Mike has been taking care of the newsletter for me this week (thanks Mike) as I’ve been banging away at our upcoming Buyer’s Guide, so I haven’t been as up on what’s happening as I usually am. Still, the big news this week was unavoidable: President Obama signed an executive order directing federal agencies to cut promotional products spend by 20 percent.
If you haven’t read the story, head over to the page now, and make sure to check out the comments as well. Good points are made for both sides: some argue that the government shouldn’t be cutting budgets that could promote business, while others point out that a lot of campaign promotional products are paid for by contributions, not federal dollars. There are strong arguments and emotions on either side of the fence.
Later this week, it was revealed that most of the money saved by the 20 percent cut, which applies not to just promotions but also technology and travel, won’t be put toward reducing the federal budget. Rather, the money will be directed toward other programs that “the White House contends are more worthy,” the New York Times reported.
Between this, and the news two weeks ago that the Obama for America campaign was suing a promotional products company for trademark infringement, our industry has lately been getting a black eye in the press. As an industry professional, what do you think about the recent developments? Are promotional products getting unfairly smeared? Will the federal budget cuts hurt your business? If anyone works with or sells to a government agency, I’d love to hear your perspective. Please shoot me an email or leave any comments below.
