Daily Archives: February 24, 2022

The budget for 2022-23 has been discussed from several angles. In this article, we want to raise three important issues, which have a bearing not only on the current year but also on the coming years. One, is enhancing capital expenditure the best way to stimulate an economy in the current situation? Two, can the government function with a high fiscal deficit for several years in a row? And three, what should be the mechanism to determine the level of borrowing of states?

What stands out prominently in the budget is the emphasis on capital expenditure which is expected to rise by 24.5 per cent over the revised estimates for 2021-22. This is a welcome directional change that continues the trend of the previous year. In 2022-23, 45.2 per cent of the fiscal deficit will be used for financing capital expenditure. In the UK, they have endorsed the golden rule of fiscal prudence under which there would be no limit on fiscal deficit so long as all of it is used to finance capital expenditure. Of course, the budgetary definition of capital expenditure does not fully correspond to economists concept of it. Even lending is treated as part of capital expenditure.

Enhancing capital expenditure not only creates additional demand immediately but also lays the base for further growth. In the planning era, all our plans were focused on raising the investment rate. Therefore, in principle, augmenting capital expenditure appears to be the right approach. Capital expenditure has a higher multiplier, but it takes a longer duration to work itself out. Revenue expenditure has a lower multiplier, but its impact is almost immediate. In the context of the situation created by Covid-19 in terms of loss of employment and income, a question arises whether revenue expenditure, such as income support for vulnerable groups, should also get high priority.

In the budget, the allocation for MGNREGA has been reduced. It is possible that as overall production increases, the need for it may come down. If this happens naturally, it is fine. Otherwise, the government should not stint on expenditure in this regard.

On subsidies, the reduction in petroleum subsidies is well taken. But on food subsidies, there has to be a rethink. Thus, there is concern about the reduction in some of the revenue expenditure. As we have argued elsewhere, there is some fiscal space available for higher spending and as revenues increase over targeted levels, revenue expenditures directed towards providing social safety nets should be raised. Even on capital expenditure, the government should bring out a separate document listing major projects in which investment will be made not only by the government directly but also by public sector enterprises.

The next issue is the level of fiscal deficit. The question is how long can we continue with a very high level of fiscal deficit. Fiscal deficits are way beyond what was considered to be appropriate under the FRBM Act. The Centres fiscal deficit in 2020-21 was 9.2 per cent of the GDP. Part of it was, of course, due to some cleaning up operations, which is desirable. Even then it is extremely high. In 2021-22, it is 6.9 per cent of the GDP and is expected to be 6.4 per cent in 2022-23. The norm that we had set was 3 per cent of GDP. As a consequence, the Centres debt-GDP ratio is expected to be at 60.2 per cent of the GDP in 2022-23 as against the desired level of 40 per cent of the GDP. For the Centre and states taken together, it would touch 90 per cent of the GDP. One can understand the compulsions; the impact of Covid-19 had brought the economy to a grinding halt. In 2021-22, the economy is expected to touch the level of where we were in 2020. Extraordinary measures had to be taken to kickstart the economy. Government expenditures had to rise. But we should not belittle the situation that we are facing.

It is argued sometimes that our debt-GDP ratio is low compared to other countries such as Japan. But that is not an appropriate comparison as tax revenue to GDP is high and interest rate is low in Japan interest payment on debt constitutes only 4.7 per cent of revenue receipts. The corresponding figure for India, considering the Centre and the states together, was 25.8 per cent in 2019-20. In the case of the Centre alone, interest payments will equal 42.7 per cent of revenue receipts in 2022-23. This is a large preemption, leaving less for other productive expenditures. Such a large public borrowing poses a problem. In 2022-23, the Centre and states will borrow an amount equivalent to 10.4 per cent of the GDP. The savings of the household sector (which is the only surplus sector) in financial assets do not exceed 7.5 per cent of GDP. Thus the borrowing programme can be completed only with the support (though indirectly) of the RBI. This is what we used to do in the 1980s. Such support from the RBI will have an impact on inflation, if not immediately at least with a lag. Of course, one has to take into account its favourable impact on output. At present, the target appears to be to take the Centres deficit to 4.5 per cent by 2025-26. Even this may or may not be achieved. But will it be adequate? A medium-term plan of fiscal consolidation is urgently needed, showing the period over which a sustainable level of fiscal deficit will be reached. Crowding out of private investments may not happen now. But eventually, it will become a problem, if we have prolonged high fiscal deficits.

The last issue relates to borrowing by state governments and the Centres role in it. The government has agreed to raise the borrowing limit of states to 4 per cent of the GSDP for 2022-23. But it imposed the condition that 0.5 per cent of this will be contingent on the states implementing power sector reforms. This condition is unnecessary. Power sector reforms are needed and inducement can be provided through other means. The limit for 2022-23 should have been raised without imposing any condition. Article 293 of the Constitution stipulates that states need permission from the Centre to borrow so long as they are indebted to it. Prior to the 12th Finance Commission, the Centre used to borrow for the purpose of lending to the states. The 12th FC recommended that this system be stopped and that at least all major states should be allowed to acquire their entire borrowing directly from the market. It was our hope that as this new system takes root, a stage would be reached when the states would not be indebted to the Centre and that they would then borrow based on their own assessment.

Against this background, the proposal in the budget of the Centre to provide an interest-free loan for a 50-year period needs reexamination. If the Government of India feels that states need to spend more on infrastructure, they should just be allowed to borrow more. Of course, under the present proposal, there is no interest burden on the states. Thats a sweetener. It is also appropriate here to recall one recommendation of the 12th FC which was to set up a loan council comprising the Union government, states and the RBI which could take the decision on how much states should be allowed to borrow. This recommendation was not acted upon earlier. This needs a relook.

This column first appeared in the print edition on February 23, 2022 under the title The fiscal rethink. Rangarajan is former chairman, Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council and former governor, RBI. Srivastava is chief policy advisor, EY India and former director, Madras School of Economics. Views are personal

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Three important aspects of 2022 budget with long-term implications - The Indian Express

CANDID Solutions Expands Professional Service Offerings with Announcementof Their Newest Partnership Business Machine Agents (BMA)!

CANDID Solutions, Inc. now offers full document solutions for copying, printing and scanning to their clients through their newest partnership with Business Machine Agents (BMA). CANDID removes the guesswork of choosing the best technology supplier for business clientele nationwide and the partnership with BMA allows CANDID to expand into sales for commercial document solutions for copying, printing and scanning and full support for their existing and future clients. Today, we are proud to announce are newest partnership with BMA. This partnership comes at the request of many existing customers and BMA is a perfect fit based on their equal passion in servicing their customers with integrity at every turn, said Joe Dix, Owner at CANDID Solutions.

CANDIDs approach in partnering with premier leaders in the technology industry continues to follow a better-together approach when bringing affordable but premium solutions to their clients. We are only as good as our strong partnerships with genuine, passionate vendors that thrive in servicing their customers both before and after the sale. BMA fits into our culture perfectly! said Joe.

About Business Machine Agents (BMA)

Headquartered at8170 S Madison Street, Burr Ridge, IL. offers individualized professional solutions for businesses small and large in the document solutions space. BMA brings peace of mind to clients when it comes to making decisions on copying, printing, scanning, and maintaining printer needs for their offices. CANDID and BMA align well with their long-term approach and commitment to building integrity & trust one step at a time. All too often, CANDID hears from prospective clients that they are tired of the hidden or excessive charges by existing or previous suppliers. That does not happen with BMA. In fact, many BMA clients save money on unnecessary spend related to certain aspects of printing, while receiving superior care from the BMA team. Therefore, we wanted to bring them onboard! said Joe.

Company Overview

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BMA is family owned & managed by Kurt Wackerman. He promotes the golden rule of businessevery customer and situation be treated with kindness and thoughtfulness. How well our people perform goes a long way in determining how well our equipment performs. We are so confident in our technicians that we offer the strongest system of performance guarantees in the industry, said Kurt.

Our BMA Team are top experts in what they do and provide courteous, professional & personable service. Our technicians each have a minimum of 20 years experience. BMA was a perfect match for me. It allows me to connect with people, educate & offer solutions with my focus being to build relationships with my clients & partners for years to come, said Kurt.

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Some larger clients include Salvation Army and Chicago Public Schools to name a couple. However, BMA supports clients of all sizes with varying needs and locations. BMA also supports individual and in-home businesses. The wonderful thing about our office equipment is potentially anyone or business with an office is an ideal customer. However, any office with a higher volume of document processing is even more ideal for us: law firms, accounting firms, mortgage & real estate offices.

About CANDID Solutions

CANDID Solutions, Inc. provides IT-based solutions to commercial clients nationwide. Gone are the days of frustration in dealing with technology suppliers/venders that are reactive and constantly point fingers instead of servicing their clients properly. CANDID is a business-only vendor sourcing company provided at no cost to the customer. Client size ranges from single to well over 1000 locations. CANDIDs strong project management team that applies proven process for projects of any size makes them stand out to larger clients and especially those with many locations. CANDID provides vendor selection and management at no cost to the customer.

With over 450 technology focused suppliers in their portfolio, CANDID is the single point of contact for all business Voice, Data, Cloud, Cybersecurity, Network, Managed Services, and Expense Management needs. The CANDID team consists of 19 core technology engineers, a national project management team as well as post-implementation account management. All handled by people located directly in the United States. This unbiased approach and one reason why CANDID have not lost a customer in over 10 years.

For more information, please visit http://www.candid.solutions.

Media ContactCompany Name: CANDID Solutions, Inc.Contact Person: Joseph Dix Email: Send EmailPhone: (847) 383-7300City: ChicagoState: IllinoisCountry: United StatesWebsite: http://www.candid.solutions

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Candid Solutions Expands Their Professional Service Offerings To Midwest-Based Commercial Companies - Digital Journal

Maurie Backman| The Motley Fool

Rising inflation impacts the stock market and more. Heres how.

Rising prices are scaring investors. Heres how inflation works, how it affects investments like stocks and funds and how to protect your money.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

In 2020, when job loss was rampant and millions of Americans suddenly found themselves having no choice but to dip into their savings to deal with income loss, many people cut back on nonessential spending. Things changed in 2021, though.

In the course of the year, the economy got stronger and jobs became more widely available. Also, COVID-19 vaccines made it possible for more people to go back to work safely, and the return of in-person school gave working parents a much-needed reprieve.

Since mid-2021, consumer spending has generally been strong, and that's actually led to an extreme uptick in prices. Whenever the demand for commodities exceeds the available supply, prices have the potential to rise. And that's what we've been grappling with over the past several months as supply chains have failed to keep pace with consumer spending patterns.

But while an increase in spending is good for the broad economy, one payment app is worried about that pattern reversing in the near term. And if that were to happen, we could see unemployment numbers pick up substantially.

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In early February, PayPal executives issued a warning during the company's earnings call that consumer spending is about to decline, and possibly in an extreme manner. Chief Financial Officer John Rainey blamed that on a combination of the omicron surge and inflation.

While wages went up across the board in 2021, inflation rose at such a rapid pace that workers, on average, wound up with a pay cut. And the fear is that lower-income households especially will need to cut back on spending to compensate for higher living costs. That could cause a ripple effect where businesses lose revenue and let staff go, leading to an increase in unemployment numbers.

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Right now, the job market is strong, and many companies are actually pretty desperate to hire. But if you work for a company that's been barely hanging on since the start of the pandemic, you may want to shore up your finances in case things take a turn for the worse and dust off your resume in case you need to start looking for work.

That said, many jobs won't be impacted by a drop in consumer spending. And even if consumers start cutting back on essentials like food, for example, it doesn't mean your grocery job will automatically be compromised.

But it still wouldn't hurt to pump some extra money into your savings account in the coming weeks if that's possible. That way, you'll have a cushion in case your circumstances take a turn for the worse.

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A big reason lawmakers approved several rounds of stimulus checks during the pandemic was to kick-start the economy and aid in its recovery. If spending falls to a notable extreme, a fourth stimulus check could be a possibility. But we'd need to see a pretty drastic drop in spending for another stimulus check to be justified and that's not something we should hope for.

