Arne Sorenson, President and CEO of Marriott International, spoke out with high intelligence and political candor about the federal government shut down:
“Marriott International’s headquarters is just a few miles north of America’s Capitol, the epicenter of the profoundly disappointing federal government shutdown and a looming confrontation on the debt ceiling. The impacts ripple well beyond Washington, D.C., and past U.S. borders. Others from around the world are watching this circus, which is embarrassing at best. Just like in each of the last few years, we are confronted with a failure of our political leadership that threatens an economy that wants to turn the corner to higher growth and employment.
“With the major attractions of the city and government offices closed, tourism and business travel to D.C. is declining. Visitors applying for visas to come to the United States for business or pleasure will likely see delays. The E-Verify system, which verifies the work eligibility of employees, has been pulled down, leaving employers without a key resource when trying to be sure that a job offer can be extended. These are just a few of the many consequences of this shutdown. Each of the furloughed federal employees has his or her own much more personal story. And it will get worse with each passing day and especially if the debt ceiling wall on or about October 17 is also left unresolved…”
Patrick Mayock, Editor-in-Chief, HotelNewsNow, wrote:
“….Responsibility for the shutdown of the U.S. government is more accurately placed on a subset of stubborn obstructionists within the Republican party who are needlessly circumventing the very Constitution they claim to revere in an ill-advised attempt to push through their own objections to health care reform that already has been made into law.
“They complain President Obama and Democrats are failing to compromise on various mandates in ‘Obamacare.’ But there’s nothing on which to compromise. You can’t compromise on a bill that has been made law and one of the Supreme Court has ruled is indeed Constitutional, no less.”
www.hotel-online.com
The author, Stanley Turkel, is a recognized authority and consultant in the hotel industry. He operates his hotel, hospitality and consulting practice specializing in asset management, operational audits and the effectiveness of hotel franchising agreements and litigation support assignments. Clients are hotel owners, investors and lending institutions.
www.stanleyturkel.com
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- government is more accurately placed on a subset of stubborn obstructionists within the Republican party who are needlessly circumventing the very Constitution they claim to revere in an ill-advised attempt to push through their own objections to health care reform that already has been made into law.
- Just like in each of the last few years, we are confronted with a failure of our political leadership that threatens an economy that wants to turn the corner to higher growth and employment.
- “Marriott International’s headquarters is just a few miles north of America’s Capitol, the epicenter of the profoundly disappointing federal government shutdown and a looming confrontation on the debt ceiling.
