I found the chirping crickets a curious sound effect after Carvey gushingly asked, “how about that President Obama?” I’m thinking the audience probably just didn’t hear the question.
I must have missed the Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi schtick. What a shame. It had to be funny, right? Hollywood is quite entertaining.
There’s so much going on in our country right now, it’s hard to know in which line to stand. One thing is certain: Where there was apathy, there is now heed. You need not even step outside our industry to feel the affect of lending’s locked brakes, the cult of Congressional curve ball amendments or the nebulous recollection of those things we once called sanctity of a contract or free market trade.
Certainly, there could not be a more salient moment to reflect on our own core principals, and take action.
Do something. In advertising, it’s the call to action. If you forget it in an ad, your ad is worthless. “Doing something” is how to stop a runaway train.
Read how one woman named Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) nearly became Czar of converting distressed, market-rate multifamily properties to affordable communities suddenly owned by her circle of friends. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but to test a man’s character, give her power.
NMHC’s (National Multi Housing Council) show of strength at Velazquez’
power grab subdued this blatant vie for private assets, at least for now. Well done, NMHC. You clearly have our back.
In fact, multihousing is often referred to as the backbone of the country, which infers we have one. In some circles, that’s still a good thing.
I encourage you to search out the backbone in each of the stories you read herein. Start with the spiritually-bound organization of Mid- America Apartments out of Memphis, Tenn. Mr. Bolton is doing a upstanding job of guiding the Mid-America boat with a steady hand, and his strategy is paying off amidst rough seas of change. Earlier this year, Mid-America added 30,000 jobs across the Sunbelt . “That’s not going to fix anything overnight, but frankly, just being able to say the words ‘adding jobs’ was pretty fun,” said the firm’s Executive VP/CFO Simon Wadsworth. Let’s just call it the Mid-America stimulus package.
Another inspiring story is Equity’s reach into a small community in Maryland. The mega-company’s charitable work in Hyattsville through food drives and other good works has made a real difference.
In fact, this issue is chalk full of stories where folks have made a difference. And upon reading each one, I’ve thought long and hard about just that. I’ve considered what it means today, and what it meant a few years ago. It made me think of the words I once heard:
Since when do we in America believe that our society is made up of two diametrically opposed classes — one rich, one poor — both in a permanent state of conflict and neither able to get ahead except at the expense of the other? Since when do we in America accept this alien and discredited theory of social and class warfare? Since when do we in America endorse the politics of envy and division?
Do you remember who said this? Lest you forget, email me and I will provide you a gentle reminder. It’s time to remember.
