PERSPECTIVES
FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNAL
Bring it L
et’s see, the dog days of August, preLabor Day weekend checklist: 1. Clean grill for last summer hurrah; 2. Recharge smartphone for return from vacation; 3. Cash in all stocks until October has passed. Autumn fast approaches – or should we say the fall? Seems like just about every year, people return from their summer vacations, raring to get back into roaring business life, only to see the economic football yanked out from under us by an economic personification of Lucy Van Pelt. Last August, of course, it was a freefall in the stock markets caused by the European sovereign debt crisis, followed locally by the havoc of Tropical Storm Irene. In September 2008, it was the collapse of Lehman Brothers; in 2005, the destruction of Hurricane Katrina; in 2001, the double hammer of the 9/11 attacks and Enron. So when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggests the U.S. economy is still in a fragile state heading into September, it’s time to duck and cover. “Textbooks describe economics as the study of the allocation of scarce resources,”
Bernanke said in a videotaped speech in early August. “That definition may indeed be the ‘what,’ but it certainly is not the ‘why.’ The ultimate purpose of economics, of course, is to understand and promote the enhancement of well-being.”
“Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards.”
Bernanke pointed out that Bhutan abandoned altogether tracking gross national product 40 years ago, in favor of a Gross National Happiness index. More recently, the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development created a “better life index” that cross-checks the national moods globally (at oecdbetterlifeindex.org, you can weight the varying inputs according to how important each is to you, be it income, health, and work-life balance among others). The United States performs very well in overall measures of well-being, according to OECD. “Money, while it cannot buy happiness, is an important means to achieving higher living standards,” the Paris-based organization states on its website. “In general, Americans are more satisfied with their lives than the OECD average, with 76 percent of people saying they have more positive experiences in an average day (feelings of rest, pride in accomplishment, enjoyment, etc) than negative ones (pain, worry, sadness, boredom, etc). It could be you prefer the 1988 Bobby McFerrin “don’t worry, be happy” refrain. If each fall brings its share of worry, it’s seldom boring anyway. March comes in like a lion, and the same could be said of September. Bring it.
The Mohegan Gaming Tribal Authority runs the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in eastern Connecticut, as well as Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. It has proposed another expansion north of the Connecticut border in Palmer, Mass. The Resorts was the first legally sanctioned casino to open in the United States outside Las Vegas, in 1978, and its owners at one point included entertainment
titan Merv Griffin. In 2010, it was bought by DGMB Casinos L.L.C. for a reported $34 million, which renovated it to reflect a theme of the Roaring Twenties era, on the heels of HBO’s hit series “Boardwalk Empire.” Of course, the show covers the period encompassing the Great Depression as well, but that is beside the point. Thirty Emmy nominations says something about the nostalgia we have for the good old days.
Editor’s note We suppose our keen-eyed readers have already noticed a little change on our front page this week. But in the off chance that you are among those who missed it, we would like to take this opportunity to point it out and give a brief explanation. When you look at the cover, you will notice that our flag has been redesigned and the FCBJ logo has been shrunk and now fits nicely in a blue box. Why blue? Why not. It’s more pleasing to the eye than chartreuse. But the change all has to do with maintaining identity and brand. The FCBJ floating behind the flag in previous issues had outlived its graphic usefulness. In redoing our website – westfairlonline.com – we changed the logos of our
Or write to: Fairfield County Business Journal 3 Gannett Drive, Suite G7 White Plains, N.Y. 10604-3407 www.westfaironline.com Publisher • Dee DelBello Managing Editor • Bob Rozycki
News
Fairfield County Bureau Chief • Alexander Soule Editor, Digital Content • Patrick Gallagher Records Reporter • George Cassidy Reporters • Jennifer Bissell • Patrick Gallagher • John Golden • Janice Kirkel • Mary Shustack • Zoë Zellers Intern • Fiona Stavrou
Advertising Sales
General Manager • Dennis Connaughton Advertising Director • Richard Free Account Managers • Greg Fernandez • Rick Johnson • Konstantine Wells Publications Manager • Michael Berger Programs and Projects Coordinator • Beverly Visosky
Production
Senior Art Director • Caitlin Nurge Harrison Art Director • Dan Viteri Manager of Digital Media • Sinéad Deane
Audience Development
Director • Alissa Frey Director, Circulation • Holly Gallicchio Director, Events • Linda Cady Assistant Circulation Manager • Kristina Cook Circulation Representative • Marcia Rudy
Tribe bets on AC If the economy isn’t roaring back into motion heading into the fall elections, you can’t blame the operators of Mohegan Sun for trying to instill the spirit of the Roaring Twenties in their general neighborhood. In what is reportedly the first entry by a Native American group into a traditional U.S. gambling mecca, the Mohegan Gaming Tribal Authority will take over operations at the venerated Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.
• Main office telephone. . . . . . . . (914) 694-3600 • Newsroom fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3680 • Sales fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3699 • Research fax. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (914) 694-3682 • Editorial e-mail. . . . . casoule@westfairinc.com
papers to make them sleeker, less cluttered and easily recognizable. We have now transferred that online look to our papers’ flags. Are more changes coming? Of course. If you receive our daily newsletter, you will have already noticed that it too has been redesigned as well. As the world changes, so do we. It’s either adapt or die, as any smart business owner knows in today’s ever-changing world. And speaking of ever changing, keep up with the latest local business news daily on our website. If you have any suggestions or comments, feel free to shoot us an email.
Administration
Chief Operating Officer • Michael Gallicchio Chief Financial Officer • Marie T. Orser Office Manager • Sylvia Sikoutris
Fairfield County Business Journal (USPS# 5830) is published Weekly, 52 times a year by Westfair Communications, Inc., 3 Gannett Drive, White Plains, NY 10604. Application to mail at Periodicals Postage rates is pending at White Plains, NY, USA 10610. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Fairfield County Business Journal: Westfair Communications, Inc., 3 Gannett Drive, White Plains, NY 10604. More than 40 percent of the Business Journal is printed on recycled newsprint. © 2012 Westfair Communications Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited
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The Business Journal welcomes letters to the editor and opinion columns. Submissions must include the writer’s name, home or business address, email address and telephone number for verification purposes. The Business Journal reserves the right to edit submissions for accuracy, style and space considerations. Email submissions to casoule@westfairinc.com. Submissions may appear in print and online.
4 Week of August 13, 2012 • Fairfield County Business Journal a division of Westfair Communications, Inc. • www.westfaironline.com