Category Archives: Business and economics

Today’s trade wars and future taxpayers

By Steve Brawner, © 2018 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

What will be the results of President Trump’s so-called “trade wars”? Maybe they will lead to better deals for Americans, or maybe they will slow the economy, and definitely they will cost future taxpayers $12 billion.

On Tuesday, the Department of Agriculture announced it would borrow that amount from the U.S. Treasury to subsidize producers of various agricultural products, including soybeans. It also will purchase surpluses of other products and distribute them to food banks and other programs.

The move is necessary because tariffs instituted by the Trump administration have been met by tariffs from other countries. The most important was China, which retaliated against Trump’s tariffs on $34 billion worth of Chinese imports with tariffs on $34 billion on American goods.

Continue reading →

NCAA athletes: How to pay, not whether

The current college basketball scandal may have been caused by the fact that we’re asking the wrong question. Instead of asking “whether” athletes should be compensated, it should be, “how best to.”

On Friday, Yahoo! Sports reported that the FBI is investigating more than 20 programs for rules infractions by sports agent ASM Sports. These range from five-figure gifts for players to, in many cases, just a meal. Caught up in the scandal are some of the country’s top programs, including (shocker!) the University of Kentucky.

Then over last weekend, the news broke that the FBI had wiretapped University of Arizona coach Sean Miller’s phone conversations where he allegedly discussed paying a top freshman $100,000 to sign with the school. Miller strongly maintains his innocence.

The stories are casting a pall over college basketball at a time when the talk is usually about who will make the NCAA Tournament and partake in March Madness. Continue reading →

Little Rock’s base hit

By Steve Brawner

Let’s start with two assumptions. One is that we live in an attention-based economy where having a message isn’t enough if no one notices it. The other is that what’s good for Little Rock is generally good for Arkansas.

Which brings us to the capital city’s “rejection” of Amazon.

You may be familiar with the story. The Seattle-based tech giant announced it is opening a second headquarters and invited communities to apply. (Which of course would include offering generous tax breaks and government subsidies). The company promised to hire 50,000 workers, many of them highly paid, and invest $5 billion. The winner will be transformed, as Seattle has been, which is why 238 cities have submitted applications.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola, facing a tough re-election campaign against two credible opponents so far, initially said his city would apply. But Little Rock didn’t meet some of Amazon’s specifications, and it was obvious the city couldn’t compete against places like Boston and Austin, Texas, that are bigger and cooler. Continue reading →

Arkansas Week – Sept. 29, 2017

This week’s Arkansas Week on AETN: Wes Brown with Talk Business & Politics, Jacob Kaufman with KUAR, and Steve Brawner  join host Steve Barnes to discuss health care, Arkansas’ low unemployment rate, the Alabama Senate race, and the Little Rock mayoral race.

 

If you’re going to be offended by the NFL, these are better reasons

NFLBy Steve Brawner

It’s not surprising that people are offended seeing NFL players kneeling during the national anthem. After all, if it weren’t offensive, the players wouldn’t make a statement by doing it.

But many other things are happening in that stadium that are more offensive.

Let’s start with the fact that as paying customers and TV viewers, we’re watching, and encouraging, young men as they suffer permanent brain injuries.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, is a degenerative disorder that has been found in the brains of numerous deceased players. The latest was Aaron Hernandez, 27, who killed himself in his jail cell while serving a life sentence for murder. The disease robs its victims of years of their lives, while wives and other family members bear a terrible burden caring for them.

The link between the game and the disease cannot be denied. But the NFL, in the finest tradition of the tobacco industry, did exactly that until 2016 after settling a lawsuit with former players.  Continue reading →