Desire

October 20, 2025October 17, 2025

Desire

Last week, I was listening to a podcast about debt. While the host and guest talked about debt in the traditional sense – mortgage, loans, credit cards and negative bank balances – I was most struck by what they called invisible debt. Debt caused not by spending too much but by wanting more. It is a debt driven by desire and social comparison.

The premise of the discussion was trying to unravel the contradiction between the fact that Americans are on average both wealthier and unhappier than their counterparts living in comparable parts of the world.…

Invisible

Years ago, I read an eye-opening book called, The Submerged State. Its premise was that one of the chief reasons we don’t value the role of government is because its work and effects are too often invisible to us. The prime example was the oft cited quote “Keep your government hands off my Medicare,” – a reflection of an angry citizen not realizing that Medicare was in fact a government program.…

Graduating

Last year, I was honored to deliver the commencement address at my alma mater, Penn State. It was held in Beaver Stadium, where over 100,000 fans stream in each Saturday during football season.

The students graduating that day would go out into an uncertain world. A pandemic still wore on, the country and specifically their state was deeply divided.

Yet they were graduating with a college degree and into a strong job market.…