What’s an Indian?
If you do not raise your eyes you
will think that you are the highest point.
– Antonia Porchia
Marginal Requirements
The Fragile Five/Emerging Markets- According to a report titled “EM Pressures Mount: Remain Cautious Near Term,” Goldman Sachs states, “Examples from the 1990’s (Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Asia) suggest that EM equities bottom only after current account balances have improved meaningfully—a process which may take the “Fragile Five” EMs several quarters to achieve.” For those keeping score at home, the “Fragile Five” includes India, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia and South Africa. Funny, I thought they were talking about the Los Angeles Lakers.
Marginal Musings
Economic Forecasting- According to John Canally, investment strategist at LPL Financial, “Weather was mentioned 21 times in the latest beige book (released Jan. 15th), almost always in a negative context, the most in any winter month Beige Book since at least 2011.” Looks like the polar vortex will be hitting the economy is its solar plexus.
Just Plain Marginal
Postal Inflation- In 2006, the government passed the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, which states the price of a stamp can’t increase faster than the rate of inflation. In case you missed it, yesterday the price of a forever stamp jumped to 49 cents from 46. That’s a 6.5% increase in price, even though inflation never topped 2% in 2013. What gives? Has the answer gotten lost in the mail?
Views From the Cheap Seats
It was a chilly Friday afternoon, two days after Christmas, and Keith and I were cooling our heels in a cafeteria featuring a tremendous view of the Boston skyline. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, having just set a new record for the fastest Two-Man relay through the JFK Library. With Ross and The Pretty Blonde lost somewhere back in the Cuban Missile Crisis, Keith took a sip from his Cherry Coke and asked, “So Dad, what do you think of the Washington Redskins changing their name?”
I stared ahead and blinked, my eyes focused on the John Hancock building. I was stunned, not by the question but by where it came from. It was a topical query deserving an intelligent response. Most inquires Keith directs my way, however, have to do with what time we eat, or when do we leave. “I don’t know,” I said. “I haven’t really given it much thought. Why do you ask?”
What followed was a fantastic two-way conversation between father and son, covering a range of interrelated topics including racism, discrimination, American history, bigotry, stereotyping, and political correctness. We may have even discussed some football. “I don’t understand,” said Keith. “Why do we refer to Native Americans as ‘Indians?’”
To make a long story short, many of Keith’s friends at Carnegie Mellon are from India, and they’re as native to America as he is to Nepal. It’s an interesting perspective, especially coming from an American teenager who’s never watched a single episode of Gunsmoke. Moreover, Keith’s college roommate during his freshman year was a bright and friendly young man from Mumbai named Aditya. Imagine my surprise when I learned at CMU there are more students named Aditya than there are named Keith. Or John. Or Mary.
Last week I attended a Carnegie Mellon fundraiser in Cupertino, CA. Figuring I’d written enough tuition checks to warrant some hors d’oeuvres on the house, I soon found myself surrounded by some of the brightest minds in Silicon Valley, CMU graduates with bachelor’s and master’s degrees who worked long hours at Apple and Google. Some were Caucasian, many were Asian, but most were Indian. Indian. Now I get it.
Great question, Keith. Keep 'em coming.
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