And Good Things Happen

Have you ever had a time when it seemed that the forces of the Universe were lined up in your favor?

With all of the challenges around us, it is nice sometimes to have the forces of the Universe line up just right.

Well, it is time for me to take a moment to reflect on the good things that are happening and thank God for my wonderful blessings.

Here are some of the great blessings that have blessed our family of late.

My youngest son, Jeff, proposed to a wonderful young lady. Her name is Sarah. We like her a lot, and they are planning a July wedding.

Two days before the proposal, Sarah got a new job, Jeff got an EMT job interview and later a new job, and a group of workers knocked on my door to help me remove some trees that needed to be cut down. This all happened simultaneously.

A son-in-law received a teaching position at BYU. Their family has been in Georgia for the past seven years. We'll now have them close to home for a while. It'll be nice to have the grandchildren within 50 miles of our home.

My youngest daughter performed in a musical recital last night at Weber State University. She sang "Defying Gravity" from the play Wicked by Schwartz. I know that I am biased, because she is my daughter, but she was spectacular. The entire show was wonderful and we were blessed to have been there.

Several other little miracles have taken place of late and it is a continuing testimony to me that God is involved in the details of our lives.

Oil pricing

As I watch crude oil prices move above $107 per barrel, I can't help but wonder if the government shouldn't intervene. What if the US had a Sovereign Wealth Fund, that competed with the major oil producers of the world, and benefited every American as the price of oil skyrocketed? This could be a US financed Sovereign Wealth Fund, with a motive of minimizing costs and maximizing benefits to all Americans. It would have the best interests of all Americans at heart. This Sovereign Wealth Fund would be a resource to support universal health care, medicare, medicaid, education and all other hoped for rights.

This could improve competition towards alternative energy sources and help promote increased productivity and improvement in all aspects of the economy. It could eliminate some of the greed and speculation that may be driving asset pricing higher than it should be. It could help mitigate the bubbles and the volatility that we see around us in asset pricing and in currency trading.

It seems to me that the concentration of wealth in the world needs to be mitigated. Since I believe that there is a tendency by everyone to protect their wealth, there is an inherent conflict of interest between those that have the wealth and those that need the wealth. The natural tendency of people is to hoard and protect their wealth and their security.

By placing the assets of a Sovereign Wealth Fund in the hands of the best managers in the world, would this increased competition benefit all? Would it help mitigate the pricing bubbles and speculation that seems to be inherent in our current system?