Work Matters

Some Timely Wisdom From Hal Varian

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supermoxie

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Hal Varian is, among other things, Google's Chief Economist, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley, a New York Times columnist, and author of many books including Information Rules.  He is also been around a long time and seen many ups and downs in the economy.  I found it comforting when he reminded a group of us (I am paraphrasing): "When things seem really good, it is never as good as it seems.  And when things seem really bad, it is never as bad it seems."

Given the recent madness, I hope he is right

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2 responses to “Some Timely Wisdom From Hal Varian”

  1. Kevin Rutkowski Avatar
    Kevin Rutkowski

    That sounds like good advice in general, and it is comforting to hear from an economic expert.
    It seems that the 24/7 news might help create the booms and busts that we’ve been seeing recently. I’m glad that at this point, it seems like Congress is taking a deep breath before passing a rash bill that releases $700 billion with no oversight.
    I try to keep things in perspective by thinking about my grandma’s life. She was in Russian work camps during WWII and later lived in Communist Poland. When she came to the US, she worked for minimum wage as a nurse’s aide at a nursing home and didn’t speak English. The economic and political comforts that her children and grandchildren have are amazing considering her life story.
    She now lives in a 2 bedroom condo in Florida on the inter-coastal waterway and has a simple but enjoyable life. I’m sure that she could never have pictured her current life when she was 17 and a prisoner in a northern Russian work camp.
    Her life story reminds me that even when things look bleakest, you can have hope for the future. It also reminds me that my most miserable days are not all that bad.

    Reply
  2. Kevin Rutkowski Avatar
    Kevin Rutkowski

    Perspective…
    A friend of mine invests people’s money. A client came to him in a panic yesterday. The client was concerned about an economic collapse and a second Great Depression. My friend explained some of the differences between now and then and calmed him down some.
    My friend then looked at the account and found some good news. Due to good diversification, the client’s account was only down 1.5% over the past 12 months.
    Upon hearing this news, the client who had moments ago been concerned about losing his life savings said, “You mean I haven’t made any money over an entire 12 month period?!?”

    Reply

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