Week 1 April, 2010
“First, the president needs to explain to Americans where we are. That we can’t wait for a recovery to create jobs, because there is no recovery to the old economy. That economy was based on debt financed bubbles that burst. We can’t go back there and should not want to.” -Robert L. Borosage
This quote caught my eye as I was looking for some pearl of wisdom to send out to this circulation today. It’s not lost on me how as we approach the Easter holiday that the sooner we accept that our “economic recovery” will never be a “return to how it was,” the better. “We can’t go back there and should not want to.” Indeed. In lending alone, I can assure you that the ways of old (like, say, from three years ago) seem so long ago that they may as well be considered medieval times compared to now. As one who nearly left the mortgage industry in 2005-06 because I felt that it was entirely too reckless and poorly managed I actually feel a modest amount of vindication regarding my own doubts from back then, though barely. And over the past several months I quite openly and willingly exposed the less-than-admirable ways of my finance biz executive brethren however often I could in this forum so that ordinary folks could possibly see for themselves how our financial system was operating with an obscenely unfair disregard to the well-being of our middle class. My opinion is that the financial industry had been taking liberties that no reasonable person would have stood for if they understood what was happening. But, that misunderstanding of finance was the key factor that kept the entire illusion viable (see Bernie Madoff for more on that.) Those with less-than-honorable intentions in both business and government seem almost unquestionably to rely upon the average citizen’s routine glance of the local t.v. news (who barely cover enough of stories to even call them stories as it is) and their susceptibility to sound bytes on cable t.v. news as their primary sources for their information and for their decision-making. Such shallow investigations into beaurocratic operations are the perfect compliment to their desire to function outside of any legitimate spotlight.
Obviously feeling a bit long-winded today, I actually picked the quote above and the article it came from today to highlight something that makes the most sense to me of all: that we cannot and should not try to resurrect our previous ways. And I think that sentiment corresponds to a pretty core element of the collective American philosophy. Avarice and greed and the worship of “Mammon” (as one well-known book puts it) are all great mistakes that have come back to bite Americans pretty severely— many through no conscious fault of their own— and so perhaps this period of reckoning really will have a lasting impact upon our collective philosophy. Perhaps economic indicators are not such great measures of “how we’re doing” after all. Perhaps measuring our commitment to higher ideals is. Something to think about.
I pray out loud that America, and the American people, develop not just “industry” so that we can all have work and are able to pay for the food on our family table, but that our industry develops our new economy as a reflection of our (hopefully now) greater consciousness. That’s my Easter wish for you all.
Please see here for the article on developing our new economy mentioned above.
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Weekend Wanderings Events
Finding the treasures in your town and beyond…
Taste for Artisans in Oakland: From the East Bay Express: The folks who resurrected Andy Warhol in an Emeryville warehouse last year and brought Best of the EastBay parties to the OaklandMuseum in 2008 and 2009 are trying to outdo themselves yet again. On Saturday, Apr. 3, the East Bay Express hosts a brand new iteration of its Taste for Art party, called Taste for Artisans. This time, we’re hewing to an “urban hoedown” theme, with pie-eating contests, mechanical bull rides, creamed-corn wrestling, two stages of live music, exhibitions from De Young Museum and the Crucible, beer, wine, a raffle, DJs, swag, local farmers, valet bike parking from East Bay Bicycle Coalition, and fifty artisans selling their wares.
Old-Fashioned Easter at the Dunsmir House in Oakland: Picnic, Easter Egg Hunt, pictures with the Easter Bunny, etc. All taking place here: The Dunsmuir mansion, designed by San Francisco architect, J. Eugene Freeman, is an example of Neoclassical-Revival architecture popular in the late 1800s. The 37-room mansion features a Tiffany-style dome, woodpaneled public rooms, 10 fireplaces and inlaid parquet floors within its 16,224 square feet. Servants quarters in the house are designed to accommodate 12 live-in staff. And check this out: View an Interactive Grounds Map.
Heirloom Tomato Plant Sale to Benefit Haitian Victims: From their website: We’re finally set on our date for our big spring sale and that will be coming up the first weekend in April. Our sale date will be on Saturday, April 3rd at 10445 Orange Avenue in Cupertino from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 pm. Please help spread the word. We’ve got thousands of healthy plants to sell and all the money is for a good cause. Site says 100% of the day’s proceeds will go to relief efforts in Haiti. Cupertino awaits you this Saturday!
San Francisco Vintner’s Market: From their website: Tired of going to wine tasting events, discovering great new wines and then never being able to find them again? We were too. That’s why we created the San Francisco Vintners Market at Fort Mason Center April 10th to the 11th. This first of its kind wine tasting and buying event is a farmer’s market style shopping experience where wine enthusiasts can try and buy wines from over 200 wineries.
Phone Pic of the Week:
Reminder of Spring in Loma Rica… just not today! 