Ode to The Chairman

Fed Chairman Bernanke is acting quickly to shape his legacy. I hope, when it's time for Ben to retire to the lecture circuit, he leaves a better economy in his wake than did his predecessor. Jeremy Grantham's latest quarterly letter is a bitter indictment of Chairman Greenspan, and his thoughts reminded me of a poem written many lifetimes ago after Paul Volcker retired from the economic battlefield, after slaying the inflation dragon and helping restore sound money policies to the U.S.

Thank You Chairman Volcker

Oh - - - Thank you Chairman Volcker
for your plans and policies,
causing interest rates to rise,
and fall,
and bond traders unease.

The policies you started
led to volatility,
a contrarian's delight,
was this,
new monetary freeze.

When fear and greed took over
the new bond psychology,
prices plunged to all-time lows,
but we,
smelled opportunity.

'Cause interest rates are easy
when consensus goes astray,
thinking this time that "it's not,
the same,"
the crowd will always say.

But economic cycles
are a reoccurring lot,
knowing where in it you are,
is key,
to liking what you've bought.

"The business of the nation,"
Volcker stated, "is in tatters,
but when all is said and done,
you'll see,
that money really matters."

So in deference to the man
who set money policy,
we say thank you Chairman Paul,
for all,
the opportunities.

D.B. May, 1987

Douglas B. May, CFA, is President of May-Investments, LLC and author of Investment Heresies.

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