Inflation is bad
If I ever get too confident in my intellectual abilities or quick wit or general cleverness – all I have to do is review my old notes from Economics because one day after 5 hours of lecture the only notes I had were “Inflation is bad” (true story).
So now I find myself 2 years later sitting in a packed lecture theatre face to face w my old economics professor, John McDermott, and I am a little nervous. My nervousness prompted me to take better notes which involved me knocking over my full (and open) mug of tea and then wiping it up w the sleeve of my jumper as people around me rolled their eyes (also true story).
When he walked in an excited mummer tittered around the stand-room-only venue. He is a little like a rock star – really all economists are. They are this brilliant combination of the Man behind the Curtain who secretly controls the (economic) world and the incredibly charismatic storyteller that has you drinking the Koolaid as soon as he describes how financial alchemists and “NINJas” (no incomes, no jobs) brought down the housing markets and most of the world’s economies. Economists are the modern day philosopher-warriors, like archaeology’s Indy Jones, Alan Greenspan and crew introduced concepts such as central banks, interest rates, free markets, and yes inflation to the masses whilst pulling the levers and predicting/controlling economic behaviours.
Economics is a difficult discipline and most of us are not particularly financially literate, which makes economists even more mysterious and appealing. They are seers of economic trends reading world events like fortune-tellers read tea leaves. The difference being that they only give their prophecies after the fact. But while you are in their presence, they are rock stars and they make you feel like world economies as well as your own little nest egg are in capable hands, from financial crisis hope eternal springs of record setting markets and sustainable growth (you know 1 – 3% because inflation is still bad) - which is a wonderful feeling.
Rock on! (and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain)
Awww – I wish I could have been there, it would have been awesome! Although I would have drawn more attention to us by snorting at you and the tea
Did you talk to John?
Tee hee. It would have been more fun if you were there! I did try to say hi to him at the end, but he was mobbed by fans so all I managed was a stalker-ish grin as I walked by and made eye contact. He was polite enough to return a quick (albeit slightly worried/nervous) smile. Hopefully he has long forgotten my final exam description of a J curve – yikes.
If you had been there, you could have used intelligent and impressive words like externalities and elasticity