First I read this short report that furthered my sad perspective that economists are generally perceived as as useful as weathermen.
Justin Wolfers, "On the Failure of Macroeconomists"
Then I saw the below quote by Niall Ferguson.
"The prevailing Davos pessimism had been brilliantly summed up by Niall Ferguson... He called what we are going through not a Great Depression but a "Great Repression." ..."Our leaders," he said, "are in a state of denial, turning to a 1936 book [Keynes' The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money] to save us.""
Are ideologies to blame for the apparent lack of any objective advice to offer upon the matters of the day?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
"Service Stimulus"
For the past week, I've been lamenting the possibility of a failed opportunity. I've been sad that community service has gotten little lip service in discussions of the stimulus package. What's not to like about:
- the temporarily unemployed using their extra time to tutor kids
- the small-town values of "neighbors helping neighbors"
These types of activities can prevent a national depression from influencing Americans into mental depressions. It would pain me to learn years from now that the extra hours of the unemployed are being spent alone in front of the television.
So I am excited by the below passage in the NYT. I hadn't ever heard of Prof. Goldsmith until 5 minutes ago, but he expresses just what I had been thinking. This NYT post assembled experts to find faults with the $900 billion stimulus package. The package has been passed by the House and looks on track for Senate confirmation and the president's signature before President's Day. Then, hopefully, we can follow the implementation on recovery.org.
Anyways, Prof. Goldsmith has the below to say on "Service Stimulus".
"The stimulus package seeks to address the current economic crisis of our country, but we must not overlook the need for a “service stimulus.” Indeed, the bill should explicitly address how to support and leverage the spirit of volunteerism that exists in America.
- the temporarily unemployed using their extra time to tutor kids
- the small-town values of "neighbors helping neighbors"
These types of activities can prevent a national depression from influencing Americans into mental depressions. It would pain me to learn years from now that the extra hours of the unemployed are being spent alone in front of the television.
So I am excited by the below passage in the NYT. I hadn't ever heard of Prof. Goldsmith until 5 minutes ago, but he expresses just what I had been thinking. This NYT post assembled experts to find faults with the $900 billion stimulus package. The package has been passed by the House and looks on track for Senate confirmation and the president's signature before President's Day. Then, hopefully, we can follow the implementation on recovery.org.
Anyways, Prof. Goldsmith has the below to say on "Service Stimulus".
"The stimulus package seeks to address the current economic crisis of our country, but we must not overlook the need for a “service stimulus.” Indeed, the bill should explicitly address how to support and leverage the spirit of volunteerism that exists in America.
For volunteers to be effective, they need support services from community organizations. If we are going to add jobs for the purpose of economic stimulus, we should do it in a way that produces broad support for Americans in difficult circumstances by neighbors helping neighbors. Therefore, the stimulus bill should provide for significant increases in AmeriCorps members who can rapidly deploy to community organizations and support volunteerism.
More Americans are struggling this year, yet millions are reaching out in record numbers to offer food, care and compassion. As this stimulus package recognizes, there are many areas of need across our communities. But these can be drastically improved by collaboration. Tutors and mentors can help school children succeed, volunteers can support displaced families as they move from shelters to more permanent housing and community assistance centers can assist by providing volunteers to aid those encountering substance abuse and depression.
We must renew our dedication to service and leverage the true strength of America through citizen action. The limiting factor is not American goodwill but rather the process by which we engage, recruit, train and deploy willing volunteers. By actively engaging in our communities and mobilizing efforts to aid those in need, we can rebuild society."Saturday, October 18, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Workaholism
Hello, it's been a little while since I wrote in here. Don't worry, though, I've been working on material. This post is about a question that I have been mulling this month.
If you want to click play on the little embedded song below, that will perhaps add to the experience of reading this post. In particular, I'm reflecting upon the lyrics,
"He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday"
For the past few weeks, I've been wondering why some people work long hours. I think there are two categories of explanations. Intrinsic reasons and extrinsic reasons.
The intrinsic reason is basic enough. You like your job! It makes you feel good; it gives you purpose in life.
The extrinsic reasons are more varied. Maybe you need the money. In the Offspring song, our protagonist needs money to keep his girlfriend. Or maybe you are saving up for a bigger house. Maybe you want a promotion, power and status.
I like to lump these extrinsic reasons under the heading "the American Dream."
Now what if you work so hard, because you love your job and you're in pursuit of a dream, that you become addicted to your job? Like the aforementioned dream, workaholism is also part of the American lexicon. We aren't alone. The Japanese call death from overwork karoshi. What a way to go, huh?
So, workaholism. Is this just a description of a person who works too much, or can you actually be addicted to your job? It's not quite as easy to put your finger on as alcoholism. The alcoholic has rehab. Do workaholics go to rehab? The alcoholic can overdose. Karoshi aside, I'm not sure that anyone has died from overwork. The alcoholic has AA. Actually, workaholics have WA, but they never show up for the meetings because they are at work. The point is, workaholism is a strange breed of addiction, if it can be called an addiction.
WebMD calls workaholism the "respectable" addiction. In today's anti-smoking environment, if someone catches lung cancer, we are quick to say they should have seen that coming. But if someone burns out of their job? We're not quite sure how to react. They weren't doing anything wrong. They were in pursuit of the American Dream. Were they actually addicted to their job? Should someone have been there to say them, "hey man, take a vacay! you're losing your mind you're so wrapped up in your work. go home and throw the ball around with your son!"
What do you think? Is workaholism real? Can you really be addicted to your job?
If you want to click play on the little embedded song below, that will perhaps add to the experience of reading this post. In particular, I'm reflecting upon the lyrics,
"He works his hands to the bone
To give her money every payday"
For the past few weeks, I've been wondering why some people work long hours. I think there are two categories of explanations. Intrinsic reasons and extrinsic reasons.
The intrinsic reason is basic enough. You like your job! It makes you feel good; it gives you purpose in life.
The extrinsic reasons are more varied. Maybe you need the money. In the Offspring song, our protagonist needs money to keep his girlfriend. Or maybe you are saving up for a bigger house. Maybe you want a promotion, power and status.
I like to lump these extrinsic reasons under the heading "the American Dream."
Now what if you work so hard, because you love your job and you're in pursuit of a dream, that you become addicted to your job? Like the aforementioned dream, workaholism is also part of the American lexicon. We aren't alone. The Japanese call death from overwork karoshi. What a way to go, huh?
So, workaholism. Is this just a description of a person who works too much, or can you actually be addicted to your job? It's not quite as easy to put your finger on as alcoholism. The alcoholic has rehab. Do workaholics go to rehab? The alcoholic can overdose. Karoshi aside, I'm not sure that anyone has died from overwork. The alcoholic has AA. Actually, workaholics have WA, but they never show up for the meetings because they are at work. The point is, workaholism is a strange breed of addiction, if it can be called an addiction.
WebMD calls workaholism the "respectable" addiction. In today's anti-smoking environment, if someone catches lung cancer, we are quick to say they should have seen that coming. But if someone burns out of their job? We're not quite sure how to react. They weren't doing anything wrong. They were in pursuit of the American Dream. Were they actually addicted to their job? Should someone have been there to say them, "hey man, take a vacay! you're losing your mind you're so wrapped up in your work. go home and throw the ball around with your son!"
What do you think? Is workaholism real? Can you really be addicted to your job?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Blogging seems easy
Only took 2 minutes to set this thing up. It took me about two months to decide on a name. It's what I had written on my shirt at Thon. I hope to be a cool professor someday, and my name is Andrew. Let me know what you think of the name by adding a comment.
Right now I'm sitting at a table in lower Manhattan. Just took a nice leisurely walk around the area, which includes Ground Zero. I lived on a floor called Ground Zero in college; it had a big picture of a mushroom cloud in the entranceway. Always thought it was in somewhat poor taste, but it had been painted before the attacks. And since it still hung there, defiant of present day political correctness, I also always kind of admired it for being un-pc. Anyways, the real life Ground Zero is finally getting built up, now seven years later. It is filled with men putting in a hard day's work assembling the next great skyscraper. On a bright sunny morning such as this, it made me smile.
Blogs are rather pointless if there is no interaction; I might as well just keep using my private journal if I'm going to blather on about my daily life. So hopefully I can make this interactive. Today's topic hopes to be a simple start on that. They say when you wake up in the morning, the first thought on your mind is the thing that is most important to you today. Maybe it's your loved one, maybe it's a worry about your job, or maybe it's a prayer to God. This morning I woke up thinking about how I only have a couple more days in New York to spend with my sister and her husband. What about you?
Right now I'm sitting at a table in lower Manhattan. Just took a nice leisurely walk around the area, which includes Ground Zero. I lived on a floor called Ground Zero in college; it had a big picture of a mushroom cloud in the entranceway. Always thought it was in somewhat poor taste, but it had been painted before the attacks. And since it still hung there, defiant of present day political correctness, I also always kind of admired it for being un-pc. Anyways, the real life Ground Zero is finally getting built up, now seven years later. It is filled with men putting in a hard day's work assembling the next great skyscraper. On a bright sunny morning such as this, it made me smile.
Blogs are rather pointless if there is no interaction; I might as well just keep using my private journal if I'm going to blather on about my daily life. So hopefully I can make this interactive. Today's topic hopes to be a simple start on that. They say when you wake up in the morning, the first thought on your mind is the thing that is most important to you today. Maybe it's your loved one, maybe it's a worry about your job, or maybe it's a prayer to God. This morning I woke up thinking about how I only have a couple more days in New York to spend with my sister and her husband. What about you?
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