Author / Frank Maduri

Posts by Frank Maduri

I am passionate about producing quality writing as a freelance writer and business development consultant. I am also a professionally trained grant writer with experience in fire, school, and emergency services grants. I also write short fiction, poetry, and prose. I enjoy sports and I am a fan of the NJ Devils, NY Giants, and NY Knicks. I enjoy sharing my views about these teams. I was raised and currently reside in New Jersey and I enjoy writing about my state and The Shore where I live, it is a beautiful place that has inspired my writing.
by Frank Maduri

Supreme Court Decision on EPA Clean Air Act: Follow Up

In a follow up story to a previous article I wrote on the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) via the Clean Air Act the Supreme Court announced their ruling today. The Court ruled, in a close decision, to allow the EPA to continue to oversee the regulation of greenhouse gases particularly in the industry areas of energy and other industrial manufacturing.

 

The decision from the high court did place some limitations on the authority of the EPA, but for the most part, it upheld the notion that the EPA had the authority to regulate the air emissions policies relative to current and future proposed manufacturing plants.

 

In my initial article on this subject, the industry leaders in many segments related to energy and other industrial manufacturing groups were upset regarding the requirements instituted by the EPA relative to the construction of new coal plants and other energy generating facilities.

 

These groups maintained then, and their position has not changed despite the ruling today, that the EPA overreached their authority in interpreting the Clean Air Act and that the proposed limits on carbon dioxide emissions would require new technology which was cost prohibitive. They argued that only Congress, and not the EPA, had the authority to enact any such regulations on their business.

 

Furthermore, these industry groups asserted that these changes would result in a decrease in new coal plant construction and a net loss in jobs. They challenged the EPA in multiple lawsuits which were combined and heard as one case by the Supreme Court, which reached the final verdict earlier today.

 

Big Impact

 

The ruling today will have a big impact moving forward on the future of coal and other energy producing plants. The industry is looking at having to adapt and change their normal business practices, which will have a cost both in time and money to those respective manufacturers.

 

I had mentioned in my prior article that these energy producers may attempt to pass along the increase in the cost of these plant upgrades to the consumer. That would mean increased energy costs for many already cash-strapped American families.

 

The one section of today’s ruling where the Supreme Court provided some limitations to the EPA was with regard to the size of the industry types they could regulate within the confines of the Clean Air Act.

 

Initially, the EPA was seeking to regulate entities which emitted 100 – 250 tons of greenhouse gases and had to increase that amount to 75,000 – 100,000 tons of emissions in order to adequately address the issues with air quality. The Supreme Court decision today reinforced that methodology in their opinion the EPA does not have the authority to start mandating that business across a wide scale have to endure a permitting process.

 

In response to the assertion that the agency did not have the proper authority to require these changes to the policy, the Court wrote that, in essence, the EPA was acting in the best interests of Congress and the American people by regulating this area and saving the costs of creating a separate government program or regulatory entity to do so.

 

This decision has huge positive environmental protection ramifications because it provides the EPA with the authority to regulate the entities which contribute the most carbon emissions into our air. The effective management of these emissions will have a dramatic impact on the protection of the ozone layer and reverse the negative aspects of global warming and climate change.

 

The Future

 

The EPA, through the ruling today, will be able to regulate the entities responsible for 83 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. The industry groups involved and their representative interest groups are obviously unhappy with the decision today, and they will mobilize a concerted effort to file more legal suits and injunctions in an effort to reverse this decision.

 

In the end, whether you think the EPA overreached its authority or not, the vast emissions of huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has been linked in numerous scientific studies to have a negative effect on the quality of our air.

 

I also think that the government should look into some sort of cap on the amount the energy industry could potentially raise on rates to the consumer. I understand they have to maintain profitability, but it would be patently unfair to pass along a large percentage of the cost to the average American family based on these new potential regulatory requirements.

 

A government sanctioned regulatory process, whether it is via the EPA or Congress, was bound to be instituted based on the evidence at hand. I know I would like our children and future generations to be able to take a deep breath when they turn 30, and I think we all have a vested interest in having cleaner air. If you disagree with that sentiment, then this society has more problems than I initially thought we had.

 

(Statistics and some background information courtesy of The Washington Post and Associated Press)

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Gender Based Marketing

The concept of gender based marketing is not a new strategy to sell products or develop new business but it is now being utilized with greater effectiveness. The enhancements to this marketing principle are driven largely by the incredible amount of data which can be populated to provide businesses with very accurate trend analysis.

 

It does not take a marketing genius to figure out that most businesses will craft a product message based on the target gender market: beer commercials tend to skew toward men, while most cleaning products tend to be geared toward a female consumer target. The role of gender bias has been a hot button topic in our societal discourse as well, whether some of these product campaigns are based on preconceived notions about the role of men and women respectively in Western society.

 

However, I will be focusing on the changing patterns of the gender based marketing strategic concept as it relates to the shifting demographics in the United States. In particular focus is the impact of the economic recession and the evolving job market which caused a scenario where American society now has more female business travelers than at any other point in history.

 

The recessionary economic activity caused businesses to react by cutting costs to maximize profit margins. The easiest way to achieve this profit retention is to cut jobs and close facilities or office branch locations and consolidate your respective cost factors. In some business types, that included cutting the jobs of higher salaried employees in order to protect profitability during the economic downturn.

 

Gender Wage Gap

 

All of these cost cutting maneuvers in the business world created conditions where many men found themselves out of work, and women found themselves in the role of primary financial providers for their respective families. This shift brought the issue of the gender wage gap back front-and-center to the American national consciousness. The “equal pay for equal work” debate sprang up on the national media news outlets, and still is a largely unresolved issue facing our society.

 

The labor market is slowly starting to rebound, but even in the current conditions, the months of economic stagnation and stubborn job creation has changed the American family dynamic. I have read several studies which demonstrate that the stereotypical gender roles have changed with men taking on more of the domestic duties of grocery shopping and child care.

