Life in a global economy
11/03/15 04:21
Back in 1998, fishermen discovered the wreck of a ship in the Gelasia Straight off of the coast of Belitung Island in Indonesia. The ship turned out to be filled with the largest single collection of Tang dynasty artefacts found in one location. Over 60,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics, many still intact, were on the ship. The cargo in the wrecked ship helped to establish its age. This was a very old wreck, indeed. The ship was believed to have sunk in 826 AD, centuries before the Great Schism divided Eastern and Western Christianity. The date of the wreck is based on the age of the Ceramics, and the ship contained coins that were considerably older, showing evidence of well-established trade.
There are many interesting facts about this wreck. The boat was an Arabian dhow. Wood for the boat had come from both India and Africa. The keel came from the area of modern Zaire, far inland. The fact that the ship exists at all establishes the extensive trade and shipping that was taking place between the two continents in the first millennium. Blasted with lead ingots, the hull was stitched together with palm fiber cordage.
The ceramics on the ship were packed in jars from Vietnam and there were spices on board the ship that are native to China and other Southeast Asia regions. The ceramics are from Hunan provence, which is inland. The colors and motifs on the ceramics indicate they were destined for the Abbasid Caliphate of the Arabian Peninsula in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.
There is nothing new about a global economy. World trade is not a modern invention.
Analysts are still mulling the cause of yesterday’s sell off in US financial markets. The Dow ended the day over 330 points down. The Nasdaq was off by 83 points. The S & P dropped into negative territory for the year. Meanwhile, markets in London and Tokyo were up. To say that the markets were mixed is an understatement.
There are lots of theories. Interest rate fears have been the talk of investors since Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer said that a rate hike this year is highly probable. The dollar strengthened on world markets. One article, in Bloomberg suggested that the strength in the dollar over the Euro and Yen was prompted by a sell-off of the New Zealand dollar, or “kiwi.” Apparently dairy producers in New Zealand received threatening letters, plunging their currency markets into a sell-off.
Everything from the price of gas at the fuel pumps to the price of milk in New Zealand is affected by world markets. What happens in one part of the world has an impact on what happens in another place. And this has been going on for a long time.
The discovery of an ancient ship and the careful examination of its cargo and origins stands as clear evidence that the price of hardwoods in Central Africa and the price of spices in China were related long before the advent of modern communications systems, convenient international travel, or computerized trade markets. We are inexorably connected to all of the people in the world. We’re all in this together.
And in our own little corner of the world, voters have rejected a plan to borrow more than the city’s legal limit to finance the expansion of the civic center. Despite the fact that proponents of the plan outspent opponents by over 10 to 1, the voters, a rather small turnout, rejected the plan. There are still significant problems at the Civic Center that need to be addressed, and a new plan will have to be made, but the gigantic borrow-and-spend plan won’t be the chosen solution.
We might think that this is a purely local decision. After all, you had to be a citizen of the city in order to be able to vote. At our polling place, there was some confusion, as some of our neighbors, whose homes are just outside of the city limits, saw that the polls were open and tried to vote. Clearly they had an opinion, but the voting was reserved for city residents.
The proposal was based on travel and trade, however. Proponents of the plan believed that lots of people from outside of the city would come to events at the Civic Center and help pay for the greatly expanded building. Tourists do spend a lot of money in our city, and they do pay a lot of sales tax. I have seen estimates that tourism accounts for as much as 20% of South Dakota tax revenue. I’m not sure of that number, but it is clear that our visitors do leave some of their money behind when they are in town. Obviously, there is some doubt as to whether they would spend enough to cover the costs of a $180 million expansion that could cost an additional $300 in interest. Chances are the new plan will have a lower initial cost and perhaps it will have a more reasonable method of borrowing the money and a lower interest rate.
The bottom line, however, is that what we do affects our neighbors. We might not be able to make markets rise and fall like dairy farmers in New Zealand, but our decisions have impact far beyond the circle of our immediate family and friends and far beyond the span of our lives. There were plenty of voters in yesterday’s election who might not live as long as the repayment of the debt was projected.