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We're firm believers in the Golden Rule, which is why editorial opinions are ours alone and have not been previously reviewed, approved, or endorsed by included advertisers. The Ascent does not cover all offers on the market. Editorial content from The Ascent is separate from The Motley Fool editorial content and is created by a different analyst team.Maurie Backman owns PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool owns and recommends PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Is consumer spending about to hit the brakes again? PayPal thinks so - Times Record News

Despite a sensational season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Boye Mafe arrived in Mobile for the 2022 Reeses Senior Bowl with the feeling that he had something to prove. There were question marks, he felt, being asked of his candidacy as a prospect in a fiercely competitive 2022 NFL Draft EDGE class. Did he answer those questions? You better believe he did.

One of the biggest questions was people saying that Im a raw talent, Mafe said as he reflected on pre-Senior Bowl preconceptions and how he challenged them in Mobile during an exclusive sitdown with Pro Football Network. That Im not very developed yet, and theres a lot of work to be done with me. My main focus of the week was to showcase that I know what Im doing out there, that I have a lot of speed, burst, and acceleration off the edge.

As he ascends in this 2022 NFL Draft class, development is something that Mafe takes great pride in. By his own admission, the player that arrived in Minnesota for the 2017 college football season is unrecognizable from the dynamic, explosive pass rusher that opened up eyes and lit up offensive tackles during Senior Bowl practices.

I think its night and day, said Mafe of the differences in his game. I dont think youd be able to recognize what I looked like as a freshman to now. Thats what college is there for. Its a developmental stage in your career. You need to go through that time where you know youre not at your best. But you know that youll be somebody someday. So just keep working at it, and thats what I did.

The Senior Bowl is one of the last opportunities for coaches to see you play good-on-good football, Mafe continued while discussing the reasons why the Senior Bowl is so important for showcasing that hes the real deal in the NFL Draft process. You play against the best of the best competition, theyre all striving to be in the NFL. Being able to go against a lot of guys in that situation was very good for me to be able to showcase my skills, my talents, in a different light.

A hyper-athletic pass-rush talent, Mafe laughed as he told me the three best words to describe his game are fast, fast, explosive. While the NFL is a serious business, you can tell that the Minnesota defensive end wants it to be fun, too. A wrestling fan growing up, he sees the sport as a medium to entertain in the same way that stars on the square canvas do except his canvas is a football field.

High energy, motor, quick burst off the line, he said, describing what he brings to the field. I try and have fun out there, enjoy the game, make it an artwork. Try and make it something that people would enjoy watching.

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If the football field is akin to a wrestling canvas, Mafes pass-rush toolbox is his finishing move. While he jokes hed like to try out some wrestling moves on the field, the Minnesota defensive end has some go-to moves that he describes as his favorites. His athleticism will only get him so far as an NFL Draft prospect these tools of the trade will help him transition into an exceptional NFL player.

I like the stab. I like the swipes. Swipe is probably my favorite. I like to swipe, dip, and off the edge, Mafe said. Hes used those moves to get straight into the opposing backfield, where hes consistently resided over the course of the last four years in Minnesota and most recently in Mobile, where he earned National Team Player of the Game honors for his explosive performance.

Turn on any game Mafe points to Wisconsin in 2021 and the bowl game against West Virginia as prime examples and the talent is easy to see. What isnt apparent from purely watching the Minnesota defensive end go to work is the journey that hes undertaken to get here. He calls himself an open book, but did you know that hes of Nigerian ancestry and spent two years of middle school overseas?

It was very interesting, he reflected on his time in boarding school in Nigeria. It was something that, for me, you never really understand it until you look back, and you dont realize the blessings of it and how beneficial it was to me. In the moment, I was like, wow this is crazy! Im leaving everything that I knew and everything Im comfortable with. But, I enjoyed that time, I met new people and made new relationships. I grew up and matured, you learn how to grow up really fast.

His Nigerian heritage has proven to be extremely important to him as hes developed not only as a football player but also as a young man.

Its everything, Mafe said. Its my moral compass of how I carry myself and how I live my life. The culture, and the religion, everything that we do is based off the stuff that my parents instilled in me as a little kid. It makes me who I am today. The golden rule of taking care of your family, respecting your elders, respecting others. Thats how I live my life.

While hed grow to take care of his family, it was their environment that helped nurture and develop him as a blossoming football talent at a young age. The family is full of standout athletes, and Mafe points to their inspiration and direction as a driving force that helped produce the competitive nature that he showcases every week on the football field.

Its been a great development, Mafe said. Honestly, looking up to my siblings and cousins, everybody played sports, and it was something that Ive always liked to do and I enjoyed. When we got together, we were a very competitive family. So no matter what we were doing, wed make it competitive. Thats the competitive nature of our family.

The competitive nature translated to tackle football. Although he missed two years of football development during his trip to Nigeria, he picked it right back up on his return.

They kind of told me, Hey, come play tackle football with us! I didnt play for two seasons while I was at boarding school, Mafe said. But, when I came back, that was when it really kicked off for me. A lot of my closest friends I played with during middle school and high school. When I got to college, I was like, Oh, this is football for real, for real! Had to really get into gear and lock into the process of really getting better.

Born and bred in Minnesota, Mafe took his football talents to the field at Hopkins High School. While he was still developing as a football talent, there was no denying his athletic prowess. In addition to suiting up on Friday nights, he starred in track and field. It was an experience that would ultimately aid his football development.

I feel that, through track, I learned how to control my body, Mafe said. Running mechanics, learning how to strike the ground, how to lean into your run. Ultimately learning how to get maximum speed in a short burst of space. All the aspects of track can translate somewhere to football, and you can always use them in some area.

Mafe used them to devastating effect on the football field. Highly productive, he made a name for himself on all-star teams and earned All-Metro and All-State honors. However, when it came to recruiting for the college level, all athletic and performance advantages were negated by a lack of exposure for Minnesota high school athletes.

I mean, the recruiting process from Minnesota is very limited, Mafe said. Were not one of those big football states where you have a bunch of five stars. People dont put a lot of money into recruiting Minnesota. Hopefully, that changes in the near future. Theres a lot of talent in Minnesota that gets overlooked and that deserves recognition.

