A GOOD DAY

Awakened to a perfectly lovely spring morning and what with the perfectly timed rain we've been having I thought I would test my luck. Walked around the property and across the street at the neighbor's and came back with about half a pound of Morels. Turned them into a wonderful omelette, brewed a pot of coffee and sat back to read the newspapers. It is highly rewarding to know that you have just finished a breakfast that probably would have cost at least $50.00 in all of the power capitals of the world and probably more than that in some of them. Will anyone really miss Balducci's? Finished the local Blat and started on the N Y Times. I like to HOLD a newspaper when I read it, not scroll down on a keyboard and this morning even the Times felt good.

We had a few kids from the local U over the other night talking about current events. There's a lot that's not so hot about growing old but one good thing is that age gives one perspective which I was dolling out in copious form the other evening. If you have been following this blog you may have noticed that I have been comparing the events of the past few months to a period with which I am quite familiar, the 1970ies. Perspective. One also, over the course of a lifetime is able to experience and evaluate a large number of people and, in relation to one's own views and in the course of history, grade them. More Perspective. Allen Meltzer, presently resident at Carnegie Mellon is one individual I have followed over the years with interest and appreciation. His Op Ed piece in the Times today entitled, "Inflation Nation" is an absolute must read. He chronicles the seventies, citing the mistakes that were made and puts them in perfect perspective with the actions that we have sen over the past few months. I could have written it myself. He also points out that when the inevitable result of the inflation-producing actions must be faced and reversed, the consequences are often dire; just as they were in the seventies. He also points out that in those days we had a strong, independent Chairman running the Fed in the person of Paul Volker who was granted his independence by two successive administrations of vastly different political persuasion and used his independence to achieve the maximum result. It was ugly both here and abroad for the unintended consequence of Volker's assault on inflation was the destruction of a large number of over-leveraged economies leading to the Latin American debt crisis and what is known south of the border as, "The Lost Decade." Paul Volker is still with us and though still part of this administration he has been marginalized. We are the vastly over-leveraged economy depending upon the continuing faith of those, many of whom with which we have little in common either morally or politically, to support our efforts. Indeed, in some cases these states can be considered our competitors both politically and economically. There is no perspective of age, only the rashness of relative youth and the fervor of the True Believer driving us along this path. It is a fearful time, yet if one cam wake up to Alan Meltzer echoing what one has been saying for a few months, it is a Good Day. Free Morels aren't a bad thing either.

We'll try to get back to the banking business tomorrow.