Much of what I write about in this regard is - admittedly - wishful thinking, even if somewhat organized and carefully considered! However, there's a different set of realities in the present, which need to be touched on in this post, if only to let go of the burden for a while. Sometimes, people can "get by" being unemployed for months or even years at a time. It is widely assumed that once long term unemployed, always long term unemployed. If only that were readily feasible, for communities, individuals and the sake of all concerned.
Unfortunately, this assumption does not account for the fact that remaining in these life circumstance is a larger gamble all around than it may initially appear. As a result, some breathe a sigh of relief when the long term unemployed die and get it over with - that's just a lot less "messy" than intentional eugenics, isn't it. Maybe this is why Northerners (at least) appear better about inclusiveness - it's just too obvious to ignore when people are left out in the cold. Not to say that survival (or well being) with a paycheck is "guaranteed", by any means. Apologies in advance, for a bit of grousing and a few caustic observations in this post!
There are too many unknowns in today's complex economy for anyone to be completely prepared for. However: with paid work, one has the chance to at least save for contingencies. The great irony of our time - at least in the U.S. - is that some people actually believe government exists as a safety net for when people fall through the cracks.
It's a shame that unemployment payments were ever concocted as a "solution" to unemployment, when those checks were the most ill begotten approach imaginable. They were strictly a lazy way to exit a needed solution set which no one wanted to confront: one where people actually seek to make certain they have ways to continue meaningful economic interchange of all kinds with one another. At the very least, unemployment checks served some purpose when they gave people the nerve to start their own businesses. Now they are mostly a means by which to delay the inevitable approach of a no employment reality.
Government assistance mostly holds true for those who have specific forms of illness, so as to guarantee trips to the doctor and money for one's daily expenses. Government provisions in the U.S. no longer hold true in any broad sense, for those who expect to be able to provide for themselves in the course of their lifetimes. Unless - of course - one is already employed in which case subsidies may apply. Wait...what?
Certainly my dad agrees: whatever health issues I have that nonetheless hinder employment, would not realistically qualify for government assistance of any kind until retirement. Long story short, I need to be working in the paid arena, regardless of whether anyone would be willing to hire me or not. Unfortunately for baby boomers with no paid work, government can become the unexpected enemy, when property taxes often triple and quadruple from the tax rates paid by one's parents. One can be responsible till the cows come home, with unpaid work. But that is not going to help pay the bills - let alone tend to one's reputation as a human being in the 21st century U.S.
Basically, there's no new group strategies for anyone who expected to play by the rules of the game for the course of a lifetime, only to be blindsided by unexpected difficulties in the path. Everyone goes on pretending no group strategies are needed, and leaves it to the unemployed to sort out and worry about why they are not able to remain responsible to others. Everyone who is gainfully employed is content to point fingers at someone else and say "why don't you think outside the box for a change". But thinking outside the box is mostly a fool's game, because when someone actually does so, the discourse is treated as an odd curiosity.
Or worse, the person with ideas is considered an affront to the existing systems which are supposedly doing just fine...at least when push comes to shove. Complaining about the system is as far as anyone dares to go until it's too late and the good options for starting fresh have been lost. It's all a game which has no reasoned plan of action for anyone who loses. Few dare to fall out of line, because solitary confinement isn't just something that happens behind bars.
What everyone basically hopes for, is that they can get by somehow so that they don't end up on the streets, or otherwise succumb to serious illness and/or addiction. Some are "fortunate" enough to be married and/or receiving government payments for disability, or perhaps even pacing restlessly behind bars. Prison must be "wasted on the young", for the authorities let people out just about the time the restlessness and energy decline and fear starts to really set in...
But what if none of the above presently applies, and someone knows full well that they need to once again take their chances outside what little "security" exists in the present? How do they explain the rationale (such as it is) to potential employers re their years of absence? How do they deal with their gnawing fears that they might not even be strong enough anymore - what with approaching old age - to do all that a job requires, through the course of a day?
It takes a leap of faith on the part of the unemployed hopeful, to responsibly (or is that irresponsibly?) move to "God knows where" for a chance at finding and then maintaining paid work. It also takes a leap of faith as well on the part of the employer who decides to take a chance to see if such an individual can still function in the workplace. Presently, the unemployed need to figure out their own strategies because much of the world is damn tired of thinking about their predicament, hence has basically moved on. Even if one's sanity is maintained through the ordeal and hard won wisdom even generates personal victories, few really notice or care.
So what is the broadest societal component of this unfortunate circumstance, monetarily speaking? Tight money or NIMBYism writ large: okay if you don't think it's tight, that's your prerogative. As Scott Sumner indicated, the idea that tight money might even be a problem is not a central component of the economic domain. Likewise, for the rest of society, attention has long since moved past the ones who were left behind by recession, to the daily issues that people with jobs still face, be it impulse control or whatever one chooses to do with spare time.
What about those moments when the rest of the world does still takes notice in the unemployment predicament? Oh that's right, there's still complaining to be had whenever the unemployed still need to follow through on existing obligations, duh. How to keep from getting in the way of the plans of others? How, indeed. When we are told that we are grossly irresponsible, and yet we have few means within our grasp by which we could realistically be more responsible...what can be done? I honestly don't know. And people who have unemployed as family or friends, are tired of hearing any philosophy about the situation. Can't really blame them I suppose.
No one else is able to give much thought to strategies for the unemployed or soon to be unemployed, either. Everyone has to concentrate on maintaining their own position, which invariably ties into the "way things are". We used to hear "the poor will always be with us." Will the unemployed also always be with us? This could be why it's so easy for economists and central bankers to continue tight monetary policy. Are they simply following the lead of the crowd? This post does not have a particularly bright ending, but for any new readers I am not normally this coarse. Hopefully the next post will be more upbeat.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Democracies Need Services Decentralization
How can democracies be expected to function properly, when voting processes prove inadequate for the partitioning of resource use among different populations and cultures? When commodity, income and asset flows are not set up well for services and societal welfare, nations struggle to maintain not only democratic representation, but common accord among their own citizens. Perhaps we have been voting for the wrong outcomes, in too many instances. Services need voter representation, participation and economic diversity at local levels, instead of patronizing "one size fits all" national dictates.
