Pfloral Pflugerville

  

Well into the afternoon of April 2nd, returning from a bluebonnet quest in a rural area northeast of Austin, as we approached the intersection of E. Pflugerville Parkway and N. Railroad Ave. in Pflugerville we noticed a great field of wildflowers on our left. Parking at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Catholic Church, I walked across the road to the flower-covered field to check it out. A pretty strong wind made photography difficult then, but I took some pictures anyway, figuring that even if they didn’t turn out well I could return on a calmer day.

Blue: Texas bluebonnet, Lupinus texensis.
Red with yellow fringes: Indian blanket, Gaillardia pulchella.
Yellow with brown center: greenthread, Thelesperma filifolium.
Red-orange: Indian paintbrush, Castilleja indivisa.
 

 

These three views show you how different one section of the field could look from another, depending on which wildflowers had gotten the upper hand (even though wildflowers don’t have hands).

 

 

 

 

 §

§      §      §

§

 

 

 

The most simple and pleasurable lessons of economics show you how common ideas are precisely wrong. Econ 101: Don’t confuse relative prices — one price greater than another, and the forces that push one price up relative to others — with inflation, the rise in the average level of all prices. Inflation is really about a decline in the value of money. Trying to change individual prices is a classic game of whac-a-mole.

Econ 101 week 2. During inflation, many people’s wages don’t rise as fast as prices. Giving them borrowed or printed money to make up the loss, and buy things at higher prices is another common idea. In week 2 we learn it just makes inflation worse.

These basic points seem to have escaped an entire administration, though it has been facing inflation for four years and had plenty of time to think about it.

 

That’s from the April 14th article “Inflation Confusion,” by “Grumpy Economist” John H. Cochrane.
You’re welcome to read the full article.

 

 

© 2024 Steven Schwartzman