 

Meanwhile, the woman’s role in the family unit has shifted and the business travel industry and the hotel industry have made certain marketing program changes to appeal more to the increase in female business travelers. The major hotel chains have made adjustments to their floor plans, bathroom layouts, and other amenities to cater to an influx in female business executives.

 

The major hotel chains have also made changes to their respective restaurant menu offerings to provide more healthy meal options which appeal to women. Even the lighting and the colors of some hotel rooms and suites have been altered to suit this change in the customer demographic for business travel today.

 

The “Mr. Mom” approach

 

The grocery stores and the manufacturers of food and beverage products have all made marketing plan alterations and advertising changes to appeal to the growing prevalence of male shoppers. The study data available varies on the percentage of men identified as the primary shopper for their respective family in the U.S. from 31% to as high as 51%. The larger number was quantified in a survey done by Yahoo! which also studied male shopping trends.

 

The increase in male primary shoppers is driven by a few factors but most notably the increase in the unemployment during the peak of the recession, the increase in underemployed males who are working shift type jobs to replace lost wages, and the increase in the number males who primarily work from home or telecommute.

 

Both the grocery store chains and the food product manufacturers have responded to this shifting demographic by changing the layouts of the stores to grab the attention of the influx of male shoppers who are also prone to impulse buying. Most stores have what is known in the industry as “The Man Aisle” which is filled with all types of products which appeal to male shoppers.

 

The consumer goods product giant, Procter & Gamble, even has a website called “Man of the House” which features products geared toward the male consumer as well as recipes and health tips geared toward helping men in this new shift in their domestic responsibilities.

 

The U.S. Grocery Shopping Trends Study displayed that women shoppers are 12% more likely to produce generic or store brand products than male shoppers. Male shoppers are statistically more likely to be loyal to a particular national brand and will pay more to get that brand even if a comparable product made under another brand is reduced in price.

 

This study also revealed that male shoppers spend $10.00 more on an average shopping trip than a female shopper, and that male shoppers frequently had no shopping list and carried no coupons. More male shoppers use the self-checkout option than female shoppers, but females placed a higher value on customer service than males.

 

Other studies have demonstrated that the words “low calorie” and “diet” do not test favorably at all with male shoppers. This was the driving principle behind the Dr. Pepper Snapple Group launching a line of new diet sodas they decided to call “10” so that it reflected the amount of calories in the beverage but did not emphasize the term “diet” in the labeling or the promotion.

 

In my research I found another case study of a frozen yogurt chain in the Midwest which decided to do a social experiment by promoting a new low fat product. When the male shopper came into the yogurt shops with their wives or girlfriends the ladies would try the low fat product offering and 90% of the males would not try it.

 

The frozen yogurt chain took the same product which was also high in protein, and three weeks later they promoted the same product as “high protein” and close to 90% of the male shoppers tried it and were repeat customers. Many food manufacturers are following the same positioning to appeal to men, developing high protein concepts that are low in fat and promoting them as “high protein”.

 

Many products such as Hamburger Helper have changed their packaging to darker colors with bolder graphics to gain the attention of the increased number of male shoppers. The laundry detergent brand, Tide, has partnered with the NFL and is in the midst of an ongoing promotional campaign to make doing laundry more “macho”.

 

Influencing Change

 

It has been listed in several studies that about 41% of men make the meals at home. The food product manufacturers have taken notice of this but initially had offered quick, processed meal solutions to try to grab market share of this shift in cooking responsibilities.

 

However, those efforts largely failed because several studies show that male shoppers look for rather different elements in their meal purchases than the stereotypes would seem to indicate.

 

In fact, a Pew study recently indicated that 95% of men consider the nutrient values a meal will provide to their family. This study also revealed that 90% of men prefer to use fresh ingredients and that 86% choose to limit the use of processed food in their meal selections.

 

The food companies have quantified all of this data and future food product launches will certainly reflect this criteria. The male shoppers have influenced change in the marketplace.

 

In the end, the change in gender demographics has had a profound impact on not just hotels, the travel industry, food products, or grocery store layouts. It has had a profound effect on our society, on the family unit, and on the gender roles that were once inherent in Western society. We will not know exactly the implications of these changes for many years, but what we do know is that these shifts are here to stay as technologies change and impact both the job market and our society in the years to come.

(Statistics and some background information courtesy of Pew Study, US Grocery Shopping Trends Study, ESPN.com, Yahoo! News, Food Product Design, Specialty Food News, and CBS News)

by Frank Maduri

Poetry Forms: How to Write a Ghazal

The Ghazal is an ancient form of poetry that has only recently gained acceptance in the mid-1990s in America. The form originated in Persia and spread to India and then eventually to Afghanistan as well as Turkey.

 

It is a very unique and somewhat controversial form of poetry with the English and American interpretation being very different than the original Persian format. The Ghazal is also sung in India, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan marking a tradition that goes back hundreds of years.

 

Structure

 

The Ghazal consists of anywhere from 5 to 15 couplets with most averaging about 8 to 10 couplets in length. The lines in each couplet should be equal in length, also known as the meter, which could be 7 to 10 syllables in each line.

 

This ancient method of poetic expression also traditionally has both a rhyme and a refrain. The rhyme in the first line of the couplet sets the tone for the rest of the poem. The refrain would occur as the last word in the second line of each couplet. The rhyming word usually is the word before the refrain. An example to illustrate this concept is:

A knock on my door this morning

While I cleaned the floor this morning

 

My refrain and title of the poem is “This Morning” and the rhyming word is “door” which then has to be rhymed in the second line of each subsequent couplet. The refrain of “this morning” will be repeated in each line of the entire poem.

 

A mitigating rule of the structure of a Ghazal is that each couplet should have its own thought and be completely different from one another. This can be difficult to achieve especially with the involvement of the refrain. Each couplet was meant to be read or extracted as a “stand alone” poem, which can make this format very difficult for new or young writers.

