Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

This Week: 4 C’s That Could Change The Financial World As We Know It. Again!

By -

Those 4 C’s are: Confirmation, Crisis, Contagion, Catastrophe.

What type of confirmation could send the financial markets into such turmoil it could rock the very bastions of finance as we now know it?

First: Scotland votes yes to leave the U.K. If this turns out to be so, it could send shock-waves throughout the markets that run the world. i.e., Forex or World currencies.

No one with any financial acumen can look seriously at the markets as they stand at the time of this writing, and seriously argue the markets are prepared for such a resolution happening this Thursday. (more…)

Seeing Beyond The Curves

By -

Back in May 2009 over 5 years ago I penned an article which at the time was met with cat calls and more.

As I’m currently working on my upcoming book and other projects I thought it would be fitting to re-post the article to demonstrate just how far ahead of the curve we can be at times. Remember, in 2009 the buzz word of the day was: Solvency.

No one (and I do mean no one) was considering or giving any credence to what is now the buzz word of today: Inversion. i.e., Moving the corporate headquarters to another country to avoid paying higher U.S. taxes. Now, it’s all you hear. Dunkin’ Donuts™ Tim Horton’s™ being the latest example.
(more…)

What Happens When It’s Easier To Pay No Wages Rather Than A Minimum

By -

As of today there is no hotter subject following on the heels of Obama-Care than the current fight brewing in the minimum wage debate.

Regardless of which side of the aisle (or counter) you’re on, the argument as to demand a government regulated hike of upwards of 50% or more in some places puts a question squarely on the businesses owners that must and will be answered: channeling the Clash, Should I stay – Or Should I go?

There are some arguments within this debate that have some valid points. i.e., We do the same for child labor. You can’t hire a 10-year-old at .10 cents an hour to clean out the grease traps at your restaurant, or sweep the floors and so forth where a competitor might try to use an 8-year-old at a nickel. It allowed for all businesses to be on a level playing field at the lowest of rungs. i.e., The entry-level.

Today the entry-level position has morphed into something far different when you talk to anyone who’s never owned or run a business. It’s no longer thought of as “entry-level.” It’s now looked upon in the ways one would look to some form of “career choice.” (more…)

From My Perspective: 9/11 Life and Death

By -

In remembrance of Peter Hashem, Flight 11, Seat 20A
Struck the North Tower at 8:46:40 am EST.

I am once again bewildered on this day of remembrance as I listen to so many people across the media, as well as people I come in contact with, who once again, are talking in tone and tenor that this new adversary that means us great harm is some how not as great of a threat because “they are over there and don’t have the means to get over here.” I must ask: Is this all we’ve learned? i.e., Nothing.

I would like to remind whomever might take the time to read this of a few thoughts and facts.
First: The group that successfully launched and executed the horrific on U.S. soil that we are remembering today were not an army over there. Most were here on visas in one form or another. In other words: legally. (more…)

Sirius™ Mixed Messaging

By -

Advertising and all it entails is a study in alchemy worth far more if unlocked than turning lead into gold if it can be repeated and applied successfully over and over again. You can only turn so much lead into gold until the gold would actually begin losing its value. (if it’s no longer rare its worth about as much as lead is it not?) However, if one could turn every advertising campaign into a world phenom pushing sales into the stratosphere no matter what the product or service, one might say that’s a process worth far more than the Sorcerer’s stone. Yet, what can turn a potentially golden opportunity into a lead balloon is advertising that not only misses the mark, it has the ability to sink a campaign faster than a stone thrown into the water. Hence, I give you today’s example – XM Sirius Radio™. (more…)