(John) Tucker Taylor

History:  Spent 2 years in N. Africa on a Peace Corps-like mission after college, got a Master’s at Temple and went back to West Africa as one-of-the-youngest-ever Fulbright Lecturers (ahem), started on a Ph.D. and had many detours before completing it:  back to Africa a 3rd time to consult on an entrepreneurship development program, several economic development projects in the U.S., Deputy Finance Director for the troubled city of Chester, recruited to go to the former USSR as an economist assisting with the centralized economy-to-market economy transition. Great fun—how many people do you know who’ve been to Timbuktu in the Sahara?  Or Ust-Kamenogorsk in (well, near) Siberia?

Work:  Still teaching Economics full time at Temple U.  I do the two introductory courses, one dealing with markets and competition and monopoly and how to account for pollution costs, the other dealing with gross domestic product, unemployment and inflation and such, like how fast we’ll be able to develop replacement jobs for the ones flowing overseas.  I also teach an intermediate macroeconomics course, dealing with the sufficiency, or not, and the wisdom, or not, of the current “stimulus” packages.  And I also do one in Public Finance, where the class tackles how to finance public education, health care, social security, infrastructure repair and aid to the poor.  We economists fancy ourselves “scientists,” and no doubt our Nobelist Robin is, but it remains an intensely political subject, inextricably bound up with our values and our vision for an improved society.  Great stuff!

Play:  Phoebe and I have become travelers these last ten years—birding in Cape May, NJ and Ocean City, MD (off season there, of course), Maine, northern NY State, VA, Yosemite in CA, museums in NYC and Wash., DC, and trying to “git a little kelture” in our late middle age, through wine tastings, courses in art history (great) and one in “How to listen to and appreciate great music” (a course so bad I returned it and demanded my money back).  But we go often—well, fairly—to hear the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra (more fun than the big Philadelphia Orchestra, in our view).  In these last few years Pete and Gail Kessler and Phoebe and I have undertaken an annual week-long trip in the west—Grand Canyon and environs in ’08, Vancouver in ’09, AZ/NM Navajo country this year.

Love:  We’ve been together for nearly 25 years, and I’ll keep trying to coax her to marry me, but she splits hosting duties of family gatherings (Thanksgiving, Xmas, birthdays) with my sister and I’m there usually 3 or so evenings a week.  So I sigh and tell my friends we “live in separate houses together.”

Health:  Finally quit smoking 8 years ago (should have done so 50 years ago, shouldn’t I?), but the list of meds, diet I should be on, operation etc. is just too…ooo  boring.  Now it’s minimize Potassium intake…wha…??!!  I feel pretty good, and Phoebe and I can walk a good number of miles… providing it’s pretty level… and not too muddy or dusty… and packed solid with few roots to trip over or sand to slog through… and not too cold or hot…