Mind Over Money

Cellular South recently changed its name to C Spire. I’m sure they paid a marketing firm a lot of money for that name. And I’m sure the marketing firm paid a lot of focus group people to sit around and rate various names. But, for the life of me, I can’t understand how they landed [...]

Ninety percent of Americans say the U.S. economy stinks. A CNN online poll shows that 72 percent think we’re heading into another recession. No surprises here. We’re all walking around with a cloud hanging over us. Doom and gloom is all I hear these days. Then, I attend a conference in Orlando, Fla. You know, [...]

One Sunday morning, I opened my paper to find that my bank was instituting monthly debit card fees. What!?! Don’t they make enough off us? A new law caps the charges on debit fees. This is in recognition of the change in our system of exchange. I rarely have cash in my pocket anymore. Who [...]

I grew up in the 60s and 70s in South Mississippi. Our house was in one of the new subdivisions of modest homes. Of course, it was segregated. I remember going to Dr. Benefield’s clinic and waiting in the whites only portion. I noticed another room beyond the partition, but I was clueless about the [...]

I’m getting ready to climb out on a limb. For the past few years, I’ve kept my mouth shut and listened to piles of manure being spouted by both sides. I’m not a small government or a big government person. I’m a reasonable government person. In fact, I’m just a reasonable person — practical to [...]

Hgh treason? Them’s fighting words! I must come to the defense of the Fed. The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 in response to the booms and busts in our economy. Booms were great, but the busts were causing too much pain. We were looking for a way to smooth out our business cycle, and [...]

Education is a business. And this business gets more competitive each year. Public colleges in the State of Mississippi are governed by boards. Each institution is limited to a certain geographical section of the state. The idea was to provide educational services to citizens in a particular locale. While private colleges don’t operate under these [...]

The moon is made of green cheese. The moon is made of green cheese. The moon is made of green cheese. I’m testing a theory that saying something enough times makes it so. It seems to be the way marketing (and politics) works. I’m so tired of hearing about “job creators.” Supposedly, these are the [...]

A couple weeks ago, I spent a day cemetery hunting in South Mississippi with my dad. With the help of long lost relatives, we found The Granny Bounds Cemetery in the Desoto National Forest. There we found new markers for members of our family tree. It was stunning to see a marker for Running Deer, [...]

Election years are great for the ad business. Politicians spend huge sums on ad creation and placement. It’s a boon for local media outlets. But I hate it! Just seeing the mismatched, crooked collection of political signs on every corner makes me cringe. I can’t enjoy a quiet evening watching television without listening to some [...]