Ep. 63 – Running a Machine Shop like a Tech Company with David Wynn

December 6, 2019 • 2 Replies

By Noah Graff

Today’s Swarfcast is part one of an interview we did with David Wynn, CFO of ABF Engineering and Machining, a third generation screw machine shop in South Fulton, Tennessee. After earning an MBA, David joined his family’s business 17 years ago. His stated mission is to run a machining business composed of old cam screw machines as though it were a tech company.

Scroll down to listen to the podcast

Main Points of the Interview

(2:40) Dave gives a history of ABF Engineering and Machining. The business was started by his grandparents and father in 1976. They primarily ran Brown & Sharpe screw machines.

(4:45) Dave talks about the machines in his shop. He said the company has Haas lathes, CNC Swiss, and a CNC mill, but still more than 50 percent of the company’s work is done on Brown & Sharpe screw machines. The company is running 15 Brown & Sharpes currently, but Dave says he has about 100 in the building.

(6:30) Dave gives a brief education about Brown & Sharpes. He says what makes Brown & Sharpes productive is that an operator can work with the turret and other tools simultaneously. The machines are extremely rigid, and have a gear driven 5Hp motor.

(12:47) Dave explains how building a cam for a Brown & Sharpe screw machine is similar to writing a CNC program for a Swiss machine. The main difference is the CNC program is immediately implemented while the cam takes days to build.

(14:45) Dave talks about how he came into the business. He had never stepped foot in the shop before he turned 18 years old. While in college and grad school he began working at the company. He earned an MBA, but instead of going into the finance industry he fell in love with the machining business and decided to do it full time.

(18:40) Dave talks about how ABF Engineering and Machining changed after he and his father bought it from his grandfather. He says they chose to focus on creating a new culture based on teamwork and innovative work practices. They prefer to hire people who fit into the company’s culture rather than hire based on an applicant’s talent.

(21:55) Dave talks about the company’s unconventional practices for work hours. Its employees have the flexibility to work when they like and choose how many hours they work as long as they get their work done and work as a team. He says that most outsiders look at him like he is a space alien when he tells them about some of his policies.

(28:40) Dave says that usually the people who are most successful at his company are the ones who put in a lot of hours at the shop and also at home. One of the characteristics he looks for in a great employee is someone who is constantly trying to better herself.

Question: Do you know how to run a Browne and Sharpe?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Under the Tarp

December 4, 2019 • 3 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

Homeless people spook me. I hate it when somebody wearing a sign proclaiming their homelessness, holding a cup and looking forlorn, shoves the cup toward me begging for coins. Yet their plight, if they really are homeless, is a terrible thing.

It struck me hard recently when Noah and I were driving to a business conference in the city concerning hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of unsold screw machines. We drove by a tiny makeshift shelter covered by a couple of blue tarps next to an apartment building which appeared empty and possibly being prepared for demolition in an area in the process of “gentrification” in Chicago.

It was a raw day in November ahead of Thanksgiving. I saw nobody around it. The blowing tarps were a more hurtful reminder of the misery of life on the street without a roof to call your own.

It brought to mind a story my friend Jerry Levine had told me at one of our weekly Saturday breakfast idea fests recently. Jerry had volunteered to help kids at a Chicago high school several years ago. One of the kids who was a star student had a problem giving an address of his residence. The reason was that he was sleeping in a dumpster. We have a dumpster at Graff-Pinkert. Occasionally I haul a plastic bag of office garbage out to the dumpster. Every time I look inside I think of that poor kid climbing inside and probably covering up and trying to keep warm with a blue tarp he hid away.

By the way, Jerry said the kid ended up getting a full scholarship to a prestigious college, somehow.

Chicago homeless sleeping under tarps

For many years I volunteered at a local homeless shelter. It rotated among various churches and synagogues in the neighborhood I lived in. I came in at 5:15 a.m. and helped clean and put the mats away the shelter people slept on, gave out toothpaste and Band-Aids, and cleaned up after breakfast was served. It was a good education for me, that homeless guys (there were only guys at this shelter) were mostly just human beings who were at a down part of their lives. Some had jobs (fast food joints, car washes, guards), but usually the jobs didn’t last long enough to enable them to get an apartment that required deposits and credit checks. Many had drug and drinking problems. A lot of them hung around the local White Castle or McDonald’s till they were urged to move along. A few had cars; some of the younger guys rode bikes. I once hired one of the friendlier men, but he did not last long because of a chronic drinking issue.