The nations loss was his home states gain. An offer from the University of Minnesota allowed Mafe to play his football close to home while showcasing his talents in the Big Ten. Before hed have the opportunity to do that, however, hed redshirt his freshman season, an experience that helped build the disruptive defensive monster that heads to the 2022 NFL Draft.

Honestly, it helps you learn the game, makes it slow down for you, Mafe said. You have the opportunity to really get the mental aspect of football. Going from high school to college, its really two different speeds. Youve got to learn to read faster, do your assignments faster. I took it upon myself to make sure that I was ready for the next season, working on my fundamentals and technique to get the opportunity to play.

After making his debut against New Mexico State, Mafe would go on to play four years for the Golden Gophers. Each season, hed be more productive for Minnesota, resulting in his most successful campaign of all in 2021. He tallied 19.5 tackles for loss and 15 sacks, all the while playing with the energy that embodies head coach P.J. Fleck.

Hes everything that you see on TV. Mafe smiled while reflecting on his head coach of five years. He has that energy, hes always energetic in everything that he does. He never slows down. I try to tell him sometimes, Relax! But thats him, thats how he does it. Thats how he lives his life, and that energy is contagious. I feel like a lot of things in football are contagious, and he used his energy throughout the university.

Despite his remaining eligibility, Mafe opted to declare for the 2022 NFL Draft following his four playing years in Minnesota. He reflected on the guys who are behind me, ready to play while embracing the fact that the next challenge for me is to play in the NFL. After receiving the invite for the Senior Bowl, he recognized that Im really doing a pretty good, decent job during his final season in the maroon and gold.

The athletic upside of the Minnesota defensive end is extremely enticing. Hes an explosive playmaker who has showcased the technical ability to shake off that raw prospect tag he feels has been hanging around his neck. Mafe is ready and raring to go, ready to showcase why an NFL team should take a shot on him in the NFL Draft.

My personality and my playing style, he said. Being willing to learn, honestly. Im ready to learn a new scheme and put myself in a new situation. I think thats exciting. Whats perhaps more exciting for an NFL team is how Mafe conjures up his feelings towards what it would mean to him personally to be selected in April. Its a tantalizing prospect.

It would mean the world, Mafe said. Its something that Ive been working towards my whole career. Now that its in front of me, I want to be able to move forward. Honestly, I think my best football is ahead of me. Well see where that takes me, see where it leads me.

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Minnesota DE Boye Mafe out to prove he's more than just a raw prospect in the 2022 NFL Draft - Pro Football Network

If Abbott elementary were a real school, the online reviews would probably be brutal. The students are unruly. The principals out to lunch. One teacher even kicked a kid. You can imagine childless neighbors complaining about their property values, former teachers ranting about why they quit and school parents cautioning other families to stay away.

Of course, Abbott Elementary isnt a real school. It merely depicts a fictional one on ABC, and in the mockumentary style. The workplace under the microscope in this sitcom is a West Philadelphia public school thats typical of its subject. Which is to say its overcrowded, underfunded and underserving its community. Its too true to the woeful state of public education in America to seem like it could be funny.

And yet it mines laughs, big ones, through its note-perfect imitations of life. After two years of Covid-related school closures, Zoom classes and critical race theory panic, its nice to be transported back to a simpler time when public schools were symbols of urban decay, and not the downfall of America.

Theres a reason why teachers are the rarest television fodder; unlike doctors or lawyers or even journalists, their lives dont appear to be especially cinematic. (Never mind the raft of headlines and cellphone videos that teachers attract for everything from breaking up hallway fights to entering into underaged affairs.)

And when teachers are on screen, they mainly function as props for the angst-riddled teens or tweens really driving the story. (See NBCs Saved By the Bell, HBOs Euphoria, Netflixs Sex Education, etc.) Glee and season four of The Wire are the rare shows that actually deem teachers worthy of genuine exploration.

AP Bio, the NBCUniversal comedy that ran for four seasons, is a notable exception that foregrounds faculty but even that sitcom is less a reflection on the seemingly impossible challenges of the job than one teachers unhinged fantasy of avenging the loss of a tenured professorship at Harvard. Even its fictional Whitlock high is a small-town, blue-sky idyll for the college-bound, majority white middle class.

Abbott Elementary, though, keeps it real. It doesnt shrink from urban public schools well-known occupational hazards the metal detectors, the corroded infrastructure, the expired books, the broken families. (Not even West Philadelphia gets a Fresh Prince-like caricaturization.) Abbotts comedy comes from teachers who are committed to solving these seemingly intractable problems, even when it would be easier and smarter to take the path of least resistance.

None in the teachers lounge is more keen than Janine Teagues, whose dedication is driven by a desire to be remembered as that elementary school teacher we adults canonize long after the world turns us cynical. If that character sketch seems more grounded than Harvard redundancy with an axe to grind, its because Quinta Brunson the A Black Lady Sketch Show alumna who stars on screen and as a writing executive producer conceived of the ABC series in tribute to her mother, a near 40-year schoolteaching vet. And the show takes its name from Brunsons actual sixth grade teacher, Joyce Abbott still of West Phillys Andrew Hamilton school.

She even gets an onscreen avatar who is played to utmost primness by the Tony-nominated Sheryl Lee Ralph (of Moesha fame). As for the rest of Abbotts core faculty, youve got the tough neighborhood broad (Lisa Ann Walter), the woke Teach for America type (Chris Perfetti), the blas principal (the devastatingly charismatic Janelle James). And then theres the substitute whose ambition and hotness keeps tongues wagging, played by Everybody Loves Chriss Tyler James Williams, whose on-screen chemistry with Brunson dates to their Black Lady Romeo and Juliet spoof.

Interestingly, Williams is inarguably the biggest name on the show. But for Abbott, the absence of celebrity actors is an asset, as it allows the story to be the star. And so far the story has resonated. After modest promotion and a launch in early December, ratings for the Abbott premiere quadrupled over the next 35 days, in an ABC first. Even more impressive: the series has avoided stigmatization as a Black show despite its overwhelmingly Black cast, a pitfall NBCs excellent Grand Crew could not avoid. If anything, Abbotts Black cast of teachers and students deepens its authenticity.