Better targeted votes for time arbitrage and resource utilization would go much further, than today's political battles over a service marketplace which is slowly being "reined in" from special interest demands. However, before realistic services markets become a possibility, a better understanding of time use capacity alongside resource potential, must be a part of the equation. Where special interests primarily benefit from skimming off the best skills capacity available, communities could instead benefit from tapping into the skills capacity of all local citizens.
Time aggregate capacity is particularly important in monetary terms: money always needs representation with time use for citizens to remain actively engaged in the marketplace. Presently, central banks have strayed from this representation, as no one in power has been willing to address resource rigidities which leave service formations in the hands of special interests. Aggregate spending capacity was shorted, in order to shore up the assets which provide flows for services on special interest terms. While this made a partial degree of sense for monetary stabilization, the lower economic trajectory left too many in its wake who were economically left behind.
Democracies start to break down over time, when distribution processes no longer follow the shifting nature of resource capacities as accurately reflected in monetary aggregates. The current breakdown can especially be seen in the safety net of the U.S., which is now largely construed to either protect the marketplace needs of older citizens, or else fuel the hopes (or is that babysit?) young citizens in waiting.
While there's nothing wrong with a young/old safety net approach, the problem is that not enough citizens of (normally expected) working age are now represented. This holds true in producer and consumer contexts: both of which are needed for regular contributory flows to healthcare for the elderly and the ongoing direction of the young. In tax based terms, U.S. citizens are expected to contribute to society through the course of one's lifetime - income or no.
Unfortunately, we are kidding ourselves if we think automation might mean "no jobs necessary" and people will miraculously "get off the hook" for their contribution to lifetime services distribution flows - especially re the needs of the young and old. Few other aspects of overall "costs of living" are more substantial than this.
Taxation realities can occasionally be missed by some conservatives. After all, the substantial demands of property taxation for schools is still present, if and when one's income is not being directly taxed. Even when we are not homeowners, property tax expectations are built into the costs of rent, otherwise no landlord would make the profit necessary to be able to seek tenants in the first place.
A simple minded person such as myself, observing the needless confusion of redistribution structure, just wants to cut to the chase. An elderly person, or perhaps an unemployed baby boomer who might have contemplated "skating" to retirement", may no longer have the monetary flows necessary for those school property taxes. Paying said taxes could well mean nothing left to survive on, especially if roommates in one's home are not an option. Let such individuals be responsible for their share of community assistance to the young as long as they are able, so they can stay in their home. Make skills capacity more liquid in lieu of money, especially when money comes up short, for crying out loud. People are not "capable" of doing so? That's only because education has made it this way. Change education.
When individuals do not understand how the use of money relates to time, resources, assets and the commodities we use, redistribution discrepancies can bring the whole process to a standstill. As a result, democracies are squandered on the grounds of the misleading information that public officials are wont to press on the public when they have insufficient incentive to think straight. What public official wants anyone to understand what aggregate spending capacity is all about, if some special interest might get shorted, were a nominal target adopted? As a result, democracies are lost by the theft of our time, and yet it need not be this way. Of time, Seneca wrote:
Better targeted votes for time arbitrage and resource utilization would go much further, than today's political battles over a service marketplace which is slowly being "reined in" from special interest demands. However, before realistic services markets become a possibility, a better understanding of time use capacity alongside resource potential, must be a part of the equation. Where special interests primarily benefit from skimming off the best skills capacity available, communities could instead benefit from tapping into the skills capacity of all local citizens.
Time aggregate capacity is particularly important in monetary terms: money always needs representation with time use for citizens to remain actively engaged in the marketplace. Presently, central banks have strayed from this representation, as no one in power has been willing to address resource rigidities which leave service formations in the hands of special interests. Aggregate spending capacity was shorted, in order to shore up the assets which provide flows for services on special interest terms. While this made a partial degree of sense for monetary stabilization, the lower economic trajectory left too many in its wake who were economically left behind.
Democracies start to break down over time, when distribution processes no longer follow the shifting nature of resource capacities as accurately reflected in monetary aggregates. The current breakdown can especially be seen in the safety net of the U.S., which is now largely construed to either protect the marketplace needs of older citizens, or else fuel the hopes (or is that babysit?) young citizens in waiting.
While there's nothing wrong with a young/old safety net approach, the problem is that not enough citizens of (normally expected) working age are now represented. This holds true in producer and consumer contexts: both of which are needed for regular contributory flows to healthcare for the elderly and the ongoing direction of the young. In tax based terms, U.S. citizens are expected to contribute to society through the course of one's lifetime - income or no.
Unfortunately, we are kidding ourselves if we think automation might mean "no jobs necessary" and people will miraculously "get off the hook" for their contribution to lifetime services distribution flows - especially re the needs of the young and old. Few other aspects of overall "costs of living" are more substantial than this.
Taxation realities can occasionally be missed by some conservatives. After all, the substantial demands of property taxation for schools is still present, if and when one's income is not being directly taxed. Even when we are not homeowners, property tax expectations are built into the costs of rent, otherwise no landlord would make the profit necessary to be able to seek tenants in the first place.
A simple minded person such as myself, observing the needless confusion of redistribution structure, just wants to cut to the chase. An elderly person, or perhaps an unemployed baby boomer who might have contemplated "skating" to retirement", may no longer have the monetary flows necessary for those school property taxes. Paying said taxes could well mean nothing left to survive on, especially if roommates in one's home are not an option. Let such individuals be responsible for their share of community assistance to the young as long as they are able, so they can stay in their home. Make skills capacity more liquid in lieu of money, especially when money comes up short, for crying out loud. People are not "capable" of doing so? That's only because education has made it this way. Change education.
