Merland: March 2006

For Amy

I am
Not afraid to
Try something different
Case in point - writing a cinquain.
Love change!

Monday today. Little sun, therefore ergo whatever now to no energy.

Sugar-free popsicle for dessert - is that aftertaste carcinogenic?

Often I wonder what it would be like to just type without really caring what I was talking about and not overly worried about sense or meaning. It actually feels therapeutic. Like the remainders in math... 7 divided 4 by 1 with a remainder of 3.... How non-scientific is that. is that even legit math... it was the math for me... lazy math... wonder what math will be like for baby. will I be able to help her with her homework? for how long?

chewing on the popsicle stick now. gnawed into a flat soggy splinter stick.

lots going on but calm like an eddy in a river. caught outside the stream but only briefly. soon baby, crib, sleeplessness and a family. So exicted to experience it all.

I have big questions... I wonder about life, about where we came from, why we are here, where we are going. Big questions make me feel right sized. Miniscule in a universe of big. But even the big has a limit - what lies there - the edge of things. A land of imagination of things unknown and unknowable.

Apologies for any who read this hoping for a point.

(πr²)(r) - (1/2)[(4/3)(πr³)] = (1/3)πr³

Asymmetriphobia

Unlike a haiku,
Asymmetriphobia.
Tick without a tock

The Diaper Champ

Not in full blown panic mode yet but nearing it. Time is both racing by and at a stand-still. I can't wait to meet little baby, but I am a lifetime away from being ready. So much to do and so little time. Jenn and I spent 4 hours on Saturday registering for baby stuff. Did we get registered for everything? Do we have a list as long as your arm? No. No. No. In point of fact, we spent 4 hours researching a bucket.

A bucket to put poopy diapers in. Okay a fancy bucket, but still a bucket. You wouldn't believe the options out there. ranging from $10 bucket with a deoderizer under the lid to the $40 suck away the besmirched bundle of goodness and wrap it up tightly, hermetically sealed away in the bowels of the diaper champ.
After about 1 hour of registering at target.com we found what we were looking for. The diaper bucket. 4 diaper buckets to be exact. Under each diaper bucket a handy link to reviews written by honest to god consumers who used the products themselves - although there were a fair number of effusive reviews written by expetant mothers (I don't really want to know if they have tested the bucket themselves...) So 4 buckets, 25 reviews apiece. 2 hours later and copious note taking we have it narrowed down to 3.

Next, onto the manufacturers' websites to download .pdf documentation and engineering specifications showing how great each bucket is. Look, one has a piston! Is that a good or a bad thing? Is our baby going to be filling up those pampers so full that it requires a piston to ram it down the bucket hole?!? Step away from the computer... 1 hour later and we have decided. The diaper champ is king. Personally, I think it looks like a little person which is strange because of where you would be putting the diaper.

I think our new strategy will be to actually go to the store next time. Be given a scanner, walk over to the shelves and say ohhh that looks cute and zap, the magic red laser beam instantly records our split-second impulse. No reviews, no limitless amounts of information, just a pull of the trigger, and beep and done. Knowledge is power, but impulse is king.

Econ take home exam question #2

Are sweatshop workers exploited or are they rational maximizers?

Yes, sweatshop workers are exploited and, yes, they are rational maximizers. Unfortunately, exploitation and rational maximization are not mutually exclusive states. The deplorable working conditions in China as described by Jasper Becker’s article Sweatshop Hell for China’s Toy Maker’s Worse Than Ever (The Independent, Dec 2002), are possible, at least in part, because there is a ready and willing supply of labor and a large demand for that labor.

Pressures to keep production costs as low as possible are being applied not just by the corporations that are setting up shop in these areas, but also by the consumers that buy their goods. A competitive marketplace in a global economy can be a double-edged sword. Our desire for low cost goods and the necessity for corporations to remain profitable and competitive create a system which feeds upon itself.

We desire cheaper goods. Companies need to make a profit in order to stay in business. In order for companies to meet the marketplace demand for lower cost goods and at the same time remain competitive and viable, it may become necessary to produce goods overseas, where labor costs are cheaper. This shift of manufacturing abroad translates into a loss of manufacturing jobs in America. The newly unemployed workforce is often forced to take significantly lower paying jobs in the service industry. This reduction in income increases the desire (and sometimes necessity) for lower cost goods.

However, these newly created jobs in China have a positive impact on that country’s population as a whole. Yes, the wages may be low compared to what the identical job pays in America, but often sixty cents a day represents a siginificant improvement in wages prior to foreign companies moving in. There are cases of abuse. Sub-contractors who supply parts and materials to these companies may not pay a decent wage (in some cases they may pay nothing at all), however, history has shown that these abuses, while abhorrent, tend to extinguish themselves in time. If an employer will not pay acceptable (or any) wages, eventually the workforce will no longer work for that company.

Change is painful, and not always pretty. Capitalism and a free market economy, in my view, tend to make living conditions better overall for most people. However, as one group benefits from the relocation of jobs and factories, another group suffers. Ultimately, a free and open market levels the playing field - increasing the welfare of some of those who are poorest and, at the same time, decreasing that of some of those who were well off in the previous system.

Econ take home exam question #1

Are the people of Jamaica better off through free trade? Why or why not?

