Snaith revisits "audacity of scope"

Back in September 2009, when the Obama presidency was not even a year old, economist Sean Snaith captured lots of attention when he coined the phrase "audacity of scope." The play on President Barack Obama's best-selling book title was Snaith's trademark clever way of describing how Obama was taking on too much at once, trying to tackle too many big problems simultaneously.

Snaith revisited the phrase Friday when talking about the snail's pace economic recovery that the country and state are undergoing. He says the country is still suffering from the Obama administration's decision to take on too much at once.

Specifically, Snaith said, the administration created a long-lingering cloud of uncertainty over the economy when it simultaneously tackled health care reform (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, disaffectionately labeled by Republicans as Obamacare) and financial services reform (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act).

The former has health care businesses and insurance companies unsure of what lies ahead; the latter has done the same for banks, Snaith says. "All of this stuff goes into uncertainty," Snaith says. And, as many an economist has said this year, uncertainty is one of the biggest reasons why corporations aren't moving forward with hiring. Hiring, Snaith says, is one of the two "siamese twins" of the economy (the other being the housing market) that need to improve in order for the other to improve.

To read more of Snaith's comments, see Saturday's Bradenton Herald business section.

Port Manatee candidate's champion past

Steve Tyndal, one of six finalists to become executive director of Port Manatee, is already known for fostering international trade agreements and leading the creation of award-winning publications during 18 years as a senior director at the port.

But Tyndal has another impressive element to his past: a 16-year career as a competitive bicycle racer that included a national championship. Tyndal has raced with two-time Olympian Frankie Andreu, former USA Cycling champion Chris Horner, and regular Tour de France presence George Hincapie. He even left his career at Port Manatee for four years to focus on his racing career.

Tyndal first became interested in bicycle racing while attending Austin Peay State University on a track scholarship. He had purchased a bike to travel to and from campus. "I had a really competitive nature about me and so I would time myself each day to see if I could make it faster," he recalls.

But his father discouraged racing, concerned that Tyndal would injure himself and endanger his track scholarship. So Tyndal waited until he was an adult, raced part-time for years, and finally began focusing full-time on the sport when he was 41. He became so devoted that he left his post at Port Manatee for four years, and that's when he won the 1994 Masters National Championship medal and trophy with which he's pictured here.

In 1997, Tyndal broke his arm, scapula and four clavicles during a training accident. While recovering, he received a call from the port asking him to come back. Thus ended his bicycling career and began his career at the port as senior director of trade and special projects.

Since then, Tyndal has completely left behind bicycling. "I only rode a half-dozen times since my last race, and then I've never ridden since. To go from a racer with focus, to bicycling for fitness, just didn't work for me." He still follows the sport intensely from afar, monitoring big races as they are televised or in the newspaper. "It gets in your blood."