In interviews, Brunson has spoken of her desire to create a show with heart. And theres little doubt her success on that score has Abbott Elementary poised for a Ted Lasso-like breakout.

But ultimately this show is a win for teachers, many of whom have contacted Brunson directly to say that, finally, they feel seen. Its high praise; who knows if itll lead to any substantive reforms or even motivate viewers to shore up their public schools and advocate for those teachers. At the very least, Abbott offers a refresher on comedys golden rule: the truth is always funnier than fiction. Which is to say its not a school you want to skip.

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Abbott Elementary sees teachers for who they are: big-hearted and underfunded - The Guardian

On his fourth album, Jake Webb comes at you with a question that sounds heavy and even a little bit ridiculous: Are You Haunted? When you think about it, it makes sense that the genesis of the album dates back to Castigat Ridendo Mores, a song named after a Latin phrase that essentially suggests the only way to get through the craziest, most difficult times which is what some may describe the past two years during which Webb crafted his most solitary project to date is to point out their absurdity. The Western Australian singer-songwriter and producer, who has been honing his eclectic brand of psychedelic dream pop since he adopted the moniker back in 2013, is less interested in offering easy answers than trying to capture the essence of a question, the things both frightening and funny that creep around the edges and evade you. Its a fitting title for an album that is moved by abstract ideas but finds bold and intriguing ways of exploring them.

Out today via Future Classic, Are You Haunted? Methyl Ethels first for the label is his most unrestrained and experimental effort to date. There are sections of solo piano, an instrument featured heavily on the album, weaved alongside dissonant strings, dramatic melodies, and heady electronics, like on One and the Beat, which stretches out to six minutes. But for every moment that feels brooding and introspective, there are others that are groovy and danceable, like the propulsive Matters or the Stella Donnelly-assisted Proof, his first song with a featured artist. Its a strangely evocative album that concerns itself with serious subjects climate change, politics, the culture at large but never takes itself too seriously. Because what its really haunted by in a poetic sense, at least, but still quite visceral is the actual space that made it possible, the studio where Methyl Ethel recorded their earliest material and where Webb returned to during the pandemic, following the passing of a close friend who owned it. You can spend your time pondering the meaning of that question, but at the end of the day, you just have to feel it.

We caught up with Jake Webb to talk about how an Andrei Tarkovsky quote, The Waste Land,the golden ratio, and more inspired his new album.

Had we been speaking in my studio, which I normally would be for most of the interviews, you would have seen it behind me, but its just three words. Im paraphrasing, but I think he was essentially saying that these are the core elements of what he considers to be his art or his creative process, and its Luck, lies, and witchcraft. That felt really apt, and it kind of resonated throughout the making of the record. To this day, I think those are totally three core elements in any creative pursuit of making something that is special.

Do you see one of them as being in any way more important when it comes to your work?

Not at all, because I think what it also does signify is that you kind of need to be in the room, doing the work, for any of them to actually manifest. You need to really be there to to get lucky in any way, but after toiling for so long you can totally make that happen. The lies is really kind of like that showbiz thing where its all smoke and mirrors, trying to trick people into feeling certain emotions. I think thats the driving force in many ways for the choices that you make, its just, How do I fabricate an emotional response out of something? Thats where that witchcraft comes in there is sort of an unknown factor where everything goes right, I guess the magic, if you will. Its something that is open enough to be a great source of inspiration.

I actually noted down another Tarkovsky quote from Stalker that I thought was interesting and wanted to ask you about. It goes, A man writes because he is tormented, because he doubts. He needs to constantly prove to himself and the others that hes worth something. Do you believe thats true?

I feel like thats just a pretty human perspective. In loads of pursuits, there is so much of proving oneself in a persons life, too, to a certain degree. So certainly, I think it does resonate. But the torment is just too dramatic for me. I understand and I can empathise with the thought, but its far too dramatic of a perspective for me. I dont feel tormented so much only as tormented as anybody else. I mean, life has its torments, you know, and it can be read and experienced as nothing but endless torment. But the opposite is also true.

I also think this idea of self-doubt being a motivator is interesting, that part of creating something is putting yourself in a vulnerable position.

I think there is something in that. I think you do know that the answers that you look for through doing this kind of stuff, theyre impossible to find. Even striving for some kind of perfection is an impossible quest, but its that striving for it that is so seductive, thats so enjoyable, to feel like youre really trying to grab onto something.

Its something I came across years ago, and there was just a part of it that resonated with me, that essentially was something I would have written down in a journal that has become the title of the album and just a lot of thoughts about it. Theres this title that comes on the screen, and its speaking about displaced spirits of soldiers who have died while at war on an island away from their home. From my memory, thats what it kind of is. I think it says, Are we haunted by homeless ghosts? I thought that was a really beautiful sentence. Even just that question, Are you haunted? was something that felt really evocative for me. Its something that I saw years before this record was something I was working on, and I think this really illustrates how Im using my antenna to kind of pick up on things that get stored away for later time.

Last year and the year before, they were the biggest two years of readings for me. Ive read more books than I ever have. I looked at my bookshelf at the time, at the beginning, I just thought its shameful how many of my own books I havent actually finished or read. So it was a really feverish time of reading, because I was also this is one of my inspirations, but it ties into catching the train. I was catching the train and the bus to my studio, which was a really peaceful 45-minute journey just to myself that I would read all these books while doing it. I was so engrossed I would walk and read at the same time our streets arent particularly busy, so its very easy to do that, but you just go straight out the door, straight onto the page.

I think David Foster Wallace has been the most exciting author that Ive read for so long. The inspiration is more of a rule-breaking thing. Its almost like: dont be afraid to cram all your ideas into something. Dont be afraid to speak in your own voice. Dont be afraid to mash all of the formats and bits and pieces of things that you are interested in into the work. Thats the first time Id ever read it, and I cant wait to read it again. But its just challenging in all the right ways, funny as hell, which is also so important. Its something that Ive tried to put into this record as well. There needs to be a healthy dose of tongue-in-cheek. Because I also read Ulysses not long after that, just because Im a pretentious wanker, mainly, and for me, so much of those works theres so much piss-taking in it. And theres so much that it wasnt meant for us to understand. We can try so hard to figure things out, but its just like a practical joke on the reader a little bit.

