Talk 7: Breakfast Meeting of the Philanthropy Roundtable

• wealth effect's are a focus of the speech, for example, those from rising stock prices of US common stock
• Spending proclivity follows stock prices and spending proclivity is important in macroeconomics. Wealth effects and stock price are self reinforcing –> virtuous or destructive cycle
• Japan 10 year staglfation is reason for concern regarding downward wealth effect.
• the math suggests wealth effect from stock is not very significant –> < 0.5% per year from 1990 - 2000. However, this data misses pension plan wealth effects due to how the tracking works

Interestingly, embezzlement has a clear wealth effect, until it's discovered – disc. by John Kenneth Galbraith. AKA "bezzle"

• Are there functional equivalents to "bezzle" ?

febezzle: wasted money in unnecessary investment costs has both sides feeling richer. This is a functional equivalent to bezzle effect in embezzlement.

They are valued partly like bonds, based on roughly rational projections of use value in producing future cash. But they are also valued partly like Rembrandt paintings"

Stock market is not pefectly efficient or rational.

• makes people act like dumb animals
• foolishness in one area, suggests the same in other areas
• moral obligation to remove our ignorance; Samuel Johnson
• lack of the needed tool can cost more than the tool itslef – this includes thinking tools i.e. concepts