Double Journal Entry #7
High Noon 20 Global Problems 20 Years to Solve Them


1. Choose one of the unprecedented stresses on the earth resources and describe how it will negatively effect the quality of life of people living in developing countries and people living in modernized countries. 
I think that one of the biggest stresses on the earth will be the increasing population and lack of food to feed the demands of the population.  Rischard states that the majority of the population will be living in Asian-style urban overcrowding and congestion.  With the lack of farmland to use for agricultural purposes a food shortage will be ominous indeed.

2. What is the major debate around the future of market-based economies?
The major debate around the future of market-based economies is the fact that market based economies have increased to nearly six billion, and as a result jobs that were once in the United States are now being outsourced by other countries, from telemarketing to medical transcription.    According to Rischard, this is the result of other countries lowering their trade barriers and opening public utilities to competition. 

3. How has this technological revolution different the previous technological revolutions and what two factors of production and now more important than capital, labor and raw materials?
The previous technological revolution involved transforming energy or raw materials into usable goods.  Today's technological revolution involves transformation of time, distance and services which are more important to society than capital, labor and raw materials.  Time is money.  The faster, more efficient that a good or service is delivered to the customer, the more satisfied the customer will be especially if the product also has good quality. 

4. What new service ideas have you had direct experience with? Drawing on your personal experience what are the benefits and drawbacks of these new service ideas?
A new service that I have had direct experience with is a TracFone.  Before I had permanent cell phone service I experimented with a TracFone for a year.  To add minutes to the TracFone, you had to call a 800 number to activate minutes from a prepaid card.  When trying to do this, your call was transferred to another country and the person that you got connected with spoke very poor English.  After about 30 minutes on hold and trying to get the individual to understand what I wanted to do, I became very frustrated.  Soon after that I switched to a local cell phone service.  Another company that I get very frustrated with is Dell for my computer.  When I call about a problem, I am put on hold for a long time and usually get someone that does not speak good English.  The funny thing I have noticed about these types of calls is that now they are using American names.  So I am speaking to Nancy and she sounds Hispanic.  I think that some kind of market study has been done and proved that consumers will be more respectful to these telemarketers or operators if they have an American name because we will respect them more. Interesting!

Quote:
"...bundling and unbundling things in new ways is another hallmark of the new world ecomony...An example of bundling to come: multi-use smart cards with biometric data that would serve simultaneously as identity cards; airport security devices; credit or debit cards; frequent flyer, hotel, and car rentals; telephone cards; medical insurance cards; and even voter registration."

Response:
After reading the first four chapters in this book, I have found it very engaging to the mind.  I am fearful of the future when I read about food shortages, increased urbanization and pollution,  increased population, global warming, the technological revolution and a new world ecomomy.  I understand that this is the wave of the future, but I don't want to live in this type of environment and I'm sure most other people do not want this either.  But most frightening of all to me, is that the fact that these changes are due to occur in such a rapid time frame.  I fear that the United States is overly dependant on the trade from other countries and we will not be able to support ourselves with trade, since alot of the factories that were once here have moved overseas.  Today's workers, including myself, have moved away from the skilled trade jobs of the past and have moved into the age of computers.  I will call myself if you will, "a modern mom".  I work full-time, go to school part-time, take care of a home and pets, a husband and two children.  I still know how to bake, sew, knit, cook, and to my best ability do these things to provide for my family.  My daughter is seven years old, and on a weekly basis I let her help me cook and bake food for the family.  My goal is to help her learn how to do these things so she will know how to provide for herself as she matures.  My son is twelve years old and I have taught him how to do laundry and clean house.  I feel it is important to know skills on survival such as preparing food, taking care of your home or dwelling, and other practical skills.  In this day and age, people are losing sight of those practical skills, just as we as a society have started to lose the skills of the industrial age such as glass making and iron working.  Where would this country be without those early manufacturing jobs and raw natural resources that were converted into goods for us?  Think about "Rosie the Riveter" when the men were at war and the women ran the factories, made weapons, and military parts and equipment.   
The statement about bundling is most likely going to be a true one.  I see the future bringing such a multipurpose indentification card as a convenience for everyone.  But I also see it as a sign of the "end of times".  In the Bible it says we will have a New World Order.  Is the New World Order the same as a New World Economy?  I guess only time will tell.

Rischard, J. F. (2002). High noon 20 global problems 20 years to solve them. New York, NY: Basic Books.
This rubicks cube symbolizes that all of the corporations are linked in the new economy, and that services are interlinked.