For 32 years I wrote a weekly column on economic conditions for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  Recently, some of my former readers mentioned that they would like to read more comments from me.  I usually refer them to my weekly and monthly commentary for Morgan Keegan. However, those comments largely are for the investing community.  I have a link to them from this site. 

 While some of my columns clearly dealt with investment activity, they were broader in scope and addressed issues that could benefit from economic understanding and reasoning.  Thus, the first reason for this blog is to restore my weekly commentary and hope that people will read and comment on it. 

 However, I fondly remember in college the times when a few students would get together and brainstorm an idea.  No holds were barred, but the process was designed to reach some consensus based upon the knowledge and reasoning of the group.  I have some ideas on how to address serious problems that Americans face.  I clearly do not have sufficient knowledge to reach final conclusions on many of them, but I am sure that if this blog attracts attention and comment, the knowledge of all who respond will greatly improve our understanding of these problems and how to address them. 

 I will initiate the discussion with my own ideas.  Hopefully, I will get active brainstormers who will have insight, information, and reasoning to further the discussion.  Look under brainstorming for the subcategories.  Also, I will appreciate any new subcategories that need to be addressed.  The value of this exercise depends upon the abilities and numbers of those responding.  

I will begin the brainstorming by receiving ideas and, after editing, incorporating them into the proposed solutions.  I thought about direct interaction, such as used by wikipedia, but believe an edited approach will be more useful with these sometimes emotional issues. 

I also will be looking for advice on how to meet the needs of browsers.  Perhaps I could have some invited material and certainly would look for links to useful material.  For example, you can find a lot of  commentary on how households can manage debt; but many successful people use OPM (other people’s money).  Should we address when and how to use OPM?

 I will enjoy writing a weekly commentary on economic conditions again.  Some of my more recent columns are archived. And I will provide an updated forecast of economic conditions and a year end analysis of what was learned as reality unfolded. 

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Dr. Donald Ratajczak is a leading economic forecaster and a Regents Professor Emeritus of Economics at Georgia
State University.  I created the Economic Forecasting Center in the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia
State University and served as its director from 1973 until June 2000.  In 2000 I founded Brainworks Ventures, Inc., an
Atlanta, Georgia based venture development company and served as its CEO and Chairman of the Board until it merged with Assurance America in April 2003.  I remain on the board of the combined company and also serve on the board of directors of Ruby Tuesday, Inc., Regan Holdings, Crown Craft Corp., and Citizens Trust Bank. I havedeveloped econometric models  for the United States, the Southeast, and several individual states.  I write weekly and monthly publications for Morgan Keegan including a weekly economic commentary and forecast and a monthly forecast of short-term national and financial conditions. I still am considered an inflation expert and continue to be interviewed by some of the national media.  I continue to write occasional articles for national publications.    I speak before numerous business organizations and groups.  I also have provided consulting services to numerous corporations, business organizations and governmental entities. Some of the sources that have quoted me in the past includeThe New York Times, Journal of Commerce, Business Week, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time, The Los Angeles Times, NBC. CNN, and Bloomberg and I appeared on the Today Show a fateful 13 times. I was a winner of the Annual Economic Forecasting Award on November 9, 1994 for the most accurate U.S. Blue Chip economic forecast during the previous four years, which is the closest thing forecasters have to a national championship.   In March 2006, USTODAY calculated that I was second most accurate of the 45 economists they regularly use in their survey of economic conditions.   I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Haverford College and my  Doctorate of economics in American Economic History under Peter Temin at M.I.T.