When individuals do not understand how the use of money relates to time, resources, assets and the commodities we use, redistribution discrepancies can bring the whole process to a standstill. As a result, democracies are squandered on the grounds of the misleading information that public officials are wont to press on the public when they have insufficient incentive to think straight. What public official wants anyone to understand what aggregate spending capacity is all about, if some special interest might get shorted, were a nominal target adopted? As a result, democracies are lost by the theft of our time, and yet it need not be this way. Of time, Seneca wrote:
We were entrusted by nature with the ownership of this single thing, so fleeting and slippery that anyone who will can oust us from possession.This is why I believe it is so important for everyone to understand the relationship of money to the use of time and the access to resources we actually have. Because until we do, governments, finance and other interests will find it to their benefit to separate us from the value of our time at every turn, in order to enrich themselves. Evil? No, it's just what people naturally do, when part of the process of responsibility is taken from those who don't seem "smart enough" to take part in the greater needs of society.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Midweek Market Monetarist Links and Summaries - 9/3/14
If recession made a "bad situation worse", tend to both the causes and the effects, instead of pretending nothing can be done about either one (Marcus Nunes): http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/28/is-rbc-theory-winning-out/
The correlation between labor markets and inflation targeting is practically nil: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/slaves-to-the-misguided-phillips-curve/
Not all the Fed actions of the thirties were futile...http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/distorted-mirrors/
"Few see that the Great Moderation was all about Nominal Stability, under the purview of the Fed." This stability protected the economy from "dark corners". http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/the-great-recession-was-the-bastard-child-of-the-great-moderation/
Recession is made worse by bank loss, but bank loss does not initiate the process: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/contrasting-views-one-drags-and-keeps-the-economy-down/
The seventies years which Benjamin Cole recalls fondly in this post, were good years for me as well: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/remembering-prosperity-in-a-forgotten-time/
While I agree with Scott Sumner that Americans need to be saving more, some folk need more flexible (hence liquid) options to do so: About those struggling middle class Americans
A response to the challenge from Lars Christensen, re China: Either Lars or I am really, really wrong
When a black swan does appear, it's hard to see anything else...Moral Hazard: If you are not taking socially excessive risks, you aren't doing your job
From Econlog (Scott Sumner): Have we experienced intellectual decay?
Predicting bubbles just isn't that helpful
Lars Christensen has his doubts about China! http://marketmonetarist.com/2014/08/27/china-might-never-become-the-biggest-economy-in-the-world/
A closer look at that "rare" disagreement with Scott, although the issue is non monetary: http://marketmonetarist.com/2014/08/30/dont-bet-on-a-real-appreciation-of-the-renminbi/
(Josh Hendrickson) Is the price of money changing? http://everydayecon.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/on-the-price-of-money-and-monetary-policy/
(David Glasner) By no means were changes in the gold standard easy to discern: http://uneasymoney.com/2014/08/27/real-and-pseudo-gold-standards-could-friedman-tell-the-difference/
Hume's mistake: Tradable goods as a relative international price constant, do not adjust to changes in the gold standard. http://uneasymoney.com/2014/09/01/sterilizing-gold-inflows-the-anatomy-of-a-misconception/
(Bill Woolsey) More than prices and output are at stake: http://monetaryfreedom-billwoolsey.blogspot.com/2014/08/kevin-grier-criticized-market.html
The equation of exchange is more than just an identity: http://monetaryfreedom-billwoolsey.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-equation-of-exchange.html
The seventh market doesn't have to be in equilibrium (Nick Rowe): http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2014/08/a-simple-question-about-walras-law.html
Little else makes it so difficult to think clearly about money: http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2014/09/its-the-inflation-fallacy-duh.html
Deflation in Europe likely has bearing on the recent divergence (David Beckworth): http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2014/09/another-bond-market-conundrum.html
Paradigms often come ready made (Kevin Erdmann) http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/2014/09/framing-is-everything.html
"Hard money is not a mistake" (Steve Randy Waldmann) http://www.interfluidity.com/v2/5561.html
Kevin Drum responds, also the Paul Krugman post re inflation and the seventies perspective.
Also of interest:
To say that Brad Delong is not happy with our current growth trajectory, would be putting it mildly: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/j--bradford-delong-argues-that-it-is-time-to-call-what-is-happening-in-europe-and-the-us-by-its-true-name
About that experiential factor...(Giles Wilkes) http://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/stronger-brands-stronger-economy/
Bryan Caplan: How to teach the income and substitution effect
The correlation between labor markets and inflation targeting is practically nil: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/slaves-to-the-misguided-phillips-curve/
Not all the Fed actions of the thirties were futile...http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/30/distorted-mirrors/
"Few see that the Great Moderation was all about Nominal Stability, under the purview of the Fed." This stability protected the economy from "dark corners". http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/the-great-recession-was-the-bastard-child-of-the-great-moderation/
Recession is made worse by bank loss, but bank loss does not initiate the process: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/contrasting-views-one-drags-and-keeps-the-economy-down/
The seventies years which Benjamin Cole recalls fondly in this post, were good years for me as well: http://thefaintofheart.wordpress.com/2014/08/31/remembering-prosperity-in-a-forgotten-time/
While I agree with Scott Sumner that Americans need to be saving more, some folk need more flexible (hence liquid) options to do so: About those struggling middle class Americans
A response to the challenge from Lars Christensen, re China: Either Lars or I am really, really wrong
When a black swan does appear, it's hard to see anything else...Moral Hazard: If you are not taking socially excessive risks, you aren't doing your job
From Econlog (Scott Sumner): Have we experienced intellectual decay?
Predicting bubbles just isn't that helpful
Lars Christensen has his doubts about China! http://marketmonetarist.com/2014/08/27/china-might-never-become-the-biggest-economy-in-the-world/
A closer look at that "rare" disagreement with Scott, although the issue is non monetary: http://marketmonetarist.com/2014/08/30/dont-bet-on-a-real-appreciation-of-the-renminbi/
(Josh Hendrickson) Is the price of money changing? http://everydayecon.wordpress.com/2014/09/02/on-the-price-of-money-and-monetary-policy/
(David Glasner) By no means were changes in the gold standard easy to discern: http://uneasymoney.com/2014/08/27/real-and-pseudo-gold-standards-could-friedman-tell-the-difference/
Hume's mistake: Tradable goods as a relative international price constant, do not adjust to changes in the gold standard. http://uneasymoney.com/2014/09/01/sterilizing-gold-inflows-the-anatomy-of-a-misconception/
(Bill Woolsey) More than prices and output are at stake: http://monetaryfreedom-billwoolsey.blogspot.com/2014/08/kevin-grier-criticized-market.html
The equation of exchange is more than just an identity: http://monetaryfreedom-billwoolsey.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-equation-of-exchange.html
The seventh market doesn't have to be in equilibrium (Nick Rowe): http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2014/08/a-simple-question-about-walras-law.html
Little else makes it so difficult to think clearly about money: http://worthwhile.typepad.com/worthwhile_canadian_initi/2014/09/its-the-inflation-fallacy-duh.html
Deflation in Europe likely has bearing on the recent divergence (David Beckworth): http://macromarketmusings.blogspot.com/2014/09/another-bond-market-conundrum.html
Paradigms often come ready made (Kevin Erdmann) http://idiosyncraticwhisk.blogspot.com/2014/09/framing-is-everything.html
"Hard money is not a mistake" (Steve Randy Waldmann) http://www.interfluidity.com/v2/5561.html
Kevin Drum responds, also the Paul Krugman post re inflation and the seventies perspective.
