Hard to Believe that Some Cry Out in the Wilderness!

There are some people who have incredibly long and successful resumes who provide what appears to me to be self-evident truth and yet, the powers-to-be seem totally oblivious to the validity of their views. Their self-interest is paramount, even though if they could see beyond their near sighted noses, they could envision of future in which they gain while others also gain.

Simon Johnson writes from Davos with his repeated insights into the financial problems created by our huge banks. The leaders at Davos apparently think that this is some lunatic that broke into the sacred halls of this hallowed gathering.

Michael Porter of Harvard Business School has published an article in their journal that embodies the best of the social dimension of business. "Shared Value" is a concept that looks beyond the immediate bottom line of the financial statement to include the benefits to the larger society. It is great that he thinks this way; the tragedy is that no one is listening.

Thinking of the Young Women in My Family

NOT JUST A WOMAN!

Easy when looking at each action,

One by one, task here, then there.

Just keep plugging along.

Simple enough to care for a small child,

More complicated when more than one.

Sleep when needed, often a luxury.

A house that doesn’t clean itself,

Week after week, so much the same,

Food that begs for a cook.

Spouses can help, Some do.

Others master the escape route,

Routes to the land of avoidance.

Work often becomes a disguised blessing,

Change from the routine,

Yet often mixed with stress.

Only a saint could bear the burden,

Someone with Ethiopian shoulders,

But none of this, a woman and then some!

Happy Birthday in Great Style!

Granted that there are few occasions where the purpose matches the experience! Tonight I was able to celebrate the birth of my wonderful wife and best friend in the most exquisite site.

After experiencing the other restaurants of Boston's famous Barbara Lynch, we wanted to go to her newest place, the Menton, in the Seaport District. It was incredible, literally, i.e., words cannot begin to describe the experience.

We knew that this would be special since her other restaurants were awesome. However, in addition to incredible menu of delicious, if not unbelievable, food, Barbara came out to our table and said, "Happy Birthday, Joan". Wow! We chatted with her about how great she was and was impressed that she took time with us.

After our meal, we had a tour of her kitchen where she took time to tell us about her equipment, especially to stove that she had brought from France.

It would be most difficult to measure how great it was except to say that it did not measure up to the occasion. There would be no earthly means to do justice to the wonders of Joan in my life, far less the lives of our children, grandchildren, and friends. For me, it has been such a treasure to have lived with someone so long who has only become closer to me over the many years. I cannot imagine how any person could be more fortunate than I, to have had the chance to experience Joan in such close proximity. If the experience tonight was incredible, one can imagine how difficult it would be to grasp the meaning of life lived with such a beautiful person.

The delicious and delectable meal was clearly special. Far more special has been the person we celebrated.

Are the Poor the Source of our Economic Plight?

It is somewhat hard to believe that there are those who actually think that the poor were the source of our national fiscal problems. If it were not for their getting involved in housing market, if the government did not bend its policies toward the poor, if lending was not loosened up to compensate for the loss of earning power, we would have avoided the disaster that occurred.

Simon Johnson, referencing now data by Daron Acemoglu (a confrere of his at MIT), debunks this notion, as he done elsewhere.

Johnson, here and elsewhere, fears that our government is becoming an oligarchy, controlled by money. Rather than policies bending towards the poor, there is evidence that the rich segment of our nation is the major beneficiary. Just think of the interchange between the White House and White House as an indication of how policies are weighted. We still notice that our "financial reform" legislation is still bending as much as possible to support the megabanks.

The level of economic inequities has been increasing since the 70's. By the time of 2000, the level of disparities were no worse than the previous years. There is no reason that the housing problems were directly connected to the ease of obtaining loans.

Rather, we should focus on the private sector's drive to garnish as much revenue through the securization of mortgages that were declining. There was a need to create a new market, viz., the subprime.

We need to identify the source of our problems correctly in order to avoid more in the future. In fact, one can fear that similar problems will arise since we have not addressed the critical need to ensure that no bank is too big to fail.

Rethinking Our National/International Situation

Reading Walter Russell Meade's blog was a most thought provoking exercise. I admit that it never occurred to me to question whether our national "successes" of the past, e.g., since WWII, were as great as I thought. He questions whether the notion of "developed" is appropriately applied to the Western World, as though we had come to the end of the story. It sort of implied that we really could probably do no better and thus, the need to restore what we have "lost" in recent times, however one measures such times, e.g., time since the Middle Class started to lose wealth in the 70's or time since we started to lose our national preeminence in the world's standing or time since we started to lose our status as the top educated nation in the world.

In short, he questions whether we should look to the past as that great rather than look forward to a greater future that will make our "past" seem as remote as those who felt that our society was going down the wrong road when we started to develop mass production with Ford.

It makes me feel good to think that we can envision a world that is "better" than the perceived "best" that we enjoyed in the past.