The rotating homeless shelter no longer exists at the local synagogue. My friend Jerry Levine and other local people somehow managed a minor miracle. They found a mayor in the area who, rather than avoid a permanent shelter in his town, embraced the idea. He claimed his mother on her deathbed told him to do it. There was an unloved piece of real estate that the mayor obtained for granting zoning privileges to a developer who wanted to build a shopping center in the village. The three-acre piece was far enough away from neighbors that nobody yelled much. Jerry and friends with government connections got every grant the government had on the books and built a $18-million multi-story building for homeless people with good credentials to get nice temporary apartments.

Someday I hope the poor people under the blue tarps in Chicago or kids like the one living in the dumpster find their way out to that beautiful haven in Country Club Hills, Illinois, within walking distance of my office.

Question: Do you prefer to give money to people on the street or to an organized charity?

I’ll Take What I Can Get

November 26, 2019 • 6 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

Lisa Goldman is living with a Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis. She writes a blog called Every Breath I Take, aimed at people like herself.

In her latest piece she talks about surpassing five years on her medication, which she says has a “median effective time of 18 months.” She says she knows of less then six people in the world with her diagnosis who have been on her medication that long or longer. She writes, “It is oddly isolating, way, way, out here on this ever-narrowing branch with this ever-dwindling number of fellow-travelers. My doctors keep telling me the branch will break at some point, and the longer I’m here, the closer I am to that breaking point, prompting the doctors to be more and more vigilant with me, rather than less.”

Lisa Goldman knows she’s not cured, yet she writes, “The truth is, it is hard not to get a little comfortable out on this narrow limb. As I drift ever closer to a likely recurrence, I also log more and more days, weeks and months and years without one, strengthening my ability to paradoxically feel positive and hopeful for a miracle. I’m not naive, but I have tracked myself into an unlikely optimism. I’m locked in a positivity paradox. And, frankly? Like my husband often says: I’ll take what I can get.”

Me too. I’ll take it.

Happy Thanksgiving. It’s a great gift to be able to feel good and celebrate in America.

Question: What is one thing that makes you happy to be alive?

Ep. 62. Small but Profitable Swiss Shop with Travis Erickson

November 22, 2019 • 4 Replies

By Noah Graff

Today’s podcast guest is Travis Erickson of Precision Components of Oxnard, California. Precision Components runs Tornos CNC Swiss lathes, specializing in producing custom mil-spec contacts primarily for the aerospace industry. Travis and his father handle all of the company’s machining and quality duties and employ only three people in their shop.

Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

Main points of the interview

(2:50) Travis explains the core of his company’s business, custom mil-spec electrical contacts that go into circular connectors for large OEM aerospace companies. The company produces parts ranging from 16mm all the way down to .0013mm.

(4:45) Travis talks about the Tornos Swiss machines at Precision Components. The company has nine DECO 10, a DECO 13a, an EvoDECO 16, and an old ENC 162 which Travis says is practically older than him. Travis says his father bought the first Tornos DECO sold in the United States in 1997 or 1998, a DECO 10 that is still running in the shop today. Travis says the company’s EvoDECO 16 cost around $400,000 new after freight and options. He says possibly other Swiss brands could do the company’s work, but he has no plans to switch because he knows Tornos machines produce the tolerances he needs.

Travis Erickson of Precision Components, Oxnard, CA

(7:24) Travis talks about the history of Precision Components. His father started the company in 1988. Travis says he is 34 years old and has been working at the company for 11 years since finishing college at U.C. Berkley. The company is literally right around the corner from the Haas Automation factory, but it has never had the need for any Haas machines.

(9:45) Travis says Precision Components doesn’t advertise with a website, despite his degree in marketing. He says the company has a core group of reliable customers, and right now he is not concerned with striving for huge growth.

(10:30) Travis says aside from he and his dad there are only three guys who work in their company’s shop. They handle tasks like parts cleaning, tumbling, deburring, light assembly and monitoring the machines. Travis’s Dad is the primary machine setup person and operator, while Travis handles quality and the company’s business responsibilities. Travis says the company at one point had 11 total people, including two setup guys, but it downsized in 2009-2010, and the setup people left to explore other opportunities. He and his father realized that the company could operate successfully with a much leaner but efficient workforce.

(15:05) Travis says he thinks the machining business will slow down next year because of the Presidential election. He says that the “big boys” like Boeing and Raytheon typically buy a lot of inventory leading up to an election and then wait to see what happens before they start funding new projects.

