In my opinion anything that involves mathematics is far from simple. Now this is not entirely true I have framed houses, built stairs and laid out roof systems certainly not simple even complicated but there is a tangible hands on component to these tasks that seem simpler to me, no assumptions.
So I can't answer why? When it comes to the PPF I immediately freeze, and assume I just wont get it. So while looking at the graph on page 22 I tried something different. I considered chapter one and the 10 Principles of Economics and tried to figure it out.
1. the dark blue line (frontier) max resources available
2. A & B People face trade offs choose to make more or less of something you have to give up something to make more of something else
3. Any combination of one or the other that is within the frontier can be produced because of the available resources extend beyond those available resources "C" and it cant be done Unless there is a choice to grow the economy which can lead to a change in the frontier but something still has to give.
4. So in this economy the choice to produce more or fewer cars could have to do with demand and the opportunity cost fluctuates depending on what is being given up; giving up the production of 200 computers to make an additional 100 cars.
So that is a little more clear and it does help to "talk" it out but there is a lot there and then you go on to increase production to change frontiers. I am not sure I can tie this into the "Local" video or not I will try.
I love this video. The "local" conundrum is one that has always interested me. I know farmers that take produce, milk and beef into NYC. They fly under the flag of supporting NY Farmers but is it local? Certainly not local grown in Central Park local. For an orchard to take apples into NYC they have to harvest them, pack them, load them drive them into the city over the GW and down town costing loads of time and money. But is that time worth it if they can get more money per bushel in Brooklyn than at home. And its not "Local" they use migrant workers to harvest and a lot of that money is sent out of the country and the revenue for the apples leaves the city. I think what the consumer really needs to begin to understand where our food comes from. Is the impact of big farming business what it does to the environment both from a mass transport point of view and how supporting a regional farmer could help diminish those impacts. Our food production is big business and there are many economic impacts associated with it. Not a lot of food grown in Colorado for instance a lot of it is shipped in.
Interestingly enough the "Buy Local" movement is full of positive and normative statements that stake claims on how feeding the word is and should be. Big business farms may claim that they are feeding the world. When in reality they may be polluting/ over planting the vary land for this purpose with extensive use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers pushing smaller farmers off land because the can not compete.
Gabe Brown the author of Dirt to Soil would argue that regenerative method small farming is the wave of the future and that we can learn to heal our farm land produce better food and change the world. This is being done one small farm at a time, but takes time. BIG business farms don't think we have enough of that so to combat the lack of time they are producing plants that can grow with less water for example. CRAZY Right!!
Ultimately how far will we take it? Do you want that apple grown 60 miles North West of the city that a migrant family picked yesterday and Dotty drove into town this morning? Or the apple from Washington state 3,000 miles away picked 16 days ago? Or one taken from the food box akin to that in the movie Idiocracy.
I would assume that most of us would choose the healthier route but that takes time. Is there a more profitable route? What do we have to give up for those profits who looses from it? Let me try to draw a PPF and see if I can figure this out.
Signing Off
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