Managing Generation Y in the Workplace

Is everything about to change for Generation Y?

How will they deal with a recession, the uncertainty of an economic downturn and the big changes in the employment market?

Why may Generation Y be affected by recession more that other generations? The answer is that Generation Y traits aren't entirely in tune with the inevitable aspects of recession and economic insecurity.

The Y generation has always felt secure. Ys only knew economic prosperity. Many Generation Ys have only experienced full employment and economic growth.

They saw parents in stressful jobs, working long hours. For some of those parents, their hard work didn't bring prosperity and happiness. Ys wanted different and better lives. If they were dissatisfied with their job, they resigned. "If I don't get that job, I will get another".

Baby Boomers and Generation X have little in common with Generation Y. Unlike Xs and Boomers, they haven't seen unemployment as much of a possibility - until recently.

Economic prosperity has fueled the values of Generation Y. Previous generations - the Boomers and Generation X have experienced or at least knew about not having money in their pockets and they took money much more seriously.

There's been no significant downturn in the economy over the past decade. That economic stability has been the basis for the development of the characteristics of Generation Y. Now Generation Y's security has been seriously shaken. Life has changed for everyone, people are being laid off in many parts of the world, a world recession is a real possibility and in addition, there's a world food shortage.

The current economic trend is set to continue for a while yet.

Generation Y hasn't faced that threat. Y graduates in the United States and Britain were complacent about job opportunities. For the first time in years, the threat is returning. It will have come as a shock for many self-assured members of Generation Y depending where they live.

Generation Y differs from country to country because generational attitudes are in part caused by age but also by circumstances. In China, Generation Y is made up of only-children - the result of the one-child per family policy. They grew up through difficult economic times and now are thriving in the massive growth of China.

India has seen huge development in IT based industries and has deliberately developed specialized expertise. Generation Y in China and India have very different values to their US and UK counterparts. There are many high-achieving Asian women studying math and science compared with western students.

There are highly talented individuals from China and India heading to the workplace - individuals, who are ambitious, focused on work and focused on academic success.

Generation Y in the west is facing huge new challenges. Some will be reeling, the sand shifting under their feet. Some of their basic operating principles are wobbling but they are an exceedingly talented generation and they have an opportunity to be very successful if they are able to make a few fundamental adjustments. Managing Generation Y through the recession will require understanding. Some Ys may wish they had been more loyal to previous employers.

The fundamental adjustments are 1) no longer wanting and no longer only responding to instant gratification 2) changing from being a diva at work and expecting everything to fall into their laps and 3) put work-life balance on hold for a while.

However, they deal well with change and they're dynamic.

They are:

- tech-savvy
- ambitious

They:

- think outside the box.
- believe that if you use your imagination, you can do anything.
- have changed jobs more often so they have wide experience

Many are exceptionally skilled at problem-solving because they are connected 24/7 by cell phones, PDA's and laptops.

If you're the manager of Y's, look after them, watch out for a wobble and support them through it. Theirs are the talents you have to work with and they will dominate the workplace for the next 10 years.

Their foundations may be unsteady for a while until they adjust their basic thinking but the upper structure is sound. Re-enforce the foundations and rub off the rough edges and you've got a great employee with great talents to carry companies forward.

The new economic situation may mean they have to think twice before looking for a new employer. Many won't be able to do that if they don't like the current job - they no longer have the economic freedom.

Generation Y has challenges but can meet them. Meeting those challenges may moderate the image they portray which was of opinionated, demanding and overconfident divas and produce a more well-rounded and less arrogant workforce.

The Triple Bottom Line and Talent Management

Leading authors are writing about it; conferences are featuring it; and many are calling on corporations to report on it. The triple bottom line-people, profits and planet-has unofficially become a leading indicator. Rather than being measured solely on profitability, companies, and their customers, are increasingly adopting "the three pillars" to define business success.

The term "triple bottom line" was first used in 1989 by sustainability consultant John Elkington to define business success, and has since become a common term, although not well understood. It measures performance in three ways: by social, economic and environmental factors. This means successful organizations must demonstrate good working conditions for employees, commercial success and environmental responsibility. Increasingly, companies that pay attention to the triple bottom line see a sustainable competitive advantage-and it begins with talent management.

