Wage stuff and bigger issues, too

Economically, there's so much doggone stuff brewing now that it's hard to know where to start. The minimum wage is a good place, but there are bigger things to contemplate as well, so I also offer some insights into upcoming topics in this week's column. Once again I can't resist the temptation to mention economist Joseph A. Schumpeter, who had an eerily accurate understanding of how mass psychology meshes with economics.

Computers for the Commonwealth

Many people don't know about these yet, but super-small "netbooks" computers are starting a trend in computing.

The first models were, well, "cute" and "intriguing," but that was about it. But the latest models are downright impressive. I think they're just the thing for island living; they're easy to tote, they're cheap, and some models can go as many as six to nine hours on battery power.

When the world is right

"When the man is right, the world is right." That's the moral of a story I got from W. Clement Stone, and I took it to heart as a kid (still do, actually). At the time I had no idea I'd actually get to meet Mr. Stone. So here's today's column.

Chinese 24/7

As a beginning student in Mandarin Chinese, I've been wading through a galaxy of books--phrase books, grammar books, writing books, and text books. The best I've found so far is Chinese 24/7, which I review in today's Tribune. This book has really helped me out a lot.

Here are some related links, as promised in my review:

The book's author, Albert Wolfe, is also author of Laowaichinese.net, and it's via this site that I discovered Chinese 24/7.

Chinese 24/7 has associated audio files that are free to download at Chinese247book.com, which also carries more information about the book.

Let's not shake on it

Everyone in Saipan, and probably everyone reading these words, has experienced this minor annoyance: You’re sitting in a restaurant, just about to take hold of the cheeseburger you’ve been craving all day, and along comes a colleague of yours who, just your luck, has six visitors in tow. Your colleague, of course, can’t help from dispensing introductions. The hands extend automatically, and you find yourself rubbing more raw flesh than a Bangkok go-go dancer. And you don’t even get a tip or a lady’s drink out of it....(finish today's column here).


Also, here's the link to the Jim Rogers interview I mentioned in my column.

Still strategically strategic

The coming Asian arms race is finally getting notice in the world's press. Today's column is about that gig, and here's a link to a piece in the same vein I did back in 2007.

We're at the juncture where economic changes (namely, Uncle Sam's slide, but, as a secondary factor, China's rise) are going to induce military changes in the Asia-Pacific region. After all, armies march on their wallets.

The smart are scared. The others aren't.

Anywhere under the U.S. flag, be it Saipan or the mainland, the total disconnect between popular perception and economic reality is really shocking now. But emotion will prove to be a very poor substitute for reason (isn't that always the case?).

If you think that my take on things is less than cheery, then here's a link to the Atlantic magazine's May edition, in which economist Simon Johnson has his say.

The economic shoe

The U.S. economy will the be the "other shoe" that drops, after the financial shoe has hit the stage. If you've got ties to Asia, opportunity will eventually knock, because the world's economic order is going to change dramatically.

Wacky economics

If you’re serious about earning a living in Saipan, then you might want to look at the opportunities appropriate to these kinds of economies. No, they’re not particularly glamorous, but they are definitely proven.

The closer

Sometimes being a fly on the wall can be mighty instructive. This week's column is about 12 minutes in a cafe that offered profound insights into investment psychology. I'll probably do a follow up piece in the near future.