Drinking at work causes lack of production? This is an outrage!

A few hundred workers at the Danish Brewing Company, Carlesberg, are outraged by a change in their working conditions. The factory workers and delivery men believe that the company has pulled a significant portion of their benefit package by LIMITING BEER CONSUMPTION TO ONLY LUNCH HOURS.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6374BH20100408

Workers are outraged that the plentiful free beer located throughout the factory has been stripped. The company will only provide beer during the employees lunch hour. Factory workers feel they have been stripped of their workplace rights.

As many as 800 angry, and very sober, workers walked out on strike last week.

The truck DRIVERS feel they have witnessed an even greater outrage. The company has allowed the drivers to take three beers with them to go from the canteen because they often do not eat lunch in the factory. Police should fear the increase in sober truck drivers!

This represents one of the greatest outrages in workplace history! The entire world should rally around the pain this has caused the worker.

The lesson: do not keep a Danish man from his beer.

Charlie Gentles

Tabloids, Magazines, and the Economy

At the gym the other day, I was browsing a copy of Star magazine, the one with the headline “Explosive Showdown” with an article discussing the infidelity of Jesse James. And then I started thinking, why exactly do I care about these people? What contribution do magazines like this, detailing the lives of celebrities, make for the country’s economy?

To some, tabloids are basically placed in the same category as newspapers when it comes to sales figures since they are sold in the same venues. In 2009, newspaper sales were down. But tabloid The Sun enjoyed an increase in sales during this time? Why??

I think it has a lot to do with the economic climate at that time. We were only beginning our climb out of the global recession of 2008 and people were looking to entertainment to calm their minds. I mean really, reading about someone else going to rehab or getting and ninth DUI is much more interesting than thinking about your mortgage or debt.

Recently, however, magazine sales have been down. Conde Nast Publications, the owner of magazine brands such as Vogue and Lucky, announced in October that they were closing Gourmet (a magazine that my dad definitely had a subscription to). Now that people are more optimistic about the economy and consumer confidence is up, people are spending less money on light reading material. Subscriptions are especially down.

For me, magazines are about light-hearted fun. Especially publications like Star or Vouge. These types of magazines are now experiencing sales drops, which to me, signifies a better economic outlook. I love magazines (even a tabloid now and again) but I’m glad to see people are using their time doing other things besides obsessing over Jesse James and Sandra Bullock.

-Claire McCandless

Caffeinated Queries

"The powers of a man's mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks."

- Sir James Mackintosh

Coffee is a staple component of many individuals’ daily existence. For some it is the force of habit which gets them buying or brewing every morning, afternoon, and night. For others, it’s a necessity. As a non-economist I tend to pay attention to those market issues which pertain to my practical existence – Valentine’s Day in February, lipstick on Fancy Dress. Now, as I launch into the throes of exam week, the focus is on the product which will shortly become my lifeline.

An interesting fact I found on The Heritage Coffee Company’s website is that coffee is the item traded second most worldwide behind petroleum. I suppose it sort of make sense – petroleum fuels machines and coffee fuels… people? In all seriousness though, that is a staggering thought – that coffee is SO high in demand by THAT many different people in places around the world.

To address the international relations issues generated by the extensive coffee traffic worldwide, the United Nations created the International Coffee Organization in 1963. The organization is based in London and for more extensive statistics regarding coffee prices, importing, exporting, and historical data, you can check out their website.

One of the most controversial things about coffee, besides the level of ethical and environmental conscientiousness with which it is acquired, is its effect on the drinker’s well-being. Do the adverse effects of caffeine outweigh the health benefits associated with the bean? This article from Harvard Health Publications indicates it’s probably like most other things in life – best in moderation.

If you are interested in how coffee made its way into the economies of the different continents, check out this page from National Geographic which tracks the product’s trek across the globe. This page also features an interactive map indicating highly saturated growing locations by country.

I’ve done a bit of travelling in my time at school and while I’ve wondered about water quality or whether or not I’d get enough ice in my beverage, I’ve never had a problem locating decent coffee in my wanderings. And whether nor not drinking it makes me a citizen of the world, if it’s going to enhance my “powers of mind” then bring on the java! It’s time to study.

~ Elizabeth Micci

Hitting the Job Market

Seniors spring has hit and the soon-to-be grads are all out on the job hunt.



