Fiddling with Fire
From 5th grade, I remember a history lesson about Emperor Nero playing his beloved fiddle while the Great Fire of Romeburned through the country in 64 CE. I recall thinking to myself why would anyone not want to help if their nation was burning?
In my Principles of Economics class, we discuss a basic trade-off in economic decision-making – between efficiency and equity. Efficiency is when all goods are allocated to their most valuable use minimizing waste. An efficient allocation could be where one individual holds all the wealth of a country and everyone else has a dollar. Open markets are very good at creating an efficient outcome. Equity (different from equality) is a concept of fairness. Society, via government, has the responsibility to sometimes re-allocate an efficient outcome to create more equity.
The basic social contract of western democracies, especially in the US, inherently incorporates both efficiency and equity. If individuals work and study hard, they can pull themselves up to the upper-echelons of society. Hard-working individuals will prosper and everyone should have a shot at the American Dream.
Since the 1980’s, policies have tilted economic rules towards greater efficiency – for example deregulating industries, lowering trade barriers – creating greater wealth so that more people could achieve the dream. Through global movements of products and finance, we now manufacture shirts cheaper in Bangladesh, gather rare- Earth minerals from Sierra Leone and make investments in Mongolia. As a global society we now are the richest we have ever been, but this has come at three major costs.
First, Thomas Piketty has described how income inequity in capitalist democracies has increased over the past half century and is reaching levels similar to the 1800’s in France and England. Comparable to historic periods, the people not benefiting from global progress are asking that the social contract be re-written indicating this level of income inequity as unsustainable.
Second, different from past eras, even those who have benefited from the systemic inequity, are unhappy as well. Although beneficiaries of the system have merited their earnings according to the social contract, they are also working harder in terms of brute hours than the middle class on average, and are receiving most of their income by working. This is in stark contrast to the elites of bygone eras who were part of the “leisure class” and gathered more of their income as inheritance. Daniel Markovits at Yale has called this a meritocracy trap.
Finally, even though the nation overall is wealthier, it is harder to move from becoming poor to rich. The American Dream is becoming unattainable in the US. As several economic studies indicate the US is 27th in the world for social mobility, the US is at the lowest level of social mobility for the past 150 years, and children’s chances of earning more than their parents has been declining.
The social contract that we have carefully constructed over 250 years is being consumed by inequity, while Covid-19 and unemployment are feeding the flames.
Even if Federal leadership may ignore the blaze, what is our personal responsibility in putting out the fire? I am a) rethinking what companies to support – do I really need to save $5 by buying products produced more cheaply b) which non-profit organizations I am supporting, and c) which candidates we are endorsing. Mala’s colleagues at the IMF collected these free or low-cost resources describing how to discuss inequity with children.
To address this situation of inequity, leadership matters. When we allow the social contract to be burned – we lose tolerance, forgiveness, charity, community. But even more important we may actually lose the democracy the contract is built on.
Please do forward any interesting articles you are reading.
Seeing the Horizon
As we approach graduation week for many students, I was speaking with a Columbia colleague about her family. She was worried about her father who was working in a hospital. But because of the reduced pollution, while he was driving to work these days he could actually see the horizon.
Covid-19 has forced us to isolate and to be more alone, and to be more reflective. But could it also take a pandemic to make us notice the expansive, beauty of the world around us?
Individually, we all have moments of personal introspection – when we fall sick, when a family members dies, when we accomplish a life goal. At these points, we are more open to possibilities. We reconsider life decisions. We rouse to see a world of opportunity outside of the narrow lanes in which we live. Sometimes we act on this promising set of alternatives – exercise more, spend time with loved ones, change careers. Sometimes we don’t.
These moments of global rousing are less common and happen every few decades - the moon landing, 9/11. We could view them as an opportunity to rethink our societal options. Similar to personal introspection, we can’t reverse the course of what is happening, i.e., turn back the clock on the virus. Instead we can commit to making changes.
Perhaps this bout of global rousing will provide collective clarity on our options going forward. Here are three thorny issues I am thinking about – feeding hungry people despite a glut in food production, ensuring people are allowed to vote in the upcoming US elections, protecting economically vulnerable communities.
Usually it’s darkest right before the dawn – and at that point you can see the horizon most clearly.
Please do forward any interesting articles you are reading.
Big City vs. Small Town
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Music & Mood
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
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My Morning Routine
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus.
Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Maecenas sed diam eget risus varius blandit sit amet non magna. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec ullamcorper nulla non metus auctor fringilla. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et.
Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Vestibulum id ligula porta felis euismod semper. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Maecenas faucibus mollis interdum. Cras mattis consectetur purus sit amet fermentum.
Productive Habits
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Integer posuere erat a ante venenatis dapibus posuere velit aliquet. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Sed posuere consectetur est at lobortis. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et.
Donec sed odio dui. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus dolor auctor. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Morbi leo risus, porta ac consectetur ac, vestibulum at eros.
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Top 10 Places to Visit
It all begins with an idea.
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Cum sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Nulla vitae elit libero, a pharetra augue. Etiam porta sem malesuada magna mollis euismod. Nullam id dolor id nibh ultricies vehicula ut id elit.
Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Aenean eu leo quam. Pellentesque ornare sem lacinia quam venenatis vestibulum. Fusce dapibus, tellus ac cursus commodo, tortor mauris condimentum nibh, ut fermentum massa justo sit amet risus. Donec sed odio dui.
Aenean lacinia bibendum nulla sed consectetur. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Donec id elit non mi porta gravida at eget metus. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Vivamus sagittis lacus vel augue laoreet rutrum faucibus dolor auctor.