The poorly-named “Inflation Reduction Act” was just passed by Congress.  Democrats rave that it will reduce inflation.  Republicans crow it will not!  They’re both right . . . a little! Think of it this way:  If you own a $1,000 CD, you get paid interest.  The money spent buying the CD is called principal.  The … Continue reading Two Shades of Gray

Yesterday’s monthly “jobs report” was a good example of when good news is not so good.  Expecting a healthy 258 thousand jobs were created last month, Wall Street was stunned to see twice as many jobs were created.  It was a blow-out number, suggesting the economy was still strong, but why did Dow futures suddenly … Continue reading Good News = Bad News

My ex-wife was fond of saying that one of the biggest problems with men is that they just can’t stop competing with other men . . . even dead men. Paul Volcker (1927-2009) was the Chairman of the Fed from 1979 to 1987, when he was succeeded by Alan Greenspan.  A product of Princeton and … Continue reading Wisdom of Ex-Wives ?

When I was a young boy, my father told me to NEVER discuss religion or politics with other people.  What he meant to say was NEVER discuss subjects that make other people  react emotionally.  If such subjects must be discussed, just don’t be inflammatory.  Good Advice! A recent blog entry was about a quote from … Continue reading Dispassionate ?

The short answer on how to handle inflation is simple . . . create a recession and hope you don’t get stagflation. The longer answer is that you have three tools to handle it.  First, one cause of inflation is a sustained period when demand exceeds supply.  If you cannot increase supply with targeted tax … Continue reading Handling Inflation

If kids ask tough questions, then grown-up kids ask even tougher questions.  During a recent visit, my grown-up daughter asked me if I thought the 2024 presidential election would be the last one?  Laughing at first, I realized she was actually quite concerned. First, I explained that even dictators stage elections, so if a dictator … Continue reading Post-2024 Elections ?

My latest quarterly column for Inside Business can be found here: https://www.pilotonline.com/inside-business/vp-ib-expert-flinchum-0718-20220718-5v6iajiel5eatpjdqzcdpba4hm-story.html

Raise your hand if you were surprised by yesterday’s report that inflation during June was running at a steep 9.1% annualized rate! We all know it has become a problem.  We also know how to stop it – bring on a recession! The hesitancy of the Fed to intentionally cause a recession is understandable, as … Continue reading Who Didn’t Know ??

One of my favorite Republican writers has long been Peggy Noonan, who was the primary speechwriter for President Reagan.  Last week, she wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal that deserves some thought. She argues that crime is more scary now, not because there is more crime, but because we no longer know the … Continue reading Needed: A New Precaution

Blessed to live in a safe, peaceful country without the curse of the Second Amendment, Shinzo Abe was nonetheless gunned down, as he was speaking in a public square. He was a conservative leading a party named the Liberal Democratic Party.  His family had a long history of being active in Japanese politics, similar to … Continue reading Just Another Murder

When I enlisted in the Army long ago, I just wanted to kill those “godless Communists” in Southeast Asia.  It was certainly not a business proposition. An article in ABC News last week discussed the recruitment problems of our military forces.  To compete with private companies, the Pentagon is debating various options to increase enlistments.  … Continue reading Happy Fourth