Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Big Supply Chain Shift To Counter Globalization?From The Financial Times:Crisis and climate force supply chain shift By Richard Milne in Amsterdam Published: August 9 2009 18:43 | Last updated: August 9 2009 18:43 Manufacturers are abandoning global supply chains for regional ones in a big shift brought about by the financial crisis and climate change concerns, according to executives and analysts. Companies are increasingly looking closer to home for their components, meaning that for their US or European operations they are more likely to use Mexico and eastern Europe than China, as previously. "A future where energy is more expensive and less plentifully available will lead to more regional supply chains," Gerard Kleisterlee, chief executive of Philips, one of Europe's biggest companies, told the Financial Times. Supply chain experts agreed, with Ernst & Young underlining how as much as 70 per cent of a manufacturing company's carbon footprint can come from transport and other costs in its supply chain. Dan O'Regan, the accounting firm's head of supply chains, said: "It is not just the prospect of regulatory changes but also the downturn that is forcing many organisations to consider restructuring their supply chains in their entirety. I think you will find smaller, more regional supply chains." Mr Kleisterlee said businesses needed to find ways to build an economy on a sustainable basis ahead of the Copenhagen summit on climate change later this year, with "a review of global logistics and transport” one of the important steps. He said that until now cheap transport costs had meant “Mexico wasn't competitive with China for supplying the US". Read the rest of the article Labels: climate change, energy, financial crisis, globalization, multinational corporations, supply chains Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Words Can't Describe How Wacky This IsThere's an absolutely devastating critique of corporate-led globalization hidden (only a little) in this story somewhere. From today's Guardian:Paradise almost lost: Maldives seek to buy a new homeland The Guardian, November 10, 2008 Randeep Ramesh in Male The Maldives will begin to divert a portion of the country's billion-dollar annual tourist revenue into buying a new homeland--as an insurance policy against climate change that threatens to turn the 300,000 islanders into environmental refugees, the country's first democratically elected president has told the Guardian. Mohamed Nasheed, who takes power officially tomorrow in the island's capital, Male, said the chain of 1,200 island and coral atolls dotted 500 miles from the tip of India is likely to disappear under the waves if the current pace of climate change continues to raise sea levels. The UN forecasts that the seas are likely to rise by up to 59cm by 2100, due to global warming. Most parts of the Maldives are just 1.5m above water. The president said even a "small rise" in sea levels would inundate large parts of the archipelago. "We can do nothing to stop climate change on our own and so we have to buy land elsewhere. It's an insurance policy for the worst possible outcome. After all, the Israelis [began by buying] land in Palestine," said Nasheed, also known as Anni. The president, a human rights activist who swept to power in elections last month after ousting Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the man who once imprisoned him, said he had already broached the idea with a number of countries and found them to be "receptive". Read the rest of the article Labels: climate change, globalization, Maldives Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). David Bacon to speak in Boston, 9/9/08Photojournalist David Bacon, a frequent contributor to Dollars & Sense, will be speaking on Tuesday, Sept. 9, at the Jamaica Plain Forum in Boston. If you live in the area, please attend his talk, which is sure to be enlightening. ... and come over to the Dollars & Sense table and introduce yourself to members of our collective!Speaking of Jamaica Plain Forum: Please save the date--Friday, Nov. 7, 2008--when Dollars & Sense will sponsor our own JP Forum event, "Ask Dr. Dollar," with longtime D&S contributor Arthur MacEwan, professor of economics at U.Mass-Boston. MacEwan will answer questions from the audience about the latest economic crises and what to expect from the new administration in Washington. Here's more information about David Bacon and the Sept. 9 event: "There are no Illegal People" Lecture and discussion with David Bacon, photojournalist and author. The Jamaica Plain Forum (http://www.jamaicaplainforum.org/) First Church in JP, UU 6 Eliot Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 Tuesday, September 9th, 2008, 7:00 p.m. FREE David Bacon will share first-hand observations on how the United States' trade and economic policy sets off a domino effect which ends in high immigration rates. In seeking to create a favorable investment climate for large corporations, socioeconomic conditions are created that displace communities and set migration into motion. Trade policy and immigration are intimately linked, Bacon argues, and are, in fact, elements of a single economic system. Bacon powerfully traces the development of illegal status back to slavery and shows the human cost of treating the indispensable labor of millions of migrants—and the migrants themselves—as illegal. He also analyzes NAFTA's corporate tilt as a cause of displacement and migration from Mexico and shows how criminalizing immigrant labor benefits employers. Award-winning photojournalist David Bacon spent thirty years as a labor organizer and immigrant rights activist. His articles appear in The Nation, American Prospect, Dollars & Sense, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Bacon hosts a weekly radio show on KPFA-FM in Berkeley, California. David's new book "Illegal People: How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants," will be available for purchase. This event is free and open to the public. **************************************** Visit the Jamaica Plain Forum at http://www.jamaicaplainforum.org/ http://www.myspace.com/jamaicaplainforum Labels: David Bacon, globalization, immigrants, Jamaica Plain Forum, labor organizing Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Repackaging GlobalizationThe 15th World Congress of the International Economic Association (IEA) kicked off a five day convention yesterday, June 25th, entitled "The