When is snow like money?

There’s not much snow on the ground, but there’s enough to ski. Well, sorta.

There’s news of drought, the reservoirs are low and it hasn’t been snowing much. When the country is in deficit, running at a loss, and there are dire forecasts of cashflow, there is still twenty dollars in my pocket. Not all of the runs are open, but there’s enough for a fun day.

So what’s the problem? What drought? What deficit? There’s enough snow for me. Isn’t that enough?

When do you feel a drought first hand? I would venture to say only when it touches you directly. What would it take?

• Water didn’t come out of your faucet.
• Bottled water was extremely expensive or not available.
• The lake where you like to swim was dried up.

But these things don’t happen–or at least not often. It’s similar with a government deficit or when the government is going to shut down because they don’t have any money. Let’s say:

• They’ll shut down the government.
• National parks will close.
• Mail service would halt.

But again, it doesn’t really happen … well, not true, the parks did shut down, I noticed that. But the stores are still open, some huge percentage of the population works and the grocery store is full of food and the restaurants are full of people.

The ocean is full of water, my tap is running and my water bill is not memorable.

So what does it take for us to notice something on a macro level? It’s quite easy: it takes changes on the micro level. When it hits you, when you see, smell, taste or feel the change, then it’s hitting home. Then you notice, then you want to do something about it, then you care.

But there was still enough snow on the slopes today for runs to be open. But barely.

How is a snow deficit like a financial deficit? Not much snow on the ground here … but there’s enough to ski.