The following is an excerpt from our December issue. Subscribe now.

by: Chuck Bates

Living in the same community we all have one issue in common that determines our future success or demise as a locality. We all want our community to survive economically. Whether someone is living in the most toney neighborhood or just in “the hood” we all have to make a living and in order to do that we have to attract capital to our community in the forms of new families and new businesses. Let’s face it everybody must feed, house and clothe themselves’ and that requires capital. But what does it take to retain that capital?

Capital looks for two things: 1.) Economic Stability and 2.) Political Stability. One need only look to other regions of the world to see the risk aversion of capital. Why are there no serious skyscraper lined cities in say Republic of Congo? Simply the risk to capital due to both economic and political instability overwhelms the potential reward for investing in the area. It is not due to a lack of natural resources as the nation is mineral rich. The problem lies specifically in the political upheavals and constant warring between factions thus destroying any hope of economic stability. But we don’t have to look to developing areas just look at Lebanon. Lebanon was at one point considered “The Riviera of the Middle East”. It was a business and banking center and today it is in constant turmoil due to political instability to the point new investment in such a place would be almost certain loss to the investor. Yugoslavia is another example of a nation that was on its way to modernization both politically and economically. The Winter Olympics were even held in the country but today it is a shell of a nation nowhere near where it was just two decades ago, all due to political instability and the subsequent flight of capital.
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The following is an excerpt from our December issue. Subscribe now.

By: Michael Roy Hollihan

It began again at the well-attended Memphis Regional Chamber of Commerce breakfast in October. This was Mayor Herenton’s highest profile appearance after his record-clinching fourth re-election. He had the ears of many of Memphis and Shelby County’s biggest and most powerful business leaders and politicians. Herenton announced a lot of things, but he made sure to note that consolidation of Memphis and Shelby County governments was high on his list of priorities in his coming term.

The mayor’s been lying low ever since but the bugle call to consolidation is echoing around.

This war has been going on for many years now, and consolidation is no closer than it’s ever been. But this time it looks as though the consolidation campaign might actually gain some ground. Three fronts have opened up: education, police and charters. Each may gain a foothold.

From a chance, offhand discussion at Legislative Plaza in Nashville, a proposal has been crystallizing that would freeze the Memphis and Shelby County school districts. By changing State law to re-allow “special school districts” the boundaries for both systems would be set for years to come, regardless of geographical changes in city/county status. Both school systems could end the tricky negotiations and over-long logistical planning that goes into deciding where to build new schools. The County would no longer have to build schools with half an eye to an encroaching, consuming Memphis.
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The following is an excerpt from our December issue. Subscribe now.

By: Jonathan Lindberg

In 1950, a young preacher named Billy Graham made his first trip to the White House to meet with President Harry Truman. Graham was already a rising star, having gained much notierity during his long-running and highly-successful Los Angeles Crusade the previous year. Now the young preacher was turning his attention to Washington. Graham had written Truman several times seeking an audience with the President.

After meeting with Truman for almost an hour, Graham and his team stopped on the White House lawn for a picture with the press, four men bowed in prayer. When the image of the young flashy preacher appeared in the newspapers the next day, Truman was furious. He figured Graham had used his visit to the White House to gain media attention. It was the last time Graham would ever visit with Truman while in office.

Though the incident ended his relationship with Truman, it also marked the beginning of the unmatched and at times limitless access Graham has enjoyed with every president since. No preacher has spent more time with more presidents than Graham. Long before the Religious Right or the Moral Majority came along, Graham became and remains the single most influential religious figure in American history.

But as Graham learned with Truman, high access comes with high costs.
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Table of Contents: December

On the River

Michael Roy Hollihan: The Consolidation Campaign

Joe Saino: The Reverse MLGW Christmas Carol

Redmond Wallace: Blues City Pastry Shop

On the Road

Nicholas Carraway: U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich

Judith’s Picks

Judith Conroy

Feature Articles

Dr. Thomas Lindberg: A Christmas I Will Never Forget

Dr. Ernie Frey: Culture Overboard: Drowning in a Sea of Good Choices

Senator Jim Kyle: Tough but Necessary Choices

Ties That Bind

Dr. David Patterson: Teachings on the Stranger

On the Shelf

Jonathan Lindberg: The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House

On the Money

Chuck Bates: On the Money: What it takes to make your Community a Safe Place for Investment