A U.S. Economic Sage Bids Farewell in Poetic Fashion

(Bloomberg) -- T’was the night before Christmas when an economic sage/Announced his retirement, having reached a certain age.

Richard Curtin, 76, director of the University of Michigan’s survey of consumers -- an influential staple of U.S. indicators for decades -- will retire after more than 45 years in the job, according to a poem accompanying the December report on Thursday.

The 10-stanza set of rhyming couplets, liberally dosed with humor, covers the sweep of economic history in the past half-century -- including six recessions and seven Federal Reserve chairs -- and ends with his observations on politics, stimulus and Covid-19.

Curtin has headed the survey since 1976, shortly after earning a doctorate in economics from Michigan. A posting for his job went up earlier this year, and Curtin said a succession plan will be officially announced in January.

Read the poem:

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