The following website shows that the course work we have been taking is relevant to finding jobs. The article lists organizations seeking those who claim to be business journalists.



http://businessjournalism.org/2010/04/02/business-journalism-continues-to-see-job-opportunities/



Well what exactly is business journalism you might ask? Even though this course teaches the subject matter many are unfamiliar with what the responsibilities are.



http://bizjournalism.history.org/



This is a comprehensive website explaining in detail what exactly the responsibilities of a business journalist are.



Outside of the direct working world there are also many opportunities for people interested in business journalism to further their education.



http://journalism.nyu.edu/prospectivestudents/coursesofstudy/ber/



NYU offers a program and argues for the significant competitive advantages to attending post graduate programs before the job world.



In contrast time magazine ran a story last year that business journalism is actually something of the past.



http://time.com/business/article/0,8599,1911239,00.html



The article argues that educated consumer reads such as business week are struggling to get add revenue as the American public is searching for pop culture and infotainment. The article states that this is actually going to be the end of the business journalist.



The bing blog offers a remedy on how to save business journalism.



http://stanleybing.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/11/02/how-to-save-business-journalism/



Overall the field of journalism is ever changing and many believe that business journalism is thriving while others think it to be dying.



Charlie Gentles

Pink Lips Save Greenbacks

As a non-economist, it is not surprising that I find the most interesting economic indicators to be the ones that sound the least technical. Gross Domestic Product, the Consumer Price Index and New Home Sales are all extremely useful. But it probably does not surprise my fellow non-economists that when I first heard the term "The Lipstick Effect" in class, it was the one that got me thinking.

I’m not a huge cosmetics person myself. I mean, I do wear make-up and am pretty familiar with the semantics, but I’m not what you would call an aficionado per se. But I like wandering and testing in Sephora as much as the next girl and so I understand why people who write about the lipstick effect refer to the purchase of lipstick as a small indulgence.

Supposedly this perception of make-up dates back to the Great Depression when, according to Nancy Upton, a professor of marketing who focuses on consumer sentiments: “What we saw was a consumer trying to make themselves feel better through small, indulgent, hedonic consumption.” This idea gained support with the spike of lipstick sales after 9/11.

Eve Pearl discusses the concept in her commentary on the Huffington Post entitled The Lipstick Effect of 2009. According to Pearl, lipstick isn’t enough to get women through the current crisis. It will take more than a new shade of the pink to get you making the green – maybe a wardrobe upgrade or a change in skin regimen? Whatever it takes to make you stand out in the applicant pool, she asserts.

While I can’t imagine that lipstick purchased will repair all of the negative sentiments associate with the current recession, there is something to be said for simple pleasures that satisfy the crave to shop and make you feel prettier at the same time. And who knows? Maybe it’s times like these when even the smallest items feel like a real treat that keeps us remember how fortunate we are when everything is great.

On that note… Ruby Red? Sweet Peach? Light Plum? Which do you think looks best?

~ Elizabeth Micci

Sam's Story x 11 million

Today is the “March for America” immigration reform rally in Washington D.C. and it got me thinking (as a non-economist) about the economic effect of immigration on our country.

I was listening to Marketplace on Friday and heard this story of Sam, an undocumented immigrant who was brought to Indiana from Mexico when he was 4. Now he's in college--a jazz prodigy--but has come to realize that upon graduation, he won't be able to work.

Sam wants to stay in America--as he says, he grew up with Barney and Power Rangers just like we did. He's not a citizen and has had to hide that part of his life for years.

Sam might be forced to get a job that pays under the table because employers won't (or shouldn't) hire illegal immigrants.

The Congressional Budget Office found that 50 to 75 percent of undocumented immigrants pay federal, state and local taxes. And they contribute about $7 billion per year to Social Security.

Desperate to find work, countless undocumented workers in this country are paid less than the minimum wage—effectively putting millions of people into poverty so that we can reap the benefit of cheap labor.

Multiply that by millions of Sams, and that’s a big impact on the economy.

The cost of cheap labor is greater than the price—and when the market fails to right this inequality, government intervention must occur.

Chances are Sam won't live up to the earning potential that his college degree got him. Isn’t that why we all go to college in the first place? To help us become who we want to be--part of that, undoubtedly being making enough money to live our dreams and support our families?

It’s a heated debate, and I don’t want to get political. But there’s got to be a point where economics and humanity meet. And that’s where the right choice will be.

--Stephanie Hardiman