Story of Stuff

A really fascinating presentation - Link

In short, it argues that our entire economy and our self worth is now linked to the idea of being consumers who will infinitely keep the engine of production going, without being mindful of the destruction that this is causing to the environment, as well as the harmful effects on society as a whole.

I think the future lies in sustainable local economies, where most of the basic 'stuff' we need is produced in our local economy or neighbourhood, consumed locally, and then disposed and recycled. If something can't be recycled or disposed harmlessly, it should not be produced in the first place. Also the single biggest piece in this consumption engine is Energy, and hence the sooner we move to green energy the better.

It seems like change can happen more easily in developing and poor economies which haven't yet gone through the entire cycle of increasing incomes and consumption. On the contrary, we have India arguing at climate change forums that developing countries should be spared the burden of contributing to reduced carbon footprints etc. as all that would come at the cost of development. In other words, we are arguing that we will first replicate what the developed economies did, commit the same mistakes, and only then be held accountable for any damage we may caused in the process!

Argentina's peculiar coin shortage

For well over a year now, small change has been hard to come by there. Stores hang “No Coins” signs in their windows, and offer candies instead of change. Taxi-drivers round up—or down—to avoid giving up precious coins, while smaller merchants sometimes turn away business if you have only bills to offer them. The government has fined banks thousands of pesos for refusing to hand over coins, and, in October, the city’s subways became temporarily free when the booths ran short of change. For the average Bonaerense, everyday transactions now entail a complicated calculation of where coins can be acquired and when they will be needed.

More here

Health care entrepreneurship

The invisible hand of the economy is beginning to touch health care in India:

Dr Shetty is turning serial entrepreneur. The grand plan is to set up health cities in several state capitals with training institutes for medical manpower. Health cities are large complexes that will house different specialties for treating major diseases, and both state governments and private equity have bought into Dr Shetty's vision for transforming the health landscape of the country.

While AIG and JP Morgan have pumped in Rs 200 crore each for a combined 25 per cent stake in the holding company Narayana Hrudyalalya Private Limited, state governments have offered large tracts of prime property in Ahmedababd, Jaipur, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar and Dehra Dun.

This is by far the most ambitious expansion drive among private players in the country with Dr Shetty expecting to add 20,000 beds in the next five years.

More here in a feature story on Dr. Devi Prasad Shetty

Pursuit of happiness

Studies by economists show that money is directly related to happiness until it leads people out of abject poverty. Beyond that point, the marginal utility of money (towards increasing happiness) keeps decreasing. The happiness level of someone making $1 million versus $5million is not too different. This however does not stop people from mistakenly viewing money as a source of happiness, and wasting their lives in it's pursuit, but as Will Smith speculated in the film 'The pursuit of happyness', maybe the whole point of that phrase is that happiness is something to be pursued and never attained?