Written by: Carlos Teran
Dear Nicaragua,
An Economic/Philosophical Poem that Meets All The Requirements of the Biannual Summative Blog PostNicaragua. Why are you the way that you are?
When I was a child, I loved your green pastures, your beautiful mountains, the leaves that danced on your trees, and the good life that you gave your people.
My people.
Not but a generation ago, your pastures, mountains trees and streets were painted red.
With the blood of 50,000 fallen Nicaraguans.
For the freedom of your valleys, for the freedom of your people.
Not but a generation ago, a proxy civil war for the battle of territorial economic control and the spread of Capitalism and Western culture versus Eastern culture and Marxism backed by Reagan and his band of misfits as well as Mr. Gorbachev broke out in your confines.
And you were painted red.
And in the name of what and whom?
You cut the head off of a snake, attached to the head of Medusa.
Your shaved your capitalist free market head with a communist command market Mach 3 razor only for your hair to grow back thicker.
And now you pick up the razor again.
The man who promised you prosperity,
And that your rivers would run thick with milk and honey.
Stole all social security from the very same people who fought for him to gain power invested the money into his construction companies and laundered drug money through those same companies then lost all of the money in his offshore accounts and asked for the very same people who gave him the power in the first place to bail him out with a regressive tax system that makes the retired the old and the poor give him and the government more money (Chavez)
The new generation, they stay woke.
Because sleep is the cousin of death.
And for opening their eyes and mouths,
More than 40 students were killed fighting for your freedom (Chavez).
And now the streets are red once again.
Don’t you know that if you continue to have revolutions for your economic and human freedom that it will prevent capital inflow to your country and deter Americans from investing and from exploiting your resources to build water parks so fat American families with their fat American dollars can use you as a place to “get away from their problems”? Thus causing your Cordoba to depreciate in the foreign exchange market because demand for your currency will decrease to the left on the money market graph and the global market.
And increase unemployment because you won’t have those waterparks, and the would be workers won’t have the opportunity to continue to be slaves with blue polos, who would go home and still wouldn’t be able to afford a good home and a life for their children, and some food to feed them every night.
Ok this poem is getting long and I need a thesis.
What should my you do?
How do we stop the violence, and provide a stable economy?
Do we buy bonds and increase the money supply so that interest rates will decrease, which will in turn increase investment as well as demand, hopefully increasing our GDP?
But would that really work?
If I knew the answer, I think I’d be in a better place.
Plus I only know my opinion of other people’s opinions.
So I’ll ask my comedian/philosopher friend Bill Hicks. Bill what should we do?
“Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over - not one human being excluded - and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace.” (Goodreads).
The End.
Works Cited
“A Quote from Love All the People.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/quotes/511079-fundamentalist-christianity-fascinating-these-people-actually-believe-that-the-world.
Chavez, Nicole. “More than 40 People Were Killed in Unrest in Nicaragua, Rights Groups Say.” CNN, Cable News Network, 29 Apr. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/04/27/americas/nicaragua-unrest/index.html.
I think this was a very creative way of crafting your blog post and I believe that it is awesome that someone is staying up-to-date with the problems that are unfolding in Nicaragua. It is interesting to see and learn more about the economic policies that the current and previous administrations have attempted, such as the regressive tax. I totally agree that, especially in the situation of countries like Nicaragua who don't possess any immediate threat to their security, that these nations should focus on internal development and creating human capital rather than focusing it on military-related expenditures.
ReplyDeleteThis was obviously a very unique way to complete your blog post and I bet it kept people engaged because of the structure. Your inclusion of economics was simultaneously interesting, specifically about the money supply and interest rates. In addition, talking about the current issues that specifically impact Nicaragua’s economy was important to aiding the economics information. Lastly, the quote at the end talks about solutions and a newfound way of improvement, which supports your claim and argument throughout the poem.
ReplyDeleteThis was probably the most interesting way to make your blog comment and I think it flowed really smoothly and you never got off track on the problem and you used economics to try to make things better. I thought it was cool that you connected to Nicaragua's current issues and trying to find a way to fix the economy or make it better. I agree that the country should try to focus on something else like human capital instead of military because they don't have a current threat that will harm the country.
ReplyDeleteThis was the best way to create your blog post. I wish I was creative enough to think of a poem in response. However I think the personal connection between the economy and how it effects people in their every day lives is really great. The quote at the end of the post was very note worthy and I like how it explains the idea of how America uses its budget in ways that are only good for defense but they should use it in ways that benefit people directly. Why would America spend so much of its money on defense when there no real threat currently.
ReplyDeleteLos, I think you did a great job in catching the attention of people and keeping them hooked. It is interesting how you think that foreign nations need to step in and help Nicaragua with their economic problems. I think that through lowering taxes on the poor and increasing taxes on the rich, Nicaragua can start fueling the economy because if the poor are able to buy more things, more money is put back into the economy and the circle continues. Along with that by taking more from the rich you are not affecting their daily life, just the amount of money they have stowed away that they might be giving as inheritance or buying a yacht with it.
ReplyDeleteThis poem was a great way to get a message and information across at once. I had no clue what was going on there but that poem made economics feel more than just school work. Very well done and a very good connection to economics.
ReplyDeleteLove the poem! Very creative use of words for your economics blog post. I also like how you wrote about something that you actually care about. It's sad that water parks are Nicaragua's main source of GDP and that those who are employed by the water parks are barely paid minimum wage. Overall, good topic and overall piece.
ReplyDeleteThe poem made this blog an easy read. I've read too many posts about money and made too many comments, but reading this makes it seem like I'm not even reading the Pewaukee Economics blog. The structure of this post emphasized the greediness of the Nicaraguan government, while also addressing other issues within the country. Great job.
ReplyDeleteI did not know much about this topic and I think you brought it out in a very creative way. This poem was engaging and a very interesting way to explain the economics in Nicaragua. Overall, very good job!
ReplyDeleteAwesome poem! I could tell you really care about the state that Nicaragua is in. I also find it sad that Nicaragua, along with other countries, are taking away their natural beauties and building tourist attractions for 'fat Americans'. It seems backwards to me. Wouldn't you want people to pay to see your country's natural environmental beauty's? It's sad that Nicaragua is relying so heavily on the water park industry, especially because it probably doesn't make them that much money.
ReplyDeleteThis was a passionate poem and really expressed the loop Nicaragua is stuck in. As Madison Sterling said, it's not good that water parