If I keep on this track, I'll probably drop my readers from one (yes I count you H, I can't even get my wife to read my blog lately), to zero, but oh well, the act of writing and publishing is intoxicating, addictive, and a massive learning experience. Just the thought that somebody out there may be reading this is a bit exciting, especially if I have no idea who that person might be.
Anyway, here's an e-mail I wrote someone who really believes in "The Secret" (I do too):
To say that we are 100% in control of our own well being, I don't feel is right. It ignores our interconnectedness in our world. It ignores that fact the behavior of my neighbor affects me, and my behavior affects my neighbor.
During the 1930's, for example, Hoover felt this very strong confidence in the free market economy. He was a legitimate self made man, and he felt that because he was able to rise from obscurity to achieve financial success, everyone else should be able to as well. So, the government did practically nothing while the country burned.
Roosevelt, by contrast, was not self made at all. He inherited his own charisma, his wealth, his opportunity, his education. Practically everything was given to him. But it was his polio that struck him out of the blue that made him the politician he became. He understood that sometimes bad things happen completely out of our control. That hard working, dedicated, and optimistic people lost everything during the depression, many were literally living in boxes. And it was not their fault. He understood that the government could and should step in to make lives better for everyone.
Roosevelt took us off of the gold standard, allowing the central government more opportunity to manipulate the currency. He instituted social security, minimum wages. He took control of farming so that farmers were not over-producing driving down prices. He instituted a bank holiday that lasted a week that allowed people to come to their senses and kept more banks from failing.
One way to look at life is that we're a surfer riding powerful ocean waves. We have virtually no control over the waves, we're powerless to fight against it. But if we understand the waves and ourselves, we can position ourselves correctly to take advantage of its strength to our own advantage.
So, in some ways I agree, we can make the best of bad times by having absolute optimism and working hard on our passions, and not losing our nerve. Right now, we should be donating money to our causes, making sound and wise purchases, building our lives.
But if the masses completely lose confidence in each other and in our institutions, the collective choices of the whole will be that wave that will affect us. We can ride the wave as best as we can, but we don't have total control, and it could wipe us out just like everyone else.
Its the great wonder of our existence, we are both all powerful and completely vulnerable all at the same time. We are completely independent but also completely interdependent. The biggest complaint I have with the philosophy behind The Secret (or maybe I don't understand it well enough), is that it ignores that second part of our existence, how completely vulnerable we are in this world. This world is both full of abundance and full of want. We are both immortal and painfully mortal.
People dying in Sudan are not dying because of their own lack of optimism, they are dying because they are affected by a sea of negativity and fear surrounding them.
So, we do need Obama and our government to step up and do what it can do. And we have a responsibility to call our congressman to make sure he does it.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Economic Lessons to be Learned from "It's a Wonderful Life"
This is a really cool little article in the latest New Yorker.
It's comparing our financial crisis and our current moment to the time when a child bumps her head right before she bursts out her scream, she's just pausing long enough to figure out what to do. The world has stopped spending for the same reason that a child cries. We've been hurt and we want everyone to pay attention.
A really great quote:
"Far from adjusting our expenditures to the needs of the moment, it seems, we tend to wildly overswing, according to our mood. The difference between the provident ant, who cautiously saves up for winter, and the carefree grasshopper, dancing and hopping, is a matter of what Keynes called “animal spirits.” It is better for the common lot if each of us is a hopper (and a shopper) rather than a hoarder. Being a nation of grasshoppers is allied to being a nation of hope."
And:
"The seasonal classics demonstrate the same truth. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey’s Building & Loan is, let us recall, the reckless banker of Bedford Falls, giving what would now be called subprime mortgages to people like Mr. Martini, who would be better off renting. And it is mean, miserable old Mr. Potter who berates Bailey for the practice. “And what does that get us?” Potter asks. “A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class.” But George’s answer speaks to the larger emotional notion of what makes economies work and what economies are for: 'Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers? . . . Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about . . . they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?'"