Challenge of Globalization." Guillermo Calvo, President of the IEA, welcomed the participants by placing emphasis on the importance of the congress: "The IEA World Congress offers an ideal setup to discuss globalization issues because the Association encompasses many countries around the world and, since its inception, encourages scientific and nonpartisan debate." He went on to speak on some of the more current mainstream debates and issues being put forth in the area of international economics:Globalization issues have become central to the discussion about a good number of important topics such us trade and financial liberalization, global warming, and poverty and income distribution. Although most people would agree that globalization opens up new and exciting possibilities, risks are very real and cannot be ignored. Financial crises in emerging markets, for example, show that opening up channels for capital to flow from rich to poor countries - a process that has the potential of benefiting everyone, rich or poor -could backfire and turn the tide in the opposite direction. Even in cases in which globalization has brought about higher growth rates, one hears loud and angry voices claiming that the winners are just a handful few, while most of the population is left behind. To the extent that this perception prevails, the political sustainability of globalization will always be at stake, weakening the credibility of policy and policymakers, and bringing a new wave of massive and indiscriminate interventionism with global implications. The main themes being discussed at the congress were listed as; "international finance, political economy considerations, macroeconomic policy, the role of the state and institution in a globalized environment, migration issues, global imbalances, and globalization in historical perspective." Keynote speakers included Joseph Stiglitz (former chief economist of the World Bank ), Dani Rodrik (Harvard professor of international political economy) and Arvind Panagariya (a professor of Indian political economy at Columbia). As we can see from Calvo's opening remarks, the perspective taken at the congress is one which sheds a favorable light upon the "potential" of globalization and the need to address some of the issues and crises threatening it. Taking this viewpoint, globalization is not a problem in and of itself to be solved or changed but is rather a positive advancement being misconstrued as a problem by "angry voices." It seems that the speakers at the congress are addressing political sustainability of globalization—how globalization is perceived, and the threat of "interventionism"—instead of the nature of capitalism and whether or not it is a legitimate and healthy springboard for global economic integration. Despite the claim to address "global imbalances" and "migration issues," we didn't notice any evidence that people most negatively affected by neoliberal globalization were invited to participate. Conspicuously absent from the talks are labor and community spokespeople who could best represent the detrimental economic affects of globalization on their wages, working and living conditions, cultures, and societies. The conference seems more like a chance for the elites who dominate the conversation of international economics to gather and exchange ideas about policy solutions and the image of globalization with no intention to involve regular people or seriously alter the status quo. Given that we are not in attendence—and the interesting and relevant subject matter being discussed—we are hopeful that the conference actually addresses the some of the issues concerning the harmful economic affects of globalization on workers and poorer countries. But without adequate representation from these interests, and what looks to be a dedication to only changing the image of globalization instead of the way it works, we are skeptical. The website for the IEA Congress can be found here. Labels: 15th world congress, global imbalances, globalization, international economics Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Cafecito: discuss trade & immigration this Sunday in NewtonSunday, February 4, 4 pm, at 624 Sawmill Brook Parkway in NewtonThis Sunday, a friend of mine from Texas, Judith Rosenberg, is hosting a cafecito to discuss the connections between free trade, fair trade, immigration, the US economy, and anything else her guests can bring into the conversation. I met Judith several years ago on a delegation from Austin Tan Cerca de la Frontera to the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s, which organizes maquiladora workers on the Mexico-Texas border. Judith still works with ATCF, which has expanded its delegations from U.S.-->Mexico to include Mexico-->U.S. tours as well, through their Women and Fair Trade program. Judith brings this experience to the cafecito, as well as a copy of a new, award-winning documentary by Austin filmmaker Heather Courtney: Letters from the Other Side. The film interweaves video letters carried across the U.S.-Mexico border by the director with the personal stories of women left behind in post-NAFTA Mexico. The film gives an intimate look at the lives of the people most affected by today's failed immigration and trade policies. Judith and her cousin Linda Stern hosted a similar event last Sunday, which I attended. The film and the conversation were both stimulating. The topic I remember best was our discussion of fair trade and the trouble its producers have finding markets. As we were discussing fair trade tours by producers as a partial solution to the market problem, one guest* expressed her discomfort with the "ethnic" angle to fair trade—as though buyers are saying, I'll pay a fair price for your goods, but first you have to show me that you're authentic as well as oppressed. *—Tina, if you're out there, pipe up. I didn't get your last name. As a partial response, Judith told us about the Maquila Dignidad y Justicia that the Comité Fronterizo de Obrer@s has founded, which is turning out fair-trade t-shirts and tote bags that it sells, with the help of North Country Fair Trade in bulk in the United States. Dignidad y Justicia hopes one day to produce blue jeans, as well. Find out more at this Sunday's cafecito, 4pm, at the home of Judith's cousin, Linda Stern. To RSVP or for directions, contact Judith at chelrose at grandecom dot net. Labels: fair trade, free trade, globalization, immigration, NAFTA Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