This Sunday we will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering at our church. It is a reminder that we are not an isolated community. We are connected to people all around the world. Disaster in a far away place affects us. Our generosity can have an impact on reducing suffering of people we have never met face-to-face. As we receive the offering, we will be reminding ourselves of something that has been true all along.
We’re all in this together.
There are many interesting facts about this wreck. The boat was an Arabian dhow. Wood for the boat had come from both India and Africa. The keel came from the area of modern Zaire, far inland. The fact that the ship exists at all establishes the extensive trade and shipping that was taking place between the two continents in the first millennium. Blasted with lead ingots, the hull was stitched together with palm fiber cordage.
The ceramics on the ship were packed in jars from Vietnam and there were spices on board the ship that are native to China and other Southeast Asia regions. The ceramics are from Hunan provence, which is inland. The colors and motifs on the ceramics indicate they were destined for the Abbasid Caliphate of the Arabian Peninsula in the region of the Tigris and Euphrates valleys.
There is nothing new about a global economy. World trade is not a modern invention.
Analysts are still mulling the cause of yesterday’s sell off in US financial markets. The Dow ended the day over 330 points down. The Nasdaq was off by 83 points. The S & P dropped into negative territory for the year. Meanwhile, markets in London and Tokyo were up. To say that the markets were mixed is an understatement.
There are lots of theories. Interest rate fears have been the talk of investors since Fed vice chair Stanley Fischer said that a rate hike this year is highly probable. The dollar strengthened on world markets. One article, in Bloomberg suggested that the strength in the dollar over the Euro and Yen was prompted by a sell-off of the New Zealand dollar, or “kiwi.” Apparently dairy producers in New Zealand received threatening letters, plunging their currency markets into a sell-off.
Everything from the price of gas at the fuel pumps to the price of milk in New Zealand is affected by world markets. What happens in one part of the world has an impact on what happens in another place. And this has been going on for a long time.
The discovery of an ancient ship and the careful examination of its cargo and origins stands as clear evidence that the price of hardwoods in Central Africa and the price of spices in China were related long before the advent of modern communications systems, convenient international travel, or computerized trade markets. We are inexorably connected to all of the people in the world. We’re all in this together.
And in our own little corner of the world, voters have rejected a plan to borrow more than the city’s legal limit to finance the expansion of the civic center. Despite the fact that proponents of the plan outspent opponents by over 10 to 1, the voters, a rather small turnout, rejected the plan. There are still significant problems at the Civic Center that need to be addressed, and a new plan will have to be made, but the gigantic borrow-and-spend plan won’t be the chosen solution.
We might think that this is a purely local decision. After all, you had to be a citizen of the city in order to be able to vote. At our polling place, there was some confusion, as some of our neighbors, whose homes are just outside of the city limits, saw that the polls were open and tried to vote. Clearly they had an opinion, but the voting was reserved for city residents.
The proposal was based on travel and trade, however. Proponents of the plan believed that lots of people from outside of the city would come to events at the Civic Center and help pay for the greatly expanded building. Tourists do spend a lot of money in our city, and they do pay a lot of sales tax. I have seen estimates that tourism accounts for as much as 20% of South Dakota tax revenue. I’m not sure of that number, but it is clear that our visitors do leave some of their money behind when they are in town. Obviously, there is some doubt as to whether they would spend enough to cover the costs of a $180 million expansion that could cost an additional $300 in interest. Chances are the new plan will have a lower initial cost and perhaps it will have a more reasonable method of borrowing the money and a lower interest rate.
The bottom line, however, is that what we do affects our neighbors. We might not be able to make markets rise and fall like dairy farmers in New Zealand, but our decisions have impact far beyond the circle of our immediate family and friends and far beyond the span of our lives. There were plenty of voters in yesterday’s election who might not live as long as the repayment of the debt was projected.
This Sunday we will receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering at our church. It is a reminder that we are not an isolated community. We are connected to people all around the world. Disaster in a far away place affects us. Our generosity can have an impact on reducing suffering of people we have never met face-to-face. As we receive the offering, we will be reminding ourselves of something that has been true all along.
We’re all in this together.