But in reality, Potter was right. Or to quote a recent home schooling lecture I recently listened to where the speaker encouraged her listeners not to take out loans for a college education because "debt is bondage". Can you imagine if we took the "debt is evil" to an absurd extreme? If we went back to (as we are now) to 20% down payments on home loans? Where people waited until they can buy a car with cash. We would all be poorer. Far fewer of us would be home owners, we would be driving miserable cars with high maintenance costs until much later in our lives.
Going into debt is an act of faith, both in ourselves and in the larger community. It's a "hope rooted in a common purpose". I'm not saying that we should go back to a nation where we don't save at all. We should scale back, but we're scaling back way too much.
"What makes Bedford Falls thrive is people feeling good about its future. George Bailey is a Capraesque Keynesian through and through, encouraging consumption rather than thrift, and hope rooted in the common purpose rather than fear rooted in the impoverishment of capital. "
It's comparing our financial crisis and our current moment to the time when a child bumps her head right before she bursts out her scream, she's just pausing long enough to figure out what to do. The world has stopped spending for the same reason that a child cries. We've been hurt and we want everyone to pay attention.
A really great quote:
"Far from adjusting our expenditures to the needs of the moment, it seems, we tend to wildly overswing, according to our mood. The difference between the provident ant, who cautiously saves up for winter, and the carefree grasshopper, dancing and hopping, is a matter of what Keynes called “animal spirits.” It is better for the common lot if each of us is a hopper (and a shopper) rather than a hoarder. Being a nation of grasshoppers is allied to being a nation of hope."
And:
"The seasonal classics demonstrate the same truth. In “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey’s Building & Loan is, let us recall, the reckless banker of Bedford Falls, giving what would now be called subprime mortgages to people like Mr. Martini, who would be better off renting. And it is mean, miserable old Mr. Potter who berates Bailey for the practice. “And what does that get us?” Potter asks. “A discontented, lazy rabble instead of a thrifty working class.” But George’s answer speaks to the larger emotional notion of what makes economies work and what economies are for: 'Doesn’t it make them better citizens? Doesn’t it make them better customers? . . . Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you’re talking about . . . they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath?'"
But in reality, Potter was right. Or to quote a recent home schooling lecture I recently listened to where the speaker encouraged her listeners not to take out loans for a college education because "debt is bondage". Can you imagine if we took the "debt is evil" to an absurd extreme? If we went back to (as we are now) to 20% down payments on home loans? Where people waited until they can buy a car with cash. We would all be poorer. Far fewer of us would be home owners, we would be driving miserable cars with high maintenance costs until much later in our lives.
Going into debt is an act of faith, both in ourselves and in the larger community. It's a "hope rooted in a common purpose". I'm not saying that we should go back to a nation where we don't save at all. We should scale back, but we're scaling back way too much.
"What makes Bedford Falls thrive is people feeling good about its future. George Bailey is a Capraesque Keynesian through and through, encouraging consumption rather than thrift, and hope rooted in the common purpose rather than fear rooted in the impoverishment of capital. "
Saturday, January 3, 2009
What I got for Christmas/New Years Resolution
I've been consumed by consumer confidence, the economy, and how our purchasing effects the overall economy lately, and Christmas is the peak consumerism, all of this is on my mind.
But I love how the holiday's are laid out to tell you the truth. The year ends with a bang as we celebrate and remember God's gift to mankind by giving gifts to each other. And this rush to shop for one another puts a lot of people to work. People work all year with the Christmas season in mind. People should save all year, to then plunge without guilt to the shopping malls with wads of cash in their pocket to buy gifts for one another. Instead, we tend to come into the Christmas season a little short and plan on paying off our shopping the next year.
But its all a great time because if its done right, we get gifts we would never or could never buy for ourselves. How boring would life be if every possession we owned was purchased by ourself for ourself. My life, for one, would be less full. So yes, I love getting gifts for Christmas. And I love giving gifts for Christmas. And this Christmas was extra nice.