 

It is important to note, that in the traditional version used in the Middle East, the last couplet, or closing couplet made a reference in some way to the poet’s name or pen name. In my case it could be something very overt:

I found my mind drew a blank at that moment

I thought: “C’mon now Frank” at that moment

 

However, it could also be a veiled reference to the name of the poet or his or her initials could be used in the final couplet.

 

In later years, after different translations of the form had taken hold, the reference to the writer’s name has been removed from the requirements of the form. It is my understanding that some writers felt that it was too restrictive to the number of poems they could write in this form.

 

The other issue with that requirement was that it could force the poet to deviate from the theme of the poem in order to mention their name in the closing couplet.

 

I have written several Ghazal formatted poems and used some reference to my name to keep it the most pure interpretation of the original Persian form.

 

Theme

 

In the original conception of the Ghazal back in Persia and India, the theme of this type of poetry was limited to love or romance with a heavy emphasis on relationships which were socially unacceptable. The focal emotion being the pain and melancholy caused by that separation.

 

In later variations of the Ghazal the thematic requirements shifted away from that specific area, and while most poems written in this format have been about love; they began to be written about basically any topic.

 

In my experience, writing a Ghazal can be difficult regardless of the theme, the key concept is to have an idea of the meter, rhyme, and refrain before you begin to draft the poem. The process then becomes essentially “back filling” the rest of the poem based off the primary words involved in the rhyme and the refrain. The challenge is to fit the added words in within the correct meter.

 

Alterations from the Original

 

The Ghazal form of poetry has been altered more than many other forms of poetry I have come across from the original version to the modern version. These alterations were driven by a few factors, primarily the translation from Persian or the ancient Indian or Pakistani forms to English. In essence, some elements were lost in translation, created ambiguity, or were reformed to suit a Western audience.

 

One major alteration over time was the waiver of the requirement of having a refrain. The refrain, particularly in the Western translations, became an optional component of the Ghazal. The neglect of the refrain could create conditions where the poet would have more flexibility in writing within this rather complex form.

 

An additional alteration was with regard to the couplets involved being related to one common theme. The original versions were about love, but the couplets were unique components. This shifted to Ghazal poems being linked to a central theme. Some feel that this is not a “true Ghazal”, and that the couplets need to have a feel of inherent exclusivity.

 

Moreover, the most common criticism of the purists of the Ghazal form pertaining to the American interpretation of the form is that the American poets disregard the meter. A “true Ghazal” should have the same syllabic meter in each line of the piece, whether it is 8 syllables or 10 syllables, and that Americans just choose to ignore it and write whatever suits their cause.

 

The neglect of the meter requirement causes the Ghazal to lose the flowing romanticism that was intended by the original creators of this ancient poetic format.

 

Common Mistakes

 

In my experience, writing within the Ghazal form can be very difficult but very rewarding when it is completed within the correct guidelines. I have sat many afternoons at my desk staring at the paper in my notebook trying to make a Ghazal work within the criteria provided by the original Persian format.

 

I have made the common mistake of selecting a rhyming word that does not work throughout the number of couplets I had planned for the full poem. That mistake can be avoided by free writing several rhyming words and use the words which have several variations for the rhyme line.

 

I have also made the common mistake of choosing a refrain word that is too limited in scope to be able to create a full Ghazal that flows correctly. It is very tough to make each couplet separate yet make sense contextually with a common refrain. My advice would be to choose a refrain that is very broad: based on a season, a time period (yesterday or tomorrow), or a love based theme.

 

The meter requirement is also present in many other poetry forms, so I find that I do not have as much trouble making the meter work with the concepts I choose to utilize. However, the problematic elements to meter which are present in the Ghazal and not in other formats are the requirements of the rhyme and the refrain. Those one or two words (depending on if you are writing a Ghazal without a refrain) can cause issues with the meter of the words you choose to “back fill” the poem with in each couplet.

 

A common feeling of some writers, myself included, is that the method of selecting the rhyme and refrain words prior to the rest of the poem can cause a situation where I have felt that I am mixing and matching words based on the meter and context. This process can take some of the raw emotion out of the poem, which is a self-defeating exercise.

 

Explore and Find

 

After working within this form for a while I would suggest that the best way to use this ancient type of poetry is to explore, practice, and find your way to the best method to write within the Ghazal.

 

I have a few recommendations though before you launch into this effort:

  1. Do not eliminate the requirements from the original version from Persia use a rhyme word, a refrain, and a strict meter.
  2. Conceptualize and free write more than you would before writing within another form to have a broad theme and rhyming words which work.
  3. Make sure the couplets that are used are completely different from one another. This can be achieved by choosing concepts that are very close to you personally. This will help you to expand upon the broad theme yet make the couplets different.

 

I hope that this article will help all the new and young poets to write within the ancient form of the Ghazal. When it is done with great respect paid to the requirements of the format, it can be a very rewarding way to express your feelings on a variety of themes and experiences.

 

(Some background information courtesy of Poets.org, Baymoon.com, Wikipedia.com)

 

by Frank Maduri

Between The Lines: GMOs and Food Labeling

The announcement today that Congress is considering a bill introduced by Representative Mike Pompeo of Kansas which would nullify the laws in place on the state level regarding the disclosure of GMO ingredients in food products is troubling.

 

My rationale for this viewpoint is different than others in this matter because I still maintain that a federal standard for food labeling is the only practical solution to this issue moving forward. The problem I have with the bill introduced today called the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act is that it would remove any mandated disclosure of GMO ingredients in our food products.

 

Mr. Pompeo made remarks today to the media that GMO products are safe and healthy for the consumer, and that is why he maintains that the separate labeling disclosure is not needed. Some experts within both the scientific and environmental protection communities would respectfully disagree with this notion made by the congressman from Kansas earlier today.

 

In fairness to both sides of this issue, scientific study data has demonstrated evidence of potential health problems in both animals and humans with regard to GMO ingredients. The environmental groups are concerned about the chemicals used in the process of growing genetically engineered food ingredients. The Monsanto product Roundup is just one of a number of chemicals used in GM farming that have created issues such as weed resistance.

