October 5, 2004

Dear Editors:

Someone is trying to tell us something. The stock market has been “range bound” for months, while job creation and capital investment have languished. Productivity remains buoyant, if only because much more is constantly demanded of workers. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been exported — probably for good — at the same time “H1B” visa issuance has plummeted in the post – 9/11 world. Yet our universities have been graduating millions, and executive pay, and fines, continue to defy gravity. A “displaced” American worker needs many months to retrain, but a company can shift its strategy or structure in days. Not all returns are diminishing, but expectations may be. Inflation is back (not only from oil), interest rates have only one way to go, and many say the greenback lives on borrowed time. Throw in an annual US fiscal deficit north of $400 billion, and what do we have? The perfect storm. Maybe it’s time to “man the bilge pumps.” Oops; it seems our political candidates already have. So are we sinking, or just stinking?

Yours truly,

Gregory IwanPreliminary Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree