Economics~Globalization
August 23, 2017
Globalization~
The trans-national increase in trade and capital transfers across national boundaries.
GDP~
Gross Domestic Product
The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders
Market Economy~
A capitalistic economic system in which there is free competition and prices are determined by the interaction of supply and demand.
Law of supply and demand~
The law of supply states that the quantity of a good supplied (i.e., the amount owners or producers offer for sale) rises as the market price rises, and falls as the price falls. Conversely, the law of demand (see demand) says that the quantity of a good demanded falls as the price rises, and vice versa
Capitalism~
An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations
Means of production: the buildings, facilities, and equipment used to produce goods and services
Subsidies~
Government helps a producer by giving them money in order to produce more of a product, while still making a profit
Milton Friedman Explains Capitalism Video Reaction
What are the criticisms of capitalism?:
Concentration on Greed, all countries run on it. But you're rewarded with the ability to manipulate the system to get more money in your pockets. The system rewards greed and the desire to manipulate to get more
But to many people are unable to thrive in this market and live in poverty
Money=Power, Power=The ability to manipulate the needs of others
You're not rewarded by having drive and ambition, you're rewarded by the greed
What are the good things about capitalism (that Friedman makes):
Some of the great minds did it not for greed but to do something new.
Though the only cases of masses escaping poverty are in a capitalistic system, so even with the greed system, we still have the highest rate of people escaping poverty, but it is still crazy low (7% change of escape).
Everyone acts in their own self interest, and that can benefit others
Everyone is greedy in some form, and greed isn't always a negative thing to have, its a necessity for some
My reactions:
System rewards virtue=No, they care about self interest.
Capitalism looks good on paper; "high" rate of people escaping poverty, lots of people doing well, there is an abulity to do well. But the system seems to hurt so many more people than it helps
The upper class have a crazy high percentage of the money and the lower class hardly gets any access
What more do I want to know?:
I want to know more about the technics
I work well with stats and numbers, and less with the concepts
So basically i just want to know more about all the technical stuff that these opinions are based upon.
August 24, 2017
How does Globalization affect me?
-Makes things conveniently accessible
-It makes the prices of needed goods a lot less
-It changes and sometimes depletes the jobs that my family and I have access too
-It makes more competition for jobs (here and across seas), meaning you need more or different skills to do well
-There are decisions being made that affect me: What is available to buy, if i lose my job, the costs of products and the cost of making products, where materials come from
-Affluenza=Materialism, this is what makes us happy as a society, unlike some cultures we thrive on getting "stuff"
-There is a depletion of local resources, which makes jobs harder to find in production
-I have access to far more cheaper made products, but locally made higher quality products become far less accessible
-It'll be near impossible for me to be able to make a living in production, an education is now required in order to make a living
Supply and Demand~Crash Course Video:
Market system- Its an efficient system they adjust based on situation
Voluntary Exchange- the farmer values the money they get more than the product, and the buyer values the product more than the product, an employer values a workers time more than the amount they pay them, and soon and so fourth
If you have more of a product the price goes up, and if their is a small supply the price goes up
If their is a high demand prices can go up, and producers have more incentive
If its in low demand the producers have a lower price so they produce less
Seasonally the supply will change-increasing prices
Prices and profit determine how we decide to use our resources
Supply and Demand is what governs the prices and production of things
Subsidies- Government helps a producer by giving them money in order to produce more of a product, while still making a profit
Multinational Corporations:
Aug. 28, 2017
Wal-Mart~
- One of America's largest most successful multinational corporations and the world's biggest retailer
- Lower prices than a lot of places, but at what price
- Started as a small discount store 50 years ago
- 260 million customers
- 11,695 store in 28 countries
- Leader in sustainability? ~Really now? >.>
- Renewable energy (Texas wind farm (US local?))
Good: - Renewable energy
- International Jobs
- Attempts to use local sources
- Good for the Economy= “Success goes to the businesses that best serve the people”
- Low prices bring more business, which end up bringing in more money
- Employs 2.3 million people worldwide
- Wide range of affordable products
- Biggest retailer in the world which means lots of money for the economy and lots of jobs
- Helps bring goods to needy areas (sometimes)
- City leaders see that it increases the money going into the city
- Helps lift people out of poverty, more than one billion people were lifted from poverty
- Saves a family of four about $2500/yr
Bad: - Hardly any American made products
- Uses lots of oversea factories
- Lots of lost jobs within American suppliers
- “Walmart’s domestic suppliers lower wages, cut benefits, aggressively fight employee efforts to unionize and bargain collectively, and skimp on worker comfort and safety” http://www.demos.org/publication/not-made-america-top-10-ways-walmart-destroys-us-manufacturing-jobs
- Possible abuse of immigrant employees
- Possible racism within the company
- Political views and personal opinions playing an influence into employment
- The way they do their business takes money away from US innovations
- Lots of lawsuits and other legal issues
- Foreign child workers
- History of underpaying women (about 1,100$ a year) and not giving pregnant employees the help they need
- Discrimination of disabled and elderly employees
- Underpaid workers
- Harms the economy of a town
- Lowers property values
- Corrupt, bribed Mexican officials
- Sometimes big businesses can create/boost up hate groups
- Lowers the community output by 13$ million
- 14$ million in lost wages because of underpaid workers
- Using their money for power
- Large buildings, taking up areas that could be used for better things
- Ugly uniform building that doesn't fit w/ a small town
- Aggressive anti worker behavior
- Local products don’t get sold
- Only give part-time workers, meaning their employees need government assistance
- Non-safe environments for foreign (cheap) workers
- Lots of cut corners
Aug 29, 2017
Summary: Is Walmart Good or Bad For America? The Question May be Outdated
Walmart is losing money, their low prices are coming back to bite them in the but. They are selling far more products than ever before but that are losing money instead of gaining. They are fine for a few years, but long terms this will really damage them. They need to focus their attention to more profitable things, such as online shopping. Which is far bigger and growing more popular than in store business. They need to try and direct their attention to all of that so that they continue to be such a successful business.
Aug. 30, 2017
Why are people calling for us to buy "Made in America" products? - We are a company built on out in-town economy. Almost all of our good were made here. But as time went on the good came from more and more foreign countries. Which means the money that is made IN our country is going to other countries and not back into our direct economy. So people want others to buy US products because you’re supporting more local companies, and you're putting your money back into the economy.
What is the opposition to the "Buy American" Movement?- There are sooo many companies who get their products from out of country. So your access to products are limited. And the companies are making more money by using out of country products. Globalization is part of what holds our country together. And American made products tend to be more expensive. And who wants to spend more and a product that they could get for less?
Are Wal-Mart's "Made in the USA" Products Fact or Fiction?- Some of them truly are made in america, but the vast majority of items are “made in America” but with materials from cheaper producing countries. Than the product is assembled in the US. The ones that are truly made in the US are gonna have a huge american flag on it and be VERY proud of that fact. But the ones that are only assembles/packaged in the US won't have as big a thing, or won't say where they were made at all. They will only have the adress or something of the company's main US factory.
Aug. 31, 2017
Why is labor divided?- When you divide labor, so each person has one specific job and then it's passed onto another specialist things tend to get done a lot faster, and with faster production that means you can produce even more. And with quicker production you can get more product and pay the workers the same. So you can sell the product for less and end up making more. If one person is making every component it’ll take them far longer to finish the product. They will be making less and getting paid intern more. If one person takes two days to make 20 products but a production line can make 40 in two days it's a lot cheaper and more beneficial to have a production line.
Sept. 1, 2017
What can we learn about globalization through exploring America's largest retailer?- Walmart has hundreds or thousands of products. But it's nearly impossible to find something that is made here in the US. Almost every single product we looked at came from somewhere else. Just in the short time we were there we were able to find over 30 different countries that Wal Mart's products were being made. Globalization gives us the means to do this. Get hundreds of products for a retailer and almost every item will be made in a different place
- It gives hundreds and hundreds of job opportunities all over the world
- But it hurts family businesses
What is America producing that the world wants?- Oil
- Apple Products (though the materials are from other places)
- Cars
- Computers and tech.
- Airplanes (don’t know why this surprises me but it does)
- Pepsi and Coke products
- Tabbaco
- Pharmaceuticals
- Lots of Food companies
- Cotton
- What can we learn about the benefits of globalization by following the journey of a T-shirt?
- One T-shirt is made from products and machines all over the world. While this might initially seem kinda dumb, it does a lot of good (money and convenience wise)
- It makes them cheaper, they use inexpensive labor in different countries, it also makes the shirts be produced faster
- Different areas focus on one element, than the product is shipped to the next stage, and with how many are being made so there is more profit the shipping cost is nothing. A shirt only takes up a few cents in shipping costs.
- So all these things show the benefit. You do all this and get more money and more product. And you’re giving jobs to other countries, which means more families are able to get an income and have a better chance.
What does Labor Day honor and celebrate?- The workers, but its not on the actual one, because it had ties to Communism.
- It started because of a workers strike, which lead to people seeing and changing the laws surrounding employment
- You can't overwork your employees without extra pay, you have to have a minimum wage so you don't have heavy laborers working for scrap change
- Than they made a day to honor the effort they put into keeping things working and it gave them a day off to relax.
Sep. 6, 2017
What can be learned about globalization through examining the production of mobile phones, laptops, and other electronic devices? - Technology is needed over the whole world. And it is HIGH demand.
- The US makes a HUGE portion of technology (Apple), and it is such a needed thing in society that it's no longer a luxury to have a smartphone, it's a necessity.