 

Mountain of Data

 

The scientific data is mounting regarding the negative effects of GMO containing ingredients in food products. One study has linked GMOs in food to 18 million diagnosed celiac disease patients.

 

Another study shows that the before mentioned Roundup product is classified as a “xenoestrogen” which simulates the effect of real estrogen in the human body. The increased levels of this hormone is linked to a higher risk for cancer, infertility, and thyroid conditions.

 

Moreover, the higher levels of estrogen and glyphosate in genetically altered soybeans has been linked to increased cases of breast cancer.

 

Genetically modified foods have been shown to lower crop yields and increase overall pesticide use per a study published in the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology. This study and others brought about the push for action in California and Washington state, which I covered in a previous article, where ballot initiatives regarding the use of GMOs fell short of gaining approval by very small margins respectively.

 

In each state, Monsanto, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and a consortium of large food manufacturers spent millions of dollars on advertising campaigns to defeat these measures.

 

The Future

 

The future of the GMO labeling debate took a step in Congress where the food companies could volunteer to disclose the presence of GMOs in their products. The current backlash against GMOs in our food have caused the American public to look negatively upon those products which contain modified ingredients.

In that light, what food company would voluntarily choose to disclose GMOs in their products? They know that it will effectively decrease the sales of the product, so they will choose to not provide that information, which eliminates any substance from this proposed Congressional bill.

 

Currently, 27 states have proposed legislation regarding the disclosure of GMO containing ingredients in food products. I have stated before that the state-by-state approach will not work, it will cause chaos in our food supply system, and disrupt interstate commerce.

 

The federal system has to provide a universal food labeling solution to this GMO dilemma. The evidence is clear that these products are not good for the health and safety of humans or animals. The solution provided needs to promote a mandatory declaration of any GMO containing ingredients.

 

The sheer cost of the treatment of Americans from various illnesses potentially linked to GMO containing products is reason enough for us to try to resolve this matter.

 

In my view, it should be a fundamental right for us, as Americans, to make an informed choice with regard to GMOs in our food. I hope our government will trust us to do so and provide us the mechanism in which we can determine our own food consumption choices in the future.

 

It is clear, this debate regarding GMOs, regardless of recent Congressional activity, is far from being resolved.

 

(Background information and statistics courtesy of Reuters, CBS News, Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology, Institute for Responsible Technology, and Global Research.org)

by Frank Maduri

Follow Up: MLS Expansion Update

In a follow up to a recent story covered here on my blog, Frank’s Forum, Major League Soccer (MLS) will, according to a number of high profile media sources, announce the expansion of the league to Atlanta.

 

This expansion franchise addition in Atlanta has been long rumored and the team will begin play in 2017, when the new downtown stadium for the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons is scheduled for completion. The official announcement is expected next week from the league, and Arthur Blank, the owner of the Falcons is expected to be named the owner of the MLS franchise as well.

 

I have written previously in my article series on sports expansion and demographics that Atlanta made sense for the future of MLS because it is a Top 10 TV market, the metro area population size, and the need for franchises in the Southeast.

 

MLS currently has no presence in the Southeast, and with the population demographic shifts in the U.S., they realized this needed to be addressed in future expansion. Atlanta will be the 22nd team in the league which currently has 19 teams split between two conferences. New York City FC will be the 20th franchise and will begin play next year along with Orlando, the 21st franchise and the first in the Southeast.

 

Miami is rumored to be the next expansion target for MLS with David Beckham heading the ownership group there, the bid is hinging on the finalization of both a temporary stadium, and more importantly, a plan for a dedicated soccer specific stadium being approved.

 

The South Rises

 

In the event that the Miami group headed by David Beckham gains approval for an expansion franchise, MLS will have 3 teams in the Southeast, reflecting the importance of the region to the future of the league. It will also create regional rivalries between Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami which MLS also prefers to cultivate in order to grow the overall intensity within the league and the fan base.

 

These expansion plans will launch MLS into the local and regional markets of some very large demographic areas which also have high yield population growth potential in the future. Each market in the South (Atlanta, Orlando, and Miami) has a nice blend of multicultural diversity which lends itself well to soccer with its strong homogenous global popularity.

 

Atlanta hosted a big international soccer match last month which drew the largest paid attendance for a soccer game in the city’s history. Orlando draws very well with their current minor league level club, and those numbers are expected to grow with the jump to MLS and the larger capacity in the new stadium.

 

Miami has been much maligned in the sports media regarding the previous failure of an MLS franchise called the Miami Fusion. The Fusion played four seasons in MLS from 1997 to 2001, and then the franchise was contracted by the league. The franchise failed for many factors: it played in Fort Lauderdale not in Miami, the team lacked corporate support, and it played in an old stadium, Lockhart Stadium, which lacked access to public transportation.

 

The ownership of the Fusion also lacked the financial resources to operate the team further after the losses they suffered, which will not be present in the group that David Beckham is bringing to this new franchise. The Fusion did spend money to convert Lockhart Stadium into a soccer specific stadium, which is a trend that lasts today and has contributed greatly to the financial stability of MLS.

 

The new Miami franchise will not have any of the same issues that beset the Fusion. The team plans to play in downtown Miami in a location with excellent public transit access. The latest rumor is that Beckham wants to purchase land for a stadium in the Port of Miami, which has caused the cruise industry to raise objections with the city regarding traffic and parking issues.

 

The cruise industry objection is a legitimate one being that the busiest day for the cruise industry is Saturday, and the busiest day for the MLS during the soccer season is Saturday as well. I am not sure how that situation will be resolved, but the Beckham group does not require public financing for the new stadium. That is a big factor toward this stadium being located basically wherever they want it to be located.

 

One More To Go

 

MLS Commissioner Don Garber has openly discussed reaching 24 teams by the year 2020. That leaves one more expansion slot left after these other plans which have been made public in recent months. My prior article in the series on sports expansion and marketing demographics speculated on where that other franchise might be awarded, and I still think it is most likely going to be in Minneapolis or in Sacramento.

