I met with my accountant last week. He works with different parts of the creative field, art galleries, photographers and fashion people, and his feeling is that things have improved slightly, but it’s really still tough for everyone. This is the same message I got in Paris and South Africa and also from friends in Califiornia. It’s sad that we keep getting hit with the blows – whether it’s the oil spill in the Gulf or the problems with banks…it just seems that one is in this hole and at the moment you think we’re on our way out of it, there’s another hit and you just slide back down.
Even mother nature keeps throwing us curves like the floods that just took place in the US. One has to believe that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and that maybe someone just lowered the dimmer? It’s hard to say. (I wonder who would want to be president of the US right now. It takes someone with great hope or guts.) And it’s not that I’m down in the dumps, it’s just that as a business owner you always have to keep your finger on the pulse and know what the temperature is out there so one can be realistic about how you run the business. When your head’s in the ground like an ostrich, a truck can run you over. You have to be awake so you can keep going until the good times are back!
What do you think? Am I just a pessimist or do you feel the same?
#1 by Dawn on June 21, 2010 - 2:24 pm
I believe that as long as D.C. continues to spend at an unsustainable rate, continues to take over private enterprise, continues to impose new rules and regulations on the private sector stifling the free market and competition, continues to punish success in general….well, yes, it’s hard to imagine the good times roaring back any time soon.
Friday we rec’d a letter from the IRS informing us we will be receiving a $500 refund because we inadvertently didn’t take advantage of some aspect of the stimulus program when filing our return. This for a six figure income…ridiculous! Will we be returning it since we don’t agree with it? No. Rather, we’ll put it away In anticipation of sky-rocketing tax increases beginning next year due to, among other things, a health care plan which will decrease quality of care and choice and increase costs. But, hey, I guess it will sway some voters come election time.
#2 by scone on June 21, 2010 - 2:34 pm
I’m not a pessimist, but the truth must be faced: the boom was not a natural phenomenon. It was fueled by cheap money and an unhealthy level of debt. It’s painful, but the de-leveraging has to continue before we can get sustainable growth. This isn’t just a recession, it’s an historic, structural reset of the entire global economic system. It’s likely to go on for years.
#3 by Dennis on June 21, 2010 - 2:42 pm
You’re right, Vicente. Most financial indicators tell us we’re climbing out of the worst of it, although it’s sadly still a jobless recovery. The good news is that many larger corporations along with people of means are beginning to loosen their purse strings, which will be good for design professionals everywhere. But more importantly, there are lessons to be learned from all this. If we only define ourselves by our money or success, then who are we when those things are threatened? Something very positive happens when people re-think how their businesses are run; find new and creative ways to express themselves; and choose to make more decisions based on achieving inner happiness and fewer decisions based on buying that Maserati.
One man’s opinion.
#4 by Karena on June 21, 2010 - 2:51 pm
Vicente, you are not a pessimist, however for myself i feel like that little wind up girl on the depression commercial.
Every day I put one foot in front of the other and expect the best!
Individually we can all make a difference. Especially those of us who are making the world a more beautiful place!
Karena
Art by Karena
#5 by The Countrypolitan on June 21, 2010 - 4:21 pm
Dawn took the words right out of my mouth! We should all be concerned with the direction we are being dragged into. When you have an administration that abhors capitalism, how can you expect growth and a rebound? As far as the U.S, our American spirit and drive will eventually bring us back… but we will have a lot of damage to repair.
#6 by Natalie on June 21, 2010 - 5:34 pm
You have struck a chord, for certain! I appreciate your well-rounded perspective and concern for your own business and global economics. As a teacher whose worked for seven years, I barely made the cut to elude unemployment since so many positions have been eradicated due to budget issues. Of course, I believe everything begins with education. Whether, as you did, we question others involved in our industry and ask for sound advice, read, read, read international papers as well as those published here, or continue to maintain a positive attitude, I agree with countrypolitan. We have to hope we will get out of the jam…but as Americans, we have to take a stand against all of the ingrained desire for money at all costs. We have to understand that little businesses are as important, or moreso, to the American spirit. Let’s just hope handicraft is more valued than the Walmart bins. Eek! (although, I guess sometimes people need a little Walmart….?!?)
#7 by Sarah on June 21, 2010 - 6:41 pm
Really enjoy your blog, and love that you touch on subjects other than design.
#8 by Gary Nelling on June 21, 2010 - 6:53 pm
Vicente – I think we are living in an epochal era of worldwide economic change because the world is so interconnected. When someone sneezes in China, we all get a cold. And when they float the yuan, all boats rise. The good news is that amazing political freedoms and economic expansion have come to emerging market nations in recent decades. Who would have thought that Brazil, India, China and other developing countries would have vibrant economies with growing middle classes? Their successes will continue to profit our western businesses.
