Category Archives: Economics

Economics: Currently it is f—ed, thank you Wall Street and all of its MBA members

Economics, Social

Tip What, Pt 2

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Tip What, Pt 2
(view Part 1)
Virtues: Social Customs, service, ethics

As the Christmas holiday season approaches I’m hearing a lot of talk on tipping. For instance, people give tips to their mailman or mechanic – which I find interesting. I mean, I would love to work in a service industry where I am tipped just for performing my job duties, shit, maybe being a waiter is my calling as I purposely hang around your table after the bill has been served to ensure that I receive my tip. Or better yet, I should work in a hotel as a bellhop and conduct the same behavior. It would be sweet – I mean, I would get a regular salary (not much), but then I would base my service to customers on how well they have tipped me. Its interesting that this social customary called ‘tipping’ is almost mandatory in the service industry, however essentially it is almost a bribe – I mean, if one were to give a service contract or even a government employee a ‘lil extra’, society as a whole and I’m sure most courts of laws would consider that bribery. You know, ‘Scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’ type of logic.

I may sound a bit, ah, um … real, but we have reached a pivotal time in our society where we want to be rewarded more for simply doing our jobs. I don’t know what generation this has spawned out of, but this creates a climate where we don’t necessarily tip for ‘exceptional service’, but we tip to ensure service. Meaning, you are not going to tip your mechanic because he does such great work, but more or less, you’re tipping him for the hope he doesn’t screw you over in the coming year. Same with the mailman, I don’t know exactly how the mailman can provide ‘exceptional’ mail service (please share if you do), but if you tip him, you are doing so with the intentions that he performs his job by giving you regular mail service.

Now, maybe – correction, I know that people do actually tip these people during these seasons just based out of the goodness from their heart, and that is truly a beautiful thing. BUT, if you are planning on tipping just to procure services or to pretty much BRIBE, then you your f*cked.

Happy Holidays

(P.S. I rarely tip, only for exceptional above & beyond service. I don’t do any percentage calculations of the bill, I dont give a ______ < insert word here)

Economics

Negative World

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Took a little hiatus, but hi-hate-us, I am back

Negative World
Virtues: debt, loans, outlook

No matter how bleak the outlook on life may be, you gotta remember something – the Negative World. What is this ‘negative world’? Doesn’t necessarily relate to negativity, but more so correlates to one’s financial status. A good friend told me about this world where ‘minuses’ become a way of life, below ‘zero’ is a constant theme. However, even though my friend was living in this negative world, he acted like he didn’t; actually acted quite the opposite, which shocked me, but I guess we can’t let our financial level affect our morale – to an extent I guess. I recalled being in this negative world, as a young college student, and many college students across the world exist in this world where debt is synonymous with being a student – yet credit cards still want to shower you with ‘no annual fees’ and a ‘low interest rate’.

I guess my point is, if you are in the negative world, don’t let your debt lead you to a negative life – that ain’t positive.

Economics, Hip-Hop

VLot Case #119: "Each block is like a maze with black rats"

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“Each block is like a maze with black rats”
— Nas, NY State of Mind from Illmatic (1993)
a case study from www.vacantlot.org

A colourful social commentary. The urban cities in North America, specifically that of the United States is primarily made up of inadequate housing dwellings; which are primarily occupied with black individuals (immigrants or migrants). These areas are sometimes referred to as the ‘ghetto’ or ‘hood’ because crime, unemployment, and poverty are higher than other areas of the city.

One who grows up in such an enviornment is usually caught in a ‘cycle’ – which is the pre-determination of the socio-economic outcome. In this case, one whom grows up in a ‘hood’ is significantly more likely to experience a life of high unemployment, poverty, and crime — of course there are exceptions to this ‘perceived’ rule, and some break out of the cycle.

The ‘maze’ refers to the sequence of life to which one tries to escape a certain context; in this case, the context is the urban dwellings (ghetto, hood); which of course is consumed with the undesirable virtues as stated earlier.

The Great Escape
It is debatable to which what and how are the best methods to escape the ‘maze’ however the following could assist:
– Attainment of higher education (college or university degrees)
– A considerable amount of parental investment (single or two-parent; in the case of a single parent household, the single parent must work much harder)
– Social activities (i.e. sports, groups, hobbies)
– Luck

In summation, our conditions condition us to behave and expect certain types of behavior; thus, for one to change their condition, a new embrace of thought is required to go above and beyond what is expected of you. There is no easy answer, but the first step may be to attain knowledge of one’s self, and the environment around them.

Its hard to figure out a problem until you understand why you are faced with a problem; then you can derive a solution.

.: More lyrics and quotes at www.vacantlot.org

Economics, Social

Tip What?

1 Comment

TIP WHAT?
The cultural norm of tipping

This is just a funny story that I thought I would share:

The other day I was with my sister and my nephew in a popular Chinese buffet restaurant; the food was mediocre (what else can one expect at a buffet?), but the selection was vast in quantity. A perky waitress brought us to our seats and asked us if we had any additional orders (i.e. beverages, alcohol, etc.). We place a couple of orders and then proceeded to attack the buffet table to feed our appetite.

Now, to the extent of what the waitress performed, which was pretty much just cleaning the table of dishes that were dirty, a debate ensued whether what the appropriate tip should be for the waitress. I was baffled, because the question in my head was if there should be a tip at all.

Now, I’m not one that is really in favour of tipping; I don’t feel that it is rational to ‘tip’ someone for the job function’s that they are supposed to perform. Especially, in a buffet environment where the waitress does half of the duties than a waitress at a regular restaurant. Tipping has seemed to evolve into a cultural norm, but it is a cultural norm that I wish not to subscribe too. Now, don’t get me wrong, I have tipped in the past, but I’m strongly against the notion of deriving a mathematical percentage formula to determine how much one should tip (i.e. 10% of the order). That is foolishness. Tipping should only be done if you feel that the waitress went beyond her specific job duties: lets say, by providing excellent repertoire or customer service. Don’t just tip someone for performing their basic job duties.

Tipping has become expected and is embedded into our cultural, so much so, that has almost become a cultural norm – waitresses expect to be tipped no matter how much/well they perform their duties. Another factor is that because tipping is a cultural norm; any deviation from such actions will make one ostracised – stigmatized as ‘cheap’, ‘mean’ or ‘petty’.

In summation, I still contributed to a tip (much to my dismay) because I felt a desire to conform, rather than be true to thyself ….

Think about that.

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