Economic Fantasies

I considered posting about my unemployment situation. (Yes, again.) I considered posting thoughts about the economy as a whole, particularly in reference to Gentleman Pratt's post and this contrasting article. But trying to tackle such economic questions kept leading me to question myself along these lines: just what is the ideal I am shooting for? In other words, when critiquing our economic policy, and talking about what I hope would change, what am I hoping it will change to?

Obviously, I want gainful employment for myself, and prosperity and all that. But what does that really look like?

So my mind went wandery and I fantasized two economic utopias (utopiae?):

1) Pseudo-Anarchistic Agrarian Localized Economic Fantasy

The economy is entirely localized. Food is grown mere miles from your city, and it is expensive and rare to eat exotic foods from around the world - no strawberries in wintertime, no Colombian coffee in the District of Columbia. The same goes for every other small craft, from furniture making and clothes weaving to local filmmaking. There is no complicated global system of number-moving that allows an entire nation's economy to be based on managing the money and information of another nation. Essentially, it's like the way the world just before the Industrial Revolution - everyone is naturally employed taking care of the

The downside? Greatly reduced progress. Hard to organize the major human-race-size projects like a space program without larger infrastructure. Downside/upside, depending on your point of view: instead of cushy office jobs, people tend to work with their hands. Lastly, the only way this could work is if people voluntarily and intentionally avoided the advanced assembly line machinery of our modern age, because otherwise people just don't have enough work to do. It's not capitalistic, but it's healthy.

