My Guitar
When I was at Ponce De Leon Junior High School I had a choice. I could either take shop, band, or chorus. The choice was easy since I had no skills with tools and I had never even held a musical...
View ArticleChemistry
I am reading a book called Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. It was recommended to me by a friend or else I would never have chosen it. I always heard that chemistry was a very hard course and I...
View ArticleThe Fed and the Indy 500
Honey, I think Junior found a box of matches. No worry. He doesn't know how to use matches. Honey, I think Junior took out a match from the box of matches. No worry. He doesn't know how to use...
View ArticleGovernment and Growth 2019 to 2021
The bottom line of the table shows that real GDP fell in 2020 meaning that 2020 was a recession year. The recession lasted only a single year (if we ignore quarters) and real GDP was only somewhat...
View ArticleGuns Versus Butter
Guns versus butter is a terminology that goes back to Nazi Germany and then to President Lyndon Johnson. And it seems highly relevant now. No, the issue is not about butter. Butter is easy for most...
View ArticleWindfall Profits and the Bad Guys
The news on Halloween said that President Biden warned oil firms that he was going to tax their windfall profits. He also said that he was going to enroll in a business program at the nearest Junior...
View ArticleNovember
This week's blog post is all about November. I am not sure how you relate to months or even if you do, but November is pretty special to me. My kids were born in November. One at the beginning and the...
View ArticleFood Glorious Food
I believe it was the musical Oliver where the cast sang the song Food Glorious Food. That was a long time ago but the song and some of the words have stayed with me. That's not by accident because the...
View ArticleLimbo Like Me
You are probably wondering how to conflate the Limbo with Thanksgiving. After all, Thanksgiving is coming up. But you think too hard and while it seems that today I should be writing about...
View ArticleFirst Born
Friends,Today makes me think back. It is the birthday of Jason, my first born. Ashley came along six years later. My memory is pretty rusty these days but I think it was 1973. I had very recently been...
View ArticleMaxi-Min in 2024
When I was in school at Georgia Tech I learned about optimization theory in math courses. We learned that we could phrase a decision in terms of maximums and minimums. What choice of goods and services...
View ArticleChanging Things Up
Since March 5, 2010 I have posted in this blog more than 700 times. Its been a great ride for me. It gave me an opportunity to think more about many issues most of them macroeconomic. I studied...
View ArticleShort Blurb on the US Economy
Here's a short blurb about the expected future course of the US economy. Looks like a bit of a slowdown but nothing crazy. I went to the CBO site -- Congressional Budget Office -- for the latest macro...
View ArticleSnowy Morning in Seattle
I'm feeling poetic. That's an urge I should and will resist.The snow is falling. Big flakes now. Leafless trees across the street with bare branches covered in snow. No snow plows yet so the street...
View ArticleIce on Friday
Yesterday I was feeling almost poetic about the beautiful snowfall here. Well, no more. The lovely snow has turned to ice. It is freezing here in Seattle and I have spent the morning looking out my...
View ArticleHawks
“Hawk” is a general term used to describe the entire group of diurnal (active by day) predatory birds. Worldwide there are approximately 270 species of carnivorous birds that comprise the order...
View ArticleJanuary 3. Happy New Year -- Stocks are Up
Hi all,Happy New Year. I saw the headlines that shouted (screamed?) that the markets were down at the end of the year. But what a bunch of crap. Have they no shame? Ok, the S&P average hit 3829 on...
View ArticleThe Fed and Confusing Signaling
Mr. Powell, the Chairman of the Fed, iterated his strong commitment to reducing the inflation rate. That's reassuring if its true. But actions speak louder than words and even his words are not...
View ArticleMemory
There are so many things we take for granted. The sun rises every morning and sets in the evening. Your mother-in-law will visit for the weekend and then stay for the month. Your kids will grow up and...
View ArticleHappy Valentines Day
Happy Valentines Day folks. I hope your day is full of hearts and chocolates and friendships and love. In Seattle the air is cool but the sky is very blue. Lots of sun. Looks like a great day for a...
View ArticleI Can't Get No Satisfaction
The Rolling Stones sang, "I can't get no satisfaction." Aside from the grammatical error in that sentence, I starting thinking about satisfaction. There are a lot of synonyms for satisfaction:...
View ArticleAfter Memory
I wrote about memory a few weeks ago. I hope it wasn't too depressing for you. This time I am writing about what I should be writing about. I used to write about macroeconomic policy. I kept up with...
View ArticleHumpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the kings men could not put Humpty back together again. I fell down a couple days ago and knocked my noggin on...
View ArticleNo Decision At All
I just read an op-ed piece that lamented the poor Fed having to make a decision. On the one hand the Fed says it wants to stave off inflation. That would require higher interest rates. On the other...
View Article77
I had my 77th birthday on March 31st. It made me think that I have harassed you enough. It has been a great ride for me. It appears that I have been doing this blog since 2010. My health is fine though...
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