2009: Unemployment, Bailouts, Climate Change, Health Reform, Counter-terrorism, and Skiing

Whew- what a year, one most people would like to do-over or forget. When the skiing is really bad at Cannon the locals have two sayings to strangers to the mountain, “It doesn’t get any better than this”, and “yeah- cold, icy, windy and steep, we ski it so you don’t have to”. There’s something about Cannon that draws some people to love it when it’s at it’s worst, while reaffirming a “never go there again” feeling from others. Gluttons for punishment, the diehards relish the extreme conditions- it builds character and makes you a better skier…I have a lot of unemployed ski buddies hoping their character doesn’t need any more building.

We had no shortage of character building opportunities this past year. I was skiing with a day trader friend of mine on March 11th of this year when the market was bottoming out around 6500 (although we didn’t know that at the time). I asked him if the time was right to jump into some of the depressed stocks. He said, no, no, the market is heading for 4500. We jumped on the lift and I pondered that sage advice from a former Manhattan Wall Street trader turned semi-retired day trader/ski bum as my 401K was sinking like a rock. What could I do after deciding to sit tight except sit tight and ride out the storm?

Things were bad, yet we managed to live through the crisis and except for the 10 million or so people who are still out of work things are turning around. At least that’s what the newscasters are telling us. I dropped off a pair of old tele skis for my dentist to try out. He’s an alpine skier and wants to take up telemark. You know times are bad when a dentist lights up with excitement at the thought of a free pair of used skis! He thanked me. We chatted. He mentioned business was down over 25% this year. I didn't realize so many people consider dental care descretionary spending- below food and housing anyway I suppose.

It seems that big companies that had a lot of money and lost it through greed and stupidity all got obscene loans from us, the taxpayers, to get well, and get well they did. The big Wall Street firms are paying out record bonuses this year on the profits they made with the free money we spotted them. We’re so generous to the people who don’t need money. Our upside down generosity makes my head hurt. Soup kitchens are doing a land office business. Homeless shelters are so over crowded, people stand in line all day so they can get a bed at night. That doesn’t leave much time to look for work.

An unemployed ski buddy of mine used to sell high end wines around New England.  She lost her job. Pricy wine sales tanked fast this year. Even Wine Spectator ran a few issues on "Great Wines under $20". They still don't get it. People won't spend five bucks on wine if they're out of work. I gave up buying expensive wines when I retired. Pabst Blue Ribbon works for me. My ski bud says shes retooling herself- going back to school and getting a green job. I hope for her sake some of the green gets in her wallet.

The climate change crisis is still with us and the experts say things are getting worse even though the global temperature continues to slip downward. The term Global Warming is slipping out of vogue because the data indicates a downward trend may be real. Sometimes I wonder if the inertia of our convictions makes us disbelieve the data. If the earth continues to cool down are we going to take responsibility for that too? I’ve always thought a colder earth would be a lot more trouble than a warmer earth. A good example is the limits of our recorded history, which seem to begin at the end of the last ice age. Everything that preceded the meltdown (that would be 3-4 million years of human development) is either lost in the glacier rubble or people were too cold to record anything. As a skier I cherish a good nor’easter, but as a New Englander, free heat seems like a better deal than free cold.

On health reform, what can I possibly say that hasn’t already been spun by both sides of the issue? I’m glad it’s over, or almost over, or maybe getting ready to be almost over. We may get some reforms, yet the beneficiaries of these reforms appear to be the insurance companies, not the people. A good indicator of this is the record high stock prices of the health insurance companies the day the Senate voted to pass their version of the bill. Clearly, the stock would’ve dropped if the people were expected to be the beneficiary.

Oh, and finally war, war and more war. I didn’t vote for that. I wish this were all a bad dream. Did John McCain really win the election? What a nightmare. This really makes my head hurt. And as if Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan aren’t enough places to go kill people- brace yourself for Yemen and who knows where in 2010. Onward Christian soldiers, keep the homeland secure. Boy, it didn’t prevent Ft Hood nor the Detroit bound Northwest Airliner.

I'm no expert on human behavior, but we seem to be nurturing more enemies than friends. And by making everyone be strip searched before they can go visit Gramma they've won anyway. We seem to forget that Nazi Germany was a very secure country. Another upside down logic at work- destroy all our personal freedoms so we can be secure and reminisce about the good old days when the Constitution meant something.

Skiing is the one thing that seems to be going well, so I’ll focus on that and enjoy myself for a few months. Maybe by spring the world will look a little brighter and people will be finding jobs.

Happy New Year!