Brian Rawlings
RWLGS Entertainment Real Estate Practice "Give me a one-handed economist!" -Harry Truman In our world the economics are always different from other industries and we thought we should begin a series of top level updates for our partners, clients, and stalkers. Such updates are inherently timely and will likely quickly expire so we’ll keep it short and to the point. If you don’t look at the date at the top…
In the 40s an American psychologist named Abraham Maslow studied something he called self actualization — this being the highest level of human consciousness. As he observed everything from primates to the particularly evolved Blackfeet Indians, he started to develop his idea around “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. Much of what we currently observe in American politics and culture are easily correlated to this concept. If people are in the bottom…
This is what happens when you have an inoperable Congress: inexplicably bad tax policy and an inadequate Federal Reserve. Other than that, things are going great! First, let’s review the events of this week since, hopefully, people will still read these rants at other dates. Today (Friday) is Saint Patrick's Day and so far this week the Treasury Department has bailed out two banks and the industry has bailed out…
And now we’re going to hear about the "Debt Ceiling" for months… Let’s get two things straight from the beginning of this conversation: A): we spend too much money on the wrong things in our country, and B): the Debt Ceiling is a made-for-TV fantasy that was passed into law to make old-school, Gold-Standard luddites feel better. It’s all a made-up crisis. For the sake of history, let’s review. The…
Did you ever wonder how a company makes such unbelievably bad decisions? Undoubtedly, they are made by very smart and experienced executives who are sometimes at the top of their fields. Yet with access to every piece of actionable data, a staff of analysts and 25 years’ of hard-earned experience they lay an egg the size of Manhattan. The “New Coke” or passing on signing the Beatles are among the…
For the love of God, can we talk about Social Security? The long beloved US program is the cornerstone of American retirement; it's mostly funded by contributions with overruns paid for by the general fund. It also pays out for disability and pays money to kids who lose parents and some sundry other stuff. First, let’s stipulate that the Social Security program is a good program. Even with its flaws…
One of the recurring themes at RWLGS is character. Capitalism demands it and civilization is only as good as it is integritous. Humans are mostly selfish creatures; therefore when Milton Friedman told companies that they only existed to create profit for the stockholders in 1970 they immediately absolved themselves of any responsibility to the world, and by 1987 the entirety of corporate America had shifted so completely to this silly…
It’s funny how easy it is to be a one-sided economist. If you espouse the view of one side of a situation, you are likely to find a supporter — and perhaps an employer — who will endow you with the resources needed to expand and market your one-sided viewpoint. This is how we got to where we are. I completely understand the feeling people have to desire agreement. It’s…
Brian Rawlings Archives - RWLGS