Also of interest:
To say that Brad Delong is not happy with our current growth trajectory, would be putting it mildly: http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/j--bradford-delong-argues-that-it-is-time-to-call-what-is-happening-in-europe-and-the-us-by-its-true-name
About that experiential factor...(Giles Wilkes) http://freethinkecon.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/stronger-brands-stronger-economy/
Bryan Caplan: How to teach the income and substitution effect
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Forgetting Names: Age Related, or Economy Related?
About a decade ago, I began to question my ability to remember not just names but faces as well. Part of my problem began while I was still working in close proximity to others on a regular basis, for my eyesight had deteriorated quickly within a short period. As a result I did not always recognize faces, unless the room lighting was behind me. With cataracts, sunlight could also be problematic for facial recognition, outdoors.
Not long afterward, other health related problems meant letting go of part time work, as well as self employment. I was quite reluctant to do so, and it turned out to be a longer absence from the workplace than I ever intended. After surgery, a short stay in the hospital and also two cataract operations, I moved to a beautiful - but isolated area in the countryside. While this unexpected time freedom allowed me to begin a long term economic project, in those years it also meant not seeing a lot of people for weeks at a time.
It didn't take long to realize that - even with restored eyesight - when I was introduced to someone, I didn't always remember them afterward unless I actually saw them on a semi regular basis. Since some introductions existed in relation to business services which weren't needed often, names and faces of local customers didn't always "take". That bothered me! Part of the problem, was that I didn't often have the reinforcement of seeing these individuals in other social circumstance.
However, some years later I discovered that my ability to remember names and faces wasn't lost after all. Once I moved back to an area with a large population, there were plenty of social occasions to "jog" my memory after initial introductions. Unfortunately I needed to move again shortly afterward, after not finding work in the middle of the recession. That also involved a return to a lightly populated area, but by then I had discovered a way to keep remembering names and faces: the internet.
Even though the internet isn't a substitute for decades of relationships in working (and social) environments, regular online routines go a long way to fill the gap. As a result, being online provides more familiarity and regularity, than casual acquaintances whose names I'd write down and yet too often still forget. Indeed, this post was sparked by a conversation on the walking trail this morning with someone who - while we've traded hellos and some conversations in recent years, never exchanged names. Often I find myself wondering if younger people have changed in this regard, because when I was younger, exchanging names seemed an automatic part of casual relationships.
Inspiring as online communities have been for me, I still hope that local communities can regain new meaning through better economic networks. Perhaps the best way to regain those connections is to seek coordinated scheduled interaction with others, across a wide services spectrum. Sure, it would be awkward at first, because communities have been going in the opposite direction for so long. Still, I believe doing so would be worth the effort.
Communities could reconnect by moving beyond the limits of present day public education, which has presented an arbitrary cutoff for social engagement especially in small towns. We no longer need to come together to distribute knowledge, for the digital realm does this quite well. Rather, time spent with others needs to become about utilizing the concepts of knowledge, instead of just continuing to disperse them. By integrating education with the fabric of daily life, knowledge use would become a part of total recall. And by bringing local relationships back into the economic mix, we might once again live in communities where we know the names of our neighbors.
Not long afterward, other health related problems meant letting go of part time work, as well as self employment. I was quite reluctant to do so, and it turned out to be a longer absence from the workplace than I ever intended. After surgery, a short stay in the hospital and also two cataract operations, I moved to a beautiful - but isolated area in the countryside. While this unexpected time freedom allowed me to begin a long term economic project, in those years it also meant not seeing a lot of people for weeks at a time.
It didn't take long to realize that - even with restored eyesight - when I was introduced to someone, I didn't always remember them afterward unless I actually saw them on a semi regular basis. Since some introductions existed in relation to business services which weren't needed often, names and faces of local customers didn't always "take". That bothered me! Part of the problem, was that I didn't often have the reinforcement of seeing these individuals in other social circumstance.
However, some years later I discovered that my ability to remember names and faces wasn't lost after all. Once I moved back to an area with a large population, there were plenty of social occasions to "jog" my memory after initial introductions. Unfortunately I needed to move again shortly afterward, after not finding work in the middle of the recession. That also involved a return to a lightly populated area, but by then I had discovered a way to keep remembering names and faces: the internet.
Even though the internet isn't a substitute for decades of relationships in working (and social) environments, regular online routines go a long way to fill the gap. As a result, being online provides more familiarity and regularity, than casual acquaintances whose names I'd write down and yet too often still forget. Indeed, this post was sparked by a conversation on the walking trail this morning with someone who - while we've traded hellos and some conversations in recent years, never exchanged names. Often I find myself wondering if younger people have changed in this regard, because when I was younger, exchanging names seemed an automatic part of casual relationships.
Inspiring as online communities have been for me, I still hope that local communities can regain new meaning through better economic networks. Perhaps the best way to regain those connections is to seek coordinated scheduled interaction with others, across a wide services spectrum. Sure, it would be awkward at first, because communities have been going in the opposite direction for so long. Still, I believe doing so would be worth the effort.