When it comes to catching public transport, was there anything you wanted to add on point?

It really is that time of quiet contemplation, and wanting to look out the window as much as possible when not reading. Its just a reminder that sometimes thats where the experience of music is perfectly suited, when you give yourself the opportunity to slow down a bit, not have anything to do right at that moment.

I can hear the piano being more prominent on the album, but how did those things specifically inspire you?

The piano is at the studio space that I rent, its not my piano. But coincidentally, the first piano that Ive ever owned arrived today and is upstairs and ready to tune tomorrow, so thats pretty special. Future inspiration, perhaps. I havent had access continuously to an actual acoustic piano, because I write on keys wherever I am pretty much for most of the records. More than what the piano signifies, that particular piano was just always there, something that I spent hours at arranging. And I wanted to record it really well and have it be how it sounded to me in the room, because thats how special it was. And you have to be careful, with the piano, because it says something that is so familiar to people. Its almost too emotional, it can be very melancholic. But that was okay, because it sort of helped me to tell the story that I wanted to in a musical sense.

And those pianists, Scriabin and Sibelius, and there were probably a couple of others, but it was just the music that I was listening to most of the time. Because I do I revert to classical music and I still listen to mostly classical music, but when Im making my own music, I try to push away most other music except for classical music.

Its later in the list, but theres also this modernist work, The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives, that youve cited. Can you talk about that as well?

Yeah, similar sort of thing. I was really interested, and I didnt do it too much, but I think in other pursuits or moving forward, I found the beauty of dissonance to be really inspiring, and especially through listening to that Charles Ives piece. I remember working on some of the string parts for Castigat Ridendo Mores as soon as I found this dissonant swell, I just remember playing some parallel notes together, some mash that was just exactly perfect. It was this sort of epiphany moment that all of a sudden, you realise there are no rules, really. Everything is just there for you to use in whatever way. Thats a special thing that listening to that Charles Ives piece kind of unlocked a little bit.

Im interested to see how that manifests in future works. Maybe thats why it was further down in the list, too.

I can understand how, once you get interested in that sort of thing, its hard to return to melodic, tonal music. All of a sudden, its not exciting anymore. Itd be cool to really see that through.

Personally, I find it hard to get away from T.S. Eliot, and this is somebody that I have and probably lots of people have studied in high school. I find that his poetry is just perfect to me, and something I use as something to strive towards. But for this time around, I spent a lot of time on writing the lyrics for this album and rewriting them a lot. Im not somebody whos proofread any of my schoolwork or anything over the years, and this is the first time I really did that. The Waste Land was almost like a workout for me while I was writing lyrics, to just read it and see if it can set something off.

The thing about The Waste Land, more than content, its just really sitting with something that is so well-constructed. Not that I would ever want to copy any part of it, thats not the point, the point would be to really see what somebody whos a great writer can do and get excited about going in to do that. Because thats the biggest amount of toil in writing songs, I suppose, is the fact that youve got to marry these two totally separate things sometimes, you marry a melody to a lyric. As far as rhythm and melody goes, its really hard to do. I feel like Ive chanced it a little bit more in the past, and this time I wanted to be more precise. So, what better inspiration than somebody who was a master of writing in that way?

I was watching a lot of films at night, but just with the subtitles on and the sound muted. And with all due respect to Wim Wenders, I would fall asleep. It would really lull me into sleep in a totally beautiful way. But these films, the pacing of it all was so beautiful and meshed with the evening, the stillness of night. Sometimes you wake up feeling in a similar mode to what the film had because youre so lulled into that floating around. Wings of Desire maybe is one that thematically did kind of find its way in, because I find that often you can feel like youre sort of a silent observer of things when youre walking around. And especially when youre listening to music, its very easy to feel like youre just watching things going on around you. Its totally a feeling that I wanted to have in the music.

I dont know how it happened, but it pretty much gave me the idea for the opening lyrics for Proof. Theres a scene where one of the characters is asked what they can see, and they start describing what they can see out the window. I started writing down the dialogue instantly because there was something in it, and I suppose thats the truest form of inspiration. All these things, they have something there that in the moment Im not quite sure what it is but ends up becoming something. Thats why I have so much respect for all the people who are involved in making these films theyre just rich, full of great ideas and great moments that can just be mined by bullshit artists like me. [laughs]

Im glad we talked about this because out of all the lyrics on the album, that line and that melody from Proof is the one that just keeps coming back to me the most.

Thats the witchcraft, then.

This is another one of those things that I have written up on my wall. I had this realization I thought that what I was doing by continuously going and working on music, and just everything in that room in general, I thought I was striving perfection to get everything perfectly balanced. But the thing that I wrote and I found out was, for me, perfection and harmony and harmony not necessarily in a musical way are kind of two different things. I feel that disparate parts being harmonious together, it doesnt have to be perfect. And I know that imperfection is a total cliche when it comes to making music, especially, being rough around the edges and stuff. But it goes with the thing about dissonance, too, just to remind myself that the purpose of it all is not to try and get everything to be perfect. Especially when I was mixing, its a good thing to remind myself that I dont need to tidy every little last bit up.

What had you written down specifically on your wall?

I have the gold ratio formula. I just put a big red circle with a cross through it [laughs]. And I wrote something like, Perfection is not even to harmony.

This is the side of things that is just purely enjoyable. Its just because I love playing drums and its a totally different side to all of this real pondering of the deeper things. Sometimes I just want to get into the room and play music shaking out a bit of the nervous energy of being in the room in 30 minutes to start the day was just a great way to get on with it. To go, Okay, Ive had my fun, now its time to do some work. And Im really proud of the drum parts that Ive played on the record, too. Groove is so important in music to me, and that serves as a counterpoint to some of the darker, heady themes. You can cut away that or if you dont speak English and youre just listening to the music, you should be able to move in that way thats really primal.

