6/21/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            So sorry to hear about Champ’s passing. I lost my dog, Tabitha, last summer & for months I kept experiencing that pang of grief when realizing that she was no longer with us. I hope Major helps in those moments.

            Should I invest in a co-housing condo development in West Sacramento? Perhaps you will have a better idea after you meet with your “financial regulators” today. Jerome Powell says, “this is an extraordinarily unusual time” for which we don’t have a template,” so, he may not be much help.

            The NYT took Fri’s reduction in lumber futures as an indicator that the threat of inflation has dissipated, while the WP says, we’ll be in a summer of “limbo” & the economy will never be the same. They suggest inflation may go to 5%/year as manufacturers do sneaky things like cut down on the number of paper towels in a roll or the amount of cat food in a tin.

I worry that inflation is “a psychological process as much as an economic one. When inflationary expectations take hold, people become convinced that prices are on a never-ending escalator. They rush to buy now, at any price, and increases become a self-fulfilling prophecy (NYT).” My daughter just became part of the house buying frenzy in KC, purchasing a home that was on the market for 1 day. She & her agent decided that anything that had been on the market for more than a week had a fatal flaw & should not be considered. She closes on Wed. Fingers crossed she made a wise investment.

I will have a better idea about whether to invest in the co-housing deal after my consult with my financial advisor today. As a woman of simplicity, I balk at the idea of having enough assets to even talk to a financial advisor. I worry about the wealth gap, & while I am not nearly as wealthy as many of my friends, I have a lot more than many of my students. They deserve the same kind of security that I enjoy. Let’s see what we can do about that.

BYBS,