Category: Observations

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Rensselaer’s  Welcoming Wagon

What makes a community for most is finding groups and activities  to which one can belong.  From the initial days as a Brownie or cub scout, to the morning coffee conversations at a local café in retirement, finding social connection makes life worth living.

In my recent high school reunion, some classmates meet for coffee every morning around the old St Joe College fountain on the edge of town.  Others volunteer at the library, the Historical Society or still attend church on Sundays.   Being with others after raising families or a lifetime of work is vital to one’s well-being.

The Founding of the Welcome Wagon

In November 1957 the town of Rensselaer formalized the process of welcoming new residents in an inaugural meeting forming a Welcome Wagon Club.   The monthly meetings were to greet the newest members in town and introduce them to some “pioneer” residents who could brief them on getting to know the city in a minimum of time.

The meeting was led by the club’s Hostess, Marietta Henry, a community leader who presented the newly formed organization’s  purpose.  Then several representatives described different aspects of the town.  George Long (owner of Long’s Drug store) gave a history of the city’s past.  Then Mayor Hanley talked about present-day Rensselaer.   Rev. Charles W. Filson (my dad) welcomed the group on behalf of the city’s churches.

The sixty-three attendees, most wearing their Sunday best, were then photographed with all the names listed below the picture.  In the foreground are welcome baskets filled with items from the town’s local merchants.

The Importance of  Being Welcoming

In many ways Rensselaer was and is a stable community.  Change does occur; however the economic farming base and land ownership does not lead to dramatic population turnover either in or out.  Bringing in new residents is still key to maintaining a viable economic and diverse demographic social base.

The Welcome Wagon is a concept inspired by the Conestoga “welcome wagons” that provided food and water to travelers moving west.  The concept was the basis for the organization founded in Memphis, Tennessee in 1928 by Thomas Briggs, Think of the Welcome (Wells Fargo) Wagon song from the Music Man which greeted Harold Hill’s band instrument delivery into town.

Small towns are more intimate than cities and suburbs.  Everybody knows most everyone else, or if necessary, someone who does know them.   Family history and connections will go back for three, even four generations.  One of the organizers of our reunion, where we are all at or near 80, still visits her mother daily who is 102.

Local  community groups and activities provide a grounding that can prepare one for life and importantly, opportunities beyond a small town.  For it is the values,  commitments, mentors and work ethic that will settle in and carry one into the bigger world beyond.

The learnings essential for life and a worldly welcome wherever one settles down are an enduring foundation for the graduates of small town America.

 

 

 

 

 

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You Can’t Go Home Again

Or so said Thomas Wolf, the novelist.   But you can visit with the perspective of years and see what makes small towns in the Midwest a special place in many people’s lives

I just returned from my 62nd high school reunion in Rensselaer, IN.  A journey of nostalgia but also discovery and learning.  While I only lived there for five years, from middle school through the first 21/2 years of high school, they were formative in ways one can only see later.

At the moment two Vice Presidential candidates talk about their small-town roots.  One does so with joyful remembrances of people knowing and looking after each other.  An experience of community that orients one to what matters in life.  The second is a somewhat darker story of the problems and poverty in rural America.

My return visit was filled with multiple conversations with people continuing to make this farming town of around 5,000 a place for understanding how community matters and its role in instilling the  special American spirit of enterprise and duty.

I will share events such as the Friday Night Lights Senior recognition during half time at the Bomber’s football game vs. West Lafayette; the two visits Jesse Owens made to Rensselaer ; the grave of the first woman ordained in any part of the Methodist church in 1866; and Brigadier General Millroy who criticized the Union’s West Point Generals at the battle of Bull Run apparently in the presence of the President and the Secretary of War, Stanton.

The Worldly Education of Small-Town Life

Rich Kupke is not a name that readily comes to mind unless one recalls he was one of over 100 American hostages held for 444 days in Iran.   He came back home to a hero’s welcome in Indiana.  After retiring from the State Department he settled in Rensselaer where he had grown up and graduated from high school.

His return to Rensselaer is explained in this article about his post hostage  life:  Former Iranian Hostage Relishes Quieter Life Today

Even after his Iranian captors finally released the hostages in early 1981, Kupke continued working overseas in Thailand, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Mexico. “I was one of the first who went back overseas. The type of people I worked with, being an ex-hostage wasn’t a big topic that came up all the time,” he said. “It helped not to make it bigger than it was. I always disagreed with the psychiatrist who talked about post-traumatic stress happening five to 10 years later. I told him he was planting that in people’s minds. He got mad at me for disagreeing with him.”