Leading to greater profitability

As Pete r Drucker aptly put it, "Management is about doing things right - but leadership is about doing the right things." The triple bottom line is about doing the right things, beginning with how you treat your employees. Treating employees right means several things in triple-bottom-line parlance, including:

•Paying a fair "living wage," a minimum hourly wage that would afford a reasonable standard of living
•Providing healthcare, profit sharing, ongoing training and openly addressing employee needs as they arise, such as eldercare and childcare
•Awarding bonuses only after triple-bottom-line goals are met in all areas
•Linking manager's pay with sustainability and staff well-being as well as performance (as more companies are beginning to do)
•Creating a healthy work environment
•Giving back to the community at large

Increasingly, employees (and customers) want to be involved in something that makes a difference; and that means leaders must engage employees in something larger than company profits.

In a 2007 Center for Creative Leadership survey, researchers found that 73 percent of leaders surveyed reported that the triple bottom line is important to organizational success, and 87 percent agreed that it will be increasingly important in the future. Corporate leaders with a triple- bottom-line vision believe that three competencies are important in engaging their organizations in sustainable thinking: a long-term view, communication, and influence. Using these competencies to increase employee engagement, these leaders feel their organizations can benefit from increased revenue and market share, employee retention and community support.

You can't ignore the benefits

All of the benefits of effective talent management apply to an organization's triple-bottom-line commitment, probably times three. They include:

•It's easier to attract the best talent-It's generally acknowledged that the most important corporate resource now and in the future is talented employees; and many of the best candidates pay attention to corporate social and environmental responsibility as an important company attribute.
•It's easier to retain top talent-Today's environment is competitive, and keeping your most talented employees is a challenge; talented employees tend to stay with organizations longer when they have meaningful work. Retention is pure profit to the bottom line.
•Engagement increases productivity-There is a strong connection between meaningful work and productivity; employees engaged in the triple bottom line give back enthusiastically to their work at the company and in the community. As a bonus, the company image is enhanced.

In addition to the advantages associated with talent management, by adhering to the triple bottom line, your organization can: increase market share, lower expenses, decrease risk, enhance investor appeal, increase efficiency, improve product quality, and strengthen your competitive position.

It doesn't take much to see that if you want to succeed, adopting the triple bottom line is a given.

Skip the greenwashing

As with any corporate initiative, authenticity is critical. In the world of the triple bottom line, greenwashing, or publicizing sustainable practices when they're not really true, can be deadly in terms of employee morale and reputation in the market. Your organization will thrive with a strong commitment to the triple bottom line. And your employees will happily take on the mission.

US Growth Downgrade Weighs on World Markets

During the worst recession in the past seventy years many have witnessed lay-offs, unemployment rates topping out, stocks dropping to scary numbers, homes being foreclosed on, home sales rising, businesses foreclosed on and one of the most intimidating recessions since the Great Depression.

Now that it is ending, many are wondering if it will stay away or if we are all just resting to watch the recession come back with an even mightier bang. When the word recession pops up many people are worried about their futures and even when the recession has ended people are still searching for what will happen next. No one's job is secure and everyone's financial future is on the line.

Even though the recession has hit America, globally over everyone is hurting. Stock markets have taken a beating all across the globe which truly shows that in the time of a recession, no one is safe. During this quarter reports from the Commerce Department reported that the GDP was down to 2.8 percent which was much less than it's 3.5 percent in past quarter.

World stocks are dropping points like crazy and no one is safe from it from Britain to Australia. The FTSE 100 index of primary British shares dropped 31.54 points, while Germany's DAX fell 32.17 points, France's CAC-40 was down by 28.55 points and Wall Street's Dow Jones was down 55.33 points, while Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 4.44 points, China's Shanghai index plunged 115.14 points, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 348.25 and Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average crashed down 96.10 points. In South Korea's Kospi decreased by 0.8 percent and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index weakened 0.7 percent. Stock Markets in Thailand Singapore also decreased.

The dollar weakened by 0.5 percent to 88.53 yen and the euro decreased also by 0.2 percent. This recession has left the world in shambles and everyone is trying to pick themselves up to move forward toward a brighter future but with nobody safe and things showing up as disastrous in the world markets there is just no telling what will come next.

When it comes to your future, you must take charge especially in today's time where even the most highly perched businesses need to borrow money to survive. You have to be your own boss and work under your own hand to get ahead in the world and that's just exactly what you should do.

