EdGE Week 5

This week focused on the role of the public, private, and "third" sector in relation to themes of progress and inequality. There were many articles that promoted "neoliberalism" and a few that critiqued this idea. Adjustments to the private sector usually only aids the top 10%, who do not need help as much as the bottom half of the socioeconomic ladder. Sometimes, government interference can accidentally perpetuate poverty as seen in the "Haiti" article. A quick synopsis is that the government builds a garment factory in Haiti after HOPE II made by Clinton. The garment factory creates hundreds of jobs for the local people. The cloth produced is exported to USA. However, the service provided by these hundreds of local people remain underpaid. Daily wage is $1.75. There is no room for improvement. The labor is basic and creates health problems from the chemicals and over activity. How is this any different than the local people selling juice on the streets? This, in fact, may be better. They will make a higher daily wage. They are promoting their own economy. The factory promotes USA's economy more than Haiti's. In this case, the government should not have interfered at all since it made things worse. The "third" sector consists of NGOs and other non-profits. They fill in all the gaps. They are the philanthropists. They see more human than money. There are problems with all these sectors, which makes it harder for normal people to see that some people are actually trying to make things better.

The warm-up:

1. You are in your host country and walk past a beggar on the street. It is a young woman holding a baby. She rubs her belly and gestures towards her mouth, indicating hunger. She holds out her hand. You have plenty of money in your pocket. What do you do?
2. Your host organization runs a free library that lacks English books. In your hometown, lots of people have books they aren't reading. Before you begin your field position, your host organization asks you to collect books and bring them to donate to the library. What do you do?
3. Your host organization runs a free non-government school that struggles to find money to pay its teachers. You mention this to friends and family, and they suggest that you start a crowdfunding campaign (i.e. Kickstarter) to raise money to pay teachers. What do you do?

My response: 

1. I visit India every 2-3 years to remind myself of my roots and to bring back the zeal that fades away during my time in a much more luxurious environment, America. Seeing pregnant women begging on the streets is unfortunately common in "developing countries." It's a vicious cycle. Giving money to these women keeps them on the roads. It becomes routine for them. However, it is inhumane to ignore their extending, desperate arms at the same time. Women, mothers, the crippled, and young children initiate pathos in daily commuters. If it were me, I would look at the current status. The mother and the child need food at the moment. I am pretty sure I would be unconscious of the "vicious cycle" and contribute to help the family financially. 

2. I think this is a great idea! My school hosts plenty of book drives and I have hosted a book-a-thon myself. Spreading knowledge through books is do-able as well. The books have already been bought. Thus, the publishing firm has already made profit on it. Since the books are no longer of use to the local community, it would be better for them to go to someplace that would utilize their full potential. 

3. I have a Kickstarter myself to fundraise for a photobook of my experiences with my host organization. I need money for a basic DSLR and photobook supplies. Kickstarter is a great way to raise awareness about projects and bring the community together. The Kickstarter would allow the global community to make a difference by pledging just a few dollars. If a Kickstarter would keep the school and teachers functioning, it seems like something worth trying.

The next asked my reactions about "neoliberalism"

My response:

The french term "lasseiz faire" is synonymous to Neoliberalism. I am taking macroeconomics right now. Neoliberalism could be correlated with "classical" economy or "Says Law." Both state that the government and the federal reserve should stay out of the economy as much as they can. The economy, supply, and demand will readjust to create a new equilibrium. Humans changing the system could cause serious ramifications that we missed in advance. At the same time. If there are not strict rules and regulations, there are ramifications that could be just as severe. There is a voting age of 18 in America because most people under this age would not be educated enough to make national decisions. If the voting age were changed to 16 years old, these kids would have an amount of control over serious debates: abortion, ObamaCare, etc. The same applies here. If we let all businesses do their own thing, there could be ramifications that uneducated businessmen did not forsee. Government control is important to keep businesses within their limit and keep them from going bankrupt. A mixture of neoliberalism and liberalism would be the best way to handle an economy. I am sure many have tried. It is just hard for the federal government and an individual business to interact.

There was a TED talk where Dan Pallotta says something ironic: non-profits must function as businesses to actually work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfAzi6D5FpM

My response after watching the video:

The video is amazing. I cannot believe I was a critic of some of his ideas. He has very valid points. The 5 major differences between the rest of the economic world and non-profits are definitely points to consider. If money is one of the major factors for a for-profit or non-profit, then a non-profit must do what it needs to obtain this money. A non-profit will function better if it has the same rights as regular businesses. If it functions like a business, it will attract customers and customers have money: the money non-profits need. It's one of those good cycles; I have seen very few good cycles.