The Sharblog

Something Better to Do

I saw on the news the other day that Senator John McCain (R-AZ) won his primary race for the U.S. Senate. I smiled as it brought back a memory I have of McCain from around 15 years ago. That was when McCain was still a maverick. I can’t believe he really said in his recent campaign that he was not a maverick; this after basically wearing the term as a badge of honor for most of his career. Politics makes people do some crazy things, and I guess McCain is not immune.

Now don’t get me wrong. I still admire John McCain. In fact, I count among some of the greatest honors I have had in my life the opportunity to meet and shake the hand of Senator McCain, as well as the former Senator John Glenn (D-OH). Both are former fighter pilots (Navy and Marines), one a POW for over six years, one an astronaut and the first American to circle the Earth. When you stood in the presence of these two men, you immediately knew you were observing a totally different breed of cat. They just exuded an aura of confidence. I guess after you sit on the top of a rocket or endure a Vietnamese prison cell for years, there isn’t anything else in life that is going to scare you.

But back to my McCain memory. It relates to a speech he gave at an AICPA program in D.C. around 15 years ago. This was a “Grassroots” conference AICPA coordinated where CPAs from all over the country came to D.C. to learn about political involvement and visit members of Congress. McCain was one of the keynote speakers at the program.

He started his talk by thanking all of the folks in the audience for being there and for coming to Washington, D.C. to meet with their elected officials. He observed that he knew all the attendees had “something better to do” than being there. That they each had busy lives and that they all had a job or career, a family, a community, or other interests to which they could be devoting their time. They all had “something better to do.” 

But then he went on to note that if people like them – the folks with “something better to do” – did not get involved and participate in the political process, then what would be left were the people with “nothing better to do.” And that was not a good alternative, for our country or for them.

I am fond of the saying that “the world is run by those who show up.” If we are not willing to get involved in – politics, our professional organizations, our schools, our religious organizations, etc. – then we really are ceding our right to complain about what happens in any of those spheres. They will be run by those who do show up. That is how it works. We are lucky that we have a lot of talented CPAs who show up all the time for TSCPA, even though they have something better to do.

Executive Board Podcast

Listen to the latest Executive Board Podcast that Jeff Gregg and I recently recorded: Executive Board #5

Protecting the Public?

I was recently in Oregon for a meeting and had the need to rent a car and in turn, had the need to buy gasoline. That’s when I was reminded that in Oregon, you cannot pump your own gasoline. It is against the law. Oregon and New Jersey are the only two states in the country that have decided it is too dangerous for the public to pump their own gas. At least that is their theory. The fact that in 48 other states and the District of Columbia the public being able to handle pumping gas has not held any sway over legislators in these two states. Periodically, bills are introduced in the Oregon and New Jersey legislatures to lift the self-pump ban, but to no avail - they like being different.

That’s just part of our system of government in the United States. States are “test tubes” for trying out legislative ideas. Supposedly, this provides us with an opportunity to try different ways to legislate and regulate, and the superior ideas will be emulated in other states and the bad ideas will be discarded. But it appears there is less discarding of the dumb ideas than adding new ones. Once a state adopts something, there seems to be a tendency to maintain it, regardless of what the facts or experience of other states may show. Again, it’s part of that state pride phenomenon. “We like being different – in fact, we are proud of it.”

And the list of dumb things that might be adopted by a legislative body, all usually in the name of protecting the public, seems endless. You need examples? Here are a few from some various states, courtesy of www.dumblaws.com:

· Alaska - While it is legal to shoot bears, waking a sleeping bear for the purpose of taking a photograph is prohibited.

· California - No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.

· Florida - If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.

· Louisiana - It is illegal to gargle in public places.

· New York - A person may not walk around on Sundays with an ice cream cone in his/her pocket.

· Oklahoma - It is illegal to have the hind legs of farm animals in your boots.

I will refrain from sharing any dumb laws in Texas and allow you to research those on your own. Suffice it to say, we are not immune from this phenomenon in the Lone Star state.

In the current environment, a lot of folks are upset about government, especially in Washington. They think it is wasteful and not in touch with its citizens. Goofy laws like those above don’t help inspire confidence that our legislators know what they are doing. I am glad I am back in Texas where I can fill my own tank. I promise to be careful!

Pay What You Can?

I recently read about a new concept being tried in the marketplace where a business asks its customers to pay what they can afford, rather than a set price. In this case, the business is Panera Bread, a publicly traded company with around 1400 company owned and franchise operated bakery-cafes in 40 states around the United States, which is operating its first nonprofit restaurant called St. Louis Bread Co. in Clayton, MO. They hope to open two more nonprofit locations in the next few months.

In this business model, the restaurant’s cashiers tell customers a “suggested” price based on the menu. According to Panera’s CEO, about 60-70 percent of customers pay in full, about 15 percent leave a little more and another 15 percent pay less or nothing at all. A handful of customers have been leaving big donations – like $20 for a cup of coffee. Some customers who otherwise might have to forgo eating a meal have been able to get one without paying.

Panera’s nonprofit model is an example of a concept called “community kitchens” where businesses operate partly as charities. Customers who need a discount, or even free food, can get it with no questions asked. Panera borrowed the idea from some other smaller, local restaurants that were operating on these lines.

Panera’s CEO had doubts at the outset whether the concept would work. Signs in the restaurant remind customers that they are on their “honor” to pay appropriately to their capabilities. After a few months of operation, the results support that people are basically honest and good, and the vast majority are not abusing the system.

Panera hopes the nonprofit chain will challenge other businesses to push their charitable/philanthropic activity beyond just writing checks. They would like to see them use their core competencies as businesses to help solve problems in our larger society – not just for the publicity, but to make a real difference.

Is this a concept that is likely to catch on and grow in the larger marketplace? Only time will tell. But I like the idea of the business community finding ways to help solve societal problems rather than always expecting the government to play the lead role and come up with the money to support them – through taxes. This is especially true today in a time period of rising government deficits and limited government resources to apply to programs. If we want less government, then the private sector has to step up and help solve some of these problems. I think the private sector is more likely to be innovative in the development of solutions and more willing to make modifications and changes to programs when the need arises. So my hat is off to Panera for giving this a try.