Dear Laird,

I am sorry to hear that your dad has passed but he had a full life and the final chapter is one that most of us yearn for--he was still of clear mind at an advanced age and had children who were clearly dedicated to his well being.

I know my observations were not always what exactly on the point that he has been working to make and that I believe that the real problems that we are leaving for our children are even larger than the one he focused on, but I greatly applaud his efforts in two regards. First, if we as citizens do not work to understand what our policymakers are doing and the ramifications and use our knowledge to help educate others, we will all be sold down river by the political class the way the Greeks, Italians, Spaniards and others have been. Second, to still be working on this sort of problem as he approached the century mark by age is as selfless an effort as I have ever seen. Most people who reach the age of Social Security claiming worry more that they not lose their grip on the money spigot than about what we are leaving for those who are feeding it.

Please pass on my condolences to Jennifer. I have been privileged to know your father.

Regards,

Sylvester Schieber, PhD