If there is one lingering effect for Kupke, it’s in the way he’s often presented to new acquaintances in Rensselaer. “I’m often introduced as, ‘The former hostage in Iran.’ But most people go out of their way not to have me rehash the whole story. That’s a nice part of being in a small town.” 

Divorced in 1991, Kupke has been a single father ever since to his two sons. The three of them lived together in Jamaica and Mexico, but when the boys neared high-school age, their father figured there was only one place to continue their worldly education. “I was born here and went to high school here, and I thought it would be an excellent place for my boys to go to school. Back home in Indiana,” he said.

In addition to watching over 15-year-old James and 14-year-old Bill, Kupke keeps busy as a volunteer driver for Meals on Wheels. He also works part-time six days a week at the Jasper County Animal Shelter while waiting to hear about the possibility of returning to a stockbroker position. The only connection to his State Department days is the book he started writing a few months ago — a fictionalized account of a foreign service officer who faces one dramatic situation after another while traveling from country to country, based on his own experiences.

“Rensselaer is just an outstanding place to live. I couldn’t have made a better decision,” he said. “My life is a little slower these days. I don’t need to rush. I’m taking time to smell the daisies. Or is it the roses?” 

Life and Truth in It

Maybe quieter in some respects but life is no less purposeful.   Rensselaer epitomizes being in a community.   For it is in living with others that we find meaning and self-worth.

Thomas Wolf wrote:  Telling the truth is a pretty hard thing. And in a young man’s first attempt, with the distortions of his vanity, egotism, hot passion, and lacerated pride, it is almost impossible. “Home to Our Mountains” was marred by all these faults and imperfections…[Webber] did know that it was not altogether a true book. Still, there was truth in it.

I will share some stories of individuals shaped by this small town experience. One is about the Rensselaer High School Senior in 1937 who set the school record for the 100 yard dash, which still stands at 10.2 seconds. He met with Jesse Owens in 1937.  His grandson attended a Hi-Y banquet in 1959 at the First Methodist Church where Owens was the featured speaker, 22 years later.   Or the obituary of the last surviving Rensselaer soldier from the civil war who volunteered at 14 in 1861 and died in 1945-a sense of duty that carries on still today.

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Observations Continued. . .

Mark Twain

Some people bring joy wherever they go, and some people bring joy whenever they go.

On Political and Policy Leadership

Reducing complex issues, global power politics, and any public policy into one sentence is not conducive to the civility, magnanimity, and intellectual processes needed for a free society to flourish. Doing so performs a double disservice, in that even while it redirects one from issues to personalities it also kills the search for truth by ignoring the need for real arguments, even ones made with magnanimity.

The human mind was created to seek and know the truth, and to find pleasure in it when it is found. Democracy requires compromise, and compromise requires the two virtues lacking most in American society–prudence and humility.   (Source:  The Imaginative Conservative)

How New Board Members Feel

A little girl had just finished her first week of school. ‘I’m just wasting my time,’ she said to her mother. ‘I can’t read, I can’t write, and they won’t let me talk!’

Interdependence, Climate Change and Human Domination

If humans didn’t exist at all, life would continue on earth. Let’s not flatter ourselves: biologically speaking, the earth does not need us to tend and care for it. Life on earth existed for eons before we arrived. Have we made the earth better by our arrival? 

 

 

 

 

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Observations from Within and Without

How credit unions changed America’s financial Options

Credit unions reclaimed the idea of community versus total reliance on individual effort.  Its understanding that everyone matters and that everyone should have a chance at financial equity became a central premise of  American democracy.

Cooperative economic power changed the entire consumer financial fabric of the country.   Its opponents, external and internal, have worked to eliminate it ever since 1909 and 1934 put the option in play.

A CEO’s Favorite Leadership Quote:

From Colin Powell: ‘The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you’ve stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.’

On the Value of Small Institutions

What we don’t emphasize to kids, but we learn as adults, is that while the smallest animal may be crucial to our survival, it almost always ends up dead, swallowed up by a bigger inhabitant of the neighborhood.  Henry C. Meier

Future Forecasting

If you want to see the future of any movemen don’t look at its buildings or financial resources. Go look in the mirror and look at your neighbors.  Every movement’s purpose is sent into the world in human envelopes.