There is way you can do that without it costing you your own arm and leg check into Paintless Dent Repair. Paintless Dent Repair is a career in the auto reconditioning field that removes dents and dings from the panels in a vehicle. You could take a two work course, buy your tools and be ready to make the money you should be making. With other reconditioning services you have to keep paying for supplies like paint but with Paintless Dent Repair you only have to buy the lifetime guaranteed tools once and you are set to go which means everything you make after that is pure profit!

Balika Vadhu - Child Marriage That Still Exists in the Indian Society

The practice of child marriage started 4000 years ago in India. Many things changed through the course of time like discrimination based on one's caste, women emancipation, economic and social growth of our country, etc., etc. But there are things that even 4000 years of time hasn't been able to eradicate. Sadly, child marriage is one of the social vices that till date exist in our country.
Recently a programme called 'Balika Vadhu' went on air on channel Colors, dealing with the above mentioned issue. During its promotional campaign and trailers I thought it would be yet another serial telling us what we already know. That child marriage is immoral, inappropriate and most importantly, it can be devastating for the lives of children. Nothing that we're not aware of!

But what I didn't expect was getting to know about the countless matters and intricacies that were attached to this one practice. Set in a small village of Rajasthan, the story revolves around the life of a child bride, Anandi, before and after getting married. She is married into a wealthy family where the tradition of bringing young brides from extremely poor families is followed.
Balika Vadhu was not aimed to eradicate the very practice by condemning and criticizing it, instead the intent was for the people to see the consequences of it. In Rajasthan, where child marriage still occurs, the audience gets to see the results in a very justified and clear manner. Be it a little girl being expected to get all worldly and mature at a pre-teen age , the way she copes up with pressures of living in a different house with people she doesn't even know.

Their huge expectations of managing the entire household-cooking, cleaning, taking care of everyone in the family and behaving according to them are supposed to be met. We see how women are still being treated as objects that have to abandon their lives, family and friends (without having any say) to fulfill the responsibilities they have been passed on. That being of a passive, tolerant and a perfect housewife. Anandi, although being excellent in studies and having a great interest in it, cannot go to school. Since, after married she has the sole responsibility of taking care of her household. Whereas Jagadish, her husband, is the apple of everyone's eyes, gets to play, go to school, do what so ever he wants to since he's a guy.

Through Phooli's character, a child widow and Anandi's best friend, we get to see the life of a widow. At an age of about 8 or 10, she cannot get dressed in colorful clothes, apply makeup, wear bangles and hair clips and ribbons which she absolutely adores. She has to follow a particular dress code of dull, plain clothes. She is made to follow a strict code of conduct set up by the society. She is abstained by all the worldly pleasures, cannot remarry or go to school and has to live with her parents till the time death rescues her. When she doesn't know what married life is all about, she is forced to lead the life of a widow.

The consequence of consummating a girl at an early age resulting in her death has been shown through the story of Basant's (Anandi's uncle) ex-wife. The dominance of the males and the rich has been clearly reflected by Basant's remarriage (even though he is a widower and about 50 years old) to a girl his daughter's age and a virgin by his demand. Being a male, and a powerful and a rich one, he gets to 'choose'.

Balika Vadhu does not put everything regarding child marriage simply in black and white. If on one hand there are elements of a rigid and unchanging society (in the form of Anandi's daadi-sa (mother-in-law) and Basant uncle), there are also characters like Anandi's father and mother in-law, who understand the problems created by child marriage. They want things to change but are not courageous enough to go against the society. The very interesting and strong woman who dares to go against the norms and do what's best for her is played by Gahna, Basant's wife. After coming to know about the incident of early consummation of her husband's ex-wife, she adamantly refuses to sleep with him even after he and her mother-in-law threatens to throw her out of the hose and kill her. The life of the poor families having daughters has been referred to as a crime in the society.

The parents of these girls want their daughters to get married in a wealthy family so that they can lead a comfortable life. They succumb to any kind of pressure or demand laid down before them by the rich. However the affluent families do not refrain themselves from repeatedly telling them about the noble deed they have done by marrying their sons to the poor and the needy. They have endowed the girls with all the luxuries of the world, hence, their 'kindness and gratitude' must never be forgiven. Isn't it a shame that instead of making life good for their own daughters they sell them off without considering the aftereffects on the social, psychological and physical state of the girl.

Last but certainly not the least, the characters of Anandi, Jagadish, Phooli bring to life the changes and the responsibilities that children are gifted with their marriage. The way they have been shown to adapt themselves and adjust in the society is touching. These innocent, tender souls without any knowledge about the way things work in a patriarchal, oppressive and unchanging society are made to grow up at an incredibly young age.

