Public Policy

In the comedy classic, Caddyshack, there is a scene where Judge Smails (Ted Knight) finds out that Ty Webb (Chevy Chase) does not keep score on the golf course. The Judge asks Ty, “Well, how do you measure yourself with other golfers?” Webb’s deadpan response is, “By height.” Although there may be a certain degree of futility in comparing oneself to other golfers, the same cannot be said of corporations, which constantly measure themselves against peers and competitors.

We’ve all played the children’s game “telephone,” or “dengon” in Japan. The game starts when a difficult word or phrase is whispered into the ear of the next person in line; this person whispers whatever he/she heard to the next person; and the game continues until the last person in line receives the phrase.

This week I had lunch with a Washington-based government affairs colleague from another Japanese subsidiary. It was great to catch up with him in person for the first time since Covid, and we discussed family, vacations, and the NFL. Knowing that his daughter works for the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and that we both work in public policy, as expected, the discussion ultimately turned to politics and the upcoming elections.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida earlier this week as a Category 4 storm, is currently battering the Carolinas, and is expected to hit Washington this weekend as a tropical storm.

Last week, my wife, two kids, and I headed to Boulder, Colorado, for a family wedding. We hiked Boulder’s famous Flatirons and walked the city’s trendy Pearl Street. I don’t think anyone would be surprised to hear me say that Boulder and Washington, D.C., are two very different places.

Because most of official Washington goes on recess for nearly the entire month of August (the Senate is scheduled to return to the nation’s capital on September 6 and the House on September 13), the dog days of summer can be a time of reflection for think tank scholars, trade association advocates, and industry groups.

From the day our children were born, my wife and I began saving for their college education. We took advantage of a pre-paid tuition plan the state of Maryland offered, making monthly payments until their 18th birthdays.

Due to a very fortuitous bounce of a golf ball, my wife and I won a free trip to Las Vegas a number of years ago.

It’s a beautiful late summer evening. The tickets were free, the beer is cold, and you’re about to sit down to what appears to be a great matchup between starting pitchers. Whether it’s Yankee Stadium, Minute Maid Park, or Camden Yards we’ve all felt that excitement of being part of a pennant race or wildcard chase. And then things go from bad to worse—an error here, a strikeout there, and suddenly your team is way down before they’ve even played “Sweet Caroline,” “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” or “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.”

Have you ever visited Washington in August? It can be miserable. Today’s high is expected to be 97 degrees (the reading in my car was 103), with 60%+ humidity. Even pre-Covid, downtown D.C. felt like a ghost town during the month of August; the only pluses being you could finally snag a reservation at the city’s hottest restaurant or grab a decent tee time on the weekend.