2) Pseudo-Randian Laissez-Faire Capitalist's Fantasy

There are nearly no taxes, particularly not on corporations or the rich. The government is minimal, essentially only providing the rule of law, a smaller military (unless private donors want to finance it) and diplomatic functions. Everything else is provided by private business. Roads are maintained the same way that water and electricity are - through billing of private citizens by large-scale corporations. Everyone is not only employed, but paid very well because the big corporations, disburdened of taxes, can afford to employ Americans at living wages. Also, thanks to widespread Carnegie-like philanthropy, every town has a privately funded, well-stocked library as well as every other modern public-use amenity.

~~~

If you think I find neither of these particularly plausible, you're correct. If you think I find one of them a good dream and the other a nightmare, you're also correct.

So, your turn, readers! What is your economic fantasy world?

The Quandries of the Unemployed

I am unemployed, and I have been since past August, a long enough time that I have just switched over from 'normal' unemployment payouts to Emergency Unemployment Compensation. Once upon a time, this would have been highly embarassing to admit, but not so much in this economy, when the typical reaction I get when I tell that to someone is... well, "In this economy!" A sort of sympathetic exclamation, it's said with a smile and a raise of the eyebrows and a shrug of the shoulders. Similar to "duh, I get it, of course you are, that's totally normal." And if that's not the response, then it is "Me too!"

The State of Maryland determines how much your unemployment payout is on how much you got paid in the 6-18 months prior to your date of unemployment (by which I mean, they look at the time priod from 18 months prior through 6 months prior, skipping the most recent 6). I was lucky enough to have a decent-paying job during that time, so I qualified for the maximum. And I will now tell you how much I'm taking in because I apparently have no qualms about sharing a bit of my financial information over the Internet (what?): approximately $1400 a month. This translates to getting a job which pays either $12/hour or, with higher taxes, nearly $28,000/year.

As has oft been pointed out by economic theorists, this takes away a whooole lot of incentive to get a job. I definitely have no reason to go to Starbucks or something, trading in a workweek's worth of free time and some part of my income for the mere title of "employed." That's a straight up easy decision there, folks.

(Please note at this point in this post that this is not a dangers-of-unemployment-insurance rant; kindly read to the end fearlessly.)

It goes beyond that as well. Personally, like so many liberal arts majors of this generation, I have yet to find any place of considerably meaningful employment. (Like it is with ali d, Starbucks just isn't what I want to be doing.) Since graduating, I've hopped from generic permanent office job to generic temporary office job and back, never once finding some place I would be comfortable staying for year after year. Job security is worthless if you don't like the job.

So in many ways, I have been glad to have this opportunity to take my time finding the next job. (Okay, yes, I apply to two+ jobs every week, as that is required to keep my unemployment checks coming, and I apply my heart out to those office jobs, but I never get a call. I suspect that this is because my resume clearly shows I haven't been employed since August, and who wants to employ someone who hasn't been employed?) I want to work in the arts, particularly the theatre, and with any luck before my 47 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation runs out, I will find such a position.

(I might have been working in the theatre long ago, if I were at all capable of affording to do a poorly-paid/unpaid internship, but that's the subject of another post.)

So here's where it gets complex. I personally consider myself very libertarian. Nevertheless, I understand the need for a social safety net - it makes no sense for anybody if the unemployed immediately go broke in a bad economy, which contributes to their landlords going broke, and then their grocers, and so forth. My understanding is that the way it's supposed to work is sort of like storing grain in a granary during good years, so that you can survive a famine year; in a good economy, everyone pays taxes into a common fund, which, in a bad year, we then tap into to prevent rolling bankruptcies. (Go oversimplification go!) But at the same time I naturally feel, well, a little uncomfortable sitting here for months on end, cracking open the newly released Final Fantasy XIII while you're at work.

(If the unemployment agency is reading this: NO THAT'S NOT ALL I DO. ...I also write plays!)

(And apply for jobs! And apply for jobs too!)

How does one handle being in a situation that is extremely beneficial to oneself, but on a moral level, one feels guilty for, and on a political-philosophical level, one doesn't necessarily agree with? After all, if everyone did what I'm doing, society would collapse. But on the other hand, if I just went and got some mediocre table waiting job, or an underpaid brainless office job, or, even worse, a temp job, I would not last long for one reason or another, and would quickly be unemployed, again. But on the other other hand, is that somehow my duty to this Great Nation, to - if I can't find work that I stay married to for years on end - at least be a serial monogamist? But on the other other other hand (I guess basically we're talking Goro from Mortal Kombat here), am I not essentially doing little different than if I were employed, in the sense that the money the state is giving me is going straight through me to my landlord, and my grocer, and the Chipotle, and the Metro? (Not to Square Enix, though, FFXIII was a gift.) There is no clear, definite answer to the question of "is this right, what I am doing, and if not, should I do differently?"

America is supposedly the land of freedom, last I heard. A conservative (or libertarian, which I may be a bad example of) will tell you that taxing Peter so that Paul can stay afloat after Paul lost his job is a violation of freedom; a liberal might say that this preserves Paul's freedom from dire economic straits, and after all Peter has that same peace of mind-type-freedom, should Peter lose his. (Well, okay, no, a liberal would say "where's your compassion?") A Me-Myself-and-I would say being forced to move back to my parents' house or work at Starbucks would severely limit my freedom, to which a conservative would reply, "that ain't my problem, dude!" (A conservative who is both a hick and a surfer, apparently.) Circles, circles, circles.

So, is there, somewhere out there amidst all the bureaucracy, perhaps an assumption about my behavior that I can ascribe to? Meaning, did the government - of Maryland, I suppose, which is the one paying me - make certain assumptions about the reasons for providing unemployment, or how long and for what reasons a person might be on unemployment? If so, that would make it easy for me to be somewhat more certain of myself - if there is an underlying assumption for what type of behavior makes the system work best, I can follow that, and at the very least I can know that I'm contributing to the effective functioning of the welfare system, regardless of how I feel about the policy itself. But I'd be willing to bet the government program is not so well-defined (I mean this is government we're talking about), and I'm no economist. So for all I know, I am either keeping in line with, or breaking, a system which I either do, or do not, agree with.

