The Waitress Sandwich Sounds Good
I was off of work today and happened to be tuned into the Imus show this morning on the way to the grocery store. Imus’ guest was Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat Senator from Connecticut. The subject was the economy and, while I was not listening too closely, I heard Dodd speaking about the number of auto dealerships in Connecticut (eleven hundred, I think he said) and the number of dealerships nationwide. I could not tell what his point was, but I’m sure that it had something to do with the economy and the auto bailout.
Then Dodd mentioned something to this effect:
It is a good thing that the meltdown occurred now, as opposed to one or two years ago, when it would have been much worse…
Dodd went on to this effect:
…because there is greater hope that we can pull out of it because we have Obama coming into office
To be sure, things would have been different two years ago (or one year ago). For one thing, we would not have had the pressure to say and do things for purely political gain in a presidential election year. For another, we would not have had the pressures of $4 a gallon gasoline eroding our purchasing power. One might even conclude that if the meltdown had occurred one or two years ago, we would never have seen $4 a gallon gasoline. We would have experienced the meltdown with less unemployment. And, of course, had the meltdown occurred one or two years ago, we would not have had the uncertainty that is occasioned by an interregnum.
Yes Chris, good thing that we are having the crisis now. If I didn’t know better, I might think that you planned it this way. I would not be alone.
I am reminded of my economics courses at Virginia Tech - taught by Allan ”Handsome Al” Mandelstamm - where I was introduced to the Theory of Competitive Advantage. Stated simply the theory says that a person (or country) should always do what that person (or country) does best. The example that Handsome Al gave goes something like this: If I am twice as good a football coach as Bill Dooley, and if I am a ten times better economics professor than Bill Dooley, then I will teach economics and Bill Dooley will coach football.
Now, applying the theory to Christopher Dodd, his clear comparative advantage has historically been
- being the drinking buddy of Ted Kennedy (talk about co-facilitators)
- making waitress sandwiches, with Ted Kennedy, of course, while their dates were in the restroom (is that Subway calling?)
- obtaining loans from Countrywide Mortgage at below market rates
- gauging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as “fundamentally strong” and as being in “good shape” earlier this year
Needless to say, Dodd’s comparative advantage has not been in responsible behavior, the culinary arts, ethical behavior, and financial audit. Now with his appearance on Don Imus, add to this list: economics. Economics professors everywhere - those following in the footsteps of Handsome Al - can rest easy this evening; their jobs are safe.