 

The league has a hole to fill in the franchise coverage of the Midwest which would be filled by Minneapolis, which is also an excellent TV market with an established soccer fan base. The stadium used would be the new NFL stadium for the Vikings, similar to how the MLS plans to operate in Atlanta with the new NFL stadium there being used to host the soccer team during the spring and summer NFL off season.

 

The case for the growth of MLS is clear, the interest in the league here in the U.S. has never been greater, and the future only looks to be even brighter when these new franchises spread the game even further through America.

(Background data courtesy of AP.com, SI.com, AJC.com, and MLSSoccer.com)

by Frank Maduri

Outsourcing Our Food Supply

The lockout of workers at the Kellogg’s cereal production facility in Memphis is just the latest episode of a large American company trying to cut costs to maximize profits. Kellogg is also under scrutiny for its production of cereal in Mexico and other countries, a move designed to slash production costs even further.

 

This profit driven behavior has earned them a hash tag on the social media site, Twitter, labeled “Kellogg Greed”.  This whole situation of outsourcing the production of food has become the standard practice rather than the exception. America is supposed to be the “bread basket” for the world, and huge U.S. owned conglomerates are shifting production of basic products, such as cereal, to other countries.

 

This shift in production has caused two main issues to come to the forefront of the national debate on our food supply:

  1. The potential food safety issues of a supply chain stretched across multiple countries and the cleanliness standards of production facilities outside the U.S.
  2. Renewed fervor toward products being “Made in the USA” and from wholesome and trusted ingredient supply lines.

 

Lightning Fast

 

While those two issues are very important, I have observed another negative scenario that has been the result of these production outsourcing decisions: negative publicity and the negative public perception of the company involved.

In today’s age of social media, and the lightning fast delivery of news content, the perception of a company, even one as iconic as Kellogg, can go sideways very quickly. I mentioned earlier that Kellogg has their own Twitter hashtag with a huge thread of “tweets”: communications by average Americans, many of whom are also their customer base, regarding how greed driven their behavior is with the situation in Memphis.

 

I do not understand why some companies, in this case Kellogg, would inflict so much damage on their public perception over a group of full time workers at one production plant. The labor dispute there, which has now attracted the involvement of the National Labor Relations Board, coupled with the news of the outsourcing of cereal production has made their company look badly.

 

The public perception of Kellogg is that they are pushing around these average American workers because they can do so, over a small amount of money relative to the profits they have raked in over the years. That negative perception could potentially hurt Kellogg’s overall product sales.

 

The only rationale myself and other Americans are left with in order to understand the actions of Kellogg in this situation is that it is greed for additional profits. That desire for profit outweighs any negative publicity, let alone the impact it will have on the workers and their families.

 

The Correct Way

 

A few years ago, when another iconic American brand, Budweiser, was sold when their parent company, A.B. merged with InBev, a foreign owned brewing company; the American public grew concerned that the new ownership was going to outsource the production of these traditionally American beers.

 

In fact, the opposite occurred, InBev kept the production facilities in the U.S. and allocated a huge advertising expenditure to tout that Budweiser was made in America. They ran television commercial advertisements touting the locations of the breweries and the freshness of the product. Many Americans were concerned that the quality of the products or the taste profiles will change, and they did not change at all.

 

InBev executed a very smart public relations campaign because they understood what Budweiser and some of the other A.B. branded products meant to Americans, and they were not going to lose any market share by moving the production of these products to Mexico or South America.

 

Riding the Wave

 

Mars Inc., the American confectionary giant, is riding the wave of positive public relations with the announcement of their opening of a new manufacturing facility outside of Topeka, Kansas. It is the first new plant built by Mars in North America in 35 years, but it will provide 200 new jobs and the company has donated $200,000 towards the development of downtown Topeka.

 

The plant will be able to manufacture 14 million Snickers bars each day, and the reaction of the public has been proof of the power of the “Made in the USA” movement. The company has received nothing but shining media coverage: for keeping jobs in the U.S., from not outsourcing the production of some of America’s favorite candy brands such as M&M’s and Snickers, and for pursuing “Gold” certification for environmental sustainability of their new facility.

 

 

Food Labeling

 

In my food industry experience, I know that food labeling is a very important part of the process in designing a particular product. The ingredients sourced and the process taken from a concept to a finished good is rather complicated.

 

The cost factor plays a role in the design of a food product, and that is where food labeling and the outsourcing of the U.S. food supply is going to be the next big challenge for government regulation. We have begun to see evidence of that with the food industry groups fighting the passage of regulatory policies towards the disclosure of the country of origin on a variety of products.

 

The U.S. government remained steadfast in upholding the disclosure of the country of origin of certain ground beef and meat products this week, despite the heavy opposition of certain food industry lobbying and interest groups.

 

The outsourcing of American jobs and products is not a new concept. However, Kellogg found out this week that it is a concept that Americans have grown weary of, and have the public forums to voice that displeasure. In the end Kellogg will find out that greed always backfires.

 

 

 

 

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Follow Up: Minimum Wage Increase & Jobs

In a follow up story to recent coverage on the topic of the minimum wage increase and its impact on employment, some positive news made headlines today. The Center for Economic and Policy Research issued a report that in 13 states where the minimum wage was increased, after two months of data, the number of jobs increased in those states.

 

These findings have caused the proponents of the minimum wage increase to basically say “I told you so”; and that it is evidence that the correlation between the slight increase in wages and a negative impact on jobs is a weak argument.

 

Conversely, the detractors have stated that this report is based on too short a sample window (two months) and that the increase in minimum wage will have a “ripple effect” on the rest of the economy and the overall jobs market.

 

In my home state, New Jersey, where this has been a very “hot button” issue, and where residents just approved a minimum wage hike which came into law in January, the employment numbers decreased slightly. This data could fuel the detractors of the minimum wage increase here in The Garden State.

 

However of the 13 states with the increased minimum wage, only New Jersey, Connecticut, and West Virginia had either decreased or flat job level changes. The sampling may be small, but the main message here is that the increase in the minimum wage is not the devastating blow to job creation that the detractors were making it out to be during the implementation of these changes in January.

 

Minimum Wage Workers

The report also provided some information on the minimum wage worker in the United States. The percentage of the work force making minimum wage is 3 percent, so this increase does not effect a huge group of the overall labor market.

 

However, the industry groups such as the National Restaurant Association, the large fast food chains, and other groups are still strongly against the increase in the minimum wage in states that have yet to make a change.

 

In my earlier writing on this subject, particularly on the fast food workers, I described the protests of the worker and their rallying cry “We can’t survive on $7.25” alluding to the current minimum wage in some states. I factored out that hourly wage to approximately $15,000.00 per year, and this report also notes that figure and ties it to the national poverty level figure of $22,282.00 for a family of four.

 

Many of these workers have dependents, and they also now have to pay into the exchanges for their own health care or family health care coverage. This is all very difficult to achieve on the current level of $7.25 or $7.40 per hour depending on what state you reside within.

 

Moving forward

 

This report is just the first of many that will be commissioned by the government, research groups, or other interested parties in this very controversial matter. The initial data shows that the increase in minimum wage levels had a more constructive overall impact on job creation than what was initially forecasted.

 

The overall issue moving forward I think is not to focus on the minimum wage effort, I think those workers deserve higher wages and I agree with the federal increase to the $10.00 per hour level. The bigger issue is the examination of much larger methods with regard to government regulation and corporate tax structures which could be revised to create a climate capable of fostering job growth across the rest of the labor market.

 

Increases in minimum wage jobs are great, but it is only representative of a very small amount of the work force. The American public, the government, and the business community should be much more concerned about job creation for the other 97% of the work force.

 

The Federal Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen, said this week, and I am paraphrasing, that the recovery of the U.S. economy still feels like a recession to the majority of Americans. That is where our focus should be and not on the increase of a few dollars per hour for a very small, but hard working segment of our work force.

 

 

(Statistics courtesy of The Center for Economic & Policy Research and CBS News. Additional financial market data and background information courtesy of The Wall Street Journal -www.wsj.com)

by Frank Maduri

Lake Mead: Crisis or Climate Change?

The conditions at Lake Mead seem to get worse each year. It is the largest reservoir in the United States and it supplies water to 20 million people living in 3 states in the Southwest.

 

The water level in the lake is dangerously low and is anticipated to drop another 20 feet this year, which would place the water level perilously close to drought stage levels. This change in water levels would require the implementation of water conservation protocols throughout the region.

 

Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States and the 16th largest man-made lake in the entire world. It is located 24 miles southeast of Las Vegas, and it is responsible for supplying 90% of the water supply for the internationally renowned tourist resort.

 

The reservoir is supplied water through the Hoover Dam and the adjoining Lake Powell via the Colorado River through snow melt in the Rocky Mountains and rainfall as well. The water level decrease is due to less snow fall in those mountain areas and shifts in rainfall patterns.

 

An Ongoing Problem

 

The water level decrease has been a consistent and ongoing problem over the past several years at Lake Mead. Since the year 2000, the reservoir has lost 4 trillion gallons of water. The Southern Nevada Water Authority which oversees the site, has significant concerns about the disruption in the water supply to Las Vegas and the surrounding areas served by Lake Mead.

Any disruption in the water supply would have a negative effect on tourism and for the residents of the resort city. The tourism dollars generated by Las Vegas and the other resort areas, fuel the economy for the entire state of Nevada, so the consequences here are steep.

 

The Southern Nevada Water Authority concedes that they have moved dangerously close to the drought stage water level before, but the weather pattern shifts have them very concerned at this juncture for the potential of a drought this summer.

 

Therefore, all of this data presents a central question: is this shift in water levels tied to climate change or is it a crisis? What steps can be taken to avert the potential for drought or water supply disruption? What role can technology or advancements in engineering play in this situation?

 

Las Vegas Misconception

 

The misconception about Las Vegas with regard to water use is that the city is excessive and wasteful when, in fact, the city recycles 93% of their water supply. The government also offers incentives for residents who remove their lawns to reduce the consumption of water.

 

These steps towards conservation leave very little more that the resort city can do to decrease their burden on the water supply system. In fact, the Las Vegas metropolitan area actually grew in population and decreased their overall use of water according to a report from CBS News.

 

In California, the government has placed restrictions on water use in several regions which are supplied by the reservoir in Lake Mead. So the effort toward water conservation is unified throughout the multi-state area supplied by this important reservoir.

 

Despite all of these efforts, the increasingly likely event of a drought persists to the south at Lake Mead, and the Colorado River which feeds the reservoir also shows signs of drying up. These are alarming events and the government is looking to take measures to avoid this situation.

 

Evasive Action

 

The way that the reservoir surrounding the Hoover Dam is constructed allows for the diversion of water from Lake Powell over to Lake Mead, so that is the first evasive action that will take place in order to avert a drought level event from occurring.

 

The water levels in Lake Mead coupled with the choked supply of resources from the Colorado River have left the water plummeting toward falling below the intake tunnels, which would be a disastrous situation.

 

In response to these shifts in water level, climate patterns, and “snow pack” in the Rockies, the government is drilling a new intake tunnel to feed Lake Mead which is further down below the surface than the other intake system.

 

According to a report by CBS News and information provided by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, they have a massive drill working on the new intake which will be completed in 2015 at a total cost of approximately $800 million.

 

Climate Change

 

What if this situation is driven solely by climate change? What if the levels of snow continue to vary and the rainfall patterns continue to shift? How will these factors impact the future of Lake Mead, and thereby the future of Las Vegas?

 

The National Park Service estimates that 96% of the water in Lake Mead is supplied by melting snow from the Upper Rockies region. What if the snow fall amounts in that region decrease over a sustained period of years? That would spell a catastrophe for the water supply in those areas of the American West.

 

The flow of the Colorado River has been slowing down over the course of several years. It is obvious that warmer temperatures will lead to more evaporation and a decrease in flow from the river. In the area of water management that decrease in water flow from the river is a big problem because the water is already over allocated.

 

Therefore, any decrease in water flow will have drastic consequences and result in some form of disruption to the water supply. Climate change in the form of rising air temperatures will result in higher ozone levels which will impact power plant emissions which would be limited by the government to comply with ozone level regulations.

 

Higher air temperatures and drought conditions would cause increased health problems such as asthma, stroke, heart attack, and other respiratory or cardiovascular issues throughout Nevada. That would put the elderly population there at high risk and also drive up the cost of health care.

 

Uncertainty

 

The future of Lake Mead and consequently, the water supply for people living in three states in the region, is uncertain. The experts admit they have no idea what impact this new intake will yield in 2015.

 

Many groups have suggested solutions to the water supply issues with the Colorado River and the reservoir at Lake Mead. It remains to be seen whether this situation will be isolated or if it is a crisis that will plague the region in the future.

 

Some people have called for the building of more dams, others have suggested the implementation of other systems to retain more water flow from the Rockies and contain the amount currently lost in runoff.

 

However, still other groups believe that the world is changing and that water conservation and other steps will only take the region so far; that life with water restrictions is going to be the rule rather than the exception. The future will be a lifestyle where the limitations on water will be an everyday part of living in that region.

 

I was struck by the amount of information that predicts a very bleak future for the water supply in Nevada and parts of Southern California. I have worked in the past with the Southern Nevada Water Authority, and they are very open minded about solutions and highly committed to providing the best quality water that they can in the conditions they are functioning within.

 

The future of this matter may be uncertain, but some aspects remain clear. A solution to this water level problem is needed before it reaches a crisis level. I hope that solution is found before it reaches that point. The future of Las Vegas depends upon it.   

 

(Statistics and background information courtesy of CBS News, Science World Report, Las Vegas Sun, National Park Service, Sierra Club, Southern Nevada Water Authority,  and NBC News)

by Frank Maduri

Opening Day Versus Muscular Dystrophy: White House Petitions and the Flaws in Society

The recent push by Budweiser and Major League Baseball to have Opening Day of the baseball season declared a national holiday or national day of observance hit a new milestone, as was widely reported in the media yesterday, the petition to The White House hit 100,000 signatures.

 

This number was reached well ahead of the 30 days required to attain the threshold for White House consideration. The background description for the petition references the notion that Opening Day is also the start of Spring and a time of renewal for the American people, and that creates further merit to that day being a day of observance for the nation.

 

Now, I enjoy watching Major League Baseball just as much, if not more, than the average American. I attend games, listen on the radio, and watch a great deal of out-of-market games as well. I find the pace of the game relaxing, and the battles between the pitcher and batter fascinating.

 

However, I do not feel that the Opening Day of the professional baseball season should be a national holiday, and I have made this opinion well known on social media, where MLB and Budweiser have promoted this effort heavily, especially on Facebook.

 

This is a blatant attempt by Budweiser to sell even more beer by having a captive audience of Americans for Opening Day games, many of which are played in the afternoon during regular working hours. The interest by MLB is clear, while the attendance level and ticket sales demand has always been robust across all the markets in the league on Opening Day; they will have a new audience of TV viewers if everyone is home from work that day. The ratings will drive up as well the advertising revenues for these first games.

 

An additional benefit for Budweiser will be heavier bar and restaurant traffic on Opening Day if it is a national holiday. That will mean increased profits for the beer making giant.

 

A Stalled Cure

 

In the meantime, this month also featured another petition to The White House that my sister alerted me to recently regarding the potential cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

 

This petition seeks help from The White House in gaining Accelerated Approval for a drug that has shown incredible progress in the reversal of symptoms for patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy who are suffering tremendously.

 

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy effects 1 in every 3,500 boys in the United States. The condition results in muscle degeneration and over the course of time, death. The average life expectancy is 25, and the disease rapidly deteriorates the muscle mass in the legs and pelvis and progresses up the spine and neck.

 

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been reluctant to mark this important drug with even limited approval despite promising data from successful clinical trials with the drug. The parents and relatives of those suffering with the disease are pushing this effort for Accelerated Approval forward.

 

However, through no fault of their effort, the promotion for this petition has been largely through grassroots e-mail distribution and has far less social media exposure than the promotion that Budweiser is committing toward the Opening Day holiday petition.

 

This petition is trying to solve a critical issue, what can mean literally life or death for people, and the cure is being delayed and stalled in the FDA. Their petition is struggling in the month of March to gain even a few thousand signatures while the Opening Day petition has 100,000 names on it.

 

A Flawed Society

 

This whole situation is a microcosm of our flawed society in America. The effort is there behind something rather trivial in having Opening Day as a national day of observance, while the effort to gain approval of a drug to deal with a horrible disease is not on anybody’s radar screen.

 

The effort behind getting the petition for the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug approval accelerated is called “The Race to Yes” and further information can be found on their site: http://www.theracetoyes.org where you can also access the link to the petition for this critically important effort.

 

I also wonder how the victims and families of those lost on 9/11 feel about the Opening Day situation. I expressed on social media their prior attempts for federal government support for 9/11 to be a national day of observance, a day where people would be off from work and would be requested to perform an act of service to the community on that day.

 

I think we all can take a very educated guess on how the victims and families of those lost on 9/11 feel about this situation. Could you imagine working on getting this type of recognition for 9/11 and the Opening Day petition gets to 100K signatures, being pretty upset would be an understatement, that is what is wrong with American society: the emphasis on things that are not important.

 

Counterpoint

 

In fair balance, MLB does an incredible amount of charitable work and community service, particularly in the markets where the league has franchises, which is essentially all of the major cities of the United States. I am sure that Budweiser, and their parent company, AB InBev, conduct a large amount of community service and charitable giving as well.

 

In addition, Major League Baseball was and still is a very generous supporter to 9/11 related charities for the families of the victims and for the police, firemen, and other first responders and their families. Those games of baseball played just after that tragedy helped myself and many others return to normalcy after such a horrible and traumatic event.

