1. The Robe - Lloyd C. Douglas. A fictional story of the Roman soldier who crucified Christ. After the crucifixion he realizes there's something special about the man he was ordered to kill and starts a quest to find truth and bring peace to himself.
2. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte. The story of an ill-fated love and a strong willed woman who refuses to compromise her values for anything.
3. Uncle Tom's Cabin - Harriet Beecher Stowe. Details a slave's life as he is forced to leave his family and is traded between masters, some good and kind others brutal. Uncle Tom never becomes callous, hardened or looses his belief in the good of mankind, despite his ill-treatment.
4. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen. A comedy portraying the ridiculousness of silly women and the institution of marriage. All the ridiculousness is redeemed by a smart girl who bucks the traditions of society and finds her true love.
5. Anne of Green Gables- L.M. Montgomery. What can I say, a chick-flick classic. Love it. A red-headed, accident prone orphan with a wild imagination's attempt to grow up.
6. Gone with the Wind - Margaret Mitchell. I love history, especially the Civil War, but other than that I'm not sure why I love this book. Scarlett is a manipulative, spoiled witch of a woman, but does show she has some fight and gumption when her back is against the wall as she fights her way out of poverty induced by Sherman's March. And of course, there's Rhett who is the ill-used, dreamy, bad boy.
7. Killer Angels - Michael Shaara. Historical fiction detailing the battle of Gettysburg as told by generals on both the Confederate and Union side. Historically accurate and an entertaining, page-turning read, even to those who aren't Civil War buffs.
I love reading and am always finding new books that I like, but this list stands the test of time and I read them over and over.
My recent find that doesn't come near to making the list, but is still a great read is A Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs. It's written by an agnostic, modern-day, New Yorker of Jewish heritage. He always figured with more information, discoveries and technology religion would just fade away, but as he noticed, it hasn't. He wanted to find out why people aren't letting go of religion in this neo-enlightenment age so he tries to live EVERY rule in the Bible as literally as possible to see what he's missing or to confirm to himself that the religious half of the world that believes in the Bible is delusional. Very funny as he literally lives the rules of don't shave your beard, stone adulterers and the like. It made me think about my beliefs and why I believe the things I do, but gave me lots of laughs along the way.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Rising Inequality: why policy may not help all that much
Rising financial inequality is a concern, especially in America. Many studies show that when income disparity rises other social ills follow (everything from a higher murder rate to a lower life expectancy.) We've seen it in the revolutions in the Arab world recently. Societies without relative social mobility, who have a high income disparity cause social problems and can eventually breed revolutions. America over time has become more and more divided. Just take a look at Pres. Obama's '08 campaign. One of his most popular and supported mantras was 'wealth redistribution'. Admittedly, the verbage and sentiment behind that mantra made the free-market capitalist in me queasy. (I don't subscribe to the Robin Hood philosophy of take from the rich, give to the poor.) But it is a problem that needs to be addressed.
There was not a single year between 1952 and 1986 when the richest 1% of American households earned more than a tenth of the national income. After rising steadily since the 80s, in 2007 the richest 1% of Americans made 18.3% of all the national income. America's median income is now only half the mean. That's a large increase in disparity over a short time and it's only getting worse. But why has the disparity been rising so rapidly?
In the 80s technological progress caused an increased demand for skilled workers, and led to widening of the gap between the wages of skilled employees and the rest of the workforce. That trend has only been amplified as technological advances continue to sky rocket. It's not just the technology fields that have been transformed and are hungry for highly skilled workers. Because technology has has changed the way we store, process and utilize information, skilled, educated, brainy workers are at a premium in every field.
The huge premium on brains in this era leads to educated, skilled workers being compensated at a much higher level. In 1991 the average wage for a male American worker with a bachelor's degree was 2.5 times that of a high-school drop out, now the ratio is 3. Again education and cognitive skills are at a premium, but America has free public education, loads of government assistance available for higher education and is a land of opportunity (yes, I firmly believe that), so why the drastic increase in disparity? Because those highly valued cognitive skills are being unevenly distributed due some other outside factors, factors that are hard, if not impossible to address by tax code, government policy, welfare or public education overhaul.
In 1970 only 9% of those with bachelor's degrees in America were women. Now the numbers of men and women with bachelor's degrees are roughly equal. In 1970 most men married uneducated women, because their options were slim. In today's society clever well- educated men usually tend to marry clever well-educated women. Their children have the advantage of being predisposed to getting 'clever genes'. Parents with degrees are far more likely to raise children who earn degrees than non-graduates. Also educated parents typically earn more, use a larger vocabulary when they talk to their kids, prod them to do their homework and read to them more. Plus, they are more likely to be able to afford private schools or to live in a place with good public ones. 'In America, residential segregation is extreme. The best schools are filled with college hopefuls and the worst have metal detectors. Education reform would obviously help, but it can't completely level the playing field.'
Skilled, educated women have made immense strides in the workforce. 34% of all American lawyers today are women as compared to 5% in 1970. Our glass ceiling is much higher now and the fight for respect isn't nearly as tough, but with skilled smart women doing so much better in the work force (and being fairly compensated for it) it raises the opportunity cost of having kids. "The opportunity costs of child rearing are far more for a woman who earns $200,000 a year compared to one who greets customers at Walmart." (Disclaimer: The Economist's words not mine.) The lifetime fertility rate for American high school dropouts is 2.4, for women with advanced degrees it's only 1.6.
Plus, raising smart educated children is expensive. As a parent with a college education who hopes your child will have the same opportunity you have to think about funding. 'A lawyer couple can easily afford to put one child through Yale, but perhaps not four.'
Bottom line: Smart educated people usually earn more. They marry each other and are more likely to provide their children with the encouragement, education and funding to also be smart, educated high earners. But due to opportunity costs, there are fewer of these 'high earner' children. Kids with the benefits of good education and clever genes are fewer in number than their less advantaged counterparts, making the demand and the price the market is willing to pay for these brains much higher, leading to more people at the bottom and fewer making more at the top. A pretty tough situation to combat with any type of policy.
So what can we do to prevent a plutocracy and years down the road a potential revolution? Keep in mind that in America the rising disparity is not because the poor have done worse over the last decade or so (they've actually been doing better). It's just the rich are doing SO much better the disparity is more significant. The old philosophy of boosting growth and combating poverty is still a much better one than 'redistributing wealth'. The best option is to find ways to increase social mobility. Governments need to focus more on pushing up the bottom and middle than dragging down the top. Education investment and reform addressing the teacher's unions that have stopped poorer America from getting a good education is a starting point. A renewed commitment to reducing global trade barriers would also be helpful. 'Nothing boosts competition and loosens social barriers better than freer commerce.' In the global market place of today there's never been more opportunities for success . . .if citizens are educated and prepared to take advantage of them and governments have removed the the rigged rules and subsidies that favor specific industries or insiders.
Even if these measures were put in place, the social changes giving continued advantage to the clever and already well off would probably continue. So truly there's only one fail safe way to increase social mobility and that's from the inside out. I love this qoute. It's in a religious context, but could be applied secularly. "The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." - Ezra Taft Benson, LDS Church President 1989 and former US Secretary of Ag.
We've got to find a way to reach the disadvantaged and help them help themselves whether it's via faith or education or some other means. The barriers to social mobility have to be removed, but even removing those barriers does not automatically help people better themselves. They have to have a desire instilled, a belief in themselves, on top of the necessary skills, to really go out and make a difference for themselves and for society. That's something that can't be done with any sort of social reform or program. That's a one-on-one thing that each of us can help with by being positive, offering help, maybe being a mentor, and most of all expressing our belief to others that their current situations do NOT determine who they are or their worth as a person ( we truly are ALL children of God). Let's be mindful of those around us and how we can help them become their best.
Facts and quotes in this post are from a special report from the January 22-28, 2011 edition of The Economist, "The Rich and the Rest."
There was not a single year between 1952 and 1986 when the richest 1% of American households earned more than a tenth of the national income. After rising steadily since the 80s, in 2007 the richest 1% of Americans made 18.3% of all the national income. America's median income is now only half the mean. That's a large increase in disparity over a short time and it's only getting worse. But why has the disparity been rising so rapidly?
In the 80s technological progress caused an increased demand for skilled workers, and led to widening of the gap between the wages of skilled employees and the rest of the workforce. That trend has only been amplified as technological advances continue to sky rocket. It's not just the technology fields that have been transformed and are hungry for highly skilled workers. Because technology has has changed the way we store, process and utilize information, skilled, educated, brainy workers are at a premium in every field.
The huge premium on brains in this era leads to educated, skilled workers being compensated at a much higher level. In 1991 the average wage for a male American worker with a bachelor's degree was 2.5 times that of a high-school drop out, now the ratio is 3. Again education and cognitive skills are at a premium, but America has free public education, loads of government assistance available for higher education and is a land of opportunity (yes, I firmly believe that), so why the drastic increase in disparity? Because those highly valued cognitive skills are being unevenly distributed due some other outside factors, factors that are hard, if not impossible to address by tax code, government policy, welfare or public education overhaul.
In 1970 only 9% of those with bachelor's degrees in America were women. Now the numbers of men and women with bachelor's degrees are roughly equal. In 1970 most men married uneducated women, because their options were slim. In today's society clever well- educated men usually tend to marry clever well-educated women. Their children have the advantage of being predisposed to getting 'clever genes'. Parents with degrees are far more likely to raise children who earn degrees than non-graduates. Also educated parents typically earn more, use a larger vocabulary when they talk to their kids, prod them to do their homework and read to them more. Plus, they are more likely to be able to afford private schools or to live in a place with good public ones. 'In America, residential segregation is extreme. The best schools are filled with college hopefuls and the worst have metal detectors. Education reform would obviously help, but it can't completely level the playing field.'
Skilled, educated women have made immense strides in the workforce. 34% of all American lawyers today are women as compared to 5% in 1970. Our glass ceiling is much higher now and the fight for respect isn't nearly as tough, but with skilled smart women doing so much better in the work force (and being fairly compensated for it) it raises the opportunity cost of having kids. "The opportunity costs of child rearing are far more for a woman who earns $200,000 a year compared to one who greets customers at Walmart." (Disclaimer: The Economist's words not mine.) The lifetime fertility rate for American high school dropouts is 2.4, for women with advanced degrees it's only 1.6.
Plus, raising smart educated children is expensive. As a parent with a college education who hopes your child will have the same opportunity you have to think about funding. 'A lawyer couple can easily afford to put one child through Yale, but perhaps not four.'
Bottom line: Smart educated people usually earn more. They marry each other and are more likely to provide their children with the encouragement, education and funding to also be smart, educated high earners. But due to opportunity costs, there are fewer of these 'high earner' children. Kids with the benefits of good education and clever genes are fewer in number than their less advantaged counterparts, making the demand and the price the market is willing to pay for these brains much higher, leading to more people at the bottom and fewer making more at the top. A pretty tough situation to combat with any type of policy.
So what can we do to prevent a plutocracy and years down the road a potential revolution? Keep in mind that in America the rising disparity is not because the poor have done worse over the last decade or so (they've actually been doing better). It's just the rich are doing SO much better the disparity is more significant. The old philosophy of boosting growth and combating poverty is still a much better one than 'redistributing wealth'. The best option is to find ways to increase social mobility. Governments need to focus more on pushing up the bottom and middle than dragging down the top. Education investment and reform addressing the teacher's unions that have stopped poorer America from getting a good education is a starting point. A renewed commitment to reducing global trade barriers would also be helpful. 'Nothing boosts competition and loosens social barriers better than freer commerce.' In the global market place of today there's never been more opportunities for success . . .if citizens are educated and prepared to take advantage of them and governments have removed the the rigged rules and subsidies that favor specific industries or insiders.
Even if these measures were put in place, the social changes giving continued advantage to the clever and already well off would probably continue. So truly there's only one fail safe way to increase social mobility and that's from the inside out. I love this qoute. It's in a religious context, but could be applied secularly. "The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature." - Ezra Taft Benson, LDS Church President 1989 and former US Secretary of Ag.
We've got to find a way to reach the disadvantaged and help them help themselves whether it's via faith or education or some other means. The barriers to social mobility have to be removed, but even removing those barriers does not automatically help people better themselves. They have to have a desire instilled, a belief in themselves, on top of the necessary skills, to really go out and make a difference for themselves and for society. That's something that can't be done with any sort of social reform or program. That's a one-on-one thing that each of us can help with by being positive, offering help, maybe being a mentor, and most of all expressing our belief to others that their current situations do NOT determine who they are or their worth as a person ( we truly are ALL children of God). Let's be mindful of those around us and how we can help them become their best.
Facts and quotes in this post are from a special report from the January 22-28, 2011 edition of The Economist, "The Rich and the Rest."
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
The Old West still exists . . .
. . . and it's not as cool or romantic as it appears on Tombstone or Lonesome Dove, at least not the majority of the time.
I do admit to loving Tombstone too. I'm married to a guy who's been said to look like Doc/Val Kilmer, one more reason to love the show. Then there's the fact that there was a Tombstone/Wyatt Earp marathon on the History Channel my husband watched while I was in the hospital having my son. Oh, the memories. I guess you could say Tombstone has had an impact on all that matters in my life.
