Jews From The United States

"[T]he most striking feature of America's Gilded Age banking and financial markets is their lack of regulation. Wall Street was periodically upended by... colorful figures such as , Jim Fiske, and Jay Gould to manipulate prices and corner markets. The only force countervailing against such panics was a handful of more responsible investors, most notably J. P. Morgan... [who] engineered a successful rescue operation after the ... That episode inspired Congress to begin... plans for a central bank. After all, Morgan couldn't live forever."

"The federal made some efforts at regulation in 1900, by passing the Gold Standard Act, which allowed state banks to set up branches in small towns and ended the bimetalism debate by establishing gold as the only redeemable metal. Still, the vast majority of banks were local, single unit operations, and access to capital and credit... increasingly difficult as... business enterprises expanded rapidly."

"[G]ood bankers understand the shortcomings of accounting and know how to correct for them."

"What fascinated me about Drucker, and still does, is how he infuses his broad perspective on business issues with philosophical and historical considerations."

"The professor that had the most influence on me was Marcus Nadler. ...As a teacher he had a rare ability to break down complex subjects into more palatable and understandable points. ...[H]e had a great capacity to simplify, to turn abstract ideas into practical applications. ...His lectures helped shape my belief that financial institutions and markets must balance entrepreneurial drive with responsibility. And his fairness and openness to opposing points of view influenced me to conclude that no one school of economic thought has a monopoly on wisdom."

"[F]inancial markets are... a microcosm of the people and societies they serve. ...The extremes of market movements reflect the extremes of human nature and human emotion—from optimism and elation to pessimism and despair. In financial markets—as in life—rationality prevails most of the time."

"[T]he nation's middle class was about to embark on an educational revolution that would help boost incomes to unimagined levels over the next three generations. ...Along with the obvious benefits to... individuals, education yielded enormous social and economic returns. Economists have found universal public education in America to be one of the leading engines of economic growth."

"Judgements on the performance of our economy require a clearly defined objective. Too often... there are multiple and contradictory objectives. Unless we are clear on our... objectives, we are not able to evaluate performance as good or bad..."

"Often the real value of management decisions does not become apparent until many years later. Perhaps what we should do is try to analyze the impact of decisions in any one period on longer-term performance. In the political arena, for example, why should we emphasize the skill and acumen of national policy-makers only on the new initiatives they introduce and legislate? Sometimes the events that do not materialize are more important than those that do. We should try to ascertain what decisions political leaders are undertaking that will benefit their nations subsequent to their terms in office."

"I take great pride in being an American. Consequently, when financial excess threatens our economic moorings, and thus our extraordinary dynamic and pluralistic nation, I have often spoken out for saner behavior and more effective policies."

"The current plethora of instant interpretations tends to emphasize the near-term without adequate regard for longer-term objectives. The problem is compounded by the compressed time scales within which business and government function."

"The proliferation of credit instruments, financing techniques, and vast matrices of trading and investing opportunities requires highly objective evaluations of risks and rewards, and a sense of historical perspective, if excessive risk taking is to be avoided."

"The credit approval process began with the analysis of balance sheets and profit and loss statements. For those who know how to unlock their secrets, these documents can contain hidden traps, as I soon discovered—and was later reminded by some of the more spectacular credit problems of recent decades. Balance sheets tend to overstate assets and understate liabilities. Inventories commonly are assigned a large cash value after they have become obsolete, while receivables that are ostensibly current are quite often in arrears. Inadequate reserves constitute yet another common weakness that is poorly reflected... A receivable is a current asset, but it could be a slow asset."

"[A] balance sheet is a snapshot of one moment in time, and thus presents a very limited view... To be a good banker, therefore, a business is much more than its balance sheet."

"[A] profit and loss statement is not simply a collection of figures, but rather—for the perceptive banker—a window into the nuts and bolts of the business, from its method of operation to its management philosophy."