- Almost all phones and such are made from materials sourced from all over the world, but they are initially manufactured here in the US. (Materials from all over=Globalization)
Sep. 7, 2017
What does labor unrest mean to the world economy and what should be done about it?- In France, the Prime Minister pushed a very unpopular Labor law to the National Assembly without it ever going to vote
- The government was dead set on keeping the reform, but the Force Ouvriere union and other labor unions in France are upset and refuse to accept the reform
- They took a vote and the majority of people were against reform
- The unions decided to “go for broke” , a strategy they used to get their point through the president's head
- The set up blockades at the entrances to different oil refineries, some of these turned violent.
- French labour reform bill - main points~http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36378885
The 35-hour week remains in place, but as an average. Firms can negotiate with local trade unions on more or fewer hours from week to week, up to a maximum of 46 hours
Firms are given greater freedom to reduce pay
The law eases conditions for laying off workers, strongly regulated in France. It is hoped companies will take on more people if they know they can shed jobs in case of a downturn
Employers given more leeway to negotiate holidays and special leave, such as maternity or for getting married. These are currently also heavily regulated
- Sep. 11, 2017
Labor Unrest Summaries:
China: - China is one of the biggest producers for the entire world. They make a huge portion of goods that we use every single day. We rely on them. But we don’t really know how horrible things are
- Labor workers are protesting and going on strike because of how poorly treated they are
- They are demanding that they get higher wages and better conditions
- But like any strike this puts the city in a state of peril
- Without workers they aren’t making any product, so they cant bring in money
- This behavior has led to arrests and layoffs in an abundance
- The chinese economy is slowing down, which leads to businesses closing, which means hundreds of workers are being laid off without any pay. Companies can owe their employees months of pay when they go out of business, and then have no way to pay them
- A lot of the unions were small and managers were in charge of the unions, and that won't get much done (obviously)
- But even with not having strong/well run unions they are organizing strong protests and strikes
- They have had some success with their actions, but it’s becoming risky for the employees
- They can become targets after the events end by their employers and such because of their actions in the strike.
- They do not have the right to hold labor strikes, it was removed from their constitution in 1982, so this is something they technically cannot do
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Indonesia: - At a mine in Indonesia there was a violent labor demonstration by now former miners.
- It became a problematic demonstration when workers began blocking traffic, and then were later seen with knives, bows and arrows, and machetes.
- They also torched several cars, and at least 7 people were injured
- This is the world's second biggest copper mine and they were protesting the employment terms
- This dispute has been ongoing for a while now
- Because of the nature of the strike it has been said it’s not a “formal strike” so thousands of workers have been “voluntarily resigned” from their jobs
- The company is trying to communicate with workers more and attempts to improve their situation will be made
Europe:- Europe has sprung up with labor unrest across the board. People from all over are protesting the years of depleting pay and rising unemployment.
- It began getting worse with the Euro crisis and for some countries the influx of immigrants that are escaping middle eastern wars
- Spanish and Portuguese workers went on a general strike while Italian and Greek unions held part-day work stoppages. There was a limited strike in Belgium and small protests in richer nations across Europe. ~https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/protests-labor-unrest-sweep-across-europe/2012/11/14/39956cb8-2e86-11e2-beb2-4b4cf5087636_story.html?utm_term=.586fd93bd02d
- Sadly their strikes will have little effect, the rise of poverty and the unrest is an almost unstoppable force that is spreading across Europe
- Greece especially is the worst of the 17 nations. It’s unknown if they will be able to overcome this situation
Sep. 12, 2017
How can standing up for sweatshop workers do more harm than good? - If the conditions and everything improve, the price of everything will go up, meaning the product you’re purchasing will cost more.
- Children who work at a kinda dangerous company that has to lay off their child workers, often leads to those same children going to more dangerous jobs
- People rely on these jobs, and when conditions improve, people are laid off
- Some children love their jobs, they think that even though it’s a bad condition, they still have a solid job and solid pay
- Thousands of people are employed and than hundreds will be laid off
- If conditions improve in one country the company can just move their factories to a worse off country. This will help the country they move to, but leave the country they left with thousands unemployed and even less potential jobs.
- Desirable alternatives aren't quite available. It’s an endless cycle.
- What we think is low could be high in a developing country. If they have a poorer economy, less is more.
- They are important for poorer peoples, if they lose these jobs they lose a potential step up in life
Sep. 20, 2017
My favorite Units and such were the Union unit. I knew a good amount already, but i'm really glad i was able to learn more about them. I'm glad i could solidify my opinions more and give myself more solid foundation to base my views. I also didn't realize how many they are, even for stores that are mass chain owned. Also how some companies don't allow unions, this is really fascinating for me. It's a really interesting thing to think about.
I also liked that we went to walmart. It showed us how little is made in the US. And how almost everything is sourced from foreign countries. I don't think we realize how little we really make here, and this shows us that.