Miscellaneous

A Chicken Goat in Every Pot ... Kind Of ...

After 15 years of people from Dubya to Thomas Friedman extolling the merits of globalization, the fact that it has some drawbacks is becoming clear to even its most ardent boosters (and these are folks for whom issues like, oh, inherent power differentials that foster exploitative working conditions, or the horrible environmental implications of shipping materials and goods all over the place, weren't big concerns.) As the U.S. economy shudders to a halt, it is dragging down markets across the globe.

In just one measure of the impact the downturn is having, the BBC reports that goat sales are "down sharply" at Mama Mikes, a webstore that lets Kenyans living abroad send a variety of items home, including goat, the traditional food for the holidays. Some analysts have said Africa shouldn't be too affected by the downturn, but like many developing economies, Kenya relies heavily on "remittances" -- cash and goods sent back to Kenya by those earning money elsewhere, in places like the US, Europe and the Middle East. As salaries shrink, the cost of living rises and jobs disappear abroad, the remittances are drying up. In addition to goats and other food items, customers at Mama Mikes can buy services like medical visits and school fees for families back in Kenya, but the company says revenue has dropped 30 percent over the past two months, and they are getting at least two cancellations a month.

Full post as published by Quiz Law on October 24, 2008 (boomark / email).