But the bad news is that the developed nations of the west and Japan have enormous government commitments and debt burdens that will put a damper on growth in our countries as higher taxes and reduced social services discourage consumer spending, which reduces corporate and banking income and hiring. US businesses large and small have done an incredible job of repairing their balance sheets, albeit at the cost of high unemployment for some time to come. It will be a daunting challenge for this President or any future one to chart an agreeable course between the old commitments, new environmental concerns and “The New Normal” with higher personal savings rates and less spending.
The New Normal is already having a trickle-up effect. An article in Newsweek called “The End of Starchitecture” declares: “The trophy building is so over. In: Clean and green. Out: Those pointless pointy tops.” I think for businesses and individuals, some austerity measures are in order going forward. This may seem depressing at first, but let’s remember that the careers of several of your group of groundbreaking NYC modernist interior designers got lift-off in the recession of 1973-74. Hard times may be a mother, but they may again be the mother of invention. And to Dawn, Dennis, Countrypolitan, et al, I would say that politics are a tricky subject for me. As a fiscal conservative and social liberal, I feel like a bastard at a family reunion. I know I belong here, but I don’t know where to sit. – Gary
#9 by scone on June 21, 2010 - 7:58 pm
It took many years of easy money and over consumption to get us into this mess. It will take many years to get out. Decades of debt has to be paid down or written off before we will get sustainable growth, regardless who is in power.
#10 by melissa on June 21, 2010 - 11:15 pm
IT’S SO HOT HERE IN THE WEST!!! IS IT HOT ELSE WHERE??/
I HOPE ALL OF YOU ARE FINDING SOME SOLICE IN SIMPLICITY…
SOME TIMES ONE HAS TO SCALE DOWN AND LET GO OF A LIFE STYLE…
I HAD TOO AND NEVER THAT I COULD!!
SO, PERHAPS THAT IS THE ANSWER… ONE HOUSE.. NOT TWO… ONE CREDIT CARD… EAT IN…LEARN TO COOK… GROW YOUR OWN VEGES…
STAY IN MORE GO TO BED EARLY AND LEARN TO LIVE WITH LESS…
AND YES, I LOWERED MY PRICES TOO….
AND AM VERY HAPPY THAT NOW MORE CLIENTS COME THEN WHEN THEY WERE HIGHER….
I AM NOT A DESIGNER BUT WHEN TIMES GET WORSE I THRIVE MORE IN MY PROFESSION…(HEALING WORK)
START DOWN SIZING NOW BEFORE YOU HAVE TOO…
XXOO
MELISSA
#11 by Debi Burton on June 26, 2010 - 1:20 am
Gary’s comments (above) landed home for me. This is a complex (and many years in development) mess. To blame one administration or nation is not fair or politically astute. To have a leader who understands ALL of these issues and can swim in dark waters is something worth examining. Obama’s ratings are down . . . he took on other people’s mistakes, and he/we can’t change them overnight (especially with Congress constantly belittling to obtain position with voters who don’t read). In the meantime, we must expect as much out of ourselves as we do our leaders. We participated in the glut that led to this mess. Over quoted but still applicable: “Remain Calm & Carry On!” We all suffer . . . and RISE . . . together!! Be kind.
#12 by Gary Nelling on June 28, 2010 - 7:38 am
Debi – I think you made an important point here. The American consumer and voter bear some responsibility in the current economic malaise. A similar point about unenlightened public self-interest made by the French social scientist and author Alexis de Tocqueville in the mid-19th century sums it up nicely: “The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public’s money.”
I also like to quote philosopher WC Fields who said: “ You can’t cheat an honest man.” – Gary
#13 by Christine Schwalm Design on June 28, 2010 - 8:55 pm
Honestly, this is why I like to watch CBS Sunday Morning. I think of it as the “nice news”. We need something to balance out all the bad news flowing like unchecked oil!
I do think there needs to be some sort of reform because the fact is, not everyone should own a home. And no, you’re not entitled to that expensive car. Credit is a huge responsibility that, when given to the uninformed, creates havoc. I think overall, our society (school, parents, government, etc) needs to do a better job of teaching fiscal responsibility.
#14 by Leonard on September 15, 2010 - 3:51 am
Vincent, you speak from a business prespective, not one that I know or have experienced, but nevertheless can attempt to understand and put in the proper perspective. My “good times” are much more one off and personal, dumbed down, if you will! I hope that the best is yet to come..