The Switchel Philosopher

Now that I am retired from a career in business, I am spending time learning about government, especially state government in Vermont.

The website for the Vermont Legislature has been an invaluable resource in my learning process:

http://legislature.vermont.gov/

This website is well organized, comprehensive, and up-to-date. Information about legislators, committees, bills and resolutions, laws, budgets and schedules is easy to use. Every day that the Legislature is in session, the House and Senate Journals for the day, and the agenda for the next day, are posted in the evening. It is easy to keep track of what is going on. Well, except that there is so much going on that no one person can keep detailed track of everything. But everything is there and easy to find.

The people of the State of Vermont should feel proud that their government is operating openly and efficiently in this respect. My compliments to everyone involved in designing and building this website and keeping it up to date.

This is an example of good government.

The weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal for February 11-12 has an interesting article:

Philanthropist Nicolas Berggruen’s Big Bet on Philosophy

It’s an interview with Nicolas Berggruen in the “Weekend Confidential” column by Alexandra Wolfe. It’s on page C11 in the print edition. The first paragraph:

Continue reading →

I am seeking input for a presentation I am giving.

Next month I am giving a presentation to Leadership Lamoille on how to read financial statements of not-for-profit entities, for people who may be asked to serve on a nonprofit board. Leadership Lamoille is a leadership program sponsored by the Lamoille Region Chamber of Commerce.

The participants in the class primarily work in for-profit enterprises and should be familiar with the financial statements of for-profit enterprises. I also have experience reading financial statements of for-profit enterprises. In my 32 years at Yankee Farm Credit, I spent considerable time with both our own financial statements and the financial statements of many of our borrowers.  For this presentation I need to discuss what is different and important to understand about the financial statements of a not-for-profit entity, especially if you are considering serving on its board.

What information should I present? What would you want to know if you were in a class like this?

Philosophy is asking questions and thinking about the answers, so let’s start with a question. I am interested in government and citizenship.

What is a proper relationship between a free people and their government?

This question is meant to serve as a muse for the blog. I placed this question in the blog header as a reminder.

I am interested primarily in state government at present. (I live in Vermont.) That seems like a manageable place to start. Certainly there are also interesting things going on currently with our national government, with the new administration of President Donald Trump. And there are always interesting things going on in the world. Since the late 1990s I have been the merit badge counselor for the local Boy Scout troop for the Citizenship in the World merit badge. So I won’t be writing exclusively about state government.

Stay tuned for more questions and thoughts about government and citizenship.

UPDATE: I was elected at Town Meeting on March 7, 2017 to the Select Board of the town of Cambridge. I am now much more interested in local government than I was before!

In the previous post (“Welcome to The Switchel Philosopher“) George used two words that should give you pause: switchel and adventure. Switchel is an acquired taste, one that I never acquired. And our three children can attest from their growing up years that it was wise to be on your guard whenever George talked about an “adventure.” It meant one of three things:

• He didn’t have a plan and was flying by the seat of his pants.
• He had a plan but didn’t want to tell you because he knew you wouldn’t like it.
• He was lost.

Consider yourself forewarned.

Once when George was still working I asked him what he wanted to do in retirement, and he replied that he wanted to be a philosopher. I told him in no uncertain terms that I did not marry a philosopher! Later I relented and said he could be a philosopher part-time. But really he has no qualifications to be a philosopher. So at best he’s a part-time amateur philosopher-in-training.

We’re still married after 37 years. It sure has been an adventure! It looks like retirement is going to be another adventure.

Welcome to The Switchel Philosopher! I started this blog on February 8, 2017.

Switchel is a non-alcoholic beverage from Colonial times. It has been enjoyed by generations of farmers, especially on hot summer days in the hayfield. My mother made switchel for our family when I was growing up on the farm. It’s good stuff!

The essence of switchel is sugar, vinegar, ginger and water. In Vermont where I live, the sugar is usually maple syrup, but honey is also good. The vinegar is almost always apple cider vinegar.

There is a yin and yang aspect to many things in our world, as noted in the ancient philosophy of Taoism (or Daoism). Switchel is like that – with the sweetness of maple syrup and the sourness of vinegar. Hence the switchel philosopher.

My name is George Putnam. I grew up on a dairy farm in Cambridge, Vermont. After graduating from college with a degree in agricultural engineering, and a few twists and turns that included a masters degree in business administration, I became a loan officer at Farm Credit, a financial institution that lends money to farmers. Farm Credit was my career for 32 years, including ten years as president and CEO of Yankee Farm Credit headquartered in Williston, Vermont. I retired at the end of 2016.

In retirement I am spending time traveling in both the physical world and the world of ideas, looking for adventures to blog about. This blog is about adventures in the world of ideas.

For adventures in the physical world, see my other blog – The Switchel Traveler. My wife Nancy and I just returned from a 3+ week road trip to Florida, and there is a series of 20 posts there about interesting things we did and saw.