Anyway, here's a bit of history for you that's not quite history, it's present day. I had no idea jobs and places like this still existed and I grew up in a farming/ranching community. My cowboy, when he was a junior in high school, decided to go live in a sheep camp in the middle of nowhere for a year. Here's what a sheep camp looks like if you're not familiar.
Yep, that's right. He lived in something like that for about a year. There's no running water inside and no electricity. He had a wood stove to cook on and to heat the place and an outside spigot he pumped to give the cattle water and to provide water for his own use. He chopped wood everyday for his heat supply and had a huge metal bowl that he filled from the outdoor spigot he used to wash his dishes in. He home schooled during this time and learned to play the guitar.
He was hired to live out in no-man's-land to keep an eye on the cattle, doctor sick ones and pump the water regularly so they had a water supply. He had no communication with the outside world besides a two-way CB radio. He'd go home on Sundays to see his family, shower and go to church. It was a two hour drive across mostly dirt roads to get to his own family's ranch. His groceries were delivered to him by the people that had hired him. About every two weeks they'd call him on his CB radio and ask what he wanted from the grocery store that would last him the next few weeks. He had to call in on the radio each morning at six a.m. to report that he was still alive and that all was well with the cattle in his charge. Yep, I'm married to this guy in real life. Pretty sexy, huh? He's been a cowboy, a firefighter and is now a pilot. I know, every 'hot' job my guy's done. 'Course the only thing sexy about the wild-land-firefighter and sheep-camp-living cowboy job is he's now done with them, got the sex appeal and now I don't have to live like that, which in the end does make the whole thing pretty cool. The sheep camp experience happened about 12 years ago.
Even though it's been 12 years since that experience was present day these stories still exist. They really do have what they call 'buckaroos' on Nevada ranches. No, buckaroo is not just the slang term for your neighbor's kid when you can't remember their real name, like I always thought. Buckaroos just move around from ranch to ranch, live in the bunkhouses (yep, like the ones in Young Guns with no running water), don't necessarily get showers, eat what the camp cook cooks and usually are paid far less than minimum wage. ($500 a month is not unheard of, but it's OK because they're provided food and lodging . . yea right. Still not OK in my book, but that's just me.) Seriously, this really happens in real life today.
Here's another real life story that happened just last week to show the Old West still exists. My cowboy's little sister is a pretty handy ranch hand. She's a hard worker and knows a lot about cattle. She's quite a catch for you single cowboys out there. You do have to be taller than she is, which is kind of a feet since she's six foot and you'll have to work hard to catch her to be eligible, but all besides the point. Anyway, a family friend who manages a ranch broke his ankle badly (by being run over by a cow) and is on bed rest. His wife is trying to run the ranch which consists of 900 head of cattle by herself. Sis was hired to go work for them and help out. Her living arrangements agreed on at hire were she lived in a tack room (a room in the barn where they keep saddles, bridles etc. which are notorious for rodent problems). The tack room was furnished with a mini fridge, some shelves, a cot, a microwave and a space heater. She had an old fashioned outhouse for toiletries, not even a port-a-john but a hole in the ground with a shack around it. Yes those too still exist. Her water supply for everything from brushing her teeth and washing her dishes to drinking water was the same spigot and outdoor sink used to prepare medicine for sick calves, wash those sick calves' bottles and was out in the elements where who knows what could get in and around that sink. The ranch manager who lives out at this place in a trailer house was kind enough to say she could use their shower if it was necessary. Seriously, this is a 18-year-old girl born and raised in America living like this. Unfortunately (or VERY fortunately depending on your view point) her foray with the Old West came to an end when she came to our home for a hot shower and home cooked meal. We're the closest relatives with indoor plumbing (and we're a 45 minute drive away). Poor girl didn't look great when she got to our place and said she didn't want much for dinner. Shortly after sitting down to the table she became violently ill. She ended up camping out on our couch for 3 days deathly ill with E. Coli which I'm sure was contracted from that icky, cow germ infested sink, her only source of water. I've NEVER seen anyone that sick. All I could think about was how glad I was that she wasn't out in the boondocks with no hot running water that ill. Can you say, 'death-on-a-stick?' Luckily all is well now. She's feeling better and is back at home at her parent's ranch where although she works with cattle daily she gets all the amenities of modern living.
So, if you still think living the Old West Tombstone/Young Guns lifestyle would be the thing to do there are opportunities for you out there. But if you're like me you'll realize the movies are cool, but opt to leave that kind of fun to the movie stars. (And if you're super lucky like me, you'll marry Doc's look alike.)
