Twin Cities Daily Planet (https://www.tcdailyplanet.net/author/erik-hare/page/7/)
I work primarily as a writer, but I've also had great success as an advisor to nonprofits and small businesses. I have a unique strategic planning process that works well for small volunteer driven organizations because it produces a succinct, usable document in as little as 4 hours. I'm also an experienced grant writer, web content (SEO) writer, and user of Excel to improve inventory control. My approach to social media has created proven success at many small business by stressing integration and consistency of message.Judge my skills for yourself at my blog, Barataria. I have available an online porfolio of some of my work.In addition, I'm pleased to have assembled some of my 25 years of experience on the 'net in an Internet Writing Guide. The purpose of this work is to empower people with the skills they need to effetively tell stories that otherwise have not been heard and speak truth to power. Please let me know how useful it is for you and how it can be improved.Thank you for reading.
What’s the state of the world’s economy and financial system? The annual gathering of the world’s leaders in the field at the World Economic Forum at the posh ski resort of Davos, Switzerland, painted a very nasty picture. The financial world is crumbling, unfair, and full of unacceptable risk. Continue Reading
This is a story I like to tell, and it seems appropriate on Dr. King Day. It’s hard for those of us too young to remember “how it was” to understand the progress we have made – and how important Dr. King’s legacy is. Continue Reading
There has been little doubt that employment has been improving in the US. From the trough three years ago 5M jobs have been created. That’s not enough to fill the 12M or so that need to be created, but it’s a start – and it’s been steady progress. But who is being left behind as the situation (very) slowly improves? Continue Reading
Employment opportunities for those ages 20-24 are worse than the general economy and not improving as rapidly. So are they going to college instead? The answer, apparently, is that they are not according to the latest figures. College enrollment is down slightly – and graduation rates within a 6-year time frame have ebbed to a new low, 59% of those who started in 2006. Graduation rates are improving at 2-year institutions such as community colleges and tech schools has increased from 21% to 37%, suggesting students are more serious, but are still pitifully low. Continue Reading
This is the time of year to look back and reflect. What happened in 2012? A lot of things happened, and yet when we look at the political and economic situation it appears that almost nothing happened at all. About US 1.6M jobs were added during the year, but growth (change in GDP) remains at a near-recession 2% or less. Politically, the election produced the same President and Congress who remain mired in gridlock, currently unable to get out of the “Fiscal Cliff” trap of their own making. Europe has gone from bad to somewhat worse, proving that austerity isn’t going to help anyone. Continue Reading
Winter Solstice arrives right on schedule this Friday, 21 December, at 11:12 UTC – 5:12 in the morning here by mythical Central Time. It’s being celebrated as the end of the world, probably not because anyone believes that’s going to happen. No Mayan actually predicted such an event, but it is the end of their 13 Baktun cycle. My guess is that the Mayans would have used this as an excuse to celebrate too, although their idea of a “party” often involved horrific acts of violence. It’s a staple of the day. Continue Reading
Heading into the new Legislative session at the start of the new year, we can expect that things are going to be different. The DFL is in control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s office for the first time since 1990 – and comes in with a lot of pent-up demand from their own interest groups. Attention tends to focus on social issues such as universal marriage, but we predict here that most of the time will be focused on the budget. Continue Reading
As we digest the news from the Newtown, Connecticut shooting there is not a parent who is not ravaged deep in their soul at the horror of this event. The reaction so far tells us that this one is different – that this rampage will be the one that finally changes things. I have thought of many things that I want to say to add to the discussion, but all of them feel inadequate. Continue Reading
The Minnesota Legislative session is less than a month away. With the DFL in control of the House, Senate, and Governor’s office for the first time since 1990 we can expect that, at the very least, everything will operate differently than it has in a long time. This is a good time to look around and back to a complete understanding of the state of the state budget. The most contentious parts have always been taxes, so we should start with them. Continue Reading
The Minnesota state budget forecast came out with more bad news – a deficit of $1.1B for the biennium (2 year) cycle of 2014-2015. How can we have these deficits year after year? Continue Reading