Communities could reconnect by moving beyond the limits of present day public education, which has presented an arbitrary cutoff for social engagement especially in small towns. We no longer need to come together to distribute knowledge, for the digital realm does this quite well. Rather, time spent with others needs to become about utilizing the concepts of knowledge, instead of just continuing to disperse them. By integrating education with the fabric of daily life, knowledge use would become a part of total recall. And by bringing local relationships back into the economic mix, we might once again live in communities where we know the names of our neighbors.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Wrap Up for August '14
There's plenty in this August wrap up - these past weeks have certainly provided "food for thought". Earlier in the month, Time ran an article about the career advice "no one ever really gives you". Among the (somewhat) unsettling suggestions were "Doing your job well is not enough," and "Who you work for is hugely important. So is where you work."
All I could think after reading the above linked list, is that a number of CEOs have been trying to get out the word for a while - particularly since the playing field has changed in some key respects. The message basically goes: "We don't have all the answers, either for employment or economic stability! Sorry...give us a little help, guys!"
Except...the things that could help, still aren't happening. How many growth summits or helpful coordinated strategies between government and business have we witnessed, lately? Instead, policy makers have decided to tell the public that new growth strategies are MIA and "little can be done". Just the same, none of this pretzel logic has quieted the call for fiscal "solutions". "Fiscal to the rescue" stems from the idea that government magically pulls new business formation (along with jobs) out of a hat where business cannot, I suppose. But Washington has too many short term obligations right now, to provide an encore for that special request.
And since preexisting government obligations are too onerous to actually contemplate (let alone do something about), some economists still want to know why governments aren't stepping in, to do what private industry cannot. (Huh??) Since some folk didn't get the memo that fiscal options are mostly off the table, a monetary response - which would at least be capable of stabilizing economic activity - is instead in line for "takeoff" (our "back to normal" economy) with one engine still missing from the plane. However, as Barry Eichengreen recently noted:
Thinking about the missing marketplace, I find myself returning to a Zen koan which asks: how do you go further from the top of a hundred foot pole? Because that's what today's economy feels like - as though everyone awaits at the top of the pole, trying to figure out how to continue past the limits it imposes. In the meantime, bonuses become the new raises. As one executive noted in the linked WSJ article, the rules of engagement have probably changed permanently.
Living "as fully as possible" is a good response to seeming limitations. Some would just as soon forget about the economy and find new meaning on non monetary terms, elsewhere. However, passive adaptation to these economic circumstance could mean regression and loss. In "Instructions to the Cook" (1996), Bernard Glassman sought entrepreneurial means to generate connections between those who lack economic access, and the world they live in. He knew how important it was for all individuals to understand business concepts and the fact that money matters. He also understood the importance of including the rich alongside the poor, in common efforts for more integrated economies.
When I picked up the link for the book, I also found a related film which some readers might be interested in, which goes through the chapters of the book. Years ago, I was quite fortunate to learn from - and work with - an intuitive Lebanese cook, who utilized the same cooking principles which also apply to social action: use what you have. More than once, I was worried there might not enough food in the refrigerator to prepare a good meal for the guests who would arrive in a matter of hours. And yet - not only was there always plenty, the guests also enjoyed the results. This is the same principle which would allow any community to begin anew, economically: work with the resources which are already in place.
How to think about the 100 foot pole, in economic terms? There has been so much wealth in recent centuries, that for a long time, no one had to worry about the means of redistribution which became formalized as government fiscal activity. Hence people forgot the degree to which redistribution was dependent on the continual gains of the production residual, which paid workers to aid in the reconfiguration of adapted resources. Production residuals were especially helpful, for they sought to continue the monetary flows which provided new possibilities across the entire spectrum.
Production gains still provide tremendous wealth. However, they no longer work efficiently at local levels which need to remain capable of completing economic processes. To imagine moving "beyond the pole", move local services into the private realm, where they can be negotiated locally and individually. Provide greater flexibility and liquidity, for property utilization and ownership. Allow people to govern their own lives for services needs, so that the wisdom of the elders might have a chance to return. Another way to think of services to digital construction, is as a further strengthening of the net.
Today, government and business alike rely on a strong net, which is flung across the globe. Except there's just one problem. Those components are so broadly spaced that many facets of society - hence potential economic activity - fall completely through. Just the same, a stronger net remains possible. In the above linked book, Glassman refers to Indra's net, where each person and event is connected in space and time.
Local communities could generate stronger nets through becoming broader institutional structures for resource use, than today's business formations are now capable of. In effect, this would allow participating communities in knowledge use systems for services, to become supra institutional structures, by including the resource possibilities in their own midst. These structures would generate strong nets, and few would fall through the remaining holes. In short, economies everywhere need the help of their help of their local economies in order to continue moving forward in the 21st century.
...more links, so I'll give the rest of the wrap up over to them:
Jobs are coming back but with lower pay - what every local economy needs to bear in mind as it considers new forms of infrastructure for the future.
All I could think after reading the above linked list, is that a number of CEOs have been trying to get out the word for a while - particularly since the playing field has changed in some key respects. The message basically goes: "We don't have all the answers, either for employment or economic stability! Sorry...give us a little help, guys!"
Except...the things that could help, still aren't happening. How many growth summits or helpful coordinated strategies between government and business have we witnessed, lately? Instead, policy makers have decided to tell the public that new growth strategies are MIA and "little can be done". Just the same, none of this pretzel logic has quieted the call for fiscal "solutions". "Fiscal to the rescue" stems from the idea that government magically pulls new business formation (along with jobs) out of a hat where business cannot, I suppose. But Washington has too many short term obligations right now, to provide an encore for that special request.
And since preexisting government obligations are too onerous to actually contemplate (let alone do something about), some economists still want to know why governments aren't stepping in, to do what private industry cannot. (Huh??) Since some folk didn't get the memo that fiscal options are mostly off the table, a monetary response - which would at least be capable of stabilizing economic activity - is instead in line for "takeoff" (our "back to normal" economy) with one engine still missing from the plane. However, as Barry Eichengreen recently noted:
...if the US does experience secular stagnation over the next decade or two, it will be self inflicted.Timothy Taylor likened the recent Vox publication on secular stagnation to the parable of the blind men who all grab hold of different parts of the elephant and describe what they feel. Mostly, those descriptions were a bit too predictable...plus it didn't help that market monetarist were not even represented among the authors. Something else feels missing from these stories of secular stagnation as well: the idea of a complete marketplace, which has been all but abandoned in the struggle to move ahead with no adjustments to existing institutions, whatsoever.
