Why the Long Run?

Why do it?  Why add yet more noise to the cybertubechatterspace that already won't leave us alone with its 'male enhancement,' its 'acai berry blast' and its constant commentary on everything and everyone, then commentary on the commentary, and commentary on the commentary on the commentary?

Because the world needs a skeptical blog about finance and economics, that's why.  Because the dismal science is truly dismal, because human beings just seem to have no innate ability to understand even the most basic principles of probability and statistics, because I get dozens of Nigerian 411 scam e-mails every week, and because I just love to see my name up on the internet, that's why.



In this blog, we (myself and my fellow blogger, who will introduce himself in a separate post) will attempt to cover the world of finance, money, and yes, economics, from a skeptical point of view.  That means we'll use the tools of critical thinking to examine financial ideas and scams, get-rich-quick schemes, general misconceptions, pseduoscience and 'money-quackery.'  Along the way, we'll try to hit on some of the perhaps little understood concepts of how markets and money really work, or are really supposed to work, or maybe how they sometimes don't work the way they're supposed to.

What quailifies us to do this?  Hey, none of your business!!! I mean, uh, in my case, 19 years of experience as a Wall Streeter, trading, researching, even managing money occasionally.  19 years of watching central banks, traders, and other money people do what they do, say what they say, and do plenty of what they don't say they're doing or say they're not doing but do anyway.  Add to that a lifetime of skepticism, including a stint as Connecticut Chapter Chairman of the New England Skeptical Society and a slot in the Skeptics Guide to the Universe's Rogues Gallery Blog (http://www.theskepticsguide.org/sgublog/) and you have what I think, if I do say so myself, is a pretty good recipe for a skeptical economics blogger.  I guess our readers will be the judges.  Hi Mom!

It was John Maynard Keynes who inspired the name of this blog, with his famous quotable quote that "in the long run, we're all dead."  Despite that, and until then, we'll do our best to fill this gap in the skeptical universe.  Let us know how we're doing.