Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank
The problems facing the world today seem endless and intractable. Don’t expect any breakthroughs at the IMF/World Bank meetings this week.
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Apr 9, 20232 min read
Yes, Elizabeth, banking needs to be boring again!
Last Oct, the Financial Times published my Letter to the Editor suggesting that banking needs to be boring again. Now Senator Warren agrees.
Mar 13, 20234 min read
Corporate Social Responsibility is a Rip-off
Here’s why “corporate social responsibility”, often simply CSR, is a reflection of a
broken political/economic system.
Feb 23, 20235 min read
Get Ready for Central Bank Digital Currencies
If you came across references to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), did you wonder if it is like cryptocurrency? Good CBDCs are very diff
Feb 7, 20234 min read
Universal Basic Income is Not a Crazy Idea
Universal Basic Income sounds crazy but it has been tested and might be adopted in the USA before the end of this century.
Feb 1, 20232 min read
Yes. My Great-Grandfather Was Sultan Hamid II’s Doctor
During my one-week visit to Istanbul, I met two Turkish history professors who are experts on the Ottoman Empire. I have hard evidence now.
Jan 4, 20232 min read
My Great-Grandfather, Doctor to the Sultan of Turkey?
The father of my paternal grandfather, Alexis SORLIN-D’ORIGNY, lived in Constantinople and died there in 1884. But what was he doing there?
Dec 3, 20225 min read
Urban Youth Unemployment: A Problem Getting BIGGER
Youth unemployment is rising in countries at all income levels. If the trend continues, it could become seriously socially destabilizing.
Nov 29, 20224 min read
Japan’s Shrinking Population
Japan’s population is shrinking, but this is not a catastrophe as portrayed in many news reports and commentaries.
Nov 13, 20224 min read
Myanmar Update November 2022
There is good news about Parami U, but the Mess in Myanmar has gotten messier.
Nov 2, 20224 min read
Aging in America
Here are some thoughts on the “village movement” based on my experience in Washington, DC.
Oct 23, 20221 min read
Make Banking Boring Again
This is the fourth letter I've sent to the FT editor that they published. It won't make me popular in the fintech community.
Oct 10, 20223 min read
The Global Economy
Here are my thoughts on what to expect in the coming year.
Sep 27, 20223 min read
Life in Washington, DC
Washington DC has been my primary residence since September 1973 when my wife Alaire and I moved here from Indonesia with our...
Sep 15, 20222 min read
Another election season
The crucial issue is whether the Democratic Party will retain its majority but there is a deeper issue.
Jul 16, 20225 min read
Myanmar Update (July 2022)
A lot has happened since my last update, which was sent out on 19 December 2021. Here's the bad news followed by the good news.
Jun 23, 20221 min read
GDP fixation on growth drives population increase
The Financial Times seems to like my letters. This is the third one they have published since the beginning of this year.
Apr 1, 20221 min read
No Country is Better Placed Than Canada to Fix the G20 (April 2022)
In my 19 April 2022 Letter to the Editor of the Financial Times, I suggested that the G20 global policy forum be replaced by a G15.
Mar 13, 20226 min read
Migration from Central America
I have tried to get the Biden Administration to include a “new city” project in their program to reduce migration from Central America.
Feb 2, 20221 min read
Don't Blame the IMF for Argentina's Debt Woes (February 2022)
In my 9 February 2022 Letter to the Editor of the Financial Times, I wrote about the problem of unsustainable debt owed to China.
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