Here's what I got:
1) Clothes. I have an interesting relationship with clothes. Growing up, money was scarce, but I had to fit in with my peers, so I made deep sacrifices in quantity for quality. I would literally get by the year with two pair of pants, and rotate them each day, and my mom was forced to wash them every single day. And how did I get those pants? Well, my birthday is in August, just as the school year begins, and my Grandma would always give me a wad of cash as a gift. So, that money was used, every year (with some help with my parents) and clothes for the school year. And that kind of upbringing just sticks. I have a really hard time buying clothes for the year, so my wife supplements my wardrobe with Christmas presents. But she buys me clothes I would never pick out myself (for good or bad), but this year, I sincerely enjoy the clothes she bought for me. So, yes, my life is richer.
2) Scriptures, a scripture case large enough to carry more than just scriptures, and a journal. I really want to have a little personal time each and every day where I can study the scriptures. I really want to finish the Old Testament, the lone book of Scripture I have yet to read. And I want to write down notes in my journal. And I want all of this to be together in one place. I have started doing this, and I crave the experience. Its hard to do every day because there are so many ways I get diverted, but I feel that 2009 is the year to be doing this. So, I'm excited for this gift.
3) "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama. I've started reading this book and it is really good. Reminds me of all the reasons I was blown over with excitement about Obama the president. He's started the book with the bitter partisanship of our politics, our obsession over wedge issues, and our failure to concede that the other side my have a point. He talks about how his mother was a early 1960's liberal, and how because of the way he was raised, he basically sidestepped all of the divisive Vietnam era toxins that have poisoned our politics ever since. Good to read a book written by our current president, good to have a president that writes.
4) A gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. I plan on buying this Algorithms computer science book, and I plan on beefing up my data structure and algorithm design skills in my spare time... I learned about trees, and lists, and hashes, and graphs, and other sorts of data structures, but I rarely use them at work, but when I interview, questions on these things get asked, so I want to find some proficiency. And if I'm proficient, I might find more uses for them in my every day work, and the code I write will be better.
Gifts that my wife got (that I enjoy):
1) The iPod touch. I have seriously enjoyed this gift more than she has, but it is so much better as an iPod than mine. Its interface is so much better, it has features mine doesn't. And we have been using it to track our daughter's diabetes. I hope my wife finds uses for it, but I'm really excited to have it in our lives.
2) Two ColdPlay albums. My wife really wanted a ColdPlay album, and she received two. I've listened to them as well, and I'm not a huge fan, but I am a fan. I love music, and I love new music.
The holiday season is even better because Christmas, my most favorite time of the year is followed closely with the beginning of the new year, a time to make goals, a time for hope for a better world. I have some great hopes for 2009.
This year I hope to:
1) Read scriptures/write in my journal most every day.
2) Pray for specific people in my life most every day.
3) Make specific home improvements, spend $6000 on those repairs, making my house at least $6000 better to live in.
4) Save additional dollars in my "I can take more risks in my career because I can live for a period of time without a job" fund. Yes, at some point it would be nice to take a risk and work for a startup, my own or another, but I need two things to happen. I need universal (or close to it) access to health care (come on Obama I'm counting on you), and I need more money in the bank.
5) Attend the temple once/month. Yes, we have a newborn, so yes this would count as at least doubling my temple attendance.
6) Have a significant something to contribute to next year's talent show. Not sure yet what that will be. I would like it to be something computer science related - a website? - a game? We'll see.
7) Gain some proficiency in Haskell (a functional computer language).
8) Make specific and more significant contributions to my wife's home schooling (not sure in what way yet).
Yes, I tend to get overly ambitious with my goals, but I feel these are achievable. The key is that I need to finish my complete abandonment of sports to free up time. And also place a bit more limits on my politicizing. We'll see.
But I do have a lot of excitement for the new year.
I hope your holidays were as good as mine.
But I love how the holiday's are laid out to tell you the truth. The year ends with a bang as we celebrate and remember God's gift to mankind by giving gifts to each other. And this rush to shop for one another puts a lot of people to work. People work all year with the Christmas season in mind. People should save all year, to then plunge without guilt to the shopping malls with wads of cash in their pocket to buy gifts for one another. Instead, we tend to come into the Christmas season a little short and plan on paying off our shopping the next year.
