Acknowledgments

Writing this book was a collaboration—and not just between Joel and Ron, but also between the authors and all the people who helped make this book happen. A community effort, if you will.

For Joel, this book has been a long time in the making. For several years, a number of fellow faculty members at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association Advanced School of Banking, including Jim Clarke, Lyle Sussman, and Lance Kessler, suggested that I write a book. They were part of my e-mail list for my economic commentaries. The thought at the time was to make a collection of those notes since they were usually short, funny, irreverent, and to the point.

It was an interesting idea to essentially write a book that used my signature commentary called “In a Nutshell.” However, I never really wanted to write a book. I never thought I had the staying power to do all that it takes to complete such an undertaking. Indeed, I often refer to myself as the ADD economist since I constantly wander around when I give talks or do research.

Out of the blue, Bill Falloon of John Wiley called and asked if I was interested in writing a book. Like a fool, I said yes. We agreed to a contract and off I went. And did very little. Bill was extremely patient, but events caused me to push back the writing. Without his willingness to create new deadlines and his understanding of the issues that were causing the delays, this book would have been scrapped a long time ago.

Eventually, my wife, Cindy, in cahoots with my son, Adam, both of whom had been extraordinarily supportive of my efforts, decided I needed some real pushing and nagging. Cindy gave me a deadline, at which point I either had to get it done or give it up. That is when I decided I couldn't do this alone. So I called Ron, who had been interviewing me for years about economic issues when he was at the Christian Science Monitor. Though Ron was usually on deadline, we not only talked about the issue at hand but we had many fascinating conversations about all sorts of economic problems. I knew we could work together, so I told him about the book and asked if he wanted to be a co-author. We met, discussed how it would work, and Ron's enthusiasm rekindled mine. In less than a year, the book was written.

In coming up with and refining the ideas in this book, over the years there were many friends, colleagues, and business reporters, including but clearly not limited to David Kotok, Rick Lang, Marty Crutsinger, Steve Liesman, Tim Mullaney, Paul Davidson, Rex Nutting, Brian Toolan, Danielle Kurtzleben, Bob Moon, Joe Liro, Mike Connor, Mark Zinman, Joe Besecker, Gary Pulcini, Don George, and Mark Fox, who knowingly or unwittingly helped me hone my thinking on so many of the issues discussed. They were guinea pigs for my thoughts, but thankfully they didn't recognize how crazy I was. They bear no responsibility for anything that is written and would probably demand that I say so.

But, ultimately, it was Cindy's confidence that I could actually write a book that made this possible.

In Ron's case, as a journalist with over 40 years of experience, he has amassed a significant list of people whom he called on for help in finding people to interview, potential sources of information, and suggestions for ways to illustrate economic concepts.

When looking for information, one of the best places to start is with a librarian. Ron is particularly grateful for the help provided by long-time friend Leigh Montgomery, who is the librarian at The Christian Science Monitor. Even though Ron had retired from the Monitor in 2013, Leigh continued to help with suggestions and potential sources.

Another librarian, Ben Gocker, at the Brooklyn Public Library, was also helpful when Ron wanted to find the location of Flatbush National Bank, where the first bank-issued credit card was issued. Ben pulled out hard copies of 1940s magazines that included ads from the bank. The simple ads got Ron headed in the right direction to find the bank, which had become a furniture store.

A former journalist-colleague at the Monitor, Alexandra Marks, fielded Ron's panicked phone calls, always offering useful suggestions. Alex was particularly helpful on the issue of the fracking of natural gas, which she wrote about for a cover story for the Monitor's weekly magazine in April 2012.

In 2012, Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa came to New York to talk about how the Republican convention would help his city. He handed Ron his card and said to call at any time. Thanks to Bob's administrative assistant, Bridgett McCormick, who made that happen, finding time for Ron to talk to her busy boss.

At a holiday party in 2012, Ron ran into Chris Owens, the executive director of the National Employment Law Project. She offered to help with the book, which she did. But she also got some of her colleagues to pitch in, and Ron is grateful to both Mike Evangelist, who provided the data showing that most of the jobs since the end of the recession have gone to seniors, and Mitch Hirsch, who helped locate Griffin “Griff” Coxey, who brought to life the difficulties of being over 55 and looking for a better job.

Over the years, the firm Development Counsellors International (DCI) has introduced Ron to scores of mayors, businessmen and local or regional economic development entities. For this book, Susan Brake and Brooke Carrillo came through with some key interviews with people who gave him perspective on Northeast Indiana, a region Ron would have overlooked otherwise.

One of DCI's former clients was the Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, which put Ron in touch with Travis Bullard, who could explain in layman's terms how his firm, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, makes semiconductor chips. The Saratoga folks, Shelby Schneider, former director of marketing, and Dennis Brobston, president of SEDC, came to New York for coffee, where they put into context where Bullard's company fit into the scheme of things.

Ron also wants to thank a whole flotilla of public relations people who normally ask media types, “When is the interview going to run?” In this case, many of them had to line up clients under the premise that the book would be out in the spring of 2014. In other words, there would be no instant gratification.

Early in the book, Norita Taylor of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association helped Ron find truck driver Scott Grenerth, who moves large coils of steel from the steel mill to the users. Scott turned out to be a real gem, even calling Ron when he was trying to maneuver his rig through a lake-effect snowstorm in Indiana.

Ron would also like to thank Jeff Crilley, a Dallas-based public relations blizzard who through the years has helped Ron. He corralled Scott Nordon of the Tex-Mex restaurant Posados.

Thanks also to Virgil Renzulli of Arizona State University, who helped track down the very busy president of ASU, Dr. Michael Crow, ASU economist Dennis Hoffman, and Jenny Kampp, who was full of ways she saved money during hard times.

For years, Carrol Van Stone of Van Stone Publicity in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, has called Ron right around the holidays to pitch some of her retailing clients. But when she called about a client who could talk about mergers and acquisitions, the connection did not gel—at least until the book, when Ron realized Carrol could help with her client David Braun.

Many journalists have turned to the Brookings Institution in Washington for perspective. Ron is no exception and wishes to thank his old friend DJ Nordquist as well as Rachel Harvey, who helped locate the very busy Elizabeth Kneebone.

Another important Washington source for journalists is Roberton “Bob” Williams, a fellow at the Tax Policy Center, a joint venture between Brookings and the Urban Institute, who helped to give some perspective on changes in the tax law. Thanks also to the Urban Institute's Stuart Kantor.

Ron is also grateful to other PR types, including Jim Engelhardt of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation; Molly Battles of the Rosen Group; Lara Wade of the University of South Florida; Andrea Hurst, who represented research firm CoreLogic; and Catherine “Caytie” Daniell of the National Center for Policy Analysis, who helped Ron get some time with Bob McTeer, former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Many thanks also to Jeff Lenard of the National Association of Convenience Stores, who helped Ron find Greg Parker; and thanks to Aaron Ellis, who worked with Ron on port issues related to trade. Thanks to other people on the docks, particularly John Pope in Long Beach, California, and Patricia Cardenas in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Ron and Joel also wish to thank Wiley senior development editor Meg Freeborn, who helped the duo navigate around the shoals encountered by the authors in their first book.

There are likely scores of other people Ron has missed who made suggestions for the book. Thanks to all for the help.