(I told you this is not a rant. It's an existential wail of confusion.)

*Sigh.* I think I'll just go back to playing Final Fantasy.

WHAT Recession?

This supposed "recession" has not affected ME.

Through this economic drought, my daily life really hasn't changed. I'm plenty AWARE of the situation. In the news business, we've made it a top priority to cover this issue every single day.

For me though, things sometime seem actually BETTER because of these "tough economic times."

For instance, with less people driving to save money, and others simply unemployed, the price of gas has significantly dropped. That makes MY life better.

My work place is finding ways to save money, and that means putting cheap labor like me to work more often. That makes MY life better. And as someone in an entry-level position, I'm the lowest on the totem-pole. So it's not like I'm going to be making less than before anyway.

If I wanted to buy a house, or a car, those investments would be CHEAPER than ever before. My monthly grocery bill has gone DOWN because the super market has so many deals for struggling families. If I wanted to enter the stock market and begin my investing career, there would NEVER be as good a time as now. There's NO better time to enter Wall Street when stocks are hitting rock bottom and things can only go up.

Of course, claiming that the recession hasn't affected me isn't really true, but it kind of FEELS true.

Saying that my life has actually improved during the recession IGNORES the real impact is HAS had on others in my life. I'm sure the value of my parents property has decreased, and as my financial backstop, their well-being definitely influences MY well-being. That, and they're my parents of course.

As an employee of NBC4, whose parent company is NBC Universal, whose parent company is GE, my job world has been turned upside-down in the past 6 months. GE's stock has dropped about 70% since this time last year [no, that's not a typo].

And those are just some examples, but as you're aware, everyone is feeling a pinch, if not severe pain. Families are abandoning their homes to foreclosure, people are being laid-off left and right, and many are struggling to pay for higher education. And don't forget, we're STILL spending about $10 billion a month at war. By the way.

If you're around my age though, almost 23, and you live with only the responsibility to take care of yourself, you might have barely noticed a change. If someone were to live only in their own little bubble world, surrounding themselves with people just like them and in the same economic position, they MIGHT actually be asking the question in this post title.

For those laughing/crying because their life IS being seriously affected by the recession... ummmm... money is the most replaceable thing you'll ever own, RIGHT?

Roundtable Volume 2, #2

Good evening to you all, or good day to our international followers of timezones myriad. It is time once again for an edition of These Gentleman's signature series, the Roundtable. At the beginning of the week, our illustrious gentlemen were posited a question, and their assembled responses can now be viewed and discussed here, in what we hope is our budding community.

The query posed the group this time was in regards to the recent economic unpleasantness. I use the term as one might use it to describe the actions of Jack the Ripper. In light of the brutal actions taken upon the prostitute the global economy has become, I asked each our gentlemen what changes they have had to make due to the crisis. Their responses were varied in both length and descriptiveness, as it has clearly hit some harder and in more tangible ways than others. In this way it would seem we are a mirror for the world at large, a microcosm, if you will, of the gentlemen of the world.

Long-winded intro now satisfied, let us dive right in to the responses, and hopefully, the discussion which results. Be sure to join us again next week when the Roundtable convenes once more.


Jason Schlafstein

I've had to start being a little less of an idiot. Jury's still out on how exactly that's going.









Max Nova

To be honest I haven't made any drastic changes, I still spend probably more than I should on cds and books, and my music purchasing has slowed down but not really because of the economy. At this point I have a whole lot of it and I'm not sure what strange noises to investigate next. Day to day I think I've more or less gone about things the same way, and I'm pretty happy about that.


Brittany Graham

I don't know because as long as I've been a college graduate, the economy has been crappy. I don't know where the poor economy meets being a recent college grad meets being a freelance artist, not that the difference really matters any to my wallet. The only thing different now is that my dad stopped advising me to get a retirement plan as soon as possible. But I'm about as poor as I expected to be after four years of "you're definitely going to be poor for awhile after you graduate."






David Pratt

The economic downturn came for me at a time when I was already strapped for cash in a big way. The only major change I can say I've made is a steadfast resolution to pay for food as infrequently as possible. My meal layout is currently on something like a $1 a day budget.

I did have to give up spending $20 a week on comic books. That hurt.


John Ozkirbas

Fortunately, the economy has effected me very minimally. I live at home for the time being, so I have a very short list of expenses (and my family has always been careful about what we spend our money on). I'm not working, nor can I more than 15 hours a week should I so choose. It's hard to find summer work, but, apparently, I'm actually a desired commodity in my field - small firms are more willing to take on 1st year law students than pay 2nd or 3rd years. I just won't be getting paid (which, well, smells afoul). In my personal life, I'm just careful not to spend frivolously, though I usually was careful before.

My right to complain is not dynamic. My family business isn't going under. I'm not waiting for another construction job for an indeterminable amount of time. My company isn't going to lay me off and replace me with an entry-level college grad. I'm not an artist who depends upon his art for income in this economy. I (hopefully) won't be looking for a career-job before the next two years. I'm just not within the demographic of people who will be affected the most. I'm lucky and I fully understand that - as there are many (including some friends) who have been directly affected and will continue to be for awhile, despite whatever stimulus plan is going to come through. In witnessing that, I suppose you can say that's the biggest way I've been "affected" - I prefer to see the people around me and in my life prosper as opposed to struggle.