But its all a great time because if its done right, we get gifts we would never or could never buy for ourselves. How boring would life be if every possession we owned was purchased by ourself for ourself. My life, for one, would be less full. So yes, I love getting gifts for Christmas. And I love giving gifts for Christmas. And this Christmas was extra nice.
Here's what I got:
1) Clothes. I have an interesting relationship with clothes. Growing up, money was scarce, but I had to fit in with my peers, so I made deep sacrifices in quantity for quality. I would literally get by the year with two pair of pants, and rotate them each day, and my mom was forced to wash them every single day. And how did I get those pants? Well, my birthday is in August, just as the school year begins, and my Grandma would always give me a wad of cash as a gift. So, that money was used, every year (with some help with my parents) and clothes for the school year. And that kind of upbringing just sticks. I have a really hard time buying clothes for the year, so my wife supplements my wardrobe with Christmas presents. But she buys me clothes I would never pick out myself (for good or bad), but this year, I sincerely enjoy the clothes she bought for me. So, yes, my life is richer.
2) Scriptures, a scripture case large enough to carry more than just scriptures, and a journal. I really want to have a little personal time each and every day where I can study the scriptures. I really want to finish the Old Testament, the lone book of Scripture I have yet to read. And I want to write down notes in my journal. And I want all of this to be together in one place. I have started doing this, and I crave the experience. Its hard to do every day because there are so many ways I get diverted, but I feel that 2009 is the year to be doing this. So, I'm excited for this gift.
3) "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama. I've started reading this book and it is really good. Reminds me of all the reasons I was blown over with excitement about Obama the president. He's started the book with the bitter partisanship of our politics, our obsession over wedge issues, and our failure to concede that the other side my have a point. He talks about how his mother was a early 1960's liberal, and how because of the way he was raised, he basically sidestepped all of the divisive Vietnam era toxins that have poisoned our politics ever since. Good to read a book written by our current president, good to have a president that writes.
4) A gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. I plan on buying this Algorithms computer science book, and I plan on beefing up my data structure and algorithm design skills in my spare time... I learned about trees, and lists, and hashes, and graphs, and other sorts of data structures, but I rarely use them at work, but when I interview, questions on these things get asked, so I want to find some proficiency. And if I'm proficient, I might find more uses for them in my every day work, and the code I write will be better.
Gifts that my wife got (that I enjoy):
1) The iPod touch. I have seriously enjoyed this gift more than she has, but it is so much better as an iPod than mine. Its interface is so much better, it has features mine doesn't. And we have been using it to track our daughter's diabetes. I hope my wife finds uses for it, but I'm really excited to have it in our lives.
2) Two ColdPlay albums. My wife really wanted a ColdPlay album, and she received two. I've listened to them as well, and I'm not a huge fan, but I am a fan. I love music, and I love new music.
The holiday season is even better because Christmas, my most favorite time of the year is followed closely with the beginning of the new year, a time to make goals, a time for hope for a better world. I have some great hopes for 2009.
This year I hope to:
1) Read scriptures/write in my journal most every day.
2) Pray for specific people in my life most every day.
3) Make specific home improvements, spend $6000 on those repairs, making my house at least $6000 better to live in.
4) Save additional dollars in my "I can take more risks in my career because I can live for a period of time without a job" fund. Yes, at some point it would be nice to take a risk and work for a startup, my own or another, but I need two things to happen. I need universal (or close to it) access to health care (come on Obama I'm counting on you), and I need more money in the bank.
5) Attend the temple once/month. Yes, we have a newborn, so yes this would count as at least doubling my temple attendance.
6) Have a significant something to contribute to next year's talent show. Not sure yet what that will be. I would like it to be something computer science related - a website? - a game? We'll see.
7) Gain some proficiency in Haskell (a functional computer language).
8) Make specific and more significant contributions to my wife's home schooling (not sure in what way yet).
Yes, I tend to get overly ambitious with my goals, but I feel these are achievable. The key is that I need to finish my complete abandonment of sports to free up time. And also place a bit more limits on my politicizing. We'll see.
But I do have a lot of excitement for the new year.
I hope your holidays were as good as mine.
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