This is where you recorded the album, right?

Yeah. Its a place that, many years ago, thats where I started learning how to do all these things. My friend whose studio studio it was, he sort of set it up, I went to high school with him and I learned a lot of stuff with him. A couple of years ago, he passed away tragically. It just so happened that when I came back to Perth, I asked what was happening with a room in the place the short story is that I found myself back there, which is really special because I spent so much time there many years before. The plan was for me to just do a bit of work there and Im still working out of there.

When you think about what recording music in a space is, you really are capturing the essence of the space that youre in. And if you want to take it to a poetic level, theyre the actual ghosts on the record, the way everythings bouncing off those walls, all of the air that youre kind of getting to move the diaphragms, the microphones, which then move your headphones. There are memories that are these ghosts that Im talking about as far as haunting goes throughout the album whether theyre real memories or misremembered things, or whether theyre collective memories of people that we have been or ghosts of humanity. Thats what I think about when I think about this record, and that space is so tied into that because thats the most literal version representation of a lot of those ideas. You can hear that space on the record, so how could it not be an inspiration?

How did that idea of being haunted in this personal, almost literal way, blend in with the theme of the ghosts of our collective past? How did you go about merging those?

I think it was really easy because I pretty much always have the title of a record before I really start writing the record, really writing it. Its not a dissertation or anything, its just a way for me to bring a bunch of disparate ideas about things in totally different ways together in one place. So naturally, each new piece of work that I started working on, I wanted to come with a different angle. That was the intention, to do a reading of the same idea in different ways.

Do you mind sharing one thing that youve learned or that youre still learning from your friend?

I think more than a lesson or anything like that, its just that I feel really lucky and its really special to be doing it. To be full-time making music. That would have been both of our I hesitate to say dreams, but its something that we definitely wanted to work towards and he was doing as well. Its nice to feel like he would just be loving what Im making at the moment. I would have so much to talk to him about now about all this stuff that Ive been doing, you know, under the same roof. There was great time back in the day, all those years ago, when I was working in one room and he was in another and another friend was in another, and we would come out for to have a chat and have a cigarette or something. And we were so excited about everything that everybody was doing, and it was so awesome to be feeding off all of that energy, of people just working and doing their thing in their space. I think rather than a lesson, its just knowing, its just feeling Yeah, hed be really into it.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

Methyl Ethels Are You Haunted? is out now via Future Classic.

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Methyl Ethel on How an Andrei Tarkovsky Quote, 'The Waste Land', the Golden Ratio, and More Inspired His New Album 'Are You Haunted?' - Our Culture...

Mrs. Dorothy Jean Stacey, 87, of Woodbury, Tennessee passed away Friday, February 18, 2022, at Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She was born on Monday, July 23, 1934, in Nashville, Tennessee. Preceding her in death were her parents, William "Will" Robinson and Lillian Spencer Robinson Crosslin; husband, Elmer Pruitt Stacey, Sr.; sons, Pruitt Stacey, and Donald Stacey; brother, Roger Robinson; sisters, Sandra Murphy and Ruby Martin; and granddaughter, Candace Richardson.

She is survived by her daughters, Diane Foster of Shelbyville, Carolyn Jernigan of Murfreesboro, Linda (Steve) Duke of Woodbury, and Cathey (Ricky) Stahl of Murfreesboro; son, Buddy Stacey of Bell Buckle; brother, Wayne Robinson of Murfreesboro; grandchildren, Crystal (David) Haggary, Terry (Lynn) Stacey, Johnny (Bernice) Stacey, Johnathan (Lara) Jernigan, Stacey (Johnathan) Toombs, Michael Duke, Kim (Eric) Partridge, Dustin (Laura Beth) Stacey, Shaina (Zack) West, Anthony (Vanessa) Stacey, and Brandon Richardson; 23 great grandchildren, 4 great-great grandchildren, and dear friends, Wilma Prater and Helen Paschal.

If you knew Mrs. Dorothy there were a few things you could say about her. One was she was likely the toughest lady you ever met. She went through a lot of hard times in her life, but even when the chips were down, don't count her out. Just like a cat it seemed she had nine lives. Two was "Going" was her middle name. If anyone mentioned they were about to go somewhere, she already had her purse in hand ready to hit the road. When she could still drive she would come up with reasons she needed to go somewhere or visit someone. After she couldn't drive, one of her close friends, Wilma Prater, would come by to pick her up for outings. Another close friend was Helen Paschal, Mrs. Dorothy would call them up in the mornings just like she was their alarm clock to see what was going on and what they were all going to get into.

Another thing you could say was she knew how to cook and every meal was laid out like a Thanksgiving feast. With seven kids and a bus load of grandkids and great grandkids she didn't really know how to cook for a small group. Some of the family favorites were banana pudding, asparagus, and minute steak with onions and tomatoes. Cooking for a crowd went hand in hand with the plan she and her husband Elmer had to open a restaurant on the square in Murfreesboro called the Eat Shop. Mrs. Dorothy had a sweet tooth that wouldn't quit. She would rather have dessert than a regular meal. Her brother would often come by with a box full of a favorite treat of donuts.

Hard work didn't scare her a bit, whether it was taking care of her family at home or going out to earn a living at one of the numerous places she worked through the years. Whatever she did, she did it right. She and another friend owned and operated Jake's Auction in McMinnville. It was a job she enjoyed because it encompassed two of her favorite hobbies. When they needed items to auction on Saturday, she would go to all the local yard sales, storage auctions, and estate sales and get good deals on the things that would sell best at their auction. The real fun came on Friday nights at Jake's. It was wrestling night. They would book local wrestlers to come in and put on a show for the crowd. She loved seeing all the action and the wrestlers loved her and would often come give her a big hug and kiss.

Faith in God and love for her family were at the top of her list. Her giving spirit fit well with the Bible's Golden Rule of love thy neighbor and it is more blessed to give than to receive. Many friends, family members, or strangers were recipients of her love, care, cooking, and generosity. God blessed her with motherly wisdom. It often flowed from her and wasn't shy to tell you what she thought about a particular subject. Over the years her love of the Lord lead her to different churches, her home church was at Living Springs, but she would often find herself at Plainview Baptist in recent years. Old school gospel music by the likes of Loretta Lynn and George Jones topped her charts over any of the contemporary Christian music. In church she loved to hear and sing the old time gospel hymns.

