Observing the Economy as a Bystander

I’ve noticed that local governments seem to be collecting taxes from the consumer side as well, reducing their reliance on production-side revenue. At the same time, new housing supply is declining, which suggests cities are no longer rushing to sell land. The contraction in housing supply, combined with a rising share of checking deposits relative to time deposits, indicates that consumer willingness is increasing and the economic environment is improving.

Anything worth doing requires effort, care, and time. People who’ve actually earned money often feel that the money they made isn’t all that special. That’s because they’ve invested heavily and believe they truly deserve it. The ones who succeed in latching onto wealthy partners—the “green tea” types—won’t feel any joy at the moment they succeed, because they know exactly what they had to give up to get there.

Life is like boiling water. It’s most efficient to bring it to a boil all at once. Heating it to 70°C and repeatedly going back and forth is the least efficient approach. Either lie flat for your entire life and never move, or do a big kip-up and stand tall. People who keep doing sit-ups—half-rising, half-falling—have the worst experience.

Those who truly lie flat are happy, because they never wanted anything in the first place. Those who truly stand up are also happy, because they made it with one decisive push. The squeezed middle layer doing endless sit-ups suffers the most—they miss out on every benefit while enduring every hardship.