Balika Vadhu makes you think and gives you plenty and plenty of reasons to bring about a much needed change in the Indian society.

Philosophy of a Governing Economy

In contrast to the US economic policies China uses much more decisively economic tools when a situation arises. In many cases when either Global economic crises was on its ways as it happen in 2008-2009 or now when Chinese economy shows overheating the Chinese government does not hesitate to act and to act promptly and decisively. When Real Estate bust in the US provoked rambling effect over the entire Global Marketplace in China a curbing on speculation and targeted low housing prevented similar to what happen to US and EU effect in there.

When in 2009 stimulus packages were needed to add monetary supplies and keep the economy from falling as a result of decreasing export elsewhere and particularly in the US as a main trade Chinese partner, a "flexible" usage of raising Chinese internal demand and expanding trade relations elsewhere and particularly with South Asian markets kept Chinese economy in relatively strong growth of over 9%. In the First Quarter China the world's fastest-growing major economy expanded 11.9 percent in compare to the last year and now Chinese government takes prompt action again:

China's Rules to Curb Property 'Madness' Will Take Effect Now

"The market is having its "last madness" and speculation may dissipate in a year or 18 months on extra action by local authorities and an increased supply of low-price, so-called policy homes, Li said.

Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd., the Hong Kong developer controlled by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said yesterday that efforts to cool the Chinese property market are "timely."

"You want to take action before the market gets too hot," Justin Chiu, executive director of Cheung Kong, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. "Prices have gone up really quite a lot; people buying for their own use should do it within their means. If they invest, they need to be cautious about interest rates."

Chinese government is not persuaded by lobbyists of falling stocks prices "The Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.1 percent yesterday" to moderate or change their policies, they are acting indiscriminately using the available "tools" of economics for prevention or stimulus when needed.

In comparison to China, here in US a partially pro political and ideologically motivated system of the ways of economics is used by the government for prevention of economic crisis or stimulating the economy when needed.

President Obama spent years to promote the Health Reform in fierce fight over details sometime quite irrelevant when the Health Reform is a purely economic "tool" for expanding economic activities and overall for so much needed wealth distribution and redistribution in US. This constant talk of US deficit and constantly rising National Debt also handicaps the Government to take decisive prompt action when situation arise.

The economic "tools" are more considered ideological prerogatives for political gains and Economics is more considered as a believe in something could be the Right "trickle-down" Capitalism could be the Left more business involved Government, when Economics is a Science by which any "tools" of economics should be used indiscriminately under different arousing economic conditions, any economic tool should be on the table: curbing speculations, financial regulation, enhancing personal liability of risk management of corporate structures, social policies, infrastructural expenses, healthcare expanses, SME tax breaks and low interest financing, subsidies and etc.

In time in ever globalizing marketplace and rising productivity, industrial production of the production based economics is not going to maintain conditions for many countries all over the world to keep up with their Fiscal expanses. When countries like China are building industrial production to new heights in combination with Japan, Germany and US, these may well build capacities filling the Global supply for such industrial production. Here in context the exhausting Earth resources, the Global pollution and deteriorating Environment should be taken in account, too: showing limitations to a constant Global Industrial Growth for all countries so these countries could keep their Fiscal expenses under control.

Industrial production adds the most to any country's GDP at the moment, therefore under the current production based economics for a country to not be industrialized means either this country is very much underdeveloped like Bulgaria or it runs high deficit like Greece and Portugal. For US the effect of decreasing industrial production has a very similar effect to the Bulgaria and Greece: when in some areas like Detroit poverty roars just like it does in Bulgaria in some other areas like Chicago high deficit is becoming imminent. Thus the policies President Obama is implementing of "artificially" boosting Healthcare, SME and tax breaks to the low income are the only economic policies possible under the circumstances, though there should be some better ways for sustained economic growth in which private enterprenuarship is not curbed and freedom of business is not overtaken by governments, because what all learn from the last Great Recession was that Governments could take over businesses, financial institution in a very quickly, and as a conclusion when future recessions hit Governments will go even farther.

China's handling of the last Recession is a good example of how such crisis should be handled but when a well balanced economics is combined with personal freedom of the US the results could be much higher, but to preserve this freedom we should adjust currently used economics to the arousing developments of the New Century.

©Joshua Konov, 2010

Tourism Training - Key to Economic Growth

The assumed connection between economic prosperity and education has spurned a worldwide growth of tertiary education. Tertiary institutes are under increasing pressure to deliver programs that not only meet the core requirements, but their curricula must be continually updated to keep pace with industry trends and technological advances. Additionally, the need for students to make willful and gainful contributions to business performance and increased productivity, alliances are being made with the various industry segments to ensure that the curriculum also correlates with 'real world worth' when entering the employment market.

Over the past 10 years, there has been an increased emphasis on tourism training and education. This can be seen by the increasing number of institutes offering tourism and hospitality courses, especially in countries, such as New Zealand, that heavily rely on tourism for economic growth and employment, and has become a major socio-economic phenomenon.

The worldwide growth of tourism, being the largest global income earner, has resulted in unprecedented demand for suitably qualified tourism and hospitality staff, at all levels of the industry. The interdisciplinary nature of tourism is becoming increasingly important to employers and education institutes alike. Fallows and Stevens (2000) completed a research programme in an effort to ascertain what employees are seeking from recent tourism graduates. The response was overwhelming, indicating that not only do they require the core academic skills and knowledge, but individuals who have the capacity to work autonomously, be proactive and be creative in their workplace solutions. As a result, education institutes must not only provide the essential interdisciplinary courses related to tourism, but encourage free and innovative thinking in their students, and imprint a sense of confidence in their abilities.

Several developments, including increasing competition, changing labor market dynamics, changing demand patterns and technological advances require new employability skills from graduates to enable them to cope with these changing circumstances. Today, employers are looking for educated workers who are flexible and adaptable as business owners themselves seek to be more proactive and adaptable in their markets which are characterized by constant change.

The tourism industry is an exciting industry, which not only offers a great lifestyle, but which is now offering the educated employee a dearth of opportunity for growth and career development. Ensure that you register with a reputable education institute which has a specialized tourism department, equipped to pass on the multi-disciplinary knowledge required to satisfy the needs of employers and succeed within the industry.

Export Import China Business - The Growth of Export Import in China

Thanks to the liberalization policy, the export import China business is now highly progressive and contributes greatly to the economic growth of the country in the last few years. China was included in the World Trade Organization back in 2001 which opened doors for global trading. The figures can speak well for itself. In the past 30 years, the average gross domestic product (GDP) was at 8%, a very significant growth rate. Overall, China now stands as the largest economy after USA. Experts predict that China could very well overtake USA after a few more years.

The significant economic growth in China is recognized worldwide. This proved to be very beneficial for China export business whose global market share to date reaches 58 to 60 percent. That is more than half of the market pie. The rest is distributed to other export players in Asia, Europe and America. As for China import, the country ranks third overall in the world after USA and Germany.

It is not always a smooth road for the export import China business. In 2008, the International Monetary Fund analyzed China's economy and computed a marked decline in GDP in the last five years (2003 to 2008). Approximately, they recorded a 12.7% decline rate in 2007 and 9.6% decline rate in 2008.

More particularly, the import industry recorded at least US$ 40 billion in gross revenue for December 2008, while the export figure is US$ 111 billion also on December 2008. This is at least 3% lower than the figures recorded on December 2007.

The World Trade Organization was a big help in the export import China business. It bridged China to many international traders especially in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong played a major role too. After the British turned over Hong Kong to China in 1997, Hong Kong became the major shipping port for mainland China and facilitated trading with other countries. Both the World Trade Organization and Hong Kong contributed largely to the China export business.

China mostly exports their main industrial products. The Chinese are excellent in the production of garments, textiles, electronics, automobiles, ammunitions and firearms. They also export products like mercury, magnesium, manganese, tungsten, tin, antimony, salt and barite. They rank fourth place around the globe in producing zinc, antimony, tungsten and tin. They are ranked second for salt production, and sixth place in gold production. They are also a leading player in aluminum production.

China is steadily surging forward and making economic reforms to further inscribe their name in international trade. You can expect export import China business to still move ahead and beyond other major players after a few more years.

Pink Hitler - 2012 and the End of Days

Giant posters of Adolf Hitler dressed in a bright pink outfit are upsetting people in Palermo, Italy. The posters are the work of an advertising agency and are intended to promote a line of clothing.

Some people are disturbed that anyone would use the image of one of history's greatest mass murderers to adorn bus stops and other public spaces. But those of us who have studied the 2012 End of Days prophecies are provoked to wonder if something deeper than an effort to sell clothes is going on here.

