Reflections on Paul Volcker’s Memoir: Keeping At It

by with No Comment FeaturedPolitics

I used my travel time over the holidays to finally get through Paul Volcker’s memoirs, pushed to the top of my list by his passing.  I suppose I’m happy for the window into how he positioned his career, but it affirms him as one of my longtime least-revered great influencers of the past 50 years.

Growing up as a country kid in the worst of the farm crisis, my family farm was collateral damage of his battle against inflation.  I read his book looking for better understanding and condolence and found none.

His annoyance at Congress for formalizing the dual mandate of the Fed to manage unemployment as well as inflation… his distrust of econometrics… his willingness to label any alternative views or level of appropriate inflation as harmful or outright corrupt in its intent- down to saying one of the reasons he left Princeton was “the unfortunate modern practice of allowing students to rate their professors.”  Throughout his career, there was no ability in him to humanize those in the real world or to consider the reality that everything on earth doesn’t fit neatly into little boxes and charts, and that sometimes one can be in need of others’ views.

There was an important role for discipline- for fighting corruption in the financial system and globally, and for that he was useful to the country; but he did his best work for the UN, the IMF and the World Bank where he was able to sort and investigate, but unable to subject the world to his myopic worldview unabated.

There’s a need for someone as he says, “to take the punchbowl away just as the party gets going,” but he didn’t need to revel in it so completely, and should have been more thoughtful – if only in hindsight- to the possibility that the economy could have recovered with less damage had he been able to see better down from his great tower.

Mother’s Lungs Are On Fire

by with One Comment CultureFeaturedGlobal

One of the biggest stories of 2019… 

The Amazon burns…

The Amazon has been burning for the past three weeks and the rest of the world learned about it this week. Not only did we learn about it this week, but we learned about it through third party sites, blogs, videos, and images being shared through social media. Not one of the major news agencies around the world covered it until people started voicing their deep concerns on Facebook and other platforms stating, “Why aren’t we doing anything about the “world’s lungs” catching fire?”

That’s a pretty serious question. Especially now, when the world is finally starting to take notice of our carbon footprint, and what we have done thus far to render our planet vulnerable. The fire in the Amazon is pouring kerosene on the world. What makes this matter all the more devastating and frustrating, is that the President of Brazil claimed up until a few hours ago that it was the NGO’s within the region who set the fires in the Amazon to make a statement.

Here’s what you need to know about the Amazon fire…

The rainforest is currently burning at a record rate. Brazil had declared a state of emergency over the range and amount of fires in the region, but didn’t bring too much attention to the crisis otherwise. This year alone, there has been close to 73,000 fires in Brazil, and they have been detected by Brazil’s space research center, INPE. That’s a whopping 83% increase from 2018 and the highest number on record since 2013, according to Reuters.

What started the fires?

The confusion I seem to be hearing and reading a lot is that, “It’s a rainforest! It’ll put itself out!” or “Mother nature always has these kinds of fires; it’s fine.” These two typical responses I continue to see are frankly ludicrous, and the issue is a little more complicated and insidious than that.

Yes, it’s a rainforest, and yes, it’s usually wet and humid, but July and August are known to be the driest months of the year, also considered the “dry” season of the Amazon, with the wet season really taking place in early-September and usually coming to an end by mid-November, according to NASA.

It’s rumored that these fires are man-made, usually started to clear out sections of the land for ranching and farming. Because of that alone, the majority of fires can be attributed to humans.

The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, has tried to blame the fires on anyone and everyone, especially taking careful aim at the NGOs, stating that they would do this because of his budget cuts to their organizations. He reneged on his statement shortly after claiming he never said it.

Is there a connection to climate change?

If we do a little research we quickly learn that greenhouse gas emissions increase as the number of forest fires increase. This situation makes the planet’s overarching temperature skyrocket. As the temperature rises, we are likely to see more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, winter storms, and devastating droughts… a lot of them.

Is the entire Amazon affected as of now?

As of now, the entire Amazon has not been affected, but large swaths of it have. Areas such as Rondonia, Para, and Mato Grosso are currently having the majority of fires. What’s insane about all of this, is that the damage is not just felt in the Amazon when there is a wildfire. The cost goes far beyond Brazil and the surrounding nations.

As of today, there are over 2,500 active fires taking place in the Amazon. It’s so bad that you can see it from space.

Are the fires still going on?

The fires are still raging, but it seems that mother nature has decided to take matters into her own hands and reports of scattered thunderstorms have been seen all over the Amazon on Friday. We will have to see if the rains provide some relief to the rainforest.

Facts… 

The Amazon alone generates more than 20% of the world’s oxygen and is home to 10% of the worlds known biodiversity. The Amazon plays a significant role in regulating the climate around the world, and without it, the world would be dramatically impacted, from drinking water to farming. Those numbers alone send a chill down my spine, knowing that all this time this beautiful part of our earth has been engulfed in flames.

What is currently being done by humans?

From Venezuela to France, people, and politicians are all coming out to show their solidarity and concern over the lack of response from Brazil’s government on getting the fires under control. The desired effect is starting to happen, where we are seeing the Brazilian president squirm and shift under the heavy scrutiny.

At this point, all we can do is provide funds or supplies to some of the organizations that are trying their best to combat these fires, and find a way to stand with the people of Brazil. They need to find a better president that cares more about breathing than the dollar signs he believes will help Brazil, when in reality it’s only helping him and his cronies.

This article was originally published on 23 August 2019.

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