resources on past industries as opposed to advancing tomorrow’s technology winners.
At this point, the best thing that can happen is for small innovative companies with great products to rack up a few “wins” to start re-building that appetite for risk which will in turn start bringing capital back to market.
It’s quite possible that the environment could remain somewhat muted as confidence is rebuilt in the industry but once it begins building momentum money will surely start flowing back in. America has the talent, the capital, and the guts to innovate our way back in hi-tech. As soon as the industry is being compared to the Wild West again we’ll know we’re back in full swing.
By Anthony Ricigliano
Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Friday, September 30, 2011
Anthony Ricigliano - EPA Chooses Political Expediency over Doing the Right Thing
Anthony Ricigliano - News by Anthony J Ricigliano: In exempting up to twenty industrial facilities from new federal controls on air pollution and the gases blamed for global warming, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has signaled that the Obama administration does not have the political will to move aggressively on any kind of global warming initiatives.
This cave-in was confirmed recently when a high ranking EPA official told a federal court that a California power plant which had been delayed would not have to comply with the rules. The agency rationalized in statement, that “…it was not fair or appropriate to require facilities with applications in the final stage of the review to comply with standards that have just recently taken effect.”
The delay for the facility was originally caused by the EPA’s demand to the federal court that the Avenal Power Center, LLC in central California would have “…to prove that its 600-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant would not cause violations of a new standard on smog-forming nitrogen oxide”. The Avenal Power Center sued the EPA, citing prolonged delays on approving its permit, which was first submitted in February 2008.
The EPA’s reversal comes as Republican leaders in the House and Senate continue their attacks on the Obama administration’s proposed air pollution regulations which, the Republicans say, will kill projects and jobs. In their continuing efforts to neuter the EPA, these same leaders recently proposed legislation that would prevent the agency from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA announced that between ten and twenty new facilities waiting for air pollution permits could also receive exemptions from the new pollution requirements.
After reviewing the court documents Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at Columbia University said, "It creates a strong argument for 'treat us the same way you treat this guy." Gerrard also said the move "is part of the administration's effort not to stop or be accused of stopping too many new projects."
The issue now is that removing the restrictions on up to twenty new facilities could open the door for hundreds of other projects to challenge the EPA’s pollution restrictions. If the administration and the EPA think that this reversal will quell the ongoing political attacks, they’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise as emboldened Republican leaders fight to lift restrictions on every plant waiting for a permit to be approved.
If, as it looks now, the agency and the administration lack the political will to make a stand the legislation will be effectively gutted. That would be to detriment of everyone, including the Republicans who seem so intent on heating the globe.
By Anthony Ricigliano
This cave-in was confirmed recently when a high ranking EPA official told a federal court that a California power plant which had been delayed would not have to comply with the rules. The agency rationalized in statement, that “…it was not fair or appropriate to require facilities with applications in the final stage of the review to comply with standards that have just recently taken effect.”
The delay for the facility was originally caused by the EPA’s demand to the federal court that the Avenal Power Center, LLC in central California would have “…to prove that its 600-megawatt, natural gas-fired power plant would not cause violations of a new standard on smog-forming nitrogen oxide”. The Avenal Power Center sued the EPA, citing prolonged delays on approving its permit, which was first submitted in February 2008.
The EPA’s reversal comes as Republican leaders in the House and Senate continue their attacks on the Obama administration’s proposed air pollution regulations which, the Republicans say, will kill projects and jobs. In their continuing efforts to neuter the EPA, these same leaders recently proposed legislation that would prevent the agency from regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA announced that between ten and twenty new facilities waiting for air pollution permits could also receive exemptions from the new pollution requirements.
After reviewing the court documents Michael Gerrard, an environmental law professor at Columbia University said, "It creates a strong argument for 'treat us the same way you treat this guy." Gerrard also said the move "is part of the administration's effort not to stop or be accused of stopping too many new projects."
The issue now is that removing the restrictions on up to twenty new facilities could open the door for hundreds of other projects to challenge the EPA’s pollution restrictions. If the administration and the EPA think that this reversal will quell the ongoing political attacks, they’ll be in for an unpleasant surprise as emboldened Republican leaders fight to lift restrictions on every plant waiting for a permit to be approved.
If, as it looks now, the agency and the administration lack the political will to make a stand the legislation will be effectively gutted. That would be to detriment of everyone, including the Republicans who seem so intent on heating the globe.