Thinking about the missing marketplace, I find myself returning to a Zen koan which asks: how do you go further from the top of a hundred foot pole? Because that's what today's economy feels like - as though everyone awaits at the top of the pole, trying to figure out how to continue past the limits it imposes. In the meantime, bonuses become the new raises. As one executive noted in the linked WSJ article, the rules of engagement have probably changed permanently.
Living "as fully as possible" is a good response to seeming limitations. Some would just as soon forget about the economy and find new meaning on non monetary terms, elsewhere. However, passive adaptation to these economic circumstance could mean regression and loss. In "Instructions to the Cook" (1996), Bernard Glassman sought entrepreneurial means to generate connections between those who lack economic access, and the world they live in. He knew how important it was for all individuals to understand business concepts and the fact that money matters. He also understood the importance of including the rich alongside the poor, in common efforts for more integrated economies.
When I picked up the link for the book, I also found a related film which some readers might be interested in, which goes through the chapters of the book. Years ago, I was quite fortunate to learn from - and work with - an intuitive Lebanese cook, who utilized the same cooking principles which also apply to social action: use what you have. More than once, I was worried there might not enough food in the refrigerator to prepare a good meal for the guests who would arrive in a matter of hours. And yet - not only was there always plenty, the guests also enjoyed the results. This is the same principle which would allow any community to begin anew, economically: work with the resources which are already in place.
How to think about the 100 foot pole, in economic terms? There has been so much wealth in recent centuries, that for a long time, no one had to worry about the means of redistribution which became formalized as government fiscal activity. Hence people forgot the degree to which redistribution was dependent on the continual gains of the production residual, which paid workers to aid in the reconfiguration of adapted resources. Production residuals were especially helpful, for they sought to continue the monetary flows which provided new possibilities across the entire spectrum.
Production gains still provide tremendous wealth. However, they no longer work efficiently at local levels which need to remain capable of completing economic processes. To imagine moving "beyond the pole", move local services into the private realm, where they can be negotiated locally and individually. Provide greater flexibility and liquidity, for property utilization and ownership. Allow people to govern their own lives for services needs, so that the wisdom of the elders might have a chance to return. Another way to think of services to digital construction, is as a further strengthening of the net.
Today, government and business alike rely on a strong net, which is flung across the globe. Except there's just one problem. Those components are so broadly spaced that many facets of society - hence potential economic activity - fall completely through. Just the same, a stronger net remains possible. In the above linked book, Glassman refers to Indra's net, where each person and event is connected in space and time.
Local communities could generate stronger nets through becoming broader institutional structures for resource use, than today's business formations are now capable of. In effect, this would allow participating communities in knowledge use systems for services, to become supra institutional structures, by including the resource possibilities in their own midst. These structures would generate strong nets, and few would fall through the remaining holes. In short, economies everywhere need the help of their help of their local economies in order to continue moving forward in the 21st century.
...more links, so I'll give the rest of the wrap up over to them:
Jobs are coming back but with lower pay - what every local economy needs to bear in mind as it considers new forms of infrastructure for the future.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-jobs-wages-inequality-mayors-20140811-story.html
An article from Paul Krugman, (India Times)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/us-crisis-not-over-america-should-learn-from-europes-experience/articleshow/40308766.cms
This county by county map is quite useful for anyone who wants to get a better picture of local economic conditions in the U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/upshot/where-are-the-hardest-places-to-live-in-the-us.html?action=click&contentCollection=The%20Upshot&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article&abt=0002&abg=0
Of course every group has viewpoints that don't necessarily line up with one's own, and Ryan Long makes a good point about libertarians in this post.
Cross country comparisons are not easy: Dietz Vollrath takes a closer look at GDP.
http://growthecon.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/what-does-real-gdp-measure/
James Pethokoukis highlights slavery in an AEI post: This map shows where slavery and forced labor are happening around the world.
Not so long ago, it seemed that everybody did (Pethokoukis)...Fewer Americans now self identify as 'middle class'
"I feel like a pawn in a moneymaking game for hospital administrators." http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-s-ailing-medical-system-a-doctors-perspective-1409325361
An article from Paul Krugman, (India Times)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/us-crisis-not-over-america-should-learn-from-europes-experience/articleshow/40308766.cms
This county by county map is quite useful for anyone who wants to get a better picture of local economic conditions in the U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/upshot/where-are-the-hardest-places-to-live-in-the-us.html?action=click&contentCollection=The%20Upshot&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article&abt=0002&abg=0
Of course every group has viewpoints that don't necessarily line up with one's own, and Ryan Long makes a good point about libertarians in this post.
Cross country comparisons are not easy: Dietz Vollrath takes a closer look at GDP.
http://growthecon.wordpress.com/2014/08/29/what-does-real-gdp-measure/
James Pethokoukis highlights slavery in an AEI post: This map shows where slavery and forced labor are happening around the world.
Not so long ago, it seemed that everybody did (Pethokoukis)...Fewer Americans now self identify as 'middle class'
"I feel like a pawn in a moneymaking game for hospital administrators." http://online.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-s-ailing-medical-system-a-doctors-perspective-1409325361
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Musings on the Marginalized Landscape
...that is, the circumstance of those who are either unemployed or insufficiently employed. In contrast to the idea of teeming masses locked away from society (as some dystopian stories describe), today's unemployed exist in disparate groups which often appear quite different from one another. These in turn are shaped by institutions, of which the most obvious are prisons which "mop up" the anger of economic exclusion. Of course this is a broad generalization, but prisons remain the primary institutions in the U.S. which attempt to reduce social uncertainties stemming from unemployment or low employment.
Too few hours on the payroll can mimic unemployment, when an individual struggles to save enough for the prerequisites which lead to either shelter or transportation options. Even prior to 2000 when the economy was booming, I knew of homeless people who came to work from tents or their vehicles, at a time when management could still afford to be understanding about their circumstance.
Indeed, there are times when homelessness turns out to be a rational choice. What society sometimes misses - particularly in zoning laws - is that some find more equanimity in peaceful settings which are possible to control, when they are able to live alone. One young man in my workplace had parents who were both college professors. After attempting to live with roommates with a very different lifestyle, he wanted to save enough to live in an apartment on his own, but was set back a number of times by illness (exposure to the elements) before he was able to do so.
