October31st
Almost every political argument these days, especially the more heated ones, inevitably provokes the opinion that “arguments were more civilized in the good old days, before society turned so partisan.”
Here’s a theory on how the departure from civility happened, offered by New York Times columnist Joe Nocera. It appeals to me. Robert Bork, whether you believe in the right or left or center, was a brilliant jurist. He should have had a chance to serve on the Supreme Court. Read more…
October17th
This early 20th-Century cartoon pokes fun at Andrew Carnegie's criticism of fellow capitalists who did not give to charity like he did.
Absent from the debate about how the U.S. ought to fix its finances comes a pertinent fact from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. In 2006 (the last year for which figures were available), just over $81 billion, or 44 percent, of the $187 billion deducted as charitable giving by American taxpayers came from the wealthiest 3 percent of filers.
Not only do the wealthy already pay the lion’s share of taxes, they also contribute the lion’s share to causes including The American Cancer Society, the Sierra Club, local houses of worship and the Brownies.
What else happens when the government piles more taxes on the wealthy with the intent of solving the nation’s debt crisis? Economists have studied the question. The likely answer: less money will be contributed to charity. Read more…
October4th
Bob Ritchie, Danialle Karmanos and Peter Karmanos Jr.
Thanks much to my friend Bob Ritchie – most of the time known as Kid Rock – for helping us raise $700,000 for the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, named for my late wife who died of cancer in 1989.
Bob is quite a party guy and irrepressible free spirit, as you can see from the picture. The sentiment expressed on his t-shirt is the way all of us feel about a disease that’s taken away so many of our family, friends, loved ones.
The event at Ford Field was a quintessential Detroit party, hundreds of “partners” in philanthropic giving in attendance to bid on trips, memorabilia and merchandise, including a couple of Bob’s guitars. Read more…
August2nd
Peter Karmanos Jr.
Compuware has been building “apps” for almost 40 years, though back in the day they were known as applications and they made mainframe computers do what you wanted.
Now anyone who carries an iPhone or other smartphone knows about downloading these digital gadgets that can pay a bill, play Scrabble or a million other tasks. Read more…
July12th
Last week Compuware bought dynaTrace Software of Waltham, Massachusetts for $256 million. It’s an acquisition that will strengthen our leadership in application performance management – managing the Web-based systems used by companies like Macy’s and Thomson Reuters.
We’ve also just bought a stake in a much smaller company, one I’m sure you’ve never heard of. iRule is a two-person startup that sells a program that resides on an iPad or an iPhone for remotely controlling home entertainment systems, as well as lights, garage doors and so forth. Read more…
July6th
A real pinata.
As Scott McNealy said about his tenure when he stepped down as chief executive officer of Sun Microsystems, 22 years is a long time to be in the executive “piñata.” Stick-wielding critics, some wearing blindfolds, are swinging at you constantly – many of them more or less ignorant about what they’re criticizing.
Chief executive officer is a title for the person who assumes ultimate responsibility. It’s the place where the buck stops. By March of 2013, when I move officially to the next phase of my business life, it will have been a long time – 40 years – in the piñata.
One of the most important things about mine or anyone’s business career is the need to stay positive, no matter how great the burdens you bear. The more responsibility and success you have, the more you’ll encounter people who will insist you’re failing. That’s why it’s important always to stay focused on the goal: success. Read more…
May31st
Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island in the early 20th Century.
In earlier posts I’ve pointed out the obvious, that Detroit has a big geographic footprint and not enough people.
One simple way to attract people to the city (as well as to Michigan and the rest of the country) is to respond creatively and intelligently to non-U.S. citizens who want to come here to live.
Full disclosure: My folks came here from Greece – and I’m proud of it. I also understand that illegal immigration is a huge problem that the country has to address more seriously than it has.
Still — people from all over the world with educational credentials, financial assets and entrepreneurial instincts are trying to get in – why aren’t we encouraging them? Read more…
April8th
Stephen Clark and his crew came over Thursday. The embedded video is what ran on Channel 7 news as part of the station’s “Detroit 2020″ project that seeks to find solutions to the city’s problems.
March29th
Peter Karmanos
We didn’t need the census to tell us that Detroit has lost a lot of its population and that those losses are coming from both ends of the curve: People aren’t coming to The D and many in The D are moving out.
I’ve never really been much of a conformist, so I took the stage with my friend Dan Gilbert of Quicken Loans; and we shared our thoughts on why there is no better time to be heading into the city than now.
Need some proof? Read more…
March21st
Franklin Roosevelt
I heard someone on the radio the other day refer to social security as an “entitlement.”
Excuse me?
Social security, signed into law by President Roosevelt in the 1930s, was meant to be a safety net. The idea remains a sound one: an insurance policy for those who pay into it, a safety net against poverty in old age. Read more…
Pete is a civic-minded business man, philanthropist and sports fan.