Featherbedding (n.) A labor union practice of artificially increasing the number of workers employed even though the specific job or task can be completed with fewer workers. This can be done mandating that specific jobs be performed only by workers with specific skill levels or be mandating that a certain number of workers are needed to perform a job or task.
References
“Featherbedding” Retrieved from https://glossary.econguru.com/economic-term/featherbedding.
Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!
I’d tell you that I’m keeping up with my Economics 101 course. I haven’t done much algebra since high school so that’s a feat.
We had a fun Thanksgiving with relatives from out of town, but I forgot how much work these celebrations are. I’d say my sister did most of the work, but still there was a lot to do. Yes, we had a lot of help, but at a certain point adding more people creates more work. I think there’s a theory or law that states as much.
I’ve started watching The Crown. I’m captivated by the stories, but not quite sure what I think of the new cast. I’ll let you know about that.
I resume working for the Census on Monday and will have 3 days of training this week. I’m curious what our next operation entails. I’m also looking forward to an evening cooking event at my library. It’s on holiday appetizers.
Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!
I’d tell you that last Monday we had another Library Board Meeting. Several members of the public, who’d spoken the previous month and asked that their comments be published in the Minutes in full, were upset that they weren’t. Short summaries that sugar-coated their remarks were there instead. This Board certainly isn’t willing to serve their community. They have their own interests, which I can’t fathom, at heart.
I have been working on my economics class and I’m enjoying it, despite the amount of algebra involved. University of the People is mainly taught via textbooks so I found a good video source, as I like that style of learning combined with books. Hillsdale College has an Economics 101 course.
I’m reading Edward Rutherfurd’s The Princes of Ireland and am captivated by the ancient history in the novel.
My sister, niece and nephew just arrived for Thanksgiving. On Wednesday my other sister and her husband will arrive. This year we’ll all be her for Thanksgiving, which hasn’t happened in years.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!
I’d tell you it’s been a quiet week, but busy. I spent a lot of time gathering data from a national website on libraries to refute the inaccurate information the director at my hometown library has used to defend her performance. It took hours to pull specific towns from all the libraries in the state. At one point I accidentally lost a chart and at the last minute had to recreate it. I hate rushing, but the work got one and it was well received.
I started another online class through the University of the People. I’d signed up for Algebra and Economics, but dropped Algebra as soon as I read the textbook. With U of the People because it’s tuition free there’s no lecture from the teacher it’s all textbook and this book was written as poorly as I remember my high school text was. I will stick with Economics as it’s a general overview and while it’s not my strong suit, I realize how understanding the economy better is useful.
I went to a book club discussion of Lucretius’ The Nature of Things, which I first read while studying classics. We got a good number of people, several new ones. The Nature of Things is a poem about science and ethics. We just read the first 2 parts. It’s amazing how Lucretius figured out things that modern scientists have supported.
Wednesday I plan to attend another book club on Fiona Barton’s The Suspect. It’s mainly set in Thailand where two British girls are found dead in a fire. The heroine is a journalist whose estranged son is off finding himself and saving turtles in Phuket, Thailand . . . or so she thinks. I’m not sure how much I like the story yet.
Serpentza offers insights we all should consider if we want to understand modern China.
I agree that China cries wolf a lot and tries to manipulate its people to a great degree.
Serpentza offers some great insight in clear terms on the US-China trade war. I agree with his thoughts.
I do think it was a mistake to put so many factories in one country. We should diversify.
I learned a thing or two in just 5 minutes.
This video should be required viewing. It shows how since joining the WTO, China has uses currency manipulation, protectionism, lack of ethics vis-a-vis workers’ rights and pollution to gain economic dominance. It proves, as the book Poorly Made in China does, that China is outmaneuvering the world when it comes to business competition.
Narrated by Martin Sheen and based on Peter Narravo’s book by the same title, the documentary clearly explains how China’s strategy to decimate its environment costing thousands of lives by allowing rampant pollution, how its currency manipulation works as a tariff, and how they have no plan to open their markets to foreign companies. Instead their game is to steal as much intellectual property they can so that they can just make their own cars, machines, electronics, etc. using the know-how of other countries to move forward.
The experts interviewed have great credentials and their insights line up with what I saw and heard when living in China. The pollution and lack of ethics are not exaggerated. Yes, most of the people I knew were nice, but there is a glaring lack of ethics and the good people were afraid of standing up for what is right. And it’s true that the government’s philosophy is completely contrary to Enlightenment principles.
Once they are on top there will be no catching them. The film shines like on what we should do now.
Michael Goodwin and Dan Burr’s Economix (2012) is a graphic nonfiction book that explains economic principles in an accessible way. The book uses the narrative of a guy trying to learn more about economics to engage the reader. Organized chronologically, Economix begins just at the 17th century, though the author notes that economics pre-dates that era, but people didn’t know how to analyze it.
The book was most helpful to me when it explained new concepts or elucidated ideas like “supply and demand” which have more complexity under certain situations. I liked learning about economists I hadn’t heard of such as David Ricardo.
N.B. Neither Economix authors agree with Malthus
I appreciated learning that world and national economies are often so multifaceted that it’s (practically) impossible to predict or understand them. That assertion seems honest and I hadn’t heard that before that I can recall.
Towards current era, the authors state that the book will be more aligned with the Democrats and appreciated that admission. It’s unmistakable, but their statement made me trust their final chapters more. I do think the book would be better if it wasn’t so connected to American history and used more examples from all over the world, however, I guess they authors didn’t think their audience was very cosmopolitan.
All in all, Economix is a good introduction to economics, dark science that I’m trying to learn more about.
According to the Financial Times, China’s boom has peaked and opportunities are drying up. This short video is well made and includes interesting interviews with Chinese factory workers who’re heading home or contemplating such a move and with a Vietnamese worker who went to China. I had no idea that Chinese factories were bringing in illegal workers from Vietnam.
Ruined for Life: Phoenix Edition 