Tag Archives: opinion

U.S. Budget Cuts Are Stunningly Blind

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A guide to the sequester for the legitimately baffled.

If you thought “sequester,” the American method of government budget-cutting, sounds incredibly stupid, you’re wrong. It’s stupider than that.

What will the sequester do?

What will the sequester do? Photo: Jonathan Tourtellot

To achieve the noble goal of reducing federal spending, the sequester that goes into effect at midnight demands blind, across-the-board budget cuts of nine percent or more from nearly all agencies. A most ignoble method.

Let’s compare that to an overweight person, who has failed to diet. Continue reading →

Tell Better Tourism Stories

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Andy Dumaine says being green is not enough:

The sustainable tourism community needs to wake up and smell the fair trade coffee.  After two decades of lofty ideals and breathless pronouncements, sustainable tourism remains a long way from achieving critical mass.  Although the need for sustainability grows ever more urgent, most sustainable tourism experts continue to operate in the background only to be trotted out when greenies pass through the office.

Andy Dumaine

This sad state of affairs is almost entirely self-inflicted.

Sustainability tends to attract highly educated idealists with a propensity for telling dull stories about salt-water swimming pools and low flush toilets.   The first rule of communications is that just because you care doesn’t mean anyone else will.   The reason sustainable tourism remains stunted in infancy is that the community has failed to tell stories that connect with real travelers. Continue reading →