EconAir

Ukraine President Russia’s illegal invasion and annexation of the Crimea will set off a chain of events that could strengthen U.S. power and influence, especially in Eastern Europe.   Putin is gambling that President Obama and conservative Republican leaders lack the will to energetically react to Russian expansion.   First U.S. reactions have been weak.   Unless there is a change, Putin might be encouraged to annex other Russian-dominated areas outside current Russian borders. Ukraine has tried to balance Western and Russian pressure.   The popular revolt against the pro-Russian Ukrainian Prime Minister upset the balance and precipitated the crisis. Putin may have decided to upset the unstable status quo in Eastern Europe, starting with Ukraine and Moldova.  Russia's next step could be to annex the eastern third of Ukraine.   This area includes the Donetz Basin, which contains a Russian majority and industrial resources.   If successfu...

  Strategic and Tactical Planning For thirteen years, I was a corporate economist and a corporate planner manager for three Fortune 500 companies.   I discovered that I could do my job as a corporate economist while ignoring all but the simplest of economic concepts.   As a corporate planner, I learned that the planning processes of large corporations were, at best, mostly a waste of time and resources, and at worst, contributed to the relative demise of the companies.   Of the three companies I worked for, one has been sold three times, one has gone through a bankruptcy, and the other merged with (actually sold to) A Brazilian company.   This is becoming typical; the failure rate of large corporations is accelerating. Other disciplines in business are no better.   Marketing is still based on ideas, usually summarized by the four P’s, that are a formula for stagnation at best and decline at worst.   Mass-media advertising, born at the beginn...