China Buying the World

From South America to the South Pacific, China has spent billion and billions of dollars to exert economic and political control over developing nations across the globe. Saddled with debt and faulty Chinese-built infrastructure, these countries are now dependent upon Beijing and have become de facto "Sino-States."

Last week, Ranil Wickremesinghe, who became president of the island nation of Sri Lanka last summer, was finally able to succeed where his beleaguered predecessor had failed: An agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reschedule $3 billion in debt.


The deal will provide Sri Lanka with an additional four years to satisfy its IMF obligations, which are crippling the nation with inflation.

It’s a good start, but the MIF deal does nothing to mitigate the country’s real debt burden, the nearly $7.5 billion it owes to China.

You’ve heard of “failed states” like Somalia, where the central government has basically ceased to exist. And then there are “narco states” where the trafficking of drugs — and often people — is the chief function of the criminal gangs that run the country.

Located from the South Pacific to South America, Sino states are countries whose ports, railroads, resources – and even governments and economies – are deep in China’s pockets.

And as Beijing further extends its military and economic reach, Sino states are multiplying. “China is on the march globally, bending dozens of countries to its will,” observes Australian defense analyst David Archibald, “and this includes here in the South Pacific, where [China] is eyeing the World War II Japanese base on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.” (Spoiler alert: Last year China lent the Solomon Islands $66 million to upgrade their telecommunications infrastructure.)

Sri Lanka is a prime example of a Sino-state, and so is Ecuador – which currently owes China nearly $4.5 billion in unpaid loans.

This sum includes billions to the Chinese construction company Sinohydro, responsible for Ecuador’s dismally faulty – and corruption-laden – Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant.

The $2.7 billion infrastructure giant – one of four built by China across Ecuador – is not only riddled with thousands of cracks but is at risk of systemwide failure, according to local engineers.  READ MORE...

Home Depot Attacks Biden Economics

Home Depot co-founder and billionaire businessman Bernie Marcus isn't sure he would be able to create the home improvement chain today if he tried given onerous regulations on small businesses and a challenging economic backdrop.

"I don't think so," Marcus — a well-known proponent of free market capitalism and small businesses — said on a new edition of Yahoo Finance Presents. "I think if we had the regulations that we have today, Home Depot would be a chain of 12 stores. I just don't think we could have grown."

Marcus also had some choice words for politicians, the Biden administration, and notably the occupier of the Oval Office.

"Most of the people in Washington never ran a business," added Marcus, who is also the new author of Kick Up Some Dust: Lessons on Thinking Big, Giving Back, and Doing It Yourself. "You have a president that never worked a day in his life — never worked a day in his life. What the hell does he know about economics? But he sure spouts about it a lot."  READ MORE...

Basic Economics - Opportunity Costs (Trade Offs)

What are opportunity costs?

Opportunity costs are those costs that are associated with a gain or a loss of revenue or income as a result of the choices you make.

For example:  going to college or not going to college

Let's look at not going to college first    

You are 18 years old and will be earning $24,000 annually and after 10 years your wages increase by $500/year.  After 20 they increase by $1,000.  After 30 they increase by $1,500.  After 40 they increase by $2,000

18-28 =  $240,000 first 10 years
28-38 =  $245,000 second 10 years
38-48 =  $345,000 third 10 years
48-58 =  $360,000 fourth 10 years
58-68 = $600,000 fifth 10 years (at 68 you retire)
             $1,790,000  Total lifetime earnings (+/-)

Let's Look at going to college

You are 24 years old and your first job earns you $50,000/year because you have a Masters's Degree.  After 10 years you receive a $1,000/year increase.  After 20 years you receive a $1,500/year increase.  After 30 years you receive a $2,000/year increase.

18-24 =  ($200,000) college loan plus 6 years of lost wages ($144,000) or ($344,000)

24-34 =  $500,000 first 10 years

34-44 =  $600,000 second 10 years

44-54 =  $750,000 third 10 years

54-64 =  $990,000 fourth 10 years (you retire at 64)

              $2, 840,000  Sub-Total lifetime earnings (+/-)

                   ($300,000) Tuition Loan plus interest

                   ($144,000)  Lost wages while in college

                   ($444,000)  Opportunity cost

              $2, 396,000

A college graduate with a Masters's Degree will earn (on average) $600,000 more than someone who decided not to go to college.  However, this amount is cut in half if a college graduate stops after receiving just their Bachelor's degree.  This means there is another opportunity cost of not going to college for 2 more years.

The difference between going to college and not going to college can be offset again by finding different ways to invest one's excess monies whether it be in the Stock Market or in Real Estate.  Many people who do not go to college end up receiving trade skills either by investing their own money or by finding employers who will give them the money or train them on the job.  Many of these people end up investing in real estate because they can provide the labor themselves.

Basic Economics

Economics is a complex subject filled with a maze of confusing terms and details which can be difficult to explain. Even economists have trouble defining exactly what economics means. Yet, there is no doubt that the economy and the things we learn through economics affects our everyday lives.

In short, economics is the study of how people and groups of people use their resources. Money certainly is one of those resources, but other things can play a role in economics as well. In an attempt to clarify all this, let's take a look at the basics of economics and why you might consider studying this complex field.

The Field of Economics
Economics is divided into two general categories: microeconomics and macroeconomics. One looks at the individual markets while the other looks at an entire economy.

From there, we can narrow economics into a number of subfields of study. These include econometrics, economic development, agricultural economics, urban economics, and much more.

If you have an interest in how the world works and how financial markets or industry outlooks affect the economy, you might consider studying economics. It's a fascinating field and has career potential in a number of disciplines, from finance to sales to the government.

Two Essential Concepts of Economics
Much of what we study in economics has to do with money and the markets. What are people willing to pay for something? Is one industry doing better than another? What is the economic future of the country or world? These are important questions economists examine and it comes with a few basic terms.

Supply and Demand is one of the first things we learn in economics. Supply speaks to the quantity of something that's available for sale while demand refers to the willingness to purchase it. If the supply is higher than the demand, the market is thrown off balance and costs typically decrease. The opposite is true if demand is greater than the supply available because that commodity is more desirable and harder to obtain.

Elasticity is another key concept in economics. Essentially, here we're talking about how much the price of something can fluctuate before it has a negative impact on sales. Elasticity ties into demand and some products and services are more elastic than others.  READ MORE...

Macro Trends 2020-2030

We outline 12 macrotrends set to shape the 2020s. These represent major shifts in the demographic, environmental, economic, technological, political and cultural landscapes that can be foreseen with a relatively high degree of certainty, though their implications are often more uncertain or ambiguous. We then focus in on a subset of the macrotrends to explore this ambiguity and suggest how the global business community might seek to influence the way these trends play out in order to accelerate progress on Vision 2050. Crucially, too, all the macrotrends are interconnected: how they interact with one another is central to how the next decade will play out. We explore some of these interconnections briefly in the introduction to each landscape.

Macrotrends emerging over the next decade: 

DEMOGRAPHICS 

1. GENERATIONAL HANDOVER Political, economic, cultural & innovation power is shifting. 

2. POPULATION GROWTH IN ASIA & AFRICA Sustaining geopolitical shifts and straining scarce resources. ENVIRONMENT 

3. WORSENING CLIMATE IMPACTS More frequent and more severe weather becomes harder to ignore. 

4. LOCAL POLLUTION, DEGRADATION & SCARCITY CREATE IMPETUS FOR INNOVATION Loss, suffering, instability, displacement & innovation. 

ECONOMY 

5. SHORT-TERM CRISIS, LONG-TERM SLOWDOWN Under-investment, low productivity, weak demand and COVID-19. 

6. PEAK GLOBALIZATION & THE RISE OF ASIA Rival blocs form as economic and political power pivots. 

TECHNOLOGY 

7. AUTOMATION IMPACTS EVERY INDUSTRY & COUNTRY Automation changes lives, industries and economies. 

8. DATAFICATION, FOR BETTER & WORSE Smarter, more efficient, more surveilled – massive efficiency and productivity gains come at a price. 

POLITICS 

9. POLARIZATION & RADICALISM ON THE RISE High levels of dissatisfaction create appetite for radical alternatives 

10. GEOPOLITICAL INSTABILITY Weakened multilateralism and nations in decline – the incentives for stability slowly fade away. 

CULTURE 

11. POST-MATERIALISM: ATTITUDES AND LIFESTYLES DIVERGE Changing aspirations are helping on-demand service models to spread globally. 

12. CULTURE WARS ESCALATE Cultural clashes (youngold, rural-urban, rich-poor) contribute to polarization.

We propose 10 “wildcard” disruptions that could plausibly materialize during the 2020s, resulting in significant impact. Indeed some of them already have, with impacts still snowballing. However, the wildcards are not all negative – they simply have the potential to significant disrupt the landscape that business operates in. The macrotrends and disruptions are deliberately not presented as risks and opportunities. Every risk contains the seed of an opportunity within it – and every opportunity the seed of a new risk. What matters is how we respond to and influence the dynamics of the world around us.

Potential “wild card” Disruptions

1. FINANCIAL CRISIS How much will COVID19 cost, and how will we pay when the next crisis comes? 
2. GLOBAL PANDEMIC No country is fully prepared to handle a pandemic, and neither are any economies. 
3. MAJOR CONFLICT Cyber attacks, e.g. on critical infrastructure will touch all ordinary citizens in a conflict.
4. AN ECONOMIC “SINGULARITY” What happens when new jobs can’t be created where jobs have been destroyed?
5. POPULAR REVOLTS & REGIME CHANGE Inequality will continue to rise making more frequent and severe protest likely.
6. A CLIMATE “MINSKY MOMENT” Costs, disclosures, social pressures all reorient financial flows – but how fast?
7. ENERGY TRANSITION TIPPING POINT Market forces lead to fossil fuel demand peaking and the energy transition accelerates.
8. BIOTECH BOOM Disruption comes to food, health and materials as biotech’s potential emerges. 
9. GLOBAL GREEN (NEW) DEAL Citizens embrace the chance to improve jobs, communities and environments.
10. SOCIETAL “TECHLASH” Society sours on the costs of free tech, treasuries tire of lost taxes and competition.

TO READ MORE ABOUT THESE MEGATRENDS, CLICK HERE...

Ain't Nothing Free

When I attended Graduate School to pursue an MBA, my Economics Professor, Dr. Peter Peacock lectured to the class that there was no such thing as a FREE LUNCH...  from the standpoint that someone had to pay for the lunches that others got free...  I am sure that there were many lessons learned from his class but this lesson is the one that stayed with me all my life.

So...  when our Federal Government says that its citizens will now be receiving free education or free healthcare or free meals...   someone else in the country will be paying for that who may or may not want to give people free education or free healthcare or free meals because they had to earn the money and pay for all of that themselves...  so why can't these other people do the same?

Our Federal Government using the TAX Codes and Laws steals money away from others for these purposes...   I say steal because our Democratic Republic from of governments has been authorized by the US Constitution to protect us, negotiate trade deals and treaties with other governments, and enforce the laws but really nothing else.

It is not the government's responsibility to provide:

• public education
• public housing
• public mail service
• public healthcare
• public transportation
• public parks and recreations
• Social Security
• Unemployment Insurance

And yet...  this is exactly what our country does...  and, they do this by collecting taxes...  and, anytime the Federal Government want to offer more to its citizens, in order to do that they need to raise taxes or reduce spending in other areas which is not an option.

The question is, what do WEALTHY people think about giving more money because the rest of us are basically lazy and do not want to work as hard as they do.

If you have a wealthy relative how often do they volunteer to share their money with you?  Typically, if you want any of their money you have to ask for it...  and, when you do ask for it, they typically then RESENT the fact that you have asked.

BUT, our Federal Government can TAKE THEIR MONEY whether they like it or resent it or not...  however, most of the wealthy people have their money in tax shelters and AVOID paying more taxes...  and, one would think that our GOVERNMENT would finally realize that they are GETTING PLAYED by the wealthy.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics applies the tools of economics to explain real-world phenomena that are not conventionally thought of as “economic.” Authored by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics argues that data analysis and incentives can explain a lot about human behavior, and that a great deal of what experts and conventional wisdom tell us is wrong. As they explore these themes, the authors give us some powerful—and highly counterintuitive—insights into why the world is the way it is.

The thesis of the book is not explicitly outlined, but it's there: things are not always as they seem, and conventional wisdom is often full of misinterpretations, which leads to the spread of false "common knowledge," because one often does not look into the motivations or incentives behind a situation to find the truth...

Most Americans are not aware of how incentives influence their behavior and other Americans who are aware, don't really care because caring has no bearing on how they live their lives and/or will continue to live their lives.

But,  when I read this book years ago...  I was influenced by the knowledge I had just acquired however, I did nothing about that new knowledge other than hold it inside my head...  sometimes, I shared it with others and they either did not want to believe the knowledge or did not want to believe me, thinking that I was just bullshitting them because of my previous behaviors...

Apathy or being apathetic is a terrible disease to have...

American Higher Education

Donald Southerland

My career (1969-2019) spans 50 years although the last 5 years, I was a part-time Adjunct Instructor for a local University.  Of those 50 years, 45 years was spent either directly or indirectly in Education either as a Professor/Instructor or as an Administrator.  I have worked or taught in the following educational systems:  Community College, College, University, and/or Proprietary Colleges. 


The courses I have taught include:

1. English Composition
2. Micro/Macro Economics
3. Introduction to Computers
4. Statistical Problem Solving
5. Process Re-engineering
6. Personal Financial Planning
7. Strategic Planning
8. Project Management
9. Business Communications
10. Human Resource Management
11. Production Management
12. Management & Leadership

What did I discover?

That my college students were not very well prepared to attend College other than a Community College and even that level of education was doubtful.

My students basically LACKED:

• Writing Skills
• Spelling Skills
• Reading Skills
• Grammar Skills
• Presentation Skills
• Problem Solving Skills
• Critical Thinking Skills
• Working in Teams Skills
• Drilling Down on a Subject Skills
• Self-starter/Hit-the-Ground-Running Skills

I had students that...

1. never purchased the textbook
2. could not remember what they learned from their previous course
3. memorized for the test then forgot
4. did not prepare for class
5. did not do homework
6. did not ask questions
7. wanted to be told exactly what to do
8. did not want to figure out what I wanted