1175 Ntrth L«mon Ave. 
Menlo l^ark, Cal. 94025 
(415) 322 9109 
February 23, 1980 
Dear Josef, 
Many thanks for your Christmas letter. I am sorry not to 
have answered it sooner; but I am unbelievably busy this year, 
teaching a little both at Santa Cruz and at Stanford, and also 
trying to write a textbook on macroeconomics. I am very pleased 
that your stay at Sils did you some good; it makes me ask whether 
you could be persuaded to repeat the experience. We enjoyed 
those beautiful walks so much that we are going back for a fort 
night in July. I am going to a conference in Augsburg July 14-16; 
and we shall be in Sils, at the Chesa Randolina again, from July 
17 until the end of the month. It would be nice to have equally 
good weather; but one cannot count on such luck. Please think it 
over whether you might be interested in coming; it would be awfully 
nice if you were. And I am sure it would again do you good being 
in such a beautiful place, with its excellent air and stimulating 
altitude*» 
I would also like to ask you a question. The accelerating 
inflation in this country and the utter incompetence of the Adminis 
tration and its economic advisers make me worry about the depreciation 
of my pension and of the modest accumulated savings I had to supplement 
my pension. I am wondering therefore whether I should not transfer 
part of those savings into a savings account in a less inflationary 
country. (In the US, the highest interest rate on savings accounts 
is slightly lower than the inflation rate, and about half of that 
is taxed away by Federal and State income tax.) Since Austria, 
unlike Switzerland and Germany, still pays interest on savings accounts 
held by non-citizens, I was wondering whether I should not go to 
Augsburg via Innsbruck there to open a savings account. But since 
Austria is far away and I cannot travel that easily, the whole thing 
would make sense only if Austrian savings banks, like The American 
ones, would let you mafe withdrawals and deposits by^mail*. * 'Sd *frhat 
I would like to ask you is to find out if you don 1 1 *and 
let me know if Austrian banks do that as a routine or are at least 
willing to do it. I hope you will not mind my asking you so many 
favors. 
We had a lot of rain and storms the last few weeks; but now 
it seems as if the spring were finally coming, which as you know is 
just about due at this time of the year in California. There is a 
iot of fresh green on the trees, mimozas and fruit trees are in full 
bloom; and Elisabeth works a lot in the garden. Best regards from 
both of us; and we very much hope to see you in the summer. 
Yours ever,