Much as low income individuals are often "hidden" in city environments, those without any work at all - who are not homeless on the streets - tend to be hidden in environments which include "more reasonable" real estate. However, a lack of local work options is often the reason for either the affordability or the availability. As a result these individuals may have tenuous relationships with family members, whose lives are also affected by the lack of economic inclusion on the part of their kin.
For many in this circumstance, the additional burden on family members is a recent development. So long as transportation options remained within the perimeter of low income potential, this single factor was responsible for maintaining greater market depth at multiple levels. Some of that market depth has been lost, in ways that now require changes for infrastructure settings, before market depth can be completely regained. This particularly presents a problem for the U.S., in that many cities and towns were laid out with the automobile in mind.
Drugs and alcohol use are heightened in the unemployment and low employment landscape, which leads to numerous knock on effects as well. Because there are few systems in place which allow the marginalized to seek their own solutions, their shortened lifespans often act as a net positive for the states or institutions which are tasked with their responsibility.
The "deadweight loss" rationale is one of the most powerful arguments we have, to allow the marginalized to help themselves. Even from a completely dispassionate perspective, the social exclusion of low income and the unemployed can drag down not just longevity statistics for nations, but also long term growth prospects as well.
And while empathy may sometimes enter these discussions, economic inclusion - more than anything - is really a matter of common sense. Who cares if some elite end up embarrassed by the potential of individuals with "no impulse control and little intelligence", who find it in themselves to prove the naysayers wrong. The only thing we would lose - should the marginalized create a better reality for themselves - is the incomplete marketplace which continues to undermine the stability of nations.
Too few hours on the payroll can mimic unemployment, when an individual struggles to save enough for the prerequisites which lead to either shelter or transportation options. Even prior to 2000 when the economy was booming, I knew of homeless people who came to work from tents or their vehicles, at a time when management could still afford to be understanding about their circumstance.
Indeed, there are times when homelessness turns out to be a rational choice. What society sometimes misses - particularly in zoning laws - is that some find more equanimity in peaceful settings which are possible to control, when they are able to live alone. One young man in my workplace had parents who were both college professors. After attempting to live with roommates with a very different lifestyle, he wanted to save enough to live in an apartment on his own, but was set back a number of times by illness (exposure to the elements) before he was able to do so.
Much as low income individuals are often "hidden" in city environments, those without any work at all - who are not homeless on the streets - tend to be hidden in environments which include "more reasonable" real estate. However, a lack of local work options is often the reason for either the affordability or the availability. As a result these individuals may have tenuous relationships with family members, whose lives are also affected by the lack of economic inclusion on the part of their kin.
For many in this circumstance, the additional burden on family members is a recent development. So long as transportation options remained within the perimeter of low income potential, this single factor was responsible for maintaining greater market depth at multiple levels. Some of that market depth has been lost, in ways that now require changes for infrastructure settings, before market depth can be completely regained. This particularly presents a problem for the U.S., in that many cities and towns were laid out with the automobile in mind.
Drugs and alcohol use are heightened in the unemployment and low employment landscape, which leads to numerous knock on effects as well. Because there are few systems in place which allow the marginalized to seek their own solutions, their shortened lifespans often act as a net positive for the states or institutions which are tasked with their responsibility.
The "deadweight loss" rationale is one of the most powerful arguments we have, to allow the marginalized to help themselves. Even from a completely dispassionate perspective, the social exclusion of low income and the unemployed can drag down not just longevity statistics for nations, but also long term growth prospects as well.
And while empathy may sometimes enter these discussions, economic inclusion - more than anything - is really a matter of common sense. Who cares if some elite end up embarrassed by the potential of individuals with "no impulse control and little intelligence", who find it in themselves to prove the naysayers wrong. The only thing we would lose - should the marginalized create a better reality for themselves - is the incomplete marketplace which continues to undermine the stability of nations.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
What Constitutes an Experiential Service?
This question has relevance, in that it provides needed context for overall goal sets in time arbitrage coordination. Some experiential service components satisfy wants or perhaps ongoing challenges, while others satisfy basic needs. These groups would be approached quite differently, in that obvious needs would become core components of services. Think basic = core = inclusive, versus want = peripheral = exclusive.
Within this context, exclusive or unique time use formation is not arbitrarily driven out of group settings by the insistent valuations of basic services needs. This is just another way of describing how time use optimization can work. Without time use optimization, time use skills which should be basic in nature (yep, healthcare), tend to drive out exclusive forms of time use which can provide more happiness. Likewise: at a younger age, basic school core subjects tend to drive out numerous intellectual interests which students might otherwise pursue.
Even so, these "want" versus "need" designations cannot be teased out of the intangibles that represent total resource use (standard of living) settings - nor should they. Instead, services wants versus needs can be accounted for in time use aggregates, where the differences become much easier to quantify. By tracking the finite nature of (aggregate) local time use available for services as a core point of reference, services taxation becomes practically unnecessary for any knowledge use system which 1) provides education for core healthcare skills and 2) tracks time use separately from standard accounting and economic measures.
Today's post is in part a response to an article regarding happiness and experiential product: an article which I subsequently lost, even after retracing my online steps from yesterday in an attempt to find it. Darn! Normally when I come across a link that is possibly postworthy, I try to save it promptly, just in case. While experiential product was not designated as such in the article, I think of the experiential product which is capable of generating happiness, as peripheral and exclusive service product formation.
Fortunately, Tyler Cowen posted a link which also touches on the research (he calls it speculative) and it is here. Also, his reference to delayed gratification is only a partial context for experiential product, as opposed to the delayed gratification one normally thinks of regarding investment. The gist of the article was that experiential product - i.e. not a physical product but one that generates "memories" - creates more happiness than, say, waiting in line for a product which we would either 1) carry home or 2) consider a basic good.
Hmm. There's plenty of product formations (involving services time components) which make us want to pull our hair out while waiting. These wait times all too often exist, for what has become defined in recent decades as basic needs on multiple levels. Hence this kind of negative experience stands in stark contrast to pleasant experiential services which are also coordinated through timed group settings.
