tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6703779.post112715160986417385..comments2023-04-02T07:13:54.213+01:00Comments on scrofulous: Economics and the Public Purposearam harrowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01272118188252697149noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6703779.post-1140961911181464042006-02-26T13:51:00.000+00:002006-02-26T13:51:00.000+00:00Oops, of course forgot the Galbraith-style (e), wh...Oops, of course forgot the Galbraith-style (e), which is that it's <I>not</I> in the best interests of McDonald's, but managers can get away with it because the central corporate office can't control everything on the ground. Also, managers get personal benefit from their workers' lousy conditions (like relative job satisfaction? or maybe somehow more pay? I'm not really sure...) that gives them an incentive to exploit them that is stronger than any disincentive McD central can give.aram harrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01272118188252697149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6703779.post-1139494557562358402006-02-09T14:15:00.000+00:002006-02-09T14:15:00.000+00:00Hi Saheli, I tried posting this earlier, but appa...Hi Saheli,<BR/> I tried posting this earlier, but apparently the Internet ate it.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, you can get the book used on amazon for basically the cost of shipping. As for TeX'ing, well, don't hold your breath, but an html file is also "an actual document," no? In any case, <A HREF="http://scrofulous.blogspot.com/2005/12/economics-and-public-purpose.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> is a permalink.<BR/>The example is mine (and is from recent events...), but the style of thinking is entirely JKG's.<BR/><BR/>The question of "enjoying-your-work" utility is to me an interesting one. In particular, why are many low-wage service jobs (e.g. working at McDonald's) also seemingly needlessly degrading and low-status. By needless, I mean that the employer could presumably put the employees in a more comfortable/respected position in a way that benefits the employees as much as a wage increase that would cost much more.<BR/><BR/>Possibilities are (a) I'm wrong, and treating McDonald's workers better really would cost a lot, (b) customers demand subservient employees (kind of a variant of a), (c) keeping employees in a shitty position improves the bargaining power of management in general (as Ehrenreich argued in <A HREF="http://scrofulous.blogspot.com/2005/07/old-stuff.html" REL="nofollow">Nickel and Dimed</A>), (d) workers won't trade better working conditions for even slightly lower wages, either b/c they're harder to observe than wages, or they're already at minimum wage, or their preferences include their family's welfare (which is affected by their wages more than their working conditions), or b/c they think of the jobs as temporary.<BR/><BR/>Ideas? Maybe this should be a blog post of its own...aram harrowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01272118188252697149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6703779.post-1136294761979765962006-01-03T13:26:00.000+00:002006-01-03T13:26:00.000+00:00Whoa. That's quite a post. I actually feel inspire...Whoa. That's quite a post. I actually feel inspired to go find the book when I get back to the US. (Out of print!!! I wonder if I could find a cheap edition in India, where JKG is quite beloved) Any chance you could be persuaded to TeX it up as an actual document, or somesuch? It actually seems like printing out your review and using it as a bookmark might be useful. <BR/><BR/><I>Would you rather run a small dry cleaning business that gets 20% returns on capital, or be the CEO of GM in a year where the company loses 1% of its value?</I> Nice. Yours or JKG's?<BR/><BR/>The potential disconnect between shareholders, management, and liability of the modern corporation is truly mindboggling to really contemplate. <BR/><BR/><I>Or rather, we overconsume products and underconsume services and leisure (i.e. work too hard). </I><BR/><BR/>An excellent way to put an important point. Particularly excellent because a lot of "desirable" jobs (as in find-your-bliss jobs) are essentially service jobs, and so there's a kind of enjoying-your-work utility that's not being maximized over society.<BR/><BR/><I>(he responds to the claim that it'll encourage unemployment by saying that unemployment is preferable to degrading low-wage work once you've rejected the convenient social virtue which says otherwise)</I><BR/><BR/>Now that's a dangerous idea I might be able to get behind.Sahelihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06821121070704451663noreply@blogger.com