It is difficult to say whether or not Jamaica is better off under free trade. Certainly, some economic indicators are positive, “The annual inflation rate has decreased from a high of 80.2% in 1991 to 7.9% in 1998.”[1] Other indicators, however, are not as positive. “The Jamaican dollar has been slipping, despite intervention, resulting in an average exchange rate of J$43.5 to the US$1.00 (2000).”[2]

So what do these indicators mean in real terms for the people of Jamaica? According to the video we watched in class, it would seem that the people of Jamaica are much worse off under free trade. The island has been flooded with cheaper international goods, which has all but wiped out domestic production and consumption of these same goods. Unfortunately, this huge influx of cheap international goods has not been balanced out by a large demand for many of Jamaica’s exports.

In the video it was clear that dairy production was decimated by the importation of dry milk. Likewise, many of the agricultural products (carrots, cabbage, and onions) which can be grown in Jamaica are not able to compete on a global scale with vegetables from Europe and America. These importing countries’ agricultural technology is generally far more advanced than the Jamaican technology. Also, some of the importing countries prop up their farmers with subsidies, making it cheaper for them to produce their goods, while Jamaica is unable to offer the same subsidies under terms imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Exacerbating the country’s dire economic situation a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) struck in 1997 drastically reducing agricultural production.[3] Jamaica’s strongest industries have been traditionally mining (bauxite and alumina) and tourism. [4] Although both tourism and mining are profitable these industries are not large enough to employ the entire population. Accordingly, Jamaica is left with the majority of its domestic production losing out to lower cost imports, while its exportable industry is too small to support the entire population.
Making matters worse, at least in the short term, a division of the IMF has imposed stringent monetary and economic policies upon the government as preconditions for receiving loans. The IMF’s stated long term goal is to assist “member countries in implementing economic and financial policies that promote stability, reduce vulnerability to crisis, and encourage sustained growth and high living standards”.[5] According to the video, however, the IMF’s terms have caused massive hardships to date for many Jamaicans.

Michael Manley asserts in the video that it is important to consider who founded the IMF and whose interests and stability they are ultimately looking after. By opening up an economy to free trade the IMF aims to benefit its 184 member countries. Some of its member countries benefit more than others, however, and the voting within the organization is heavily skewed towards the more well-to-do member nations.[6]

It remains to be seen if free trade will make the people of Jamaica better off or not in the long-run. Change and stabilization of an economy is never smooth. While the IMF may offer loans and policy advice that is purportedly designed to help Jamaica’s economy by bringing the nation into the global free market, it is important to consider the repercussions resulting from the particular terms and conditions of entering into that agreement. Free trade has, in my opinion, in the short-term been an overall detriment to the people of Jamaica. Although parts of the economy have improved, it seems that a larger portion has been damaged by an influx of cheap goods into a market that was not yet ready or able to compete in the global marketplace.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica#Economy

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Jamaica

[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica#Economy

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica#Economy

[5] http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/globstab.htm

[6] http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/members.htm

For SJ

Please write something else
Why the phobia haikus?
Phobophobia

Graphophobia haiku

Graphophobia
I have a paper to write
Shudder at the thought

Stress

Too much stuff to do
Homework, Family and Friends
Where do I fit in?

Econ Homework part deux - Mao

If I were Mao Tse-Tung what would have been the first three things I would have done to support Communism?

The first of the three things I would have done to support the successful growth of Communism would be to start the transition slowly. To change from one system of government to another is a huge task that requires at least a somewhat measured, and well thought-out, progression. While the revolution may happen in a relatively short amount of time, I would try to take a step back once in power to let things settle down. Changes made in rash and hectic conditions, though perhaps undertaken with great fervor, are often only half thought out, giving them lower odds of success.

Next I would try to minimize the anger towards landowners in the rural communities. Specifically, I would ask the "hated" landowners to hand over their land peacefully and explain why it was in their best interest to do so. It seems that Mao found modest success with such a transition policy in the city, by explaining to factory owners that the only option for remaining with the company was to sign over the deed. When Mao had the peasants berate their former overseers and landowners, it encouraged a general animosity towards authority. To rule effectively one must try to bring all people together towards a common goal. When that goal is the destruction of a certain class of people you create a self-devouring form of government: the oppressed become the oppressors…overthrow... repeat. This strategy is a poor one for placing your own system of government into a lasting authoritative role.

Finally, Mao's attempt at controlling the marketplace was flawed. If I were in power and realized that China needed to double its production of steel, I would not address the problem by asking farmers, doctors and their wives and children to make steel in their spare-time. Rather, I would increase the output of existing factories to their maximum, and have a portion of the population involved in the building of newer steel factories. I would then invest in the education of the public with a heavy emphasis placed on math, science and technology, in an effort to create a population that would, eventually, allow China to leap past other nations through superior intellect and innovation.

Oh it takes so long

Just waiting for my wife to get ready before we head out for the evening. I have learned that when she says that she is just going to 'quick' throw on some make-up it really means -Sweetie, I am going to try on every piece of clothing I own. Throw them all on the floor in a large pile. Swear about how I don't own the right style of clothing and then end up putting on the same outfit I had on to start with... all the while forgetting to put on the make-up I discussed earlier.

As the minutes tick by we become later and later and instead of looking relaxed and restful we both end up looking like we are flying via small tornado from one social function to the next. Never fully at the place we are because we are getting ready for the next place we have to be.

People say that once we have a kid we won't go out anymore... I yearn for the day. No offense to any of my friends or family.

Merland