Writing

One of the most woke people I can think of has to be Joel Salatin 🚜

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Well maybe until he let the world know about his views on the COVID-19 vaccine, which from a business perspective probably wasn’t his best decision but is fully consistent with his world views. You can argue still to this day, Salatin is one of the most successful homesteaders out there. I wouldn’t say, go woke, to broke.

I was listening to the NY Magazine podcast this morning when they were talking about the origins of the word “woke”. The term has become associated with left-wing political activism, particularly that worn on one’s sleeve without much conviction. Feel good politics not grounded in reality. And a sober look at how people exploit it.

Humans like stories and good feelings. Many if not most successful businesses – outside of commodities and essentials for living are about telling a story. People need a reason to buy your product. Smart business owners find ways to tell a story.

People should be aware of what is happening in their community and in the world. They should care about others. Good business people are savvy when it comes to maximizing their resources. Salatin has developed some neat ideas to run his homestead that reduce the need for inputs.

And he’s built a story about it and diversified himself both in his ag business and the books and lectures he does. I’ve supported his farm by buying his books even though I’ve never been to his part of Virginia.

Like many people, being woke leaves me with a bad taste in myself as it is often based on denying reality and hiding yourself from the real world. But if you can play into consumer beliefs while being grounded in reality behind the scenes then I see no problems with being woke.

Gas Prices Push Up Inflation Rate – The New York Times

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CPI Report Live Updates: Gas Prices Push Up Inflation Rate – The New York Times

Federal Reserve officials are likely to remain wary about the outlook for inflation following a report released Wednesday: Overall price increases sped up because of a pop in gas prices in August, and a more closely watched index that strips out volatile food and fuel prices climbed at a faster monthly pace than expected.

The Consumer Price Index climbed 3.7 percent in the year through August, the report showed. That was both faster than the 3.2 percent July reading, and slightly quicker than the 3.6 percent that economists had expected.

Households Less Optimistic about their Financial Situations – FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK

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Households Less Optimistic about their Financial Situations – FEDERAL RESERVE BANK of NEW YORK

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data today released the August 2023 Survey of Consumer Expectations, which shows that inflation expectations were largely stable, rising slightly at the short- and longer-term horizons, and falling slightly at the medium-term horizon. Income growth perceptions declined in August, and job loss expectations rose sharply to its highest level since April 2021. Perceptions about current credit conditions and expectations about future conditions both deteriorated. Households’ perceptions about their current financial situations and expectations for the future also deteriorated.

NPR

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Fed’s Jerome Powell warns the fight against inflation is far from over : NPR

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday inflation is still too high, and he warned that restoring price stability will likely require an extended period of elevated interest rates.

Speaking to a gathering of economists and central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Powell said it's encouraging that inflation has cooled — from 9.1% last summer to 3.2% last month. Here's where inflation stands today — and why it's raising hope about the economy Economy Here's where inflation stands today — and why it's raising hope about the economy

But Powell stressed some of the improvement could be temporary, and he reiterated the Fed is committed to getting inflation all the way down to their 2% target.

"The process still has a long way to go," Powell said. "We are prepared to raise [interest] rates further if appropriate, and intend to hold policy at a restrictive level until we are confident that inflation is moving sustainably down toward our objective."

The central bank has already raised its benchmark interest rate from near zero in early 2022 to just over 5.25% today — in the most aggressive series of rate hikes since the early 1980s.