In the posters, not only is Hitler garbed in pink, his armband sports a pink heart instead of a swastika.

Among the recurring warnings of what is to come in the year 2012 is a prophesied world government that will present itself as a benign, even loving, force for good. It will turn out to the most nightmarish dictatorship in history, though.

It is easy to speculate that portraying Hitler as pink heart sort of guy could be a way to prepare people, especially the young folks who are the target of the ad campaign, for a strong man who with the persona of a sensitive, New Age sort of leader.

The ad agency says the posters are meant to be tongue in cheek. The wording on the posters reads, "Don't follow your leaders," a way to encourage young people not to follow the crowd when it comes to choosing fashion.

Still, in the context of worsening economic and political conditions in Europe and elsewhere, one has to wonder what plastering giant images of a "softened" dictator might do to people's readiness to accept a future Fuhrer. A pink Hitler could be another portent that of the 2012 End of Days.

By the way, the ad agency is planning to up the ante in the ad campaign. Next up, they say: Posters portraying Mao Tse Tung.

Anti-Incumbency and American Revolt - Rand Paul Wins, Arlan Specter Loses

This is a turning point in American politics. Americans are angry. They are tired of the games in Washington, the bailouts that have helped the wealthy at the expense of the taxpayer. They are furious over the condescension of the ruling elite. And they have begun to make their voices heard.

The rumblings began with the election of Scott Brown winning a senate seat held by the liberal lion, Ted Kennedy. What followed was a growing wave of anti-incumbency votes and a rejection of Washington politics as usual.

In Utah, senator Bob Bennett, incumbent and hard right GOP voter, lost his seat to Tea Party as he trailed a distant third in the primary.

In a big upset, Democratic Representative (who was once GOP representative) Arlan Specter lost his seat during the primaries to Joe Sestak. This, despite the fact that the Obama Administration rallied heavily behind Specter, and President Obama even went so far as to say he "loves" Specter.

Well, Mr. President, America does not love Specter. And they do not love their politicians. And the other big headline grabber: Rand Paul, son of famed Libertarian and Texas representative Ron Paul, won the GOP primary in Kentucky for the US Senate seat. Paul's victory is a major won, and a seat for the Tea Party in the Senate could mean big changes in store for Washington.

There are many bloggers on the left who are claiming that the recent victories by the Tea Party candidates is not a sign that the Tea Party has power, but that voters are angry over the economic situation. These assessments, however, are off the mark. The Tea Party is now a political force in America, and the questions as to its lasting power, its potency, are beside the point. Long time senators lost their seats.

And voters are not just angry at the economy. Again, this is a distortion by the mainstream media to make our current political situation look less volatile and corrosive.

Americans on the right are inflamed at the profligate spending of Washington. The Bush bailouts began in 2008 for the high end banks. These bailouts continued under the Obama administration in the form of GM, banks, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and other institutions. The debt the Obama team has piled onto the American tax payer is at record proportions. And the results are lackluster at best. An economy that has grown few jobs, states going broke, social services unable to service even the most dire in need.

Americans on the left are outraged by the continuation of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, despite the fact that they voted in a candidate who promised change. Left leaning voters see little to be gained by the war in Afghanistan, where American casulaties have now topped 1,000 and the spending now outdoes the Iraq war. The money being poured into the military industrial complex for the sake of what seems to be a dead end, while millions of Americans face foreclosure, is enough to leave the left with a bad taste in their mouth.

Americans on the right are furious at the extensive reach of big government. The health care bill failed to address the real concerns most conservatives had, and that was a failure on the part of Big Government to accomplish much of anything over the past several decades. They see taxes as burdensome to their individual growth, and the tax money they feed to Washington is being used for pet projects and dates for the President.

Americans on the left are inflamed that their congresspeople did not do more to push for a medicare buy-in or a public option. Again, the left sees a president who has failed to live up to the lofty expectations he set for himself. The watered down health care bill has been a boon to the health care industry, even if these companies would have rather had no bill. The long battle over a few changes have soured liberals to the point of disgust. They can no longer trust their representatives to vote in their interests.

But Americans as a whole feel righteous indignation at the elite. This is not just an economic outrage, where Americans feel they have been cheated. No. They know that their fundamental rights - to vote, to free expression, to free business - are being robbed. Big Government, in collusion with Big Business, has taken the American public along for a joy ride that ends with a mangled car and a broken constitution.

Do not dismiss the rage as economically driven. See it for what it is: a people who want their country back.