Thoughts from the Frontline

Slip Sliding Away

By John Mauldin

October 19, 2001

Why Greenspan is a Texas Driver
Is That Inflation Hiding Behind that Tree?
Not a Chance, Hans
Sayonara, Japanese yen
The Ugly Three Amigos
Tortilla Soup

One of the constant complaints of Yankees who come to Texas is that those of us who are natives do not know how to drive on ice. This is true. But that is because we only get to practice about once a year. We don't seem to remember what to do from year to year. Is it steer into the slide or away from it? What do we do when we start sliding back down the hill? It can cause huge traffic tie-ups.

Slip sliding away,
Slip sliding away,
The more you near your destination,
The more you slip slide away.

-Paul Simon

The problem is traction, or the lack of it. For 99% of the year, as long as we watch the tread on our tires, we have traction. But getting traction on ice is a problem. The trucks, of course, are sent out to put sand on…

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