Mrs. Dorothy's adventurous side and love of going didn't fade as she got older. She was well in her 80's when she took her first plane ride to visit her sister in South Carolina. The family made sure to indulge and spoil her with frequent trips out to eat, birthday parties, and shopping sprees. When she was out and about she wanted her nails done and her lipstick on. After all the going when she did get home, she was happy to get out the old faithful sponge hair rollers to get her hair ready for the next big adventure. She was happy to recline in her chair with her curlers, a pair of warm slippers and blanket to rest up for wherever tomorrow would lead her. Her family will have many happy memories of the family gatherings and going with Mrs. Dorothy to cherish in the years to come.

Visitation will be held at Gentry-Smith Funeral Home on Wednesday, February 23, 2022 from 4-8 pm. Funeral services will be Thursday, February 24, 2022 at 11 am in the Gentry-Smith Funeral Home chapel. Greg Mitchell will officiate. Interment will be in Jernigan Cemetery. Share memories and condolences at http://www.gentrysmithfuneralhome.com Gentry-Smith Funeral Home, 303 Murfreesboro Rd. Woodbury, TN 37190, 615-563-5337 Because every life has a story

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Dorothy Jean Stacey - The Cannon Courier - Cannon Courier

As an empathy researcher, educator and a clinical psychiatrist, I've recently become aware of my own limited empathy as I've attempted to understand vaccine refusal, grappling with my own secret feelings of disgust bordering on disdain, as the stakes are so high that have tested the limits of what I not only practice, but also teach.

Studies show that empathy has been linked to greater trust in the patient-clinician relationship, greater adherence to medical recommendations and better health outcomes. Despite these benefits, even the most well-meaning healthcare providers are being challenged right now.

My own feelings hit a new high when I learned about a 15-year-old who asked someone to pose as his father so he could get vaccinated because his own parents refused. Weeks later, both parents were hospitalized with COVID. The father died while his mother eventually agreed to be vaccinated.

Why does it take death to convince others to get vaccinated? How can physicians and others maintain empathy when people make decisions that flout medical wisdom and basic science?

For doctors, this is not new. We work with patients every day who refuse to quit smoking, lose weight, or stop drinking behaviors that can also affect the health and well-being of others. Empathy education is often needed to help move doctors beyond judgment and into a curiosity mode, enabling us to uncover more about patient perspectives and build trust.

We already know a few reasons why people refuse vaccinations, including fear and uncertainty of side effects, need for autonomy, education disparities, lack of medical literacy, widespread misinformation, polarized political rhetoric and distrust of governments.

But we're also seeing a big departure from one of the most powerful past drivers of vaccine adherence: a strong belief in social responsibility for the common good.

We're moving quickly away from a society that was once ideologically grounded in principles of cooperation, collaboration and reciprocity to one focused on the self. And that profound shift may be the most fundamental reason why appeals to get vaccinated to protect fellow humans aren't working.

This is certainly not the only reason for vaccine refusal, but it is critical that we understand why the golden rule of caring about our neighbor as ourselves has eroded. Why have people lost faith in participating in the public good?

It all leads back to empathy. When there is empathy, people feel seen, understood and helped. Our brains are wired to care for others, which is why we flinch when we witness someone fall or get hit by a ball. We also feel motivated to help in these scenarios because the human brain maps others' pain onto our own pain matrixes, producing concern and helping behaviors that involve reward networks and moral reasoning.

These crucial brain networks have been preserved throughout millennia to protect and ensure the survival of our species because when others hurt, we hurt. We need one another to survive as a species, and nowhere is that more evident than when fighting a global pandemic.

Studies show that well-educated, more affluent people are likelier to be vaccinated because they trust the government to do right by them because they reap many benefits. One of the root problems of vaccine refusal occurs when people experience a lack of empathy from the government and live the consequences of a broken social contract. Because many people living in poverty don't benefit from the public good, and are denied safe housing and decent schools, this lack of government empathy is mirrored externally: If no one cares about me, why should I care about you?

A failure of empathy toward the poor, disenfranchised, wrongfully imprisoned, and those with insecure food and housing can result in no desire to "give back" because the fundamental empathy loop that motivates positive reciprocity is broken. There is no reservoir of goodwill to tap into when people live in dire straits, distrust the legal system and watch billionaires get rich while paying zero taxes.

Frustrating to many leaders and doctors is the fact that meaningful change in people who lack trust in authorities happens slowly, one caring relationship at a time. But our society is not structured that way.

In the medical world, patients make changes when their unwillingness to change is viewed through the lens of empathy and met with curiosity and genuine interest. Respecting the autonomy of individuals to make their own choices while helping them build confidence in making small changes results from many conversations, not from bombarding them with information and public service announcements about why smoking leads to cancer.

The government and its institutions must tap into the power of empathy to learn more about how to make vaccines feel safer. However difficult to do, both doctors and citizens must also tap into their own empathy to offer understanding to those who feel they don't need to care about others, knowing that they may indeed have reasons not to care.

We also need self-empathy when we find ourselves judging others, recognizing that we've all fallen into the same trap of blaming rather than working on solutions. While this blame trap can lead us to feel powerful in our outrage no matter what side we're on we need to work together in our conversations to bridge our divides by seeking opportunities to understand and connect.

Waiting for the federal government to convince vaccine refusers to change may be waiting much too long. Our collective health is not an individual matter, yet we run the risk of individual choices undermining the health of our country and the world.

As a collective solution, we need to empathize and understand the predicaments that many people live with, including a lack of basic housing, food, education and medical access, all of which can cause people to give up not only on their own health, but also on the health of society.

Empathy can get us through this pandemic, and we must find ways to harness it. Our lives depend on it.

The information provided here is not intended as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. You should consult with a qualified healthcare provider for advice concerning your specific situation.

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Psychiatrist and Empathy Expert: Can Empathy Help Overcome Anger Toward the Unvaccinated? - Newsweek