Co-President Patti led today’s meeting with 16 members in person and 7 on zoom.
Thought for the Day: Amy shared a Martin Luther King quote:
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
“If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.”
Announcements: Patti commented on the email sent by our Rotary District with the sad news that Mark Gibson had passed away. Mark was a Barrington Rotary Club member, past Governor, leader of many Rotary trips to Guatemala, and recent speaker at our Club.
- Amy called our attention to the newly placed boxes at the WCH to collect items for the New Trier Food Pantry.
- Barb announced the plans for her Volunteer Center hosting MLK Day at the WCH on Saturday, 1/14.The event returns to the WCH for the first time since Covid.
- Heidi opened registration for the Kids Against Hunger, which is scheduled for Saturday, 2/25 at the WCH.
Happy Bucks: Tony is happy that there is a new Rotary Club in western Uganda that is doing a microcredit program (similar to the Global Grant that Tony and other Winnetka-Northfield Rotarians sponsored).
- Patti donated to celebrate her daughter’s 35th birthday.
- Moha donated to say he is happy to be back from Morocco.
- Bob is happy that a recent procedure to remove skin cancer from his nose is a success.
- Sylvia is happy to be back from vacation and will stay at the branch in Northfield at least through June.
- Wes is happy to see more Rotarians participate at this meeting – 23!
Dig N Grin: Liz payed homage to MLK, which segued perfectly with Amy’s Thought of the Day.
Speaker: Your humble Bulletin Editor and author of this scribe waded into the thicket of discussing ‘Interest Rates.’ I started the presentation with a chart of Fed Fund rates in the post-war era. With rates in a range from 0% to 20%, and many peaks and valleys on the chart, the important question is what causes so many cycles? To help frame the question, I showed a video that highlights the struggle between classical economists (represented by John Maynard Keynes) and the Austrian school of monetarists (represented by Friedrich Hayek). Click on this link to watch the video: Fear the Boom and Bust: Keynes vs. Hayek - The Original Economics Rap Battle! - YouTube
Comments were made about statistics, CPI, PCE, employment, MMT, government spending, the punch bowl, and the rap music in the video entertained if nothing else. Pray for better speakers in the future, or you just might find yourself back in economics class the next time the regularly scheduled speaker cancels late on a Wednesday.