Lately, I have been in quite a stew. It’s about my conversation with Henry. It isn’t going well, at all.
Henry has been making some pretty wild statements about economics. They buck conventional wisdom, so they trouble me greatly. For sure, what he has been saying goes against what my knowledgeable friends and acquaintances take for granted. This is not good, I think.
What troubles me a lot, I guess, is that, under the surface, there seems to be a strange, but appealing, kind of logic to what he says. I think what bothers me the most, though, is that if I am so smart, why is he rich and I am not? I really don’t want to think Henry is right, because, if he is, then... Nope, I’m not gong there.
The most I’ll say, at this point, is—for Henry to be acting the way he does—so cocksure he’s doesn’t ruffle a feather—there must be something he knows that I don’t. So far, I haven’t been able to put my finger on it, but I’m trying to think of a way to find out what it is... and, eventually, I will.
I do know, concerning economic inflation, that any degree of it can cause severe financial dislocations. A professional financial planner told me that, in the world of finance, they call inflation, “the silent thief”. You can’t see it right off, but you can sure see its effects when you try to buy things in the marketplace. Prices are going up, but income is not. In other words, it takes more money to buy the same things today than it did yesterday. Inflation insidiously destroys purchasing power.
Retired people, or anyone living on a fixed income for that matter, is hit with most of the impact of inflation. That’s why a great deal of personal financial planning is oriented around how to protect one’s assets from the ravages of inflation. Sometimes, it works.
Anyway, I had been trying to avoid talking with Henry until I got my ducks in line, but to no avail. I don’t know if he was stalking me or not, but I turned around and there he was. There was no escape route in sight.
Henry has been making some pretty wild statements about economics. They buck conventional wisdom, so they trouble me greatly. For sure, what he has been saying goes against what my knowledgeable friends and acquaintances take for granted. This is not good, I think.
What troubles me a lot, I guess, is that, under the surface, there seems to be a strange, but appealing, kind of logic to what he says. I think what bothers me the most, though, is that if I am so smart, why is he rich and I am not? I really don’t want to think Henry is right, because, if he is, then... Nope, I’m not gong there.
The most I’ll say, at this point, is—for Henry to be acting the way he does—so cocksure he’s doesn’t ruffle a feather—there must be something he knows that I don’t. So far, I haven’t been able to put my finger on it, but I’m trying to think of a way to find out what it is... and, eventually, I will.
I do know, concerning economic inflation, that any degree of it can cause severe financial dislocations. A professional financial planner told me that, in the world of finance, they call inflation, “the silent thief”. You can’t see it right off, but you can sure see its effects when you try to buy things in the marketplace. Prices are going up, but income is not. In other words, it takes more money to buy the same things today than it did yesterday. Inflation insidiously destroys purchasing power.
Retired people, or anyone living on a fixed income for that matter, is hit with most of the impact of inflation. That’s why a great deal of personal financial planning is oriented around how to protect one’s assets from the ravages of inflation. Sometimes, it works.
Anyway, I had been trying to avoid talking with Henry until I got my ducks in line, but to no avail. I don’t know if he was stalking me or not, but I turned around and there he was. There was no escape route in sight.
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