Stepping Away from the Fiscal Cliff

In 2011, my family and I had the opportunity to go to the Grand Canyon on vacation. For those of you that don't know I have a mischievous side. My then 13 year old son and I decided to play a little trick on his mother (luckily she's still my wife). We went on a little hike and attempted to find a safe location to take the picture to your right. At first glance it looks pretty frightening, especially for Mom. If my wife didn't know my propensity for childish humor she would have thought that I put our eldest son in life-threatening danger. Frankly, it could been bad had our son moved four steps to the left.

As we step back from the "Fiscal Cliff", I think about that day at the Grand Canyon. Our economy always seems to be teetering on the brink and our politics remain uncertain.  Business owners wonder if they can afford the additional requirements the government is mandating.  Employees are concerned about rising taxes and healthcare costs, as well as reductions in assistance.  How will all of this affect our families and our communities?  At first glance it looks like we are hanging on by our weary and battered white knuckles.  The more we listen to the news the worse that it seems, but just like the picture of my son, we need to evaluate the entire situation and not fall into the trap of sensational panic.

Here are a couple of facts:

• House Starts are Up.

• Purchasing Index is in the Positive.

• The DOW is up over 7% from a year ago.

• The Automotive Industry has had a robust growth run for the last two years.

• 2013 outlook is similar to that of 2012.

Unemployment continues to struggle and things could be better, but things could be worse too.  We need to remember that "crisis" news attracts viewers and sells advertising.  It isn't always as bad as the media reports.  We all have our challenges and we shouldn't ignore them, but at the end of the day if we keep our head in the game and do what we know needs to be done, we will be successful.

• Work hard... 40 hours is the starting point
• Work smart... making strategic choices about how we spend out time
• Work together to address the challenges that we face together
• Focus on the fixes and not dwell on the broken

Lets approach 2013 with a positive attitude. Lets be strategic and work hard. At Herculite, we  continue to Innovate and strive to serve our customers better.  By doing so we hope to earn your trust as our customer partners. Together we can continue to grow and prosper no matter what Washington throws at us.