"Anything you can do, I can do meta..." ---Douglas Hofstadter, "Godel, Escher, Bach".

Philosopher Thomas Nagle sparked discussion with a paper entitled "What Is It Like To Be A Bat?" Daniel Dennett points out that he did not ask what it's like to be a brick. I'll point out that bricks and bats don't  (it seems likely) ask what it's like to be anything. But the foundation of our version of self-awareness seems to involve pretty much nothing but knowing what something is like. Or more generally, everything we do, and think about, is about something.

"Aboutness" is another way of referring to meaning, inspired by Jon Stewart telling Jim Cramer "This song ain't about you." He was referring to Carly Simon's song that famously referred to, while claiming not to, James Taylor.

The world seems to be trending toward a recursive runaway. Stuff exists, but we are the main thing worrying about why it does. We worry that it might mean something that there is anything (actually, most of us hope so, fervently). Bats are less likely to worry so, if the lack of recorded songs or published arguments on the topic are an indication.

1)      Citigroup posted profits for the first two months of 2009.

2)      Retails sales dropped less than expected.

3)      Jobless claims rose and we have a record number of people collecting unemployment benefits.

Let's consider these points together with the NY stock market. Twice as many people as a year ago are on the unemployment rolls, but companies are doing better, ergo the market is recovering somewhat. Is this healthy for society?

It seems that the U.S. government is still trusted by the rest of the world to stand by its obligations. As this global shutdown proceeds, money is leaving other currencies and finding shelter in T-bills. In 2007 there was $928 billion private money invested in emerging countries. It has dropped to $165 billion this year, according to the Institute of International Finance. China is buying huge amounts, still. The averaged exchange value of the of the greenback is up 13% over the last 12 months.

It's not the same story for corporate stocks and bonds. Foreign investment in US properties is plunging, from a high of almost $800 billion in 2008 to less than $200 billion now. US purchases of foreign stocks and bonds dropped from $300+ billion to negative territory. So the story the loose-money cowboys and stock acolytes tell, about how government IOUs are meaningless, is dead wrong. It is their commercial properties, the supposed sounder investment for our retirement, that are exposed as not in the same league as the promises made by the popular government of world's richest nation.