UPCOMING SOCIALS & PROJECTS & EVENTS  

More socials, projects, & events coming soon!

Rotaract Fund Raiser
If anyone would like to donate money to GRA (Global Rotaract Alumni Club) they can donate the money on the GOSC site and include a note that it is for GRA. This would help us tremendously to continue growing as a club and be able to conduct larger scale projects. Here is the donation link: Donate Now – Global Offsite Care

Opening The Meeting:

Gary Nicole’s kicks off the meeting

Welcome to the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa where we are doing good in our community and the world.

Gary Nichols led us in the Pledge of Allegiance and the Four/Five Way Test. His Reflection was on the Five Avenues of Service: Club, Community, International, Vocational and Youth. This month Rotary International is focusing on vocational service. With the help of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, our $50,000,000 contribution from Rotarians meant another $100,000,000 from the Gates Foundation.  That is a lot of Polio vaccinations! Look at what our club has done: The Peanut Butter project, medical grade first aid kits for Ukraine, mental health for the children of Ukraine, Global Offsite Telemedicine, and the telemedicine project in Zimbabwe for pregnant women. Gary spent his life in medicine. He says, “Used your skills to help others.”

Guests:

Nate Zaft, Shari Shamsvari and Mary Fricker

Sunshine Report:

Several members of our club went to Barry Silberg’s memorial service.

50/50 Drawing:

Ted has the lucky ticket again, but not the lucky marble

Kris Anderson said we are starting over with 12 marbles and $21.00 in the pot. Ted Wilmsen had the right number but did not pull out the blue marble.

Joke of the week with Michael Moore:

At a marriage seminar dealing with communication, the instructor stated, “It is essential that husbands and wives know the things that are important to each other.” Addressing the men, “Can you describe your wife’s favorite flower”

Tom leaned over the wife Grace, touched her arm gently, and whispered, “It’s Pillsbury All-Purpose, right?”

Members Leaving Our Club:

President Julia said she would report on members leaving the club and why. Barry Silberg, we know just died. Dan Wright has been a member since 1994.  He has not been attending our meetings for several years but has still been paying his dues. He has been in a relationship with Ann McGinley of the Rotary East/West Club for many years and may be joining her club. We wish him well.

Announcements:

1. The winning team from last week’s trivia contest is donating the money to Rotoplast.
2. Susan Nowacki is putting a table together for the Sebastopol Rotary Club crab feed on February 14. Want to join?
3. There are still 14 slots that need filling for delivering the “Book of Why.” Please sign up.
4. Mark Burchill has a bunch of Denim and Diamond CDs to give away. See him for your own copy.
5. Giro Bello Update: We have 60 registrations equaling $6915 income, $465 in merchandise sales and $40.00 in donations. Woohoo! A company called Major Alarms has signed up as a new sponsor.
6. Jeff Kolin is in Florida for the International District Governors meeting and training.

Recognitions:

1. Craig Meltzner is donating $100 to the club in anticipation of hearing more about the Gospe’s trip to Italy. Will Ann lead us in a class to make homemade pasta? I think a few Rotarians might pony up some money to do that! But he mainly wanted to announce that Lucia is moving to their house on Thursday, January 14.
2. Robby Fouts just won a nine-month fight with the IRS. Since he now owes them nothing, he donated $100 to the club.
3. Steve Olson ratted out Sam McMillan for being the Farm Bureau’s member of the month (well deserved!). So, Steve donated $100 to the Wes Jameson Fund. President Julia Paranto agreed, but she is donating $100 to the club. Of course, Sam also donated $100 to the Wes Jameson Fund.

Craig

Steve

Sam

Mary Fricker on how the current economy of the 2020’s is reflecting the 1920’s.

“Rising Wealth Inequality and Unstable Financial Markets: How They Are Connected, What’s Causing It and How to Fix It.”

It all began with the 1973—1975 Recession. We had record unemployment with record inflation caused by the Viet Nam War, the 1973 oil crisis, competition from emerging countries competing in metal production, and the 1973-74 stock market crash.

Then Ronald Regan became President, and he lowered taxes for the wealthiest. Back then, the balance between what employees made and the employer made was not unbalanced as it is today. Since 1973, we have had eight bailouts!

Mary Fricker – The Roaring 2020’s

We now have what are known as “Shadow Banks” that gamble with each other’s money. Just like how banks borrow overnight from the Federal Reserve, these shadow banks borrow from each other.  Who are these shadow banks? It is a very long list that includes investment banks, asset managers, non-bank subsidiaries of commercial banks, and so many more.  They conduct trillions of dollars in sales every day as “Repo Loans” that are borrowed overnight and paid back the next day.  The 2008 crash of Lehman Brothers was a repo loan borrowed from Goldman Sachs that could not be repaid. Shadow banks do not have insurance like banks.  If they go belly up, there is no FDIC insurance to bail them out.  Shadow banks have grown three times bigger than commercial banking since 1980.

The top 10% income earners’ income has grown even faster than in 1920. This rising inequality could lead to 2008 happening all over again.

Financialization is the word Mary used to describe what is happening: the process by which financial markets, financial institutions, and financial motives become increasingly dominant in the economy, shaping how companies operate, how households behave, and how governments make policy – often at the expense of economic activity like manufacturing, innovation, or wages. Making more money from money itself.

She used General Electric as an example. GE started GE Capital and that was the beginning of the end of GE. Today there is no General Electric, and it was one of our largest companies.

Next week, Mary will be back with her nine fixes to bring our economy back before it crashes again.

Club Pictures

Starting the meeting with lively dance

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