By Anthony Ricigliano
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Anthony Ricigliano News - Four Industries Where China has Passed the U.S
By Anthony Ricigliano: America was known for the better part of the last century as the single greatest producer of just about everything in the world. It was during the 70’s that we started to cede our dominance in major industries to other areas of the world.
Oil production went to the Middle East, automobile production went to Japan, and the cracks in America’s manufacturing dominance began to grow by the year. Since that time, U.S. manufacturing has eroded but in total, we still lead the world.
China has had one of the fastest growing large economies in the world for the past several years. China passed Japan in total manufacturing to take the number two spot in the world. Economists are now going about forecasting not if but when China will pass U.S. in total manufacturing output.
The U.S. is now trying to stay competitive in the global arena across a wide spectrum of industries, handicapped in the fight by annual deficits, expanding national debt, and an unemployment rate which stubbornly remains well above 9%.
Here are four industries that illustrate how far the U.S. has fallen behind in industries that it used to dominate. In each industry China, the world’s second largest manufacturing economy, has taken a huge lead:
* High-tech – China manufactured $381 billion in 2008 versus U.S. production of $231 billion. If current trends remain in place, the U.S. is going to have a tough time catching up as China’s exports of high-tech products grew by 78% between 2005 and 2008 while the U.S. saw a 21% increase over the same period.
* Coal production – Once the world leader in coal production, the U.S. has fallen far behind China. In 2009, the U.S. produced a little over 1 billion short tons of coal, less than one-third of China’s production which totaled 3.3 billion short tons. Trends indicate again that China should remain firmly entrenched as the leader with production growing by 34% since 2005. U.S coal production actually decreased slightly during the same timeframe.
* Pork production – While the U.S. is still the world leader across a broad range of agricultural commodities, pork production isn’t one of them. Due to heavy demand for the commodity by its own population, China produced 51.5 million metric tons of pork in 2010, more than five times America’s production of 10.2 million metric tons.
* Beer – The U.S. led the world in beer production at the turn of the century but has now ceded the leadership to China. Since that time, China has doubled its production to 423 million hectoliters, while production decreased slightly in the U.S. to 232 million hectoliters.
Competing globally while hindered by financial issues, the U.S. looks like it has its work cut out for it. One area that could play a growing role is innovation at the micro-level which then ramps up from there. Without government assistance, mass innovation looks to be our best hope for remaining competitive in the global arena.
Anthony Ricigliano - News and Advice by Anthony Ricigliano
Oil production went to the Middle East, automobile production went to Japan, and the cracks in America’s manufacturing dominance began to grow by the year. Since that time, U.S. manufacturing has eroded but in total, we still lead the world.
China has had one of the fastest growing large economies in the world for the past several years. China passed Japan in total manufacturing to take the number two spot in the world. Economists are now going about forecasting not if but when China will pass U.S. in total manufacturing output.
The U.S. is now trying to stay competitive in the global arena across a wide spectrum of industries, handicapped in the fight by annual deficits, expanding national debt, and an unemployment rate which stubbornly remains well above 9%.
Here are four industries that illustrate how far the U.S. has fallen behind in industries that it used to dominate. In each industry China, the world’s second largest manufacturing economy, has taken a huge lead:
* High-tech – China manufactured $381 billion in 2008 versus U.S. production of $231 billion. If current trends remain in place, the U.S. is going to have a tough time catching up as China’s exports of high-tech products grew by 78% between 2005 and 2008 while the U.S. saw a 21% increase over the same period.
* Coal production – Once the world leader in coal production, the U.S. has fallen far behind China. In 2009, the U.S. produced a little over 1 billion short tons of coal, less than one-third of China’s production which totaled 3.3 billion short tons. Trends indicate again that China should remain firmly entrenched as the leader with production growing by 34% since 2005. U.S coal production actually decreased slightly during the same timeframe.
* Pork production – While the U.S. is still the world leader across a broad range of agricultural commodities, pork production isn’t one of them. Due to heavy demand for the commodity by its own population, China produced 51.5 million metric tons of pork in 2010, more than five times America’s production of 10.2 million metric tons.
* Beer – The U.S. led the world in beer production at the turn of the century but has now ceded the leadership to China. Since that time, China has doubled its production to 423 million hectoliters, while production decreased slightly in the U.S. to 232 million hectoliters.
Competing globally while hindered by financial issues, the U.S. looks like it has its work cut out for it. One area that could play a growing role is innovation at the micro-level which then ramps up from there. Without government assistance, mass innovation looks to be our best hope for remaining competitive in the global arena.
Anthony Ricigliano - News and Advice by Anthony Ricigliano
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Another Sputnik Moment by Anthony Ricigliano
Anthony Ricigliano - News and Articles by Anthony Ricigliano: We probably didn’t see it coming but the decline of education in the U.S has been crystallized by a book titled “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” written by Amy Chua. The book and its author have come under intense criticism for a tough love on steroids stance on parenting. The book’s premise is that American’s coddle their children at the risk of settling for something which is far less than their full potential.
Combined with the December release of the latest test results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has put an unflattering spotlight on primary and secondary education in the U.S. as well as American parenting styles.
The results from the PISA test showed that American had slipped badly versus those in other countries, finishing in 17th place overall. Students from the U.S. ranked 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math, getting squashed by students from Shanghai who won each category by a comfortable margin.
President Obama called the dismal scores a “Sputnik moment” as the realization sunk in that the U.S. had fallen behind badly in a race that it comfortably ruled for years.
The stunning results from the Shanghai students have at their foundation a few simple facts; “Chinese students work harder, with more focus, for longer hours than American students do”. According to Time Magazine, “Chinese students already have a longer school year than American pupils — and U.S. kids spend more time sitting in front of the TV than in the classroom.” The education race is reminiscent of the rivalry between the U.S and Russia which spanned from sports to space as well as the later rivalry with Japan which was focused largely on the financial arena.
The U.S is still the biggest economy in the world but China is coming fast, having taken the second spot from Japan in 2009. With the U.S. mired in an anemic recovery from its real estate induced recession, China’s economy is on a tear. Not only is their economy growing exponentially, they’re the biggest of America’s creditors with the Treasury Department estimating that our total debt to China is approximately $843 billion. That is over $10,000 in debt for the average American family and just a fraction of our total debt of $14 trillion.
Despite the outcry from American parents, there are elements of Amy Chua’s tough love regimen that are supported by studies in psychology and cognitive science. Her criticism that American parents over-protect their children from distress is backed by a book fittingly called “A Nation of Wimps”, authored by Hara Estroff Marano. Marano states "Research demonstrates that children who are protected from grappling with difficult tasks don't develop what psychologists call 'mastery experiences. Kids who have this well-earned sense of mastery are more optimistic and decisive; they've learned that they're capable of overcoming adversity and achieving goals. Children who have never had to test their abilities grow into "emotionally brittle" young adults who are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.”
Judging by the ubiquitous advertisements for depression meds, it looks like the “Tiger Mom” is on to something.
Author Anthony Ricigliano
Combined with the December release of the latest test results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” has put an unflattering spotlight on primary and secondary education in the U.S. as well as American parenting styles.
The results from the PISA test showed that American had slipped badly versus those in other countries, finishing in 17th place overall. Students from the U.S. ranked 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in math, getting squashed by students from Shanghai who won each category by a comfortable margin.
President Obama called the dismal scores a “Sputnik moment” as the realization sunk in that the U.S. had fallen behind badly in a race that it comfortably ruled for years.
The stunning results from the Shanghai students have at their foundation a few simple facts; “Chinese students work harder, with more focus, for longer hours than American students do”. According to Time Magazine, “Chinese students already have a longer school year than American pupils — and U.S. kids spend more time sitting in front of the TV than in the classroom.” The education race is reminiscent of the rivalry between the U.S and Russia which spanned from sports to space as well as the later rivalry with Japan which was focused largely on the financial arena.
The U.S is still the biggest economy in the world but China is coming fast, having taken the second spot from Japan in 2009. With the U.S. mired in an anemic recovery from its real estate induced recession, China’s economy is on a tear. Not only is their economy growing exponentially, they’re the biggest of America’s creditors with the Treasury Department estimating that our total debt to China is approximately $843 billion. That is over $10,000 in debt for the average American family and just a fraction of our total debt of $14 trillion.
Despite the outcry from American parents, there are elements of Amy Chua’s tough love regimen that are supported by studies in psychology and cognitive science. Her criticism that American parents over-protect their children from distress is backed by a book fittingly called “A Nation of Wimps”, authored by Hara Estroff Marano. Marano states "Research demonstrates that children who are protected from grappling with difficult tasks don't develop what psychologists call 'mastery experiences. Kids who have this well-earned sense of mastery are more optimistic and decisive; they've learned that they're capable of overcoming adversity and achieving goals. Children who have never had to test their abilities grow into "emotionally brittle" young adults who are more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.”
Judging by the ubiquitous advertisements for depression meds, it looks like the “Tiger Mom” is on to something.
Author Anthony Ricigliano
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