What guys have accomplished

Giving up your dream took courage, men. You should be proud.

Men dominate the business side of this nation. We also have the dominant role in setting standards of behavior in many areas. The people in Washington D.C. demonstrate this so clearly.

It is the last day of 2014, and I suggest we look back over a longer time horizon to consider some of the primary accomplishments of men, accomplishments that have left a lasting mark. This list is in no particular order.

• Tuition at Yale University is $45,800. There are other expenses too, and the university says the total is likely to be $63,250 per year. Times four that comes to about a quarter million dollars: $253,000.
• Porn, in spite of the massive amount of free content online, is still paying some bills. “Globally, porn is a $97 billion industry, according to Kassia Wosick, assistant professor of sociology at New Mexico State University. Between $10 billion and $12 billion of that comes from the United States.”
• According to USA Today the long-running war in Afghanistan is expensive. They report: “The military assault against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria is costing $7 million to $10 million a day. Stretched over a year, the price of the war could be as much as $3.7 billion, much less than what the Pentagon spends on fighting in Afghanistan.”
• Tomahawk missiles cost $52 million each, according to USA Today.
• According to the American Civil Liberties Union we are spending a lot of money to punish pot owners. “According to the ACLU’s original analysis, marijuana arrests now account for over half of all drug arrests in the United States. Of the 8.2 million marijuana arrests between 2001 and 2010, 88% were for simply having marijuana. Nationwide, the arrest data revealed one consistent trend: significant racial bias. Despite roughly equal usage rates, Blacks are 3.73 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana.”Arresting 8.2 million people has a cost associated with it.
• An extensive library of books have been written that guide managers in getting high performance from their organizations. These books are given a casual nod, at best. I have been let go twice from jobs that involved engaging managers in the available guidance from the wise ones.
• The costs of marijuana arrests involve a great deal more than money. The ACLU reports:

  “All wars are expensive, and the War on Marijuana has been no different. Not only have states blown billions that could have been otherwise invested, but the personal cost to those arrested is often significant and can linger for years. When people are arrested for possessing even tiny amounts of marijuana, it can have dire collateral consequences that affect their eligibility for public housing and student financial aid, employment opportunities, child custody determinations, and immigration status.”

I give men most of the credit for these accomplishments. Bravo, guys. Raise a glass or two to the new year.