"Dr. Doom is back—and age has done nothing to soften his views. ...In a speech on Wednesday evening to the National Economists Club in Washington... Kaufman argued that efforts to stabilize the financial system following the financial crisis may actually have heightened risks by encouraging more debt and increasing concentration among too-big-to-fail institutions. .. that financial innovations, such as securitization, have mainly spurred an explosion of debt, much of it for speculative purposes. ...As the quantity of credit has exploded, its quality has fallen... Deregulation fundamentally changed... from the era of clear divides between commercial and investment banking and government-set interest-rate caps. Regulation has been insufficient to balance “entrepreneurship and fiduciary responsibility,”... which was checked when Wall Street firms were partnerships, with partners’ net worth on the line."

"Besides his business activities, Dr. Kaufman is active in a number of public and educational organizations, including New York University, Tel-Aviv University, the Institute of International Education, the Norton Museum of Art, the Jewish Museum, the UJA Federation, the Animal Medical Center, the Economic Club of New York, and the International Advisory Committee of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences."

"When the hedge-funders asked me the best way to maintain the authority over their security forces after the 'event', I suggested that their best bet would be to treat those people really well, right now. They should be engaging with their security staffs as if they were members of their own family. And the more they can expand this ethos of inclusivity to the rest of their business practices, supply-chain management, sustainability efforts and wealth distribution, the less chance there will be of an 'event' in the first place."

"... these technologies are a kind of training wheels, or a test run, or a pretend version ... of the connectivity we actually have anyway ... so we build the Internet & we say ... you see, this is what it's like to be connected ... now, you are connected (on telecommunications & social media, &c)"

"Over three million Jews were killed in Poland and Poles will not be the heirs of Polish Jews. We will never allow it (...) They will hear about it from us as long as Poland exists. If Poland fails to fulfill Jewish claims, it will be "publicly attacked and humiliated" on an international forum."

"We don't want this money paid out to heirs. We want them to be paid to victims."

"She helped me feel like I could take risks with the music, which you’re often told not to do. When you watch her, you see that it makes a difference. From now on, I am not going to be afraid to individualize my performances to the max. I won’t be afraid of liberties, if the score permits them. I know I can do it."

"Mimì vergisst nie, die Schönheit im Leben zu sehen."

"When an audience gives you love, you can feel it."

"Jüdische Geschichte ist voll von Leiden und schrecklichem Kummer. Aber sie ist auch voll von unermesslicher Freude. Wir ehren das Leiden durch Erinnern. Wir ehren die Freude durch Feiern."

"Ob Sie Adeles "Skyfall" von Megan Marie Hart intonieren, von Kylie Minogue piepsen oder von Tupac Shakur rappen lassen, macht einen Unterschied."

"Unglaublich viel Musik, die wir kennen, ist von jüdischen Künstlern. Sie sind immer da. Es weiß nur niemand, dass sie Juden sind."

"We give a lot of names to our excuses, to the reasons we don't want to write or we're afraid to. Finally, if you want to write, you have to just shut up, pick up a pen, and do it. I'm sorry there are no true excuses. Shut up and write. […] It's pretty nice to be talented. If you are, enjoy, but it won't take you that far. Work takes you a lot further. […] In writing I have confidence. Because I say I'm going to do it and I do it. That's all. Writing is the one thing in my life I continually show up for. I have given 100 percent to writing practice. That's what builds confidence. […] Don't be tossed away by your monkey mind. … These little voices are constantly going to be nagging at us. If you make a decision to do something, you do it. Don't be tossed away. … Don't be thrown off by yourself or anyone else. Let your big mind move forward."

"Wait until you are hungry to say something, until there is an aching in you to speak. Then come back. Don't worry. You won't have lost time. Your energy will be more direct and less wasted."

"See the big picture. You are committed to writing or finding out about it. Continue under all circumstances. Don't be rigid though."

"But last night we started to work with the Samurai. Tom brought in a loosely finished piece, xeroxed copies, and we went over it. First of all, we looked for where there was energy. It was mainly in the third paragraph. William Carlos Williams said to Allen Ginsberg: "If only one line in the poem has energy, then cut the rest out and leave only that one line." That one line is the poem. Poetry is the carrier of life, the vessel of vitality. Each line should be alive. Keep those parts of a piece; get rid of the rest. […] it's where our writing is burning through to brilliance that it finally becomes a poem or prose piece. And anyone can hear the difference. Something that comes from the source, from first thoughts, wakes and energises everyone. I've seen it many times in a writing group. When someone reads a really hot piece, it excites everyone. Be willing to look at your work honestly. If something works, it works. If it doesn't, quit beating an old horse. Go on writing. Something else will come up. There's enough bad writing in the world. Write one good line, you'll be famous. Write a lot of lukewarm pieces, you'll put people to sleep."

