A classic 1970s commercial for a brand of margarine set up a taste test with Mother Nature, and fooled her into thinking it was real butter. Mother Nature responded, well, forcefully.
Metaphors like this can arise in other places. For example, some observers, casually or strategically, associate “natural” forces with responsibility for financial crises.
When describing the massive financial breakdowns leading to the Great Recession of 2007-2009, more than a few pundits frame it in terms of policymakers valiantly navigating a “perfect storm” of forces.
Trouble is, this kind of rhetoric can deflect responsibility from humans, including policymakers themselves.
Tomorrow, I’m going to a lunch presentation at the City Club of Chicago, titled “Chicago’s Financial Storm.” Presenters will include Laurence Msall of the Civic Federation of Chicago, and Fran Spielman of the Chicago Sun-Times. I will report on their presentation on Wednesday.
Seeing this on my calendar after settling in after the Thanksgiving Day weekend, I was reminded to take a peek at City of Chicago bond prices.
It doesn’t look pretty. Over the last month, yields look to have risen by roughly 100 basis points, and considerably more than the increase in rates on longer-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
Longer story short, our "Mother Nature" in Washington D.C. may be less likely to be handing out umbrellas.