How might we contrast the aggravation with the positive experiential setting? Waiting in line for fast (basic or everyday) food might be classified a minor nuisance. Sometimes the wait for service help on the phone calls for a zen attitude. And all too often, waits for the doctor may feel as though a total time loss...at least bringing a book helps!
And yet, anticipating vacation or standing in line for special meals or concerts can evoke positive feelings. Yet if the wonderful meal happened every day, it wouldn't be special. Nor would anyone choose to stand in line for that special meal on a regular basis. That's why 1) exclusive experience is a peripheral gain, and 2) by recognizing basic time use needs - thus generating them in more closely spaced time units - there is still room for the peripheral pleasures which time use coordination makes possible.
So for time arbitrage, it helps to ask: what does coordinated time seek to accomplish? Is the services time in question being correlated with basic needs, or is it closer to what people seek after more basic needs have been taken care of? Does the collaboration represent exclusive or surprise elements (to generate a unique positive experience), or does it call for more inclusive service formation such as one would expect within the context of daily life?
None of this suggests that access to needed services can't provide happiness. However the happiness that results from life saving and maintenance services measures is due to gratitude, rather than the special memories of unique events. Therefore, life saving methods for both disease and accidents, would be a part of core local education for time arbitrage, in coordinated knowledge use systems for services.
Could some elements of healthcare comprise experiential service product which is closer to the happiness of exclusive settings? Absolutely - these occasional settings would actually be quite desirable in local economies. After all, individualized offerings represent unique ways for individuals to learn about healthcare options because they want to, not because they feel compelled to in a "do this or else" office setting. Retreats for alternative healthcare options - in some instances - can be just as inspiring as any vacation. This is one of many options for aspiring services entrepreneurs (individuals and teams), which could go well beyond the daily routines of local healthcare needs.
Experiential product which generates positive memories can be associated with many services. Presentation is important, and variations on presentation are only limited by one's imagination. As services entrepreneurs, individuals can propose ongoing offerings for locals which represent the intellectual challenges they most enjoy. Parts of life which are now associated with thriving economic regions and "special" cities could make any place feel special. The main ingredient? Simply the desire of local citizens, to make it happen.
Within this context, exclusive or unique time use formation is not arbitrarily driven out of group settings by the insistent valuations of basic services needs. This is just another way of describing how time use optimization can work. Without time use optimization, time use skills which should be basic in nature (yep, healthcare), tend to drive out exclusive forms of time use which can provide more happiness. Likewise: at a younger age, basic school core subjects tend to drive out numerous intellectual interests which students might otherwise pursue.
Even so, these "want" versus "need" designations cannot be teased out of the intangibles that represent total resource use (standard of living) settings - nor should they. Instead, services wants versus needs can be accounted for in time use aggregates, where the differences become much easier to quantify. By tracking the finite nature of (aggregate) local time use available for services as a core point of reference, services taxation becomes practically unnecessary for any knowledge use system which 1) provides education for core healthcare skills and 2) tracks time use separately from standard accounting and economic measures.
Today's post is in part a response to an article regarding happiness and experiential product: an article which I subsequently lost, even after retracing my online steps from yesterday in an attempt to find it. Darn! Normally when I come across a link that is possibly postworthy, I try to save it promptly, just in case. While experiential product was not designated as such in the article, I think of the experiential product which is capable of generating happiness, as peripheral and exclusive service product formation.
Fortunately, Tyler Cowen posted a link which also touches on the research (he calls it speculative) and it is here. Also, his reference to delayed gratification is only a partial context for experiential product, as opposed to the delayed gratification one normally thinks of regarding investment. The gist of the article was that experiential product - i.e. not a physical product but one that generates "memories" - creates more happiness than, say, waiting in line for a product which we would either 1) carry home or 2) consider a basic good.
Hmm. There's plenty of product formations (involving services time components) which make us want to pull our hair out while waiting. These wait times all too often exist, for what has become defined in recent decades as basic needs on multiple levels. Hence this kind of negative experience stands in stark contrast to pleasant experiential services which are also coordinated through timed group settings.
How might we contrast the aggravation with the positive experiential setting? Waiting in line for fast (basic or everyday) food might be classified a minor nuisance. Sometimes the wait for service help on the phone calls for a zen attitude. And all too often, waits for the doctor may feel as though a total time loss...at least bringing a book helps!
And yet, anticipating vacation or standing in line for special meals or concerts can evoke positive feelings. Yet if the wonderful meal happened every day, it wouldn't be special. Nor would anyone choose to stand in line for that special meal on a regular basis. That's why 1) exclusive experience is a peripheral gain, and 2) by recognizing basic time use needs - thus generating them in more closely spaced time units - there is still room for the peripheral pleasures which time use coordination makes possible.
So for time arbitrage, it helps to ask: what does coordinated time seek to accomplish? Is the services time in question being correlated with basic needs, or is it closer to what people seek after more basic needs have been taken care of? Does the collaboration represent exclusive or surprise elements (to generate a unique positive experience), or does it call for more inclusive service formation such as one would expect within the context of daily life?
None of this suggests that access to needed services can't provide happiness. However the happiness that results from life saving and maintenance services measures is due to gratitude, rather than the special memories of unique events. Therefore, life saving methods for both disease and accidents, would be a part of core local education for time arbitrage, in coordinated knowledge use systems for services.
Could some elements of healthcare comprise experiential service product which is closer to the happiness of exclusive settings? Absolutely - these occasional settings would actually be quite desirable in local economies. After all, individualized offerings represent unique ways for individuals to learn about healthcare options because they want to, not because they feel compelled to in a "do this or else" office setting. Retreats for alternative healthcare options - in some instances - can be just as inspiring as any vacation. This is one of many options for aspiring services entrepreneurs (individuals and teams), which could go well beyond the daily routines of local healthcare needs.
Experiential product which generates positive memories can be associated with many services. Presentation is important, and variations on presentation are only limited by one's imagination. As services entrepreneurs, individuals can propose ongoing offerings for locals which represent the intellectual challenges they most enjoy. Parts of life which are now associated with thriving economic regions and "special" cities could make any place feel special. The main ingredient? Simply the desire of local citizens, to make it happen.
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