 

 

 

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Tonight’s Presidential Debate and “Equal Time”

There are many more critical topics on voters’ minds in tonight’s debate than how the two candidates view the contributions and financial role of credit unions  in the American economy.

Two  weeks ago I posted a blog with Vice President Harris’ remarks from an April 2023 Treasury CDFI award  announcement:

“When we invest in community lenders, we help build a future where all people—no matter who they are or where they start—have the resources they need not only to succeed but to thrive.

“These grants—representing the largest CDFI grant program in history – will enable hundreds of community lenders to invest in small businesses and entrepreneurs, and also provide home loans for families, financial services for local nonprofits, and capital for community organizations.” 

Over $590 million was awarded to 203 credit unions which was 34% of  total funding.

I stated if someone had an example of President Trump’s involvement, I would be glad to give equal time.   I received a response  the same day.

President Trump’s February 2018  Meeting with Credit Unions

 

The following text and a NAFCU article link are from Richard Harris, the retired  CEO of Caltech Employees FCU:  Although the attached article  is not a formal statement from former President Trump, it however, was perhaps the first time a sitting President engaged directly in person with credit unions. I was honored to represent the group as then Chair of the NAFCU Board of Directors. 

In addition to Richard  and the Presidents of NAFCU and CUNA,  several other CEO’s  present included:

Jeanne Kucey ,CEO of JetStream Federal Credit Union); Jim Kenyon, CEO of Whitefish Credit Unionairlines, Tyrone Muse  CEO of Visions Federal Credit Union;  Angie Owens president of American  Federal Credit Union; and Lynette Smith CEO of Washington Gas Light Federal Credit Union.

Cedit Unions and President Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House (February 2018).

The NAFCU article outlines several items discussed.   Richard’s description of the event: “He started the meeting by going around the table and having each credit union CEO tell who they served in their FOM and a little bit about our credit union. 

 Who were our members? How were we financially helping our members?  We went around the whole table. The President also had Gary Cohn, his economic advisor at the time, and his Chief of Staff, General Kelly, attend the meeting with us. The meeting lasted approximately one hour as I recall.

I was quite impressed with the President’s engagement with us.  Regulatory burden was the primary topic of discussion.”

Harris  continues:  “At the time, deregulation and the perceived overreach of the CFPB were front and center. The Trump Administration was actively seeking support from banks and credit unions to get behind their legislation and advocate to Congress for passing deregulation legislation. “ 

President Donald J. Trump meets with Credit Union Representatives in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, Monday, February 26, 2018, in Washington, D.C. (Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

“This meeting did not take place in conjunction with any other credit union gathering in Washington DC. It was hastily arranged and the participating credit union CEO’s needed to fly to DC with little notice.” 

I asked Richard if NCUA came up:  “There was no reference or discussion on NCUA or any of his appointees. His interest seemed to be very focused on how he could help the consumer, in this case our members. “

The Importance of Your Vote

At this stage of 2024 election, pundits estimate less than 7% or fewer are undecided about whom to vote for.   Many will tune into tonight’s debate to firm up their views for Trump or Vice President Harris.

The two topics cited in the excerpts above are traditional party themes:  democrats’ support for investments in community development and republicans’ promise to reduce governmental regulation.

These examples  show credit  unions have had some visibility with  these two candidates in the past.  In this very close contest it might even be possible that credit union’s unique purpose earns a shout out from one political team or the other.

Credit union professionals are probably as divided as is the country for whom they support.  The critical point is  that every vote matters.

Whatever your presidential preference, urge your members to exercise their most important democratic right-their vote.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Movement We Should All Know About

Christian Nationalism is an unholy union of American exceptionalism, White supremacy and Christian identity parading across stages at rallies and worship services.

Many people, especially traditional believers are confused and left wringing their hands about how to respond?   Is this just a temporary merging of the political right and politics facilitated by leaders who will leave the scene after elections are over?  Or is it something more permanent in our confused and complex American belief system.

During the past six months NPR has presented a number of in-depth stories on Christian Nationalism.  Here is a link to a 25 minute report from July 9.

This week Presbyterian Outlook told the story of three Seattle area church ministers working together to develop a faithful and reasonable response to this distortion of the denomination’s historical Christian doctrines.

How do we keep our sanity amid a chaotic political-religious climate?

On July 7, 2024 Dr. Matthew Taylor spoke on this growing influential force in our social and political discourse.  His talk was called Christian Nationalism, the Capitol Riot and the Rising Threat to American Pluralism.

It was presented as part of the summer speaker series at the National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.   His approach is analytical with multiple examples to document  his major points.  Because his talk is almost an hour, here is a brief outline.

  1. The Christian Nationalist presence and role in the January 6th events was neither accidental nor incidental. He provides numerous photos and videos showing this involvement.
  2. These seemingly independent mega churches and evangelical charismatic movements are networked together in an “ecosystem” of social media, round tables, and shared view of the five roles of church leaders. The prophetic and apostolic roles carry the highest authority.
  3. The churches believe in “strategic spiritual warfare” with a mandate for their followers to achieve leadership of the seven mountains of American society.

Every part of his analysis is documented including the leaders’ original outreach to Trump as a candidate in 2015 and then subsequent involvement in his administration.

Dr. Taylor’s goal is to call attention to this growing force which is counter to the historical American openness to diverse points of view whatever the topic.  He shows how the group’s symbols are becoming increasingly mainstream embraced by the current House Speaker and a Supreme Court Justice in their display of the Appeal to Heaven-Flag of Liberty- a prominent symbol seen on January 6 in the Capitol riot.

He cautions these people are “true believers” not temporary cynical hustlers after money and power.   He observes that these coordinated efforts might appear bigger than each of us, but not bigger than all of us.

I believe this factual and historical presentation of this movement is vital as it seeks to impose their vision for all of America.   Movements started with pure intent, can become distorted, even perverse.  Leaders can use their collective resources gathered for one vision, to expand to a much greater goal: power over others.

It has happened before in other countries, when democratic processes are used to support authoritarian prescriptions and then veer into fascism.

Awareness is the first goal in setting bright lines for the freedoms America provides the entire spectrum of believers or non.  Christian Nationalism is a step too far away from an open, diverse and tolerant society.

 

 

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Creating Community with Shared Joy:  The Pub Choir 

There is a unique singing/sharing experience traveling across America and Europe this summer. It is the opposite of a Taylor Swift concert.  In these events, the audience is the show.

These ad hoc communal sings are led by an Australian musician, director and composer Astrid Jorgensen.

Her one night gatherings are called The Pub Choir.   It demonstrates the capacity of one person to help people discover and express their collective joy.

Learning to Sing Together

Here is how one person described her experience:

A few weeks ago, I walked to a small neighborhood arts venue and sang along with 250 of my neighbors at the sold-out event called “Pub Choir.” It was not in a pub, and we were not in a choir, but all in attendance now feel famous because the performers recorded it and put it on the internet. Even months later, I am still bubbling from the collective effervescence of learning a three-part harmony version of “The Best,” famously covered by Tina Turner.

(It’s not about you, but about us)

“Australian choral director Astrid Jorgenson set the stage by telling us to put our phones away. They would be filming us. We were the show. She had us belt out the chorus from “What’s Up,” by 4 Non-Blondes to figure out which voice part to stand with. Before she told us what song we would be singing and recording that night, Astrid said, “You might not know this song. You might not even like this song. But tonight, it’s not about your preferences. This is about us, singing together.”

“Astrid taught everyone their lines with a glorious low-budget PowerPoint presentation. We were instructed to follow our color-coded lines that were accompanied by memes to remind us of the style we were going for.  . .Astrid would sing the line for us, then have us sing it back to her.

(a holy call. .. and response)

“It was a holy call and response with subtle correctives like, “I see you moving a lot and working hard. I like your version, but I am wondering if you might want to try my version?” When she heard that a few of us “got it,” she winked at us saying, “I see you elementary school music teachers out there! Fabulous! Now squeeze the hand of someone near you and whisper to them, ‘We’ve got this’ and make sure they follow you for the slippery part.”

“. . .she moved us into three voice sections telling us we could check in with our friends during the bathroom break. We were not to stand with the section where we might have been placed in other choirs in the past, but where we felt most confident belting it out.

“Singing passionately was the goal. When we sang the line, “Tear us apart? Nooo … ” we were to look like our heart was being poured out like a waterfall. To direct us she danced across the stage, flipping her hair, shimmying, and occasionally pausing the rehearsal to have us all erupt in cheers for one section that finally got the slippery part right.

