Under Pressure

A Quick Mea Culpa...

I haven't Blogged since the beginning of the summer (June 30th to be exact). I have the usual excuses:

• Work (Let's be real. I work for the Federal Government).
• Family (Well I was depressed about my beloved Grandmother passing away and older daughter's college essay).
• Alien Abduction (Getting rid of the Anal probe was a pain in the ....)
• Vacation (Orlando is lovely in July....)

The reality was I wasn't motivated in Life and the blog suffered. I apologize to all 4 of my loyal fans and to myself. Occasionally, I need a kick in the ass (without the probe thank you very much) to get back on the right track. Thank you to all you ass-kickers out there. You know who you are.

And now for something completely different!

From Jenny D of India, the word of the post is "Pressure".

My first and very geeky thought is P = (nRT)/V. My second initial thought was the amount of pressure it takes to convert coal into diamonds. My last initial thought is the pressure I felt asking out girl in the 11th grade to break my string of 8 rejections (I had a wining streak like the Northwestern University football team and, yes, I got rejected again by a Sophomore named Lucy Liu).

Clearly, pressure comes in many forms. President Obama created self-inflicted pressure by licking third rail of American politics of healthcare reform. He could have waited until the ghost of Edward Kennedy made an appearance on the senate floor. The Financial Improvisor favors a single payer plan but even he knows that partisan politics ignores good economic theory.

We can't get agreement on did the stimulus plan work or was it just the healer of all things, time? We see the Krugman of the NY Times going mano-a-mano with Robert Barro of the WSJ. Round one was a draw. Round Two starts next month! *DING*!

However, I think of Freddie Mercury when it comes to pressure and please forgive my modification of his lyrics.

Economic Pressure down on me

Employment down on you no man help you
Under pressure - that burns a career down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
It's the terror of unknowing
What this economy is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming help me out
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets

Please send me your words!!

The Financial Improvisor.