I’ve written before about Madison’s air travel challenges and opportunities.
I continue to believe that only the arrival of Southwest will truly change Madison’s air transportation opportunities. The “Southwest Effect” is just what Madison needs: the average fare decreases and the number of passengers dramatically increases when Southwest enters a market.
I recently phoned Gary Kelly, Southwest’s CFO to encourage them to fly to Madison. Southwest gets major points for having a real person answering the phone and playing good music while the call is being routed around the company.
Monthly Archives: May 2004
Tax Avoidance & Intellectual Property
Dave writes about Amazon’s controversial one-click purchase patent (many business process patents, are I believe an abuse of the patent process). Evidently, Amazon assigned their patent(s) to Deutsche Bank as part of a credit agreement between 1995 and 1997.
I wonder if there might be a tax shelter angle to this (amazon was generating huge losses at the time, and other firms might wish to do a deal for the tax benefits of those losses)? Years ago, I worked for a major international beverage firm. One of their (this firm was not unique) tax reduction/avoidance strategies was to create the flavors in tax havens (Puerto Rico, Cyprus, Ireland among other places) and sell that essential component back to US entities at high prices (this is of course a rather simplistic analysis). The US entities then generated small margins or losses while the offshore unit generated the large margins. This tax strategy, among many others is discussed in the very enlightening book by NY Times reporter David Cay Johnston: Perfectly Legal.
Deutsche Bank, like many others, has been part of a number of tax shelter strategies.
This abusive patent process is the major reason I do not link to amazon (barnes & noble online is a fine alternative).
Madison Schools Budget Updates
Barb Schrank updates us on the winners & losers in the recently passed $308+M 2004-2005 MMSD Budget:
- Winners
- Student Services increased 30%
- Business Services 7%
- General Administration increased 6% (!)
- Educational Services (spec. ed/bilingual) 1%
- Losers
- Elementary Education -1%
- w/o Assist. Supt. Office -2%
- Secondary Education -1%
- w/o Assist. Supt. Office -2%
Schrank also provides a complete comparison (excel file) here.
Why can’t we download all of NPR?
Jeff Jarvis asks a useful question: Why can’t we download all of NPR (they are playing the Digital Restrictions Management game, using audio streams only, vs. clean MP3 downloads). In other words, NPR policies mean that we, the public cannot listen to their programming on our ipods or other mp3 players.
Not very public… (Unfortunately, WPR adopts the same restrictive approach).
Madison Schools Budget Update
Barb Schrank summarizes Monday evening’s School Board budget discussions ($1m of changes to the Administration’s $308m budget, including the first ever fee for an academic program ($50 for strings)). Schrank also discusses the urgent need for the board to adopt a more proactive budgeting process…..
More on Madison Air Service
Marv Balousek writes that Northwest may add some non stop flights from Madison (to destinations other than their fortress hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis):
Northwest’s Jim Cron said the growing popularity of regional jets also could inspire a competitor to begin offering more nonstop flights from Madison. He said leisure destinations like Florida and Las Vegas might be the most successful.
Brad Livingston, Dane County Regional Airport director, said he plans to meet next month with airline scheduling officials, including Northwest, to talk about improving service to Madison. He said the number of Dane County Airport passengers rose 13.6 percent in April over March and is 6 percent higher this year than in 2003.
I would be very surprised if they did this. The only reason they’ve added non stop flights in Milwaukee is to kill off Midwest airlines. Like other major airlines, once the competition is gone, we’re back to connecting via the fortress hubs.
On the other hand, this is possibly good news. However, the announcement smells like a request for local airline subsidies. I still think the best approach for MSN is to do everything possible to bring Southwest to town.
UPDATE: Northwest doesn’t like Wisconsin’s tax subsidies for Midwest Airlines and Air Wisconsin (I don’t either). Keep in mind that NWA has benefited greatly from Minnesota subsidies.
Does IT Matter?
Nicholas Carr’s recent controversial book explains how technological, economic, and competitive forces are combining to transform the role information technology plays in business, with profound implications for IT management and investment as well as strategy and organization.
I witnessed the dual edged nature of IT firsthand early Tuesday morning. My delayed flight landed at 2:10a.m…… I walked to the Hertz counter where some very tired folks were scrambling to deal with their customers (including me). I generally just grab the express package and go. Murphy, as always, showed up. The Hertz computers were down. Therefore, the Hertz employees resorted to conventional paper contracts (filled out by hand). They clearly had not done this in awhile (if ever). 30 minutes later, I walked to my car (now 2:40a.m.)
We take so much for granted.
Will Alvarez get Tegen Treatment?
A refreshing column from Tom Oates on long time UW women’s track coach Peter Tegen. Oates’ essential point is that Alvarez’s record the past few years has not been great, therefore will he get the same treatment as Tegen?
Several years ago, I recall reading a Doug Moe column that mentioned that WSJ sportswriter Vic Feuerherd was “forbidden” from writing about the Badgers. (I seem to recall that Feuerherd was exiled to cover the Brewers….). I’m glad to see the WSJ take a more proactive position (which they should!).
L’Etoile to American Girl Cafe???
Julia Moskin checks out the new American Girl Place in Manhattan:
The American Girl Cafe is unmistakably kid-friendly – the chocolate mousse is sprinkled with crushed Oreo cookies, and the napkin rings can be used as hair scrunchies – but it is more reminiscent of Chanterelle than Chuck E. Cheese’s. Embraced by banquettes, plied with smoked salmon and shortbread, and served tea from china pots, American girls here learn the ways of the ladies who lunch.
“American Girl is for kids, but nothing we do is dumbed down,” said Kamille Adamany, the cafe’s manager, who was hired away from the prestigious L’Etoile restaurant in Madison, Wis.
The other night, Maddie Leonard of Pelham Manor, N.Y., observed her eighth birthday in one corner of the cafe with 11 friends and 12 dolls, some sporting crowns of braids fresh from the hair salon on the second floor (the salon specializes in returning frazzled dolls to factory condition).
Mosquito Season
A “must have” product for the backyard bbq set:
The Mosquito Magnet? mimics a human by emitting a plume of carbon dioxide (CO2), heat and moisture, and a short-range attractant, octenol. This precise combination is irresistible to female mosquitoes (the ones that bite), no-see-ums, biting midges, black flies, and sandflies. As the mosquito approaches the trap hoping for a human, it is quietly vacuumed into a net where it dehydrates and dies.
Silent, odorless, no mess.