The date is March 8, 2017.  It was International Women’s Day.  And in honor of the celebration and as a reminder Wall Street and corporate America are still largely male-dominated, a new fixture appeared on State Street in the heart of New York’s financial district.  Under the cloak of darkness, sponsors installed a 50 inch, 250 pound statue titled “Fearless Girl” opposite the 11 foot, 7,100 pound “Charging Bull,” which has stood as a symbol of America’s economic strength since 1989.  (NOTE: According to ISS Analytics, only 16 percent of the board seats in Russell 3000 companies are occupied by women.)

Celebration soon turned to controversy.  Last Wednesday, Arturo Di Modica, the sculptor who created “Charging Bull,” held a press conference to attack the new art installation.  Di Modica claimed Fearless Girl “was an insult to his work. ‘She’s there attacking the bull,’ he said.” (Source. New York Times, April 12, 2017)  He also claimed this was a case of copyright infringement although no suit has been filed.  PLEASE! This is equivalent to charging Paolo Veronese with copyright infringement because his painting “The Wedding Feast at Cana” hangs opposite the “Mona Lisa” in the Louvre.

My first reaction was, “You must be kidding.” (Actually, it was a little stronger than that but I’ve promised my wife I’d tone down the language in these posts.)  But I soon realized Di Modica’s reaction should have come as no surprise.  For the last two years Americans have been instructed to fear everyone and everything.  Muslims.  Immigrants. Hollywood. Environmentalists.  Scientists.  The LGBT community. It was only a matter of time before we were told young girls with big dreams were a danger to our way of life.

Perhaps there is a deeper meaning behind the artistic confrontation between “Fearless Girl” and “Charging Bull.” Look closer at “Fearless Girl.”  Her hair is in a pony tail.  She is wearing a simple sleeveless dress.  She is not wearing any jewelry. Her eyes tell us she is in awe of something she is seeing for the first time. Her facial features suggest she is probably Caucasian.  In other words, she is more likely a New York visitor from the Midwest than the offspring of a Manhattan resident.

She is more than a little girl thinking about life’s possibilities.  She embodies the populist dissatisfaction on both the left and right.  And the bull represents the bankers, corporate raiders and hedge fund managers who have benefited most from the current recovery.  During the 2016 presidential campaign, both candidates pledged to reconcile this disparity between those who have flourished and those who feel left behind.  As the current White House occupant, Donald Trump is the one who must deliver on that promise.

How goes it?  Well, that depends on who you ask.  The administration was quick to take credit for the stock market bump since the November election.  Wasn’t that the bull speaking?  Fearless girl is more likely to have a lemonade stand than a stock portfolio. How about consumer confidence?  On December 27, 2016, U.S. News and World Report applauded as consumer confidence rose to a 15-year high.  But measuring consumer confidence is akin to market surveys about consumer products.  It is one thing to say, “I plan to spend money.”  It is quite another to reach into your wallet or purse and hand over your hard-earned cash.

To understand the economic mood of the general population, I prefer to look at the numbers which represent actual behavior, not speculation. Just yesterday, the Commerce Department reported retail sales in March fell for the second straight month.  Likewise, the Consumer Price Index declined by 0.3 percent last month, another sign the demand for goods and services has weakened.

Keep in mind these numbers are just a snapshot in time and may change over the course of the next few months or years.  Today, however, beauty and the bull are no closer to reconciling than they were on November 8.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP