Back from Kohler and Chicago

Last week blogging was a bit light since we spent three days in Kohler, Wisconsin, followed by three days in Chicago. The reason for the trip was that I had been invited to present my outlook on the markets and the economy to The Economic Club of Sheboygan. Despite its relative obscurity, the club has attracted an impressive list of speakers over the years, which I was quite honored to join. There were about 100 in attendance, and the questions were lively. Doing presentations like this is one of the things I miss the most about being retired, especially when the audience is filled with businessmen who know what it's like to build and manage a company while coping with the consequences and burdens of government policies and regulations. Many thanks to Clare Zempel and Jim Kitzinger for the invitation and for making our stay so enjoyable.

The venue for the talk was the beautiful American Club Hotel in Kohler, a suburb of Sheboygan. We were awed at the beauty of the little town of Kohler, which owes its livelihood and idyllic charm to the folks who built Kohler Co., renowned for faucets and bathroom fixtures, among other things. During a visit to the Kohler Design Center—a must—we learned why: Mr. Kohler hired the folks who designed Central Park in New York to create a plan for the development of the town. We arrived about a week late for the peak in Fall colors, but as the shots above show, it was still a treat for a Southern Californian. The third photo is the amazing view we enjoyed over lunch at the nearby Blackwolf Run golf course. (all photos taken with my iPhone 5)

In subsequent posts I'll recap the highlights of my presentation, illustrated as usual with lots of charts. The title was "The Reluctant Recovery." Reluctant, because as I've argued for years, the economy is suffering from sub-par growth because of "stimulative" monetary and fiscal policies which have only served to create headwinds to progress, and because market participants have been very reluctant to believe that the recovery would be self-sustaining.