Other Voices, Other Blegs

We try to pretend we’re not actually human sometimes. And sometimes we have to decide not to pretend.

Many of the Life Cycle Theory models for economics assume limited borrowing constraints: you can’t borrow more than you will make (present valued), but you can borrow on future earnings.

You can only do that for so long until the projections start shifting and you hit a constraint even in a perfect modelworld.

This isn’t a perfect world. Four people who have recently hit constraints: Diane, Roy, Gary, and Lance. That’s probably in reverse order of need at the moment: people came through well for Diane over the weekend, and Roy has a wide audience.

So hit Lance’s tip jar if you can only hit one.

But remember: one of the things that happened in NYC after 11 September 2001 is that people started giving blood. People who didn’t normally give were donating; the place I usually give at was suddenly booked.

You know what happened next. Blood, unlike money, isn’t fungible or transferable. Six months later, there were shortages again.

If you can’t hit the tip jars now, but have a windfall later and are thinking about paying it forward: go read their blogs, and be ready for the next time. They don’t do what we do, but life isn’t only economics.

In the midst of the recovery, we need to give chances to as many starfish as we can.

And if, by chance, you are one of those starfish who needs help right now, Gary’s post here may be useful.

Or if you know of someone else who is in dire straights, mention it in comments (or send me an e-mail) so it can be added to this post.