Dr. Riedy's Random Thoughts

Part three of a series: Where is Walter Cronkite when we need him? It is exceedingly difficult to identify a group of individuals, large or small, with the credibility and public support essential to putting an end to the plethora of behavioral trends at the national level threatening the stability of this nation…calling them out and then making them unacceptable in America. My first choice for the job passed away long ago but might have been able to succeed in such an endeavor: Walter Cronkite.   Where is he when we need him?   If not Walter Cronkite, my second suggestion is a committee composed of all living former Presidents of the United State and the opponents each of them faced in the presidential election. If these individuals ever pulled together and spoke with one voice they could prove to be strong enough to exercise tough love and if necessary lead an intervention to correct problem behavior. My confidence in the ability of other groups to stop this dangerous behav

Part two of a series: Why keep going when clearly you are heading in the wrong direction? In the Sunday edition of San Diego’s newspaper on December 16 there was a question put to four economists and four chief executives, all San Diego-based.   “Is the up-and-down stock market a sign that the economy is heading for a recession in the next two years?” Two economists and two chief executives responded “yes” and the other two of each group said “no”.   Professor Norm Miller cited “adolescent-induced trade wars”.   Others offered a variety of indicators including Federal Reserve policies, Brexit, Federal deficits, the Mueller investigation, investor pessimism and inverted yield curves. Phil Blair talked about “erratic behavior throughout the world, but especially in the current Washington administration” and Gina Champion-Cain perhaps said it best: “When unprecedented levels of positive economic conditions collide with chaotic political uncertainty, you create self-destructive mar

Part one of a series: The closer they are to home the more we pay attention to issues In a three-part series of posts I will explain why I am seriously concerned about current, unchecked behavioral trends at the national level--especially at the top--sowing the seeds of a major socio-economic and/or political crisis in America. No one seems to be in a position of power sufficient to slow or stop the continued advance of these trends, not to mention reversing them.   Examples of these dangerous trends include the spread of incivility in public discourse, disrespect for authority/truth/the rule of law, and abuses of social media, to name just a few. Part one of the series talks about why, despite their potential for great harm to society, these behavior patterns receive far less attention than they deserve. Part two asks why we keep heading in the wrong direction when we know it is wrong? I will   draw parallels with the housing and mortgage market crises of 10 to 12 years ago