Experienced Economics Instructor speeks about FTAA

I had a strange dream last night - that I was given five minutes to address
the FTAA assembly. Of course, one is totally tongue-tied in a dream. So,
here's some of what I might say if given the chance:

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today
about the protestors outside this building. I want to try to explain to you
what their motivations are, recognizing that their motivations are complex
and hard to boil down to a simple thought or two. I recognize that it is
hard for you to understand why they are doing what they are doing - in your
hearts you know that you are fighting the good fight on their behalf every
day. You might say to yourself: 'Why on earth do they make such a fuss when
we are only trying to help them?'

First, let me begin by giving you some of my personal background. I know a
lot about how you think because I have similar education and experiences to
many of you. I have had the responsibility of meeting a payroll or two,
small ones, but I know what that means. I worked for McKinsey Consulting and
I worked for a Fortune 100 firm as well as being the Director of an MBA
program for two years. So, I have some legitimate business experiences.

In trying to boil down the essential points that the demonstrators are
concerned about, I think their concerns go to the heart of how you make
business decisions. By that I mean that when you make a decision, you are
concerned about the bottom line - how will that decision affect profits, ROI
and share values. If that decision increases profits, ROI and share prices,
then you have done a good job; if it doesn't do that, you will probably be
fired. Life is hard in the business world.

But, and here is one of the protestor's points: the costs that you factor
into the decisions that you make cover only the costs that you pay out of
pocket. For example, you can make a higher profit by shifting manufacturing
jobs to China or Indonesia. Wage costs are lower and profits are higher -
and you get a bonus in addition to the pleasure of travelling to China and
Indonesia. Or, here's another example: you can make a higher profit by
shipping hazardous waste to another country instead of treating it safely in
the good ol' USA.

There are costs to both those decisions that someone has to pay. "There
ain't no free lunch", as someone said a long time ago. Who is going to pay
the out of work US factory worker when all he can get is a part time job
that pays a third of what he used to make? Who is going to pay the people
who live next to the waste dump where you send your waste for the cancer
their children develop in ten or twenty years?

The protestors want you to take responsibility for your decisions, not just
the bottom line responsibility that you are used to taking, but also the
responsibility for the costs that society has to pay on your behalf. Another
quote is this:'If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.' Well, if you
can't pay for the costs of the decision, don't make it.

I know this sounds hard in an environment where earnings per share have to
grow every quarter and shareholders don't give a rosy red rat's ass about
anything but their share prices going up.

I also know that you have been conditioned to think that the market will
solve any of these problems and that your job is to maximize profits and
obey the laws.

I'm here to tell you that it does not work that way. It's not your fault
that you believe that fairy tale, but it is time that you recognize the
truth about it.

The market does not solve those problems. What good is 20% off on a scooter
when your child has cancer? What good are annual earnings per share growth
when 30% of the people in some countries will die from AIDS? What good is
trade expansion when millions of farmers lose their livelihood from cheaper
imports and sell their daughters for food?

Well, I have run over my five minutes, so let me end with this thought:

It's about the future. The protestors want you to take responsibility for
the future that you create. If you don't, then they will. You won't like it
when they take over. We're all in this together, so let's work together to
create a good future"

Feel free to redistribute this in any forum you like, please give credit to
the author.

Regards,

Michael Pierce McKeever, Sr.
Economics Instructor, Vista Community College, Berkeley, CA
URL: www.mkeever.com [Note: no 'c' in mkeever]