Picto Diary- 21 to 24 July 2024 - Hoover, Sun Valley, and Kevin Hassett

Above: Screen shot of map. Rupert, ID. 23 July 2024
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Round trip Park City to Sun Valley and back. Out yesterday and back today. 659.6 miles round trip.

Above: Convenience Store, Shoshone, ID. 23 July 2024.
Out about on the 'Wing.
102 degrees.

Above: City Park, Ketchum, ID 23 July 2024.
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Don't fetchum, Ketchum.

Above: Kevin Hassett, Distinguished Fellow in Economics, Hoover Institution. Sun Valley, ID 24 July 2024. (file image).

I was seated next to Kevin Hassett (former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors in the Trump administration) at the Hoover Institution luncheon in Sun Valley.

I asked him about the future of the US dollar in the wake of trends for countries, such as Saudi Arabia, to transact in alternative currencies. He replied that current initiatives, such as the Saudi initiative, pose little or no threat the pre-eminence of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Hassett speech to luncheon goers: Bullish on an ongoing free market America

Hassett referenced Josef Schumpeter's prediction that the US would become socialist. Schumpeter's predictions seem to be playing out. As Schumpeter predicted, today's university professoriate has gone left, and indoctrinated students who have gone into media to indoctrinate the public. However, per Hassett, Schumpeter assumed that the media would have the same power today to curate the news as it did in his own day (1930's). Per Hassett, the internet today has undermined the potential of the traditional media to dominate the news. More free market "truth" is getting out via alternative news sources, thanks to the internet., than had been anticipated by Schumpeter. Hassett expressed optimism that Schumpeter's prediction of America going socialist would not play out in the US as more people, benefiting from a free market in ideas, would assume the positive aspects of capitalism.

Hassett noted the importance of the Hoover Institution in broadcasting the ideas of free markets and individual freedom. He noted that Stanford, notwithstanding recent troubles, remains the top university in the United States and that Hoover's affiliation with Stanford is a big reason for Hoover's ability to attract top level scholars oriented towards free market capitalism. "Hoover is a place that fights," said Hassett.

Hassett continued waxing optimistic as he noted Stanford professor, Erik Brynjolfsson's recent claim that 4% US GDP growth rates are within reach as more artificial intelligence (AI) applications come on stream.

Hassett also issued a warning about a looming energy shortage in the United States. Oil wells typically deliver sixty percent of their total production in the first year of operation, said Hassett. Because the Biden administration has banned drilling permits on public lands for the last three years production oil production output will begin to decline with no new domestic sources to fill the deficit.

Above: Honda Goldwing Instruments. Iron Canyon, Park City, UT. 24 July 2024.
Out and about on the 'Wing.
Round trip Park City to Sun Valley and back. Out yesterday and back today. 659.6 miles round trip.

Addendum:

Very cool! I'm happy for your family!
Drummer J,
Lehi, UT