Goodhart's law, again

The current crop of Ivy Leaguers -- accustomed to being treated like high-paying customers -- make useless employees.

Saw the final preview to "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf" -- it was almost like watching Jason Robards and Katherine Hepburn perform Eugene O'Neill -- or, for that matter, hearing Itzak Perlman play Mozart, or Michael Jordan make a series of baskets. This is a virtuoso performance at the highest level.

So they tell us that inflation is under control, even as commodity prices are doubling.

Why isn't inflation going through the roof? Because wages are collapsing.

Oh great. Everything costs twice as much, we are being paid half as much, and we should feel good because inflation is "under control".

The evolution of my groupon useage

Phase 1: Wow! These are great deals, I'll buy a bunch.

Phase 2: I use my groupon at one of the restaurants and have a deeply flawed experience -- concluding that Groupon is the new Transmedia -- a depressing step on the path of a restaurant's extinction.

Phase 3: Wow! One of my favorite restaurants is on it! I'll get several.

Phase 4: I go to my beloved restaurant, without the groupon, and see that they have lowered both the quality of ingredients and the portion sizes. I have my first bad experience at that restaurant, and am so saddened that I probably won't return: I'd rather give my groupons away than spoil whatever happy memories I have left.

Phase 5: Groupon takes a 50% commission from the restaurant? No wonder staff are so surly to grouponsters. Does that mean their break-even number is 4x? Restaurants are told that groupon will bring new customers, but -- in my case at least -- they might as well paint a plague warning on the door.