My African-Country-a-Week project has arrived in Senegal. This is a former French colony with 13 million people and per-capita GDP of $2100, making it one of the wealthier countries in Africa. It is also one of the continent’s most stable democracies. I needed a break from reading weighty books, so I watched a documentary instead…. [Read More]
Blog
CD rates are likely to rise as the shutdown plays out
Interest rates are made of up three components: opportunity cost, inflation, and default risk. US treasury rates are considered to be free of default risk, so they consist of nothing more than opportunity cost and inflation. Federally insured bank CD rates are close to treasury rates. Now, the US government could always avoid default by… [Read More]
Problems with my Ventra card, and why modern life is so exhausting
The Chicago Transit Authority is switching its payment system to a debit card system called Ventra. The switch has been confusing. One of the issues is that the cards have to be registered online, and the system crashed while I was registering it. And so, I have a card that I cannot use. The online… [Read More]
Living without cable TV
Cable TV is expensive. The customer service is horrible. And it’s unnecessary. I’ve never had and rarely missed it. And I don’t understand why so many people put up with the hassle of it. It helps to live in Chicago, where it is flat and television signals carry far. Without cable, we get over 50… [Read More]
Another project: Rewriting Thomas Friedman
Years ago, I used to rail against Bob Greene’s column in the Chicago Tribune. One of my friends, who was tired of listening to me, suggested that I channel my energy by re-writing his columns that way that I would do them. It was a wonderful exercise. In recent years, the columnist who drives me… [Read More]
