The Fear of Trump

Everyone is afraid of Donald Trump and it shows. The Democratic Party, the media and the American People.

You see, Trump is not using conventional ways in interacting with this group of people and conversely, it seems, his entire opposition is sticking to conventions and not getting any traction.

Of course, they aren't used to compete head-to-head with Trump using the same weapons he employs because he is used to them and the rest is not.

This means that for the moment, Trump is well positioned to terrorize America, unless of course, the majority of American who hate him learn how to respond to him in kind.

Good name, bad book

I just finished reading “The Only Game in Town”.

Since it was authored by Mohamed El-Erian, a financial “celebrity” that hangs around all serious economic TV talk shows and has been involved with the IMF, among other institutions, I thought I would learn even more about the role of central banks and get a better grasp of their functioning, power, margin of maneuver and future options as the title led me to believe.

Instead, I was treated to a mishmash of senseless sentences and obscure words stitched together to get me 250 pages later with nothing understandable that could add to my knowledge. Gobbledygook at best plus an almost total waste of my time.

Another lesson about never to ever judge a book by its cover, all the nice compliments written about the author and the stunning reviews found on Amazon, mostly made by folks who probably didn't have the understanding, the patience or the determination to push to the end of this pointless essay.

What happened to qualitative growth?

Two days ago, I was lamenting the curse of growth at all cost as it is served to us by our governments. In the past, I have suggested the idea of “qualitative growth” that could bring us better services and products and might returns more good jobs to advanced countries.

With further considerations, such a return to quality might mean in aggregate less “stuff” produced, less consumption, less revenue and ultimately less GDP and a fall in our standard of living.

This might work well though with advanced countries that are beginning to suffer a decline in population and are considering “importing” labor, as is the case with Germany or Japan.

A return to quality might soften the blow, but would not help much in maintaining the wealth of these countries. And then, there is the growing labor demand for those tasks no one wants to do anymore in these same “advanced” countries.

Harnessing growth is by no mean easy and cannot be dissociated from out-of-control population growth. It then begs the question, where is the “soft-spot” if there is ever one, but doesn't seem to preclude an inevitable era of massive belt-tightening...

First powder of the season

As usual, the quantities of new snow promised by the forecasters failed to fully materialize, but I still was able to remember how natural, powder snow felt like.

On Friday morning, I went to Thaynes, my Park City's favorite run and with hundreds of other powder hounds, ran laps among whippers of all sizes through half a foot of powder snow.

It was a wonderful change from skiing the bullet-proof man made snow I had been served prior to that day. It might now be possible that the real ski season is just around the corner!

Give me Growth!

Every politician is promising growth; Trump says 4% a year would be good, because the current 2% is a “disaster”.

The Europeans want more growth too, so are the Chinese, the Senegalese and the 200 others countries in business around the planet.

Are we to compete in a “zero-sum game” in which we steal business from each other, or do we believe that the pie, i.e. the population will keep on growing to sustain the unsustainable?

Where is that magical growth going to come from? Can an “economist” explain this to me?

Can “Charlie Hebdo” humor translate into German?

Recently, the French and tragically famous Charlie Hebdo began publishing in Germany.

I didn't get to read the magazine, but I just glanced at its cover with Angela Merkel slouched on a car lift, inside what looks like a VW repair shop.

The cover states that “VW stands behind Merkel” while the mechanic on duty hold what appears to be a replacement exhaust system, and says: “A new muffler should get her going for another 4 years”.

I just wonder how the acerbic Charlie Hebdo humor will fare on the eastern side of France!

Choosing a bad ski for a good day

It is said that too many cooks spoil the broth. Likewise, too many skis on a rack make picking the right boards a tricky endeavor. For years, I've been notoriously guilty of practicing “Polyskigamy”, which doesn't come as a shock, especially when one lives in the epicenter of the Mormon culture ...

I currently use four pairs of alpine skis, plus an extra one coming soon. Out of these, I've got a 5 year old pair of “rock skis”, one brand new pair of Dynastar, one 6 year-old pair of Scott that ski “average” and my Rossignols from last year.

Out of eight ski days so far this winter, I've used them all and in the process managed to scratch the base of my brand-new Dynastars instead of having picked the shorter, 180 cm, Salomon “rock skis”, with dull edges, that particular day.

The following day, I picked the “rock skis” I took them on some icy man-made snow with not a single rock in view. Go figure! Later, I was disappointed in my old Scotts and got the most satisfaction out of my too long, 188 cm, Rossignol Experience 88.

Too many choices, too many skis, too many causes for error. I need to simplify, in other words, “monogamize” my ski options...