Shopaholic Reform: Weekend Damages (2/12

Tuesday, February 15

Weekend Damages (2/12 - 2/13)

Saturday

So while I may not have spent any money on Saturday it certainly wasn't a dull day. Aaron planned a nice evening in Boston for us, Maggie included (he actually found a hotel...the Hyatt...that allowed dogs). Maggie was quite the little city dog. Sooo much to sniff! She loved it, and she made herself right at home in the hotel too.

Anyways, I figured something was up, I just had a gut feeling...and I was right! I'm a genius.

I got a text from my cousin 3 hours before we were supposed to be at dinner telling me Happy Birthday (funny b/c he should probably know that I have the same birthday as my Uncle...his father...and it wasn't Saturday) and to tell my nan not to have too many drinks because he was picking her up for an early mass Sunday morning...BUSTED! I of course told Aaron immediately that his plan was foiled :). So close....so very, very close.

So my family and some of my friends met us at Tresca for a very tasty dinner and then we headed over to The Greatest Bar for the rest of the evening. While I was expecting my family and I figured a couple of my friends to be at the restaurant for dinner, I had no idea that more people would be waiting for us at the bar, so Aaron did manage to pull off a semi-surprise for the evening. I even managed to walk by this sign on my way in...obviously I was in my own world.

Anyways, kudos to Aaron, Court and all else that helped in the planning efforts for the lovely evening, and for reminding me that fleeing the country for one's 30th birthday doesn't mean you'll get off without having a room full of people calling you old.

Sunday

$82.82 - Pet World (Food and such for Maggie)

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Something to Chew On...

The downside to Globalization

1. “The general complaint about globalization is that it has made the rich richer while making the non-rich poorer. It is wonderful for managers and investors, but hell on workers and nature.”¹

2. Multinational corporations are accused of social injustice, unfair working conditions (including slave labor wages and poor living and working conditions), as well as a lack of concern for the environment, mismanagement of natural resources, and ecological damage.

3. Multinational corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Many think there is a threat of corporations ruling the world because they are gaining power due to globalization.

4. Opponents say globalization makes it easier for rich companies to act with less accountability. They also claim that countries’ individual cultures are becoming overpowered by Americanization.

5. Anti-globalists also claim that globalization is not working for the majority of the world. During the most recent period of rapid growth in global trade and investment, 1960 to 1998, inequality worsened both internationally and within countries. The UN Development Program reports that the richest 20 percent of the world's population consume 86 percent of the world's resources, while the poorest 80 percent consume just 14 percent.

6. Some experts think that globalization is also leading to the incursion of communicable diseases. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe.

7. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. There is also an increase in human trafficking.

8. Social welfare schemes or “safety nets” are under great pressure in developed countries because of deficits and other economic ramifications of globalization.

As manufacturing continues to decline, so does our ability to innovate. In the long term, this means fewer well-paid jobs, lower productivity, declining wages, declining living standards and low economic growth. Globalization is a big part of this decline and will affect all jobs and all sectors of the economy. From the point of view of multinational corporations and Wall Street investors, globalization is probably viewed as a wonderful phenomenon with many opportunities. But from the point of view of American manufacturers, manufacturing workers, the middle class, professional service workers and overall economic growth, I think the disadvantages far out weigh the advantages.

-Mike Collins, The Pros and Cons of Globalization (2010)