My friend Julianna and I squeezed hands with our neighbors, poured out our hearts, cheered, and shimmied on command. When Pub Choir ended, we hugged strangers while complimenting them on their passionate singing and practically skipped home.”

Creating Community with a Sense of Unity

I love this example of creating a community of shared effort from complete strangers.  The result is  a moment  of pure joy.   Ok, it is only for 90 minutes and maybe just one or two songs.  But it shows the power of leadership in a common effort-even when some believe they have no singing voice at all.

This is an example of a Seattle video from a Pub Choir singing Tina Turner’s The Best.  Makes you want to skip out of work and go sing.    Singing makes you feel awesome.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlc7sHBQ4Oo)

Music at This Year’s Political Conventions

Music is at the center of many communal events. At the Republican convention last month, the following musical motivators were part of the experience:

Among the offerings: Kid Rock performed his 2000 song “American Bad A–”; “Real American” by Rick Derringer; and Lee Greenwood performed “Holdin’ a Good Hand” in person.

Here is my suggestion for the Democratic convention taking place next week.  It is the 1971 release byThree Dog Night- Joy to the World:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9uoq9gfeL0)

 

 

 

 

 

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Transparency: An Advantage When Properly Understood

Spent time earlier this week talking with people who work with a DC non-profit 501 C 3.  It is called Everyone Home DC.

It was incorporated in 1967 by an interdenominational group of religious leaders called the Capital Hill Group Ministry.  For almost six decades the organization has focused on the housing needs of those at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder.

Its Vision:  We support the holistic needs of individuals and families at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.  Housing is our starting point

The group’s website has five components, similar to many credit unions’ content, in an About Us section:  Our Story, Board, Staff, Careers and Funding and Reports.

I clicked on the Funding and Reports tab and found links to the latest five years of Annual Reports, complete external CPA audits, and the IRS 990 filings for nonprofits.  These reports provided an open and full picture of the group’s financial status, trends, how they are funded, and objective measures of their  community impact.

Overcoming shortages of shelter for low income individuals is one of the most intractable problems for every major city in America. The group’s reporting and disclosures give the reader confidence that the leaders know what they are doing and are accountable for their outcomes and responsibilities.

That confidence is vital.  For this nonprofit’s modest budget relies on government grants and private donations.  It is vetted by its funders. In 2023, the organization announced that the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund had granted them their first-ever multi-year, multi-million dollar funding.

Trust from Transparency

Transparency is critical to Everyone Home’s credibility.  it is a non-profit, totally dependent on external funding and engaged in an area of social need where work is never finished and endgame always distant.

It is an example credit unions who are dependent on member and community support might learn from.  Especially the posting of the latest five years of IRS filings, CPA audits and Annual Reports.

A  long-term practice of open and full communication with a group’s supporters is vital when hard times or unexpected challenges arise.  A foundation of trust is built through transparency.  It becomes the intangible capital (goodwill) that can be the difference between a successful recovery or a demise.

Sweeping a Problem Under a Cobalt Rug

Contrast this expectation with the events in an August 7th  Credit Union Times story of the recent merger, without a member vote, of the $67 million Creighton FCU (Omaha) with the $1.2 billion Cobalt Federal Credit Union in Papillion, Neb.

The Times’ story reports the credit union’s net worth ratio went from 9.09% at March 2024 to a negative 10.95% three months later at June’s quarter end.

In announcing the merger Cobalt’s explanation for the consolidation, per the Times, was the July 31 retirement of Creighton’s President/CEO Thomas C. Kjar.

One does not have to be a financial analyst or even a credit union member to know there is something dreadfully wrong for a deterioration of almost 20% of a credit unions assets in just 90 days.

Creighton was a federal charter, filing four quarterly reports per year and presumably subject to NCUA’s annual exam oversight.  It was organized in 1951 and operated five branches with 20 employees.

At June 30, 2024 its balance sheet of $43 million in loans and $23 million of investments appears normal, and not much different from a year earlier.  The allowance for loan losses is just $277K.

The one unusual item is a $12.5 million under miscellaneous expense (compared to $15K a year earlier).  This one time significant amount suggests a newly discovered financial hole due to misappropriation or other sudden loss event. That one entry accounts for most of the $13.5 million YTD loss, which eliminated all of Creighton’s net worth.

How can such a catastrophic loss occur under the agency’s supervisory nose?   I can find no NCUA announcement of this forced merger.  Silence undermines confidence in the NCUA’s examination and supervision competency.  It suggests there is something to hide.

When problems of any kind are swept under the rug, there is no learning by either credit unions or the agency from whatever went wrong.  This forced merger transaction deserves more explanation  than the FAQ’s of Cobalt FCU, the rescuing party.  An accounting is due for Creighton FCU’s members and to the credit union community about what happened and NCUA’s role.

Now Creighton’s 10,000 member-owners are left in the dark about their institution’s oversight and why NCUA  ended its existence.  Such an abrupt, unilateral and forced action can only increase  skepticism of a government agency about  its openness and responsibility to the public.

In the example of Everyone Home, transparency is critical to carrying out its mission.   At NCUA the opposite seems to be the norm.

NCUA has an obligation in  its supervisory role to provide its funding constituents the circumstances about any major failure.  This is the kind of event the agency is supposed to prevent.

The published call reports are the only “facts” available on this $67 million credit union’s closing. They scream for an explanation of this sudden 90-day catastrophic loss.

The agency’s failure to address its actions at this most critical junction in a credit union’s life, poses basic questions about its competence, not just its transparency.

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How to Start Riots Throughout a Country

You may have read about the multiple riots in Great Britain following the stabbing deaths of three children in Southport.  How did this horrible crime lead to instant countrywide rioting and attacks on mosques, immigrant shelters, minority shops and stores, and ultimately the police?

The Five Minute News is a free daily pod and YouTube broadcast by Anthony Davis, a British journalist who lives in the US.

This episode is a case study of how disinformation is created and then spread by both foreign media (Russian  Today-RT) and domestic extremists.

Disinformation is intentionally designed to spread anger, fear and chaos.  It is false.  The initial creator in this instance is quickly identified and the post taken down in an hour.  But it had already spread throughout the world by social media provocateurs in Britain and elsewhere with this completely made up, totally false, account of the person in custody.

The Role of Musk and X

This broadcast also documents Elon Musk’s role in spreading the false information and augmenting it with other fake documents.  He ultimately adds his prediction of civil war in Britain.  The country’s far right extremists all amply these apocalyptic predictions.

This is the full broadcast, ten minutes rather than five!

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEuJ3V1yzzQ&list=PLGNXhNKeaOmWgTQ3T7oA5ioACZvSB5cRC&index=2)

It should be a mandatory watch for anyone concerned about the state of public discourse and the role of social media in the US and around the world.  And the malicious intentions of Elon Musk.

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Friday Outtakes

Ukrainian refugee professional artists, living in Wales, received a small grant to present this puppet and shadow theater show in England.

(photos by Nadiia Khomaziuk)

A 2026 National American Celebration-How Will Credit Unions Participate?

This historical milestone may be a perfect opportunity for credit unions to celebrate their contribution to the creation of economic democracy in the United States.

The America 250 Celebration’s mission is “To commemorate and celebrate our 250th anniversary with inclusive programs that inspire Americans to renew and strengthen our daring experiment in democracy. The shared experiences of America 250 will have ignited our imaginations, elevated our diverse stories, inspired service in our communities, and demonstrated the lasting durability of the American project.”

The five themes suggested for this commemoration by cities, towns and organizations are: The Unfinished Revolutions, Power Of Place, We The People, American Experiment, and Doing History.

All five are certainly illustrated by the cooperative system’s role in America.

The Skill to Listen in Public Debate

Silence involves listening, for one cannot argue without first listening to one’s opponent. As the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, “The words of the wise are heard in silence, more than the cry of a prince among fools.”

Thankfully, Solomon has not yet called and asked for his wisdom back.  (Frank Bruni)

An Upside Down View of the Economy

. . .maybe the economy isn’t booming despite higher rates but rather because of them. It’s an idea so radical that in mainstream academic and financial circles, it borders on heresy. But the new converts (along with a handful who confess to being at least curious about the idea) say the economic evidence is becoming impossible to ignore. By some key gauges—GDP, unemployment, corporate profits—the expansion now is as strong or even stronger than it was when the Federal Reserve first began lifting rates. So, with that in mind, here’s how the theory works.  (From Bloomberg)