Scitovsky 
1175 N. Lemon Ave., 
Menlo Park, Cal. 94025 
23 November 1990 
Dear Josef, 
This is mainly to convey Elisabeth's and my best 
wishes at the occasion of Christmas. I hope you are well, even 
more fully recovered from your illness than you were in Sils. 
After Sils we had quite an interesting time in 
Budapest and Prag, their difficulties having come or become 
apparent only somewhat later. Since we came home, following the 
Iraqui and the Russian and East Europan troubles seems to keep 
me fully occupied; it is especially unsettling to see the 
leaders of one's own country to commit one mistake after 
another and the opposition unable to provide an alternative. If 
you are at all interested in the subject, you may find worth 
reading George Ball's long article on "How to Resolve the 
Crisis" in the December 6 issue of T— 
Bookjs, which I think is very good. He is a very bright and 
sensible person. I used to know him during the war, when we 
were both in the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. 
(Wider 
I am sending you enolooe-d^two papers, which you may 
or may not wish to read. The longer one I may already have sent 
or given you in Sils - I just don't remember. The shorter one I 
made too short, I am afraid. The only new idea in it is the 
explanation of the downward stickiness of prices, which I made 
unduly short by merely referring to (instead of discussing) the 
problems created by the high debt-to-equity ratios of some 
firms. 
We have already started thinking about our next 
Summer vacation, because our main problem always is to find 
someone to guard our house and garden and feed the cat; and 
that seems to be becoming increasingly difficult.