(17:10) Travis says he knows it will be important to grow more and invest in some employees in the near future now that he is starting a family.

(21:30) Travis talks about the challenges of running a machining company in California such as state taxes, hazardous waste permits and wild fires (which caused this podcast interview to be postponed a week).

Question: Do you wish your machine shop was larger or smaller?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Haas Doubling Down on Vegas

November 20, 2019 • 2 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

I find California the most interesting state in America. It is not known as a machining mecca, but it is home to America’s most progressive and largest machine tool builder, Haas Automation of Oxnard, north of Los Angeles.

It appears we may not be saying that much longer as Haas prepares to build a gigantic manufacturing complex in Henderson, Nevada, just outside Las Vegas. Gene Haas, the owner of the company bearing his name, has bought a home in Henderson so he will be able to have his eyes and ears to the ground in the 2 million plus square foot project. He will also save a bundle on taxes in Nevada.

He is following the lead of Elon Musk, who is based in the San Francisco area and builds Teslas in Fremont but constructed his massive battery plant in the Reno, Nevada, area.

California is still a great place to live, go to school, start companies, vacation, and press olive oil, but for making stuff profitably it is Alcatraz. Skilled people find it hard to afford unless they commute from the boonies and start at 4:00 AM. The politicians are hostile to manufacturing because they think it pollutes everything. California’s regulations and taxes make those of Illinois look benign.

Rendering of new Haas Manufacturing facility in Nevada

Many people with homes they have held for decades are selling to move to Idaho, Utah, or Nevada because they are livable places that are still affordable by California standards.

I understand Haas is offering some great end-of-year sales these days, but that may not be because of preparations to move to Vegas. You don’t build 2 million square feet of manufacturing space overnight, even if you are Gene Haas. Likely the company will have two facilities for while, still using its original location in Oxnard, California.

* * * * *

Another interesting event in the L.A. area besides forest fires and power outages is the return of Harvinder Singh to the machining business.

Mr. Singh sold his interest in Ganesh Machinery to a private equity firm in 2018 and began a machine tool financing firm in nearby Moorpark, California. Running Ganesh Singh had built up the import of Taiwanese lathes and machining centers with aggressive pricing and attentive customer service. His company did not try to be the most sophisticated provider but gained market share by selling value.

Evidently the new people who bought the firm did not have a feel for the industry and were heavily leveraged. When Ganesh did not produce the returns they were hoping for they abruptly sold off the finished inventory to an auction firm and abdicated.

Harvinder says he did not know it was coming until it happened, but he happily came back to pick up the pieces. He says he reassembled the company within a few weeks, and it is now up and running under a new name, Expand Machinery LLC. He hopes to really hit his stride by the New Year. In the meantime, he has kept the financing business while he puts Ganesh back together.

In business nothing ever stays the same. In California that seems doubly true.

Question: Are you happy with the location of your business?

Swarfcast Ep. 61 – Xometry’s Greg Paulsen on Facilitating a Manufacturing Network

November 15, 2019 Comments Off

By Noah Graff

Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

Today’s podcast centers around a company that provides capacity for machining firms that lack resources to meet clients’ needs.

Our guest is Greg Paulsen, Director of Application Engineering for Xometry. Xometry provides manufacturing on demand using an artificially intelligent quoting system and a manufacturing partner network of over 3,000 companies.

Main points of the interview

(3:00) Greg explains his background in product development working for firms in the additive manufacturing sector. He discusses the his dislike in his previous job of sending out lots of RFQs and then having to wait for responses.

(3:40) Greg explains that Xometry’s purpose is to get rid of the RFQ process for most parts using AI technology. On Xometry’s website a person can submit a 3D CAD file and instantly receive an estimate for price and lead time on a job.

Greg Paulsen of Xometry

(4:12) Greg says that Xometry has a network of manufacturing partners that can provide CNC machining, sheet metal processing, injection molding, as well as 7 different 3D printing processes for over 60 different materials.

(5:05) Greg characterizes Xometry as a storefront that connects work with those that are best able to produce it. It has over 3,000 manufacturing partners, mostly small manufacturers of diverse disciplines. Greg says that the large number of companies in Xometry’s network quoting work enables it to determine what price is “market fair” for a job.

(7:35) Greg says it is easier to quickly determine prices on low volume jobs (1 to 1,000 pieces). He says often large companies such as Bosch use Xometry so they don’t have to worry about producing very small volumes. He says that Xometry can also facilitate high volume jobs, but clients would have to have a more involved consultation with Xometry’s staff to set up the process, rather than using the online quoting system.

(9:30) Greg says Xometry is usually used by companies who are already working at full capacity and then receive unexpected work. He says shops also utilize Xometry when they need to do work that doesn’t fall into their normal areas of expertise.

(11:30) Greg talks about how manufacturing firms can join Xometry’s partner network. He discusses a vetting process in which Xometry pays potential partner manufacturing companies to make a sample part.

(27:50) Greg talks about another service Xometry provides that he calls the Finishing Network. Xometry matches manufacturers with partners that can provide secondary operations, anodizing for example. In these matches the clients can communicate directly with each other, unlike Xometry’s anonymous manufacturing on demand service.

(35:40) Greg talks about Xometry’s supply services. The company can provide manufacturers with raw materials as well as tooling.

(44:50) Greg talks about Xometry’s revenue model. He says it generally inserts around a 20% margin for transactions. Its system finds the delta between the market fair price for manufacturers’ take rates and the market fair price for the customers’ take rates.

Question: What have been your experiences with manufacturing networks like Xometry?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Auctions and Late Entries

November 13, 2019 • 1 Reply

By Lloyd Graff

The last few days have been fascinating for me as an avid observer of business, politics and sports.

Last week two big auctions in the precision machining space took place, Triumph Manufacturing in Tempe, Arizona, and HN Precision in Rochester, New York. My focus was on Triumph, which Noah attended, but I also listened to HN Precision online. A few observations and generalizations:

Late-model CNC equipment, even if it is slightly flawed, brings strong prices, but a middle-aged CNC loses value abruptly. At Triumph, the marquee piece, a Nakamura WT250II new in 2016 with no Y-axis, brought $225,000 plus the 18% ($40,500) “Buyer’s Premium.” A Studer ID grinder new 2014 brought $180,000 plus the $32,400 Buyer’s Premium. At HN, A51 and A61 Makino horizontal machining centers older than 2010 were well under $100,000 including BP.

Tornos Multi-Spindles at Triumph Precision Auction

The high-production machine tools at Triumph, Tornos and Schutte multi-spindles, brought considerably less than at similar auctions in Europe in recent years. It appears that the weaker worldwide automotive market is affecting those prices. One interesting exception was an 8-spindle 1-5/8” National Acme hitting $70,000 with BP. Acmes may be looked at as dinosaurs, but even dinosaurs have their day. Perhaps so do dinosaur politicians.

* * * * *

Michael Bloomberg finally joined the fray for the Democratic nomination for president. Bloomberg had waited for Joe Biden to make up his mind to run for the office. He had offered huge money to Biden if he ran. He supposedly hates Donald Trump and knows him pretty well as a fellow New Yorker.

Unfortunately, Hunter Biden happened and Joe Biden’s hunt for the presidency became very much in doubt. Bloomberg, eyeing the polls and watching time running out to enter the primaries, decided to cautiously throw his hat in the ring.

Mike Bloomberg is rich enough to finance his own candidacy, but starting a year later than his competition, with Biden apparently staying in the race, is a huge disadvantage, no matter how much money he spends. Bloomberg is a brilliant business guy, a self-made mega-billionaire, in a party that seems increasingly hostile to successful entrepreneurs. He’s big on climate change but does not buy into most of the hard-left agenda of Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. He has a shadow organization ready to spring to life, but he lacks charisma and fire and Biden’s street smarts as a lifelong politician. If he had started when Joe did he would have a real shot at the nomination. At this date it seems like he is late for the party. Perhaps we are seeing the beginning of a third party which could swing the election. But which way?

* * * * *

The college football game of the year, at least so far, was Alabama vs. LSU last weekend. LSU always loses to Alabama, particularly when the Crimson Tide is at home in Tuscaloosa, but this year Ed Orgeron, the coach of the Tigers, told his kids all week that they had the better team and the better players. He believed it and so did the players because the boys from Baton Rouge finally had the quarterback they had always lacked, a grad student from Ohio State who could rarely get on the field for the Buckeyes.

Joe Burrow? I’ve barely even heard of this kid before, but he is now the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy, playing for LSU. Burrow was a great prospect coming out of high school in Athens, Ohio. He expected to understudy J.T. Barrett in Columbus and then take over. He was redshirted as a freshman and then backed up Barrett for two years. But OSU also recruited another phenom, Dwayne Haskins, who beat him out in the spring game in 2017 and left Burrow with an interesting decision to make about his athletic career. Burrow had evidently envisioned this possibility early on in his Buckeye career and crammed in enough credits to get a Bachelor’s degree in finance in three years. This made him eligible to transfer to another college team and play immediately like Russell Wilson had done after leaving North Carolina State for one fabulous year at Wisconsin and then an All-Pro career with Seattle in the NFL.

Burrow was bred and groomed for stardom. His grandmother once scored 82 points in one high school basketball game in Mississippi. His dad played for Nebraska and in the NFL and then coached college football for 40 years. Joe went to his first football game when he was five days old.

Last Saturday, playing head to head against Alabama’s All-American quarterback, Tua Tagovailao, today’s version of “the Throwin’ Samoan,” Burrow bested him in a 46-41 shootout. Tua was playing on a gimpy ankle, but played like last year’s Heisman winner, yet Burrow was even better. What a game to watch.

* * * * *

Question: At an auction sale do you prefer to bid online or in person?

Swarfcast Ep. 60 – Alec Mandis, Machining in New Zealand Part 2

November 7, 2019 Comments Off

By Lloyd and Noah Graff

Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

Today’s podcast is part 2 of an interview we did with Alec Mandis, Chief Executive of Accord Precision, the largest machined component manufacturer in New Zealand. Over the years Accord has strived to set itself apart by developing a diverse group of niche products. One example is a stainless steel diving helmet made from an investment casting which took the company three years of R&D to produce successfully.

Main Points of the Interview

(2:30) Alec talks about the process to produce Accord’s stainless steel diving helmet from an investment casting. He says that five years ago the commercial diving industry needed a more durable helmet than the standard light weight fiberglass ones at the time. Accord spent three years of R&D to bring its helmet to market.

(7:15) Alec talks about why Accord spent so much time and money to develop its stainless steel diving helmet despite it being a low volume product. He says that creating a difficult product like the helmet elevated the company’s capabilities for process controls. Accord became better prepared to produce other difficult or high risk products such as those for the medical device industry. It also demonstrated the company’s abilities to potential customers.

Alec Mandis with diving helmet made by Accord Precision

(11:30) Alec says that Accord has put great emphasis on statistical process control and ISO registration for decades. The company has ISO 13485 medical device accreditation which enabled it to get FDA registration in the United States in six months, which Alec says normally takes companies four or five years to obtain.

(12:50) Alec says his best trait for running his business is his ability to manage people. He says it is essential to communicate with employees and create strong relationships with them. He says it is important to help them when they need it but push them when possible.

(13:50) Alec says the thing he would most like improve upon is a work-life balance in his personal life. He is trying to spend more personal time with family but says it is difficult while running a business. He thinks New Zealand has a pretty balanced work schedule. Accord’s employees work 40 hours a week over a four day work week, but Alec still works five days a week.

(16:55) Alec says that New Zealand’s geographically remote location has spurred the country’s innovation and self-sufficiency. He says the country has the best magnet manufacturer in the world and is a world leader in the production of MRI machines. The country also shines in the agricultural and dairy sectors.

(18:40) Alec explains that the nickname “Kiwi” for a New Zealander comes from the kiwi bird, which is native to the country.

Question: Can a small machining company afford to do extensive R&D?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

Swarfcast Ep. 59 – Alec Mandis on Machining in New Zealand

October 31, 2019 • 2 Replies

By Lloyd and Noah Graff

Scroll down to listen to the podcast.

Today’s podcast is part 1 of a two part interview with Alec Mandis, Chief Executive of Accord Precision, the largest machined component manufacturer in New Zealand. Accord exports precision products around the world, with 30% going to the United States. Alec described to us what it’s like to run a machine shop in a country of 5 million people, more associated with rugby and sheep than manufacturing. After the interview we started scheming how we could get down there for a sales call.

Main Points

(3:40) Alec gives the history of Accord Precision. The company has around 50 employees. It is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and was started 45 years ago. It is one of the largest machine shops in the country.

(4:10) Alec estimates there are 30 to 40 machine shops in New Zealand, which he says is quite a lot when you consider the country has a population around 5 million people.

(4:45) Alec describes types of products Accord Precision makes. The company produces a wide range of part sizes from a variety of materials including various steels, aluminum, bronze, stainless steel, brass, composites, and plastics. The company has been transitioning over time from automatic screw machines to 4-axis and 5-axis CNC lathes.

