Letters
TEXT OF LETTERS SEGMENT
Tess Vigeland: Every few weeks we kick back and hand things over to you and your comments about our show.
Yes, it’s time for listener letters and who knew so many of you were mountaineering enthusiasts?
Leading into a recent “Day in the Work Life” segment, I credited Sir Edmund Hillary with saying “Because it’s there” in response to a question about why he climbed Mount Everest.
In fact, as many of you pointed out, the source of that quotation is George Mallory. Mallory was among the first climbers to attempt Everest, but did not survive his third expedition in 1924.
Ron Bildstein of Syracuse, New York, takes me and Chris to task for our discussion during a Straight Story segment a couple of weeks ago.
We said just about everyone on Main Street and Wall Street now agrees we are in a recession, even if nobody wants to say it officially.
Ron thinks we need to chill:
Ron Bildstein: Why, why, why do you place your program in the realm of what I’ll call “pop economics.” That’s when the media talks the economy into a recession. Why not contribute to true economic literacy as the tone of your program purports to do and generally delivers?
Rachel Rockafellow also urges us to focus more on the basics. She listens to us in Bozeman, Montana, and heard my recent profile of the Crow River investment club in Minneapolis.
“You get too far off the point…” she writes. “Speaking about investment clubs is a waste of time. That’s not the way for people to do well long-term. Investment clubs are more like gambling than sound investment advice.”
We received lots of feedback on our special program on the Middle East and Muslim financing. Many of you thanked us for providing a window on life in the region, but Drew Butler says we missed one driving force behind personal finance there:
Drew Butler: I did not hear anyone mention the two hour auto commutes which are common in the United Arab Emirates. Also, inflation in the area has been 25 percent higher in the last two years and is projected to be 15 percent higher in 2008. On the other hand I would not have been able to meet all the wonderful and varied people I have met from all over the world if I had not come here.
Drew lives in and contacted us from Doha, Qatar. He’s originally from Mobile, Alabama.
We love getting your comments, compliments, and yes, even complaints. Click on “contact.”
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