Damien Nichols

Let's see here. I've gotten a bicycle, cut my driving by a lot. Moved closer to my job (within a mile). Negotiated for a raise at work (didn't get one, but was able to get put on flextime, so I get every friday off, YEAH!). Started seeking outside income for small odd jobs. Started pooling resources amongst friends for big family-style meals. This is not only economical, its just great to spend an evening cooking and breaking bread with friends. I've also started negotiating to eliminate or reconsolidate my debt, lectured my father on his wasteful spending and lack of planning for the future (tisk tisk). Looking around at the stock market to figure out who the winners of this depression will be. And finally, I've started wrapping my head around the concept of a total economic collapse.

What do you do when money isn't worth anything any more? Gotta be able to eat, have shelter, transportation, etc. without the exchange of dollars. Scary, but doable!

Daniel Strauss

I can no longer afford McDonald's value meals. It's ridiculous, but, $6.50 for a McNugget meal is friggin insane. I now order exclusively off the dollar menu. Got to.









Ali Daniels

Honestly, the economic troubles haven’t really hit me that hard. I am fortunate that my parents, never being very well off, taught me early the value of saving and never buying something unless I had enough money to pay for it in that moment. I’m already working 2.5 jobs, and a lot of that money goes into rainy day savings, so I don’t feel the pressure of the downed economy, because I can support myself until my investments pick back up.

Because of lower interest rates, I have rolled my long-term investments into accounts with shorter terms, so that when the market stabilizes and rates go back up, I’m not locked into a crappy deal, but that hasn't really personally affected me.

I was inspired, though, to give up my credit card for Lent because of the economy, and it’s been working out pretty well, but I definitely miss it. I’ve been spending less money, but not enough to give up Amazon.com. Not by a long shot.

Getting Rich Quick

Something I realized soon after getting getting decent paying internships in college was that the best and only practical way of getting rich is having a decently paying job. It probably seems obvious, but in my youth as a stereotypical Jewish moneychanger-wannabe-in-training I really really liked the idea of having and spending a lot of money, and my mind was often a-whirl with ways of generating money.

As a kid I was overly concerned with the resale values of baseball and basketball cards, comic books, video games and assorted other items. I remember when I sold my Nintendo and most of the games for $40, when in retrospect I really should have just kept the thing. At that point I couldn't have even gotten a single good new Super Nintendo game for that piddling sum.

Once I actually had a decent amount of money from summer work, I became better at managing money than I had ever been with allowance, which is not surprising, but I also I realized that my tastes weren't that expensive. Sure I'd love to have a private jet and fly to England and watch Futbol every weekend, but as far as food, shelter, friends and general entertainment, I feel plenty rich.

I say all this because in the past 4 months or so, the worlds largest get rich scheme -- financial markets -- have lost an unfathomable amount of money. And its clear that literally any course of action taken in the recent past that didn't include shorting the whole market would lose a whole lot of money. And so like all folks with investments, I indeed lost a good bit of money from having mutual funds, but I also don't look at the market as a get rich scheme. It's a somewhat risky store of money but still a better call in the long term than cash in a mattress. When I recently saw an ad on a financial channel for information kits on currency trading, I just found it hilarious. It will be the perfect gift for anyone who hasn't gotten through their get rich quick phase.

The Industrial Evolution

This Wednesday, Congress will have the opportunity to vote on legislation that would grant the Big 3 automakers $15 billion in loans to save them from certain doom. I believe this number should be closer to $0. There is no doubt in my mind that the three major detroit car companies must readjust their leadership, and must file for some sort of bankruptcy protection in order to make the changes necessary to prepare for long term growth. There are several points that need to be considered when evaluating the collapse of the Big Three.

It may not be their fault, but the Big 3 saw this coming. It's obvious that car companies have no direct control over the price of gas or the availability of credit. The increase of crude demand in developing nations, coupled with the credit freeze that came out of the mortgage meltdown, has created a culture of frugality. But economists and experts have long stated that gas prices will only get higher over the long run, and that easy access to credit would eventually roll back. The Big 3 saw early electric cars fail, and resisted change out of fear. They saw a slowing economy on the horizon, but kept the assembly lines rolling. The same executives who ignored the warning signs must not be trusted to have the vision to see us out.

And I mean it when I say 'us', because the ripple effect of a complete failure of these companies would result in a lot less money being spent across the country and, ultimately, the world.

On the macro level, large amounts of layoffs can be counteracted by President-Elect Obama's plan to improve the infrastructure here in the United States. It worked in the Eisenhower years. Take people who work in car manufacturing plants, and after conversion training, put them in solar panel manufacturing plants. These measures protect our economy from future gas price increases.

Also, filing for Chapter 11 will enable these companies to deal with Union contracts in the event that concessions aren't made by the UAW. Some argue that such a signal of weakness would be detrimental to the images of the Big 3, but anyone who doesn't think that ship has sailed is fucking bonkers.

Ultimately I am glad that the number has dropped from $34 billion to $15 billion, but I feel that this number could be even lower. These companies simply can't make minor adjustments and cutbacks. They need to be running bare bones operations, from top to bottom, with the exception of the folks in R&D who will be spearheading the transition to a better fleet. Operational spending must be completely readjusted.

So by making loan amounts in the $5 billion to $10 billion range, more money can be provided to unemployment insurance, which will help prop up the middle class. What this means for you is that if you get hit by a layoff, the government will temporarily give you enough money to pay the bills and put food on the table while the Industrial Evolution takes place in the months to come. By evolving toward affordable renewable energy, and more practical lending practices at financial institutions, all companies, not just the Big 3, will be better positioned to recover from the recession, and a wider range of opportunity will emerge in all sectors of the American economy.