Industrial Military Complex

Andrew Bacevich focuses on the exit speech of President Eisenhower who warned of the dangers associated with the term he identified as the "industrial military complex". He was referencing the problem of ongoing expansion of the military to satisfy perceived economic gains associated with the "industry". He claimed that the need for citizen rule over this endeavor was needed. We never heeded the message and now we are, for sure, seeing the consequences. We have an enormous budget that engages in "endless wars" that now focuses on virtually anything since we no longer are at war with nation states, but people who have "causes" that lead to violence. It is a horrible situation that can only lead to further negative consequences.

At the time here were other points made by the President. He discussed the need to put national interests ahead of politics and that there were no quick fixes for crises. For him, balance was an important ingredient in national agendas. And for sure, there was a need to attend to our national economic needs. He was totally aware of the consequences of a bloated military-industrial complex that would distort our budget by penalizing our national needs with those of the military.

European Union Economics 101

Paul Krugman's long article today does justice in dealing with the problems resulting from the economic issues impacting Ireland, Spain, Greece. It is complicated to understand exactly the relationship between national debt and currency stability. As hard as it is to comprehend the problem in the United States, e.g., whether to create inflation so that our national debt is lessened or to create new debt to offset our budget shortfalls. The Eurozone is still more complicated because each nation is politically isolated even though they share the same currency.

I remain a student in this regard. I can come to no clear conclusion except to say that it appears self-evident that the Euro will never be as solid as the dollar until they consolidate into a national government.

Real Problem!

It is virtually impossible for me to grasp the implications of our global economy as it impacts our own nation. I understand the need to be involved globally. We cannot isolate ourselves. And, it is important that other nations grow their economy to support their people. At the same time, jobs produced by our corporations in other nations clearly cause pain to our people.

Harold Meyerson has captured the problem very well. He uses the term, "institutionalism", to describe the shift of jobs by our corporations to other nations. Whatever the term, one can wonder how we can survive without a middle class that can be productive and capable of supporting a level of consumerism that is commensurate with the needs of themselves as well as our nation. As Kevin Phillips as pointedly indicated in several of his publications, no nation can maintain its power without a strong middle class.

The Military is a "Sacred Cow"

Since we no longer have a universal draft, most people have no direct contact with those in the military. The military is no longer represented in all parts of the nation; the military come predominantly from rural areas and the South. Politicians no longer routinely have a history in the military. At the same time, words from celebrities and politicians give praise to the military as those who are chosen to provide us our national security.

Richard Cohen rightly is critical of this phenomenon that does damage to our military as well as our nation that has distorted its role at our nation's peril.

Amazing Scenery!

When we were much, very much younger, we descended the Grand Canyon. Our youngest was still in formation during the episode. We, as all people, were dutifully impressed.

Visiting the Red Rock Area of northern AZ (Sedona), we traveled in the midst of absolutely beautiful rock formation that exceeds one's mental grasp. It is mind-boggling. I enclose an Wikipedia section that deals with the geology of the area.

Geology

An outcrop of Aztec Sandstone

The Red Rock Area has a complex geological history, which over millions of years, helped to create the dramatic landscape that characterizes the region.

The Red Rock area was located under a deep ocean basin during the Paleozoic Era 600 million years ago. Sediments up to 9,000 feet thick were deposited, and eventually lithified. This sediment eventually formed into limestone.^[8]

Calico Hills scenery in Red Rock Canyon

Sunset at Red Rock Canyon

Around the Mesozoic Era 250 million years ago, the earth's crust started to rise due to tectonic shifts, forcing the water out and leaving behind evaporite formations of salt and gypsum. Exposure of the former sea bed allowed some of the rocks to oxidize (literally rust) and formed the area's characteristic red and orange rock layers.^[9]

Eventually a lush plain with streams and trees developed in the area. Some of these trees were covered with mud from the streams and eventually became petrified wood. Many of these fossilized logs can still be found today at the base of the Wilson Cliffs.

By 180 million years ago, the climate continued to change and the area became a desert featuring vast expanses of huge shifting sand dunes. These dunes would pile up and werelithified, and are now called Aztec Sandstone. During a mountain building period called theLaramide orogeny around 65 million years ago, the Keystone Thrust Fault developed, which ran through most of North America and through the Red Rock Conservation Area. The movement of this fault forced the older grey sedimentary rock over the younger red rocks, forming the striking red line that can be seen in the mountain today.^[10]

Economic Inequality

I often rivet on the problem of economic inequality. It seems so clear that a great divide between the "haves" and "have nots", creates all sorts of problems. Usually, I start off by focusing on international issues, e.g., hard for me not to think that economic inequality does not create violence and war. Then, there are internal issues, e.g., hard to not consider that someone without resources becomes angry when some have so much more.

It may be all my projections, thinking I would react under a set of circumstances.

Then, there has been some research indicating that "terrorists" making the news are often those who are more educated and economically privileged within their own nation.

But, Nicholas Kristoff references the work of Wilkinson and Pickett that indicates all sorts of behavioral changes associated with levels of inequality, ranging from psychological and sociological issues to medical problems.

Since it was clear to me that economic inequality is such a major issue, this article only confirms my conviction.