"What is important is not just what you do - "I am writing a book" - but how you do it, how you approach it, and what you come to value. […] There are many realities. We should remember this when we get too caught in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live."

"Writers write about things that other people don't pay much attention to. […] A writer's job is to make the ordinary come alive, […] When we live in a place for too long, we grow dull. We don't notice what is around us. That is why a trip is so exciting. We are in a new place and see everything in a fresh way."

"Just write. Just write. Just write. [...] When we are in the heart of writing it doesn't matter where we are. We can write anyplace."

"Push yourself beyond when you think you are done with what you have to say. […] It is beyond the point when you think you are done that often something strong comes out."

"As you reread, circle whole sections that are good in your notebooks. They often glow off the page and are obvious. […] Naturally, there should be a place for editing and revision, but when we hear the word editor, we think, "Okay. I let the creator in me go wild, but now I'm going to get back to the proper, conventional, rational state of mind and finally get things in order." We bring out the man or woman in a tweed suit from the East Coast with a doctorate in literature who is critical of everything. Don't do that. That person in the tweed suit is just another disguise for the ego that is trying to get control of things any way it can. […] Instead, when you go over your work, become a Samurai, a great warrior with the courage to cut out anything that is not present."

"If you want a room to write in, just get a room. Don't make a big production out of it. If it doesn't leak, has a window, heat in the winter, then put in your desk, bookshelves, a soft chair, and start writing."

"Anything we fully do is an alone journey. […] You are alone when you write a book. Accept that and take in any love and support that is given to you, but don't have expectations of how it is supposed to be."

"Use original detail in your writing. Life is so rich, if you can write down the real details of the way things were and are, you hardly need anything else."

"In a rainstorm, everyone quickly runs down the street with umbrellas, raincoats, newspapers over their heads. Writers go back outside in the rain with a notebook in front of them and a pen in hand. They look at the puddles, watch them fill, watch the rain splash in them."

"Writers move with grace in and out of many worlds."

"Of course, you can sit down and have something you want to say. But then you must let its expression be born in you and on the paper. Don't hold too tight; allow it to come out how it needs to rather than trying to control it."

"This is the practice school of writing. Like running, the more you do it, the better you get at it. […] You practice whether you want to or not. Through practice you actually do get better. Sit down with the least expectation of yourself; say "I am free to write the worst junk in the world." You have to give yourself the space to write a lot without a destination."

"It is a good idea to have a page in your notebook where you jot down, as they come to you, ideas of topics to write about. […] Add to the list any time you think of something. Then when you sit down to write, you can just grab a topic from that list and begin. Making a list is good. It makes you start noticing material for writing in your daily life, and your writing comes out of a relationship with your life and its texture. [...] Naturally, once you begin writing you might be surprised where your mind takes the topic. That's good. You are not trying to control your writing. You are stepping out of the way. Keep your hand moving."

"Read a lot, listen well and deeply, and write a lot. […] If you read good books, when you write, good books will come out of you."

"Don't worry about your talent or capability: that will grow as you practice. […] If you want to write a novel, write a novel. If it's essays you want or short stories, write them. In the process of writing them, you will learn how. You can have the confidence that you will gradually acquire the technique and craft you need. […] We learn writing by doing it. That simple."

"I went home with the resolve to write what I knew and to trust my own thoughts and feelings and to not look outside myself. I was not in school anymore: I could say what I wanted."

"Learning to write is not a linear process. There is no logical A-to-B-to-C way to become a good writer. One neat truth about writing cannot answer it all. There are many truths. […] Some techniques are appropriate at some times and some for other times. Every moment is different. Different things work. One isn't wrong and the other right. In class we try different techniques or methods."

"First, consider the pen you write with. Think, too, about your notebook. […] A cheap spiral notebook lets you feel that you can fill it quickly and afford another. Also, it is easy to carry."

"You tell the truth and you depict it in detail."