(6:35) Alec gives an overview of New Zealand. He says that in recent years New Zealand has become more known around the world. The country’s landscape varies throughout the island. He says a person could ski in the mountains and surf on the ocean in the same day. The country receives 20 million tourists per year.

Alec Mandis

(8:45) Alec discusses New Zealand’s indigenous Māori population and the diverse immigrants in the country from all over the world. He says his shop’s workforce reflects this, with people from South Africa, Europe and Pacific Islands.

(15:45) Alec talks about the Accord’s progression to CNC machining.

(17:15) Alec says that the cost of skilled labor in New Zealand is similar to that in the U.S.

(18:10) Alec says that Accord is able to export to the United States because of its various ISO certifications and it is FDA registered in the U.S. so it can make compliant products for medical companies.

(19:40) Alec talks about the Accord’s origins. Its original business was supplying components to the appliance industry. Later the company diversified, making faucets, and products for the electrical, marine, and medical sectors.

(20:00) Alec talks about growing up in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). He started a family in South Africa and eventually emmigrated to New Zealand.

(21:30) Alec talks about New Zealand’s rugby team’s custom of doing a traditional Māori dance before games.

(24:25) Alec talks about Accord Precision’s preference for Haas equipment. He said that Haas is the only major CNC machine tool builder that has opened a spares and service center in New Zealand, and it is only a 10 hour flight from New Zealand to Los Angeles. He says that Haas machines may be slightly lesser in quality than DMG or Mazak, but Accord has been able to machine excellent complex components using them.

Question: Are you a fan of Haas machines?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Android | RSS

The Greenland Story

October 30, 2019 • 36 Replies

By Lloyd Graff

What do you do when you go for a brief vacation to the Bay Area to visit family?

Naturally, you study up on the history of Greenland.

Greenland is getting some interest these days. Donald Trump, still a real estate developer at heart, recently tossed out the idea that the United States should buy it from Denmark. Of course, the Danes put a kibosh on the deal, which may mean negotiations have begun.

A recent scholarly article published by Northwestern University geologists has proven that Erik the Red, the Viking who fled Iceland after a murder and conviction in 985, colonized a much more temperate Greenland than was previously thought. It was in the 50° range many months of the year, making it a good place to raise animals, fish, and harvest ivory. About 350 to 400 years later a “little ice age” seemed to discourage many Greenlanders, and they left.

In the last few years, old Norse settlements have been discovered as the climate appears to be becoming more temperate, and real estate developer types are finding renewed interest.

Why this is so interesting today and so disturbing to me in the heart of Silicon Valley, with one of the most benign climates in the world?

It seems like so many folks here are paranoid about “the existential threat of climate change.” Living in the Midwest, climate change is generally a footnote to most political and economic discussions. Even most of the Democratic politicians running for the Presidency in 2020 do not make it a major emphasis, probably because their polling data indicates it does not move the needle in the crucial early primary states.

But in California, among the intelligentsia of Silicon Valley and malleable young people who hear the voice of doom about the planet burning up in their lifetime which is expounded almost every day in school and their media, it is a real fear. They do not know that Greenland was mild 1,000 years ago, then got very cold, and now is getting more tolerable again. They don’t know what they don’t know.

I do believe the climate on Earth is getting slightly warmer now, but it does not worry me. People are very smart, and a capitalist economy will adapt very quickly and make it into a net positive.

What does worry me is that kids are being indoctrinated in school and by Facebook and TV on the huge danger they face, and, ultimately, bad public policy decisions will be made that seriously undermine our prosperity.

If one bought into conspiracy theories, the manipulative tentacles of Vladimir Putin and Russia could be seen all over “the existential threat of climate change.”

Putin did not invent “climate change,” but long ago he came to the conclusion that Russia’s economy was backward and almost totally dependent on oil and gas for hard currency. Nobody wants a Russian dishwasher or car or machine tool. If you are Putin, and his new buddies the Saudis, you desperately want American oil fracking to end and the 6 million barrels a day it produces to go away. If he can shrewdly manipulate American public opinion to embrace the climate change disaster theory and boost the “kill dirty fracking” line he wins the game, and we have $80-$100 per barrel oil again.

Theories about the weather go hot and cold. Check out the Greenland story.

Question: Do you believe climate change is mainly caused by people?

‹123 4 ›»