 

Budweiser is looking to enhance baseball which is an incredible profit generator for their company, and they are well within their rights to do so. It just does not mean that I have to agree with their pursuit of this Opening Day petition.

 

In fairness, the rationale behind the FDA not providing at least a limited approval of the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug could be indicative of a potential issue with the drug. Although I could not find any reports of adverse events, side effects, or discontinuations regarding the drug in my review of the clinical study data.

 

Regardless of the rationale, the fact remains that the FDA has not moved on a drug that could represent the best opportunity for these children to have a better quality of life with a horrible disease. An explanation from the FDA to the families of those afflicted regarding the reason for the delay would probably be a good idea for someone at the FDA to pursue at this point.

 

 

Outlook

 

In the end analysis, the petition process via The White House web site has plenty of worthwhile causes vying to receive some sort of assistance from the federal government to progress their respective cause.

 

I feel that these issues I mentioned and others deserve some merit and attention and that the Opening Day holiday petition is completely unnecessary. The American society has holidays in place where we can all sit around drink Budweiser and watch baseball already which are called Memorial Day and Labor Day. We have days off of work where we can watch baseball and have a beer too: it is called the weekend. Another holiday for baseball is not needed.

 

A cure for a disease effecting children is vitally needed, and others days of observance or service such as 9/11 would enhance our society. To borrow a phrase from baseball it is time for Americans to “keep their eye on the ball” and focus on the issues that really necessitate federal government support.

 

(Statistics and background info courtesy of NIH, www.muscular-dystrophy.org and www.theracetoyes.org  Opening Day info courtesy of UPI and Facebook)

 

 

 

by Frank Maduri

Fast Food Wage Wars

The news cycle recently has been littered with stories on the domestic front regarding the labor strife within the major fast food chains. The news today featured footage of workers protesting peacefully in front of a Burger King restaurant.

 

The central issue here is wages, and this labor turbulence follows a spirited, and at times, heated national debate over the raise in the minimum wage. The political spectrum and the general public are largely divided over the issue, and in my home state of New Jersey, the public referendum on the last ballot dealt with the minimum wage. The people in New Jersey overwhelmingly voted to raise the minimum wage, though in a state with a high standard of living, it still may not be enough to help some workers.

 

Some politicians believe that the raise in the minimum wage is going to slow or halt part time job growth. Some business leaders share this view as well, and have made the new minimum wage standards the scapegoat for a sputtering economy.

 

Fast Food Wage War

 

The wage issues in the fast food industry impact all the major industry players: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and KFC/Yum Brands. The workers in this case are looking primarily for the following:

 

  • Wage increase to $15.00 per hour
  • Ability to unionize

 

These two goals may seem reasonable to some people, but the reality here is that both objectives are problematic, and will probably be difficult to achieve.

 

In most states that voted for a minimum wage increase, the wage went from $7.25 or $7.40 per hour to around $10.00 per hour. These workers are seeking an additional $5.00 per hour increase. That is going to be met with resistance by the respective corporations they are employed by in the coming weeks.

 

The second issue is the ability to unionize, some people do not realize that the ability of Wal-Mart to be so competitive on pricing for the products they carry is because the corporation does not allow unionized labor of any kind.

 

This allows Wal-Mart to be very competitive in all products but particularly in the grocery segment because their competition: the national/ regional grocery store chains have unionized labor forces. The unionized work forces do not allow the grocery stores to stay open as late as Wal-Mart. In addition, the unions involved creates a wage threshold for these grocery store chains where they cannot compete on price with Wal-Mart and remain profitable.

 

In fairness to Wal-Mart, they maintain that while not allowing unionized workers, they pay a good wage and provide their employees with great opportunities to grow within the company.

 

The same profitability scenario with fast food is not a reliable comparison because the profit margins within fast food and the entire business model is completely different.

 

I am also unsure of the potential impact unionized workers could have on the fast food business or if it would impact the ability for the respective corporation to continue providing low cost products such as a “dollar menu” or “value menu” with the same margins for profitability. I have read that it is a price sensitive business, though I am not sure what that actually means in terms of dollar figures.

 

The restaurant and fast food industry groups are pushing back with great force regarding the idea of a raise to $15.00 per hour. Their rationale is again that the fast food industry is price sensitive and cost sensitive and that the $15.00 figure is too steep for them to meet at this point.

 

 

Wage Theft

 

There are currently three different states involved with cases in their respective judicial systems involving McDonald’s and allegations of wage theft by their employees.

 

The workers here claim that the fast food giant has deprived them of wages through a variety of ways. The company has not formally responded to the allegations.

 

The workers are using these lawsuits as further leverage for the increase in wages they seek as well as the ability to unionize.

 

The cost to McDonald’s is numerous unhappy employees which disrupts company morale on the restaurant level, and bad publicity which could hurt their sales.

 

Outlook

 

In my view, nobody should have to try to survive on $7.25 an hour or even $10.00 per hour. This issue is not going away without a resolution that is concrete to improve conditions for these workers in some way.

 

I also reject the notion by some politicians that the raise in the minimum wage has negatively impacted job growth. It is a very sad state of affairs in our world if multi-billion dollar corporations are going to haggle with people over a few dollars more per hour.

 

The situation here comes down to multi-billion dollar companies that want to keep more of their profits and not pay their workers on the ground level. It is greed driven activity, and it sends a very negative message by these corporations to the general public, which for a fast food company is also their target customer base.

 

I have read accounts of protesting workers today throughout this country who were told by their manager that they would no longer be on the schedule to work if they participated in the protests.

 

In fair balance, reports have stated that McDonald’s is looking into some of the wage theft claims more closely and is going to take action on franchise owners who may have violated certain policies.

 

In the end, these people work very hard on the restaurant level to provide customer service or cook our fast food. Many of these workers have families or dependents. All of them deserve to be paid a fair wage for the work that they do each day.

 

 

(background information and statistics courtesy of USA Today, The Washington Post, CNN.com, and CBS News.com)