I do admit to loving Tombstone too. I'm married to a guy who's been said to look like Doc/Val Kilmer, one more reason to love the show. Then there's the fact that there was a Tombstone/Wyatt Earp marathon on the History Channel my husband watched while I was in the hospital having my son. Oh, the memories. I guess you could say Tombstone has had an impact on all that matters in my life.
Anyway, here's a bit of history for you that's not quite history, it's present day. I had no idea jobs and places like this still existed and I grew up in a farming/ranching community. My cowboy, when he was a junior in high school, decided to go live in a sheep camp in the middle of nowhere for a year. Here's what a sheep camp looks like if you're not familiar.
He was hired to live out in no-man's-land to keep an eye on the cattle, doctor sick ones and pump the water regularly so they had a water supply. He had no communication with the outside world besides a two-way CB radio. He'd go home on Sundays to see his family, shower and go to church. It was a two hour drive across mostly dirt roads to get to his own family's ranch. His groceries were delivered to him by the people that had hired him. About every two weeks they'd call him on his CB radio and ask what he wanted from the grocery store that would last him the next few weeks. He had to call in on the radio each morning at six a.m. to report that he was still alive and that all was well with the cattle in his charge. Yep, I'm married to this guy in real life. Pretty sexy, huh? He's been a cowboy, a firefighter and is now a pilot. I know, every 'hot' job my guy's done. 'Course the only thing sexy about the wild-land-firefighter and sheep-camp-living cowboy job is he's now done with them, got the sex appeal and now I don't have to live like that, which in the end does make the whole thing pretty cool. The sheep camp experience happened about 12 years ago.
Even though it's been 12 years since that experience was present day these stories still exist. They really do have what they call 'buckaroos' on Nevada ranches. No, buckaroo is not just the slang term for your neighbor's kid when you can't remember their real name, like I always thought. Buckaroos just move around from ranch to ranch, live in the bunkhouses (yep, like the ones in Young Guns with no running water), don't necessarily get showers, eat what the camp cook cooks and usually are paid far less than minimum wage. ($500 a month is not unheard of, but it's OK because they're provided food and lodging . . yea right. Still not OK in my book, but that's just me.) Seriously, this really happens in real life today.
Here's another real life story that happened just last week to show the Old West still exists. My cowboy's little sister is a pretty handy ranch hand. She's a hard worker and knows a lot about cattle. She's quite a catch for you single cowboys out there. You do have to be taller than she is, which is kind of a feet since she's six foot and you'll have to work hard to catch her to be eligible, but all besides the point. Anyway, a family friend who manages a ranch broke his ankle badly (by being run over by a cow) and is on bed rest. His wife is trying to run the ranch which consists of 900 head of cattle by herself. Sis was hired to go work for them and help out. Her living arrangements agreed on at hire were she lived in a tack room (a room in the barn where they keep saddles, bridles etc. which are notorious for rodent problems). The tack room was furnished with a mini fridge, some shelves, a cot, a microwave and a space heater. She had an old fashioned outhouse for toiletries, not even a port-a-john but a hole in the ground with a shack around it. Yes those too still exist. Her water supply for everything from brushing her teeth and washing her dishes to drinking water was the same spigot and outdoor sink used to prepare medicine for sick calves, wash those sick calves' bottles and was out in the elements where who knows what could get in and around that sink. The ranch manager who lives out at this place in a trailer house was kind enough to say she could use their shower if it was necessary. Seriously, this is a 18-year-old girl born and raised in America living like this. Unfortunately (or VERY fortunately depending on your view point) her foray with the Old West came to an end when she came to our home for a hot shower and home cooked meal. We're the closest relatives with indoor plumbing (and we're a 45 minute drive away). Poor girl didn't look great when she got to our place and said she didn't want much for dinner. Shortly after sitting down to the table she became violently ill. She ended up camping out on our couch for 3 days deathly ill with E. Coli which I'm sure was contracted from that icky, cow germ infested sink, her only source of water. I've NEVER seen anyone that sick. All I could think about was how glad I was that she wasn't out in the boondocks with no hot running water that ill. Can you say, 'death-on-a-stick?' Luckily all is well now. She's feeling better and is back at home at her parent's ranch where although she works with cattle daily she gets all the amenities of modern living.
So, if you still think living the Old West Tombstone/Young Guns lifestyle would be the thing to do there are opportunities for you out there. But if you're like me you'll realize the movies are cool, but opt to leave that kind of fun to the movie stars. (And if you're super lucky like me, you'll marry Doc's look alike.)
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