Friday

The notion of control is a comforting illusion.  The chaos of reality can feel overwhelming at times, so draping a veil over it can create the semblance of order.  Instead, the best we can all likely hope for is influence over outcome but rarely if ever full control.  Economics is a perfect example of this lack of control.  There is no single puppeteer masterfully choregraph

Americans push limits. It is an integral piece of our nation’s DNA and arguably part of what makes our nation exceptional.  Unfortunately, not all limit-pushing is good. Perhaps this note pushes a certain limit, and its result is less than pleasing (you be the judge), but let’s try anyway.

Ah, it’s Friday.  The final day of the workweek for most working Americans.  It is a day wrapped in a sense of accomplishment while tinged with the anticipation of a couple of days of leisure.  But turn back the clocks a century or so, and you find time when Friday was just another day in the seemingly endless workweek as the typical American used to have a six-day workweek

Sound waves are an interesting phenomenon.  They start out from a catalyst which vibrates a medium through which they travel.  For instance, clapping hands vibrate the air, changing its density and pressure as they travel away from the hands.  The volume, pitch, and speed of sound are all dependent variables.  For instance, the more energy that goes into a clap, the louder i

More is an American mantra.  When we line up for the all-you-can eat buffet, we want more.  When it comes to consumption, we’re the nation responsible for the bumper stick that reads, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”  More, as a concept, is endemic in the nation’s culture and doesn’t seem to be becoming unrooted. 

Spending borrowed money can be fun, but paying it back rarely is. However, that is how the financial system works in America.  A person looking to spend more than they have available borrows money from another source which has more money than it needs at the same moment in time.  This can go on and help fuel an economic expansion for a while but not forever.

A person's daily life is influenced by a complex interplay of various cycles.

America’s central bank gathered for the final time in 2023 this week.  As was widely expected, there was no change in the Fed Funds Rate.  This is the rate banks charge each other for overnight lending and is set by the Federal Reserve.  Votes in the halls of the Eccles Building were unanimous, something we can’t say about ballots in other halls within our nation&rsqu

Droughts can be devastating.  Avocado farmers in Southern Spain are dealing with a difficult one now.  The change is so dramatic that according to this Bloomberg article, one 86-year-old farmer has decided to take down 2,500 trees, now using th

Climbing a mountain implies a single direction: up.  Yes, from time to time you might reach a false summit that then dips lower for a bit, but the general direction of travel is up.  Inflation isn’t much different.  During your entire life, there have only been rare exceptions to the rising climb.