May 30-31 - Think like Rowan. Despite difficulties -- make great things happen!: Play Now | Play in Popup

There is plenty of bad news these days. However, this week there was some good news as well. This week we learned that Pittsburgh will host the next “G-20″ summit meeting of world leaders. Like anywhere else, the Pittsburgh region, and especially the insolvent Pittsburgh city government, has many problems. However, there is no doubt that led by great universities and a steady flow of entrepreneurship and business expansion, Pittsburgh has fully recovered from the collapse of the steel industry 30 years ago. Since I founded FreeMarkets, Inc. here in 1995, I have always believed that Pittsburgh has the potential to become the best medium sized city in the world. I believe that when outsiders visit our city, they too see our progress and see our potential. While I rarely agree with President Obama on policy, I am glad that his Administration chose to showcase Pittsburgh with the G-20 Summit. It is a great opportunity for our city. Now, let’s pray for good weather (the odds are with us in late September, but let’s hope and pray we do not experience the remains of some hurricane while the world’s leaders are here). Also, let’s hope that our young mayor, county executive and other leaders do a good job of preparing and focusing visitors on the positives and not the negatives. Let’s also hope and pray that no terrible incidents occur - whether incited by protestors or terrorists. We should give everyone who visits - protestors and leaders alike - a taste of Pittsburgh hospitality and hope the impression that we make on the world is very positive.

Now, the bad news. This week North Korea detonated its second nuclear bomb. This bomb was similar in size to the one used at Hiroshima during the Second World War (maybe a little larger, maybe a little smaller, but similar in size and we know what that bomb did). Through this and other recent actions, North Korea has demonstrated to the world that it is a serious threat to global safety. Although President Obama has condemned this latest nuclear detonation, the U.S. and the UN are unlikely to take the steps needed to neutralize North Korea. Pyongyang has picked up on our complacency and called U.S. economic sanctions “laughable.”

North Korea is the worst nightmare on Earth. It is a dreary place where the population is completely enslaved, people starve, no one has any rights and anyone who dares breathe a word of opposition is imprisoned or killed along with their entire family. The government controls everything and tells a stream of complete lies to the people over whom it rules. Yes, it is that bad. YES, IT IS THAT BAD. The world has chosen to mostly ignore and tolerate this terrible, isolated country for the past fifty years. It seems that the North Koreans are building nuclear bombs and the missiles to deliver them in order to deter any other nation from invading their land to put an end to the terrible reality that exists there. We might be able to live with this, hoping that the North Korean leadership would know that if they ever use their nuclear weapons against another country that they and their country would be immediately vaporized. However, the North Koreans have an extensive track record of exporting their weapons and the technology behind them, to other countries and perhaps even to non-state actors. The Iranian nuclear weapons program is assisted by the North Koreans and the Syrian nuclear facility destroyed in 2007 by the Israelis was built with North Korea help. The reality is that the only way we can guarantee that the Left-wing, communist, totalitarian government of North Korea will not provide their nuclear weapons and technology to others is to go to war against North Korea, first eliminating all of their nuclear facilities from the air and then invading the country to change the regime and free the people. Our military is capable of making this happen, but it is a big, messy and dangerous job. Both Presidents Clinton and Bush were not willing to take this step. I doubt Barack Obama will either. The result is that we are going to be living with a fully nuclear North Korea as well as the rapid spread of nuclear weapons to many more countries. I hope and pray that we do not regret our timidity in the coming years.  For more information, read my article, The hard facts of North Korea.

General Motors will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Monday. Many of us in the business world knew this was coming no matter how much bailout money the federal government gave the company. Unfortunately, President George W. Bush and now President Obama have distorted the traditionally non-political and orderly Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. As a result, a powerful union and the U.S. government will benefit at the expense of bondholders and tax payers. Although some concessions have been made by the United Auto Workers Union, an additional $30 billion tax payer bailout (on top of the $20 billion of taxpayer funds already spent) will be given to General Motors to enable it to go through bankruptcy and then emerge as a new company. This all should have been left to the bankruptcy courts and the private sector to work out. The Federal Government should never have gotten involved and no taxpayer money should have been spent.

This week, I interview two friends of the program. Jerry Bowyer, syndicated columnist, CNBC contributor and Chairman of Bowyer Media, offers his updated insights on our current economy. Like me, he sees some growth in the economy by the end of 2009 due to the low economic baseline (our economy will be 6% smaller than it was a year ago), the natural inventory effect, and low federal income tax rates that remain in place from the Bush Administration. However, because of the increase in tax rates that the Democratic Party won for January 1, 2011, the new massive government debt being generated by President Obama and the Democratic Party dominated Congress, and massive increases in government regulation and control over the private economy, we will see a second recession starting in early 2011. The poor economic policies of the Obama Administration are going to lead to high inflation, a weak U.S. dollar, and poor economic growth in the future. I hope for better, but we should all prepare for difficult economic times ahead - unless we can convince a durable majority of Americans to change the way they vote.

Sara Mohsin, co-owner of Mohsin Mortgage Company, returns to the program this week with information on the current mortgage market and lending environment, as well as great insights on both human nature and entrepreneurship. Sara provides a great service by helping people get the loans they need. Unlike many mortgage brokers and banks, Sara educates her clients and helps them to understand what they can and cannot afford. She helps individuals and families develop and implement a plan of action to buy a home–even if it is going to take one, two or three years to implement this plan. If you are looking for a loan or thinking of buying a home, give Sara a call at 1-800-662-9550 or visit her website at www.mmcmtg.com.

Finally, I close the hour by reviewing my column in this Sunday’s Pittsburgh Tribune Review, “Reward the ‘Rowans.” My column draws on the story of Lieutenant Andrew Rowan, and his mission to deliver an important message to General Garcia on behalf of President McKinley during the Spanish American War. Against all odds, Lieutenant Rowan succeeded in his mission. We need “Rowans” in our society today. We need people who can think independently and get things done no matter what the obstacles. Without Rowans, no wars would be won, no entrepreneurial efforts would ever emerge, and no businesses would ever be built. Without Rowans, America would not survive.

As I said above, there is plenty of bad news on which to focus. But successful people do not stop working hard or planning when times are difficult. On the contrary, if you want to be successful, this is the time to really make things happen. I encourage you to read my column about finding Garcia and I encourage you to both think and act like Andrew Rowan. Stand up and make great things happen.

If you have not already done so, please read my recent column discussing “Cap and Trade” legislation titled, “The clean energy jobs myth.”