THE 700 BILLION DOLLAR MAN

BEFORE I TALK ABOUT MY SIERRA NEIGHBOR, THE 700  BILLION DOLLAR MAN, I WISH TO NOTIFY EVERYONE THAT TODAY I LEAVE FOR CHRISTMAS IN THAILAND WITH MY GRANDSON AND WILL BE MOSTLY ABSENT FROM THIS PAGE.

The 700 billion dollar man, so called because he was plucked out of obscurity by Secretary Hank Paulsen to be Chief of the Federal Bail Out Plan. Neel Kashkari soon discovered it was an unenviable position.
As a young man, he was fascinated by Washington DC politics and wanted in the middle of the fray. He found out what a difficult job that was. Publicly pummeled, savaged, and doubted by the press, castigated by enemies he didn’t know existed. He resigned ten months into the job after forging a bailout, something that had never been done before.
Now he lives a real life.
He exiled himself to the Sierras, built a cabin in the woods, chopped wood, and reconnected with family. He calls it “Washington Detox.”

Now, he listens to the coyotes and beholds the stars and says: “This makes 700 billion seem small.”

Perhaps we can persuade him to institute ethics seminars, make them mandatory for all congress people, and wage some real change in Washington. Then, like a 12 step program, when our representatives fail the people, they go through detox.

Well, its Christmas, I can dream, can’t I?

Happy Holidays!

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