"One day last week I was visited by my loyal, hard working accountant known as Corythosaurus," said Stegosaurus. "We have rarely met in person, being such busy individuals, but I had received word from him that we needed to meet to discuss an important business matter, so I invited him to my home in Colorado".

"I have stomped all the way from my home in the Red Deer River of Alberta to discuss with you an important matter," said Corythosaurus.

"I will attend with great interest the things that you have to say, but do tell, how is our mutual friend Styracosaurus doing?"

"Styracosaurus is doing just fine; he has asked you to come visit some time soon, as he cannot eat all the coffee plants by himself."

"Have you eaten coffee plants?" asked Stegosaurus.

"I considered it at one point, but now I have stumbled upon an invention of the mammals called Diet Coke and that is my favorite."

"I have never tried this mammal invention," said Stegosaurus. "But returning to the important reason for your visit, is it that brings you to Colorado? What concern could be so great?"

"Well you know I am your loyal hard working accountant and I have for years kept an eye on your various investments. Many are doing well you have chosen wisely many times. Of course, with me as your advisor, how could you fail? But there is one endeavor that has not panned out the way we had hoped. Both of your apartment complexes designed for mammals, in Sunnyvale, California and the other in Santa Monica are failing.
We started them out in March 2014 with high hopes, but it looks now like the best thing might be to close them down and re direct those resources into other things."

"What ever you think is best," said Stegosaurus; "I trust your judgement but tell me what is the cause of this?"

"We've tried, but they never really quite took off as we'd hoped to start. As it turns out the first couple of years we barely broke even, and since 2016 we have been losing money. I even tried opening a bakery to sell bread at the Santa Monica location but there appeared to be little interest."

"Why? You do make a good bread," said Stegosaurus.

"I do make a good bread, but there were not a lot of mammals living there at the time to have the impact I had expected, and I much prefer my home on the Red Deer River in Canada to the hustle and bustle of California."

"What do you think was the cause? Not your baking?"

"No not at all it is the business model. Mammals really don't use trees as currency in any capacity, and they don't eat them at all. The apartments are too small to fit dinosaurs and in order to modify the apartments for them, we'd have to tear down the old complexes and rebuild. It's just too expensive."

"But I don't understand. Weren't the mammals spending enough to live there? Did the forests become extinct? I knew I had been away from California for too long!" exclaimed Stegosaurus.

"Now Stegosaurus, you know that an economy requires more than mammal spending. We could make a law that says mammals get 100 extra a month in spending money because they are smaller and thus, suffer disadvantages that we taller, heavier dinosaurs do not, but that in and of itself would not solve the problem. It is not a long term view and does not take into account the effects of such a policy on the whole group. Why there is more to a mammal economy than that certain species spend while others are taxed because certain groups think they can afford it or deserve it.

What about considering the payment of wages?

The importance of capital maintenance ?

How to account for the lack of new capital investment?

Nothing is ever that simple."

"Well, what if a mammal lives in New York and bagels cost $7.00, why can't that mammal be paid $15.00 an hour?" asked Stegosaurus.

"Sigh." said Corythosaurus. "You haven't been eating Austrian Pines lately, have you?"

"Why no, why do you ask?" asked Stegosaurus.

"I am taking you to dinner; after a good meal of Austrian Pines you will figure it out."

"Okay it is a deal," said Stegosaurus. "I will guard you, and if any bears accost you, I will whack them with my cool, spiky tail."

"Fair enough." said Corythosaurus.

"If you feel like it later", asked Stegosaurus, "Will you bake some bread? Maybe the mammals in Santa Monica were not impressed, but I am very fond of your baking skills."

"Thank you kindly good friend. If there is time, I will be glad to," said Corythosaurus.

"My birthday has come around again," said Stegosaurus. "This year I am, I am told, 140 Million and 13 years old. It is hard to think on how much I have accomplished in my life when my brain is only the size of a walnut, but I certainly have enjoyed all the things I have done.
I used to need some one to remind me, but of recent years I've just taken to reading my blog archive, and that gives me a pretty good idea of my adventures. I'm not so much "Hopelessly stupid," as my friend Charles Knight once remarked ~ as I am easily absentminded and hyperfocused on my moment at hand. Which right now is another birthday and yet another cake!"

"I do enjoy my cake; I've liked cakes since cakes were invented you know. But I also do like pies. And this pie, is a blueberry pie. Blueberries you know contain antioxidants ~ and this, my friends is the secret to living to be 140 Million and 13. And when you reach a milestone such as this one, that I did last week on June 1st is that you get both a cake and a pie for your birthday. I'm a very practical dinosaur and easy to buy gifts for. Mammals have many things, that they own or they would like to own; I am just a dinosaur and as long as I have my health, a good cake, a good pie and a nice grove of Cycadales palm fronds, I will be content. And I shall strive to always be content; to help all my friends when ever I can, and unless a giant meteor falls from the sky between now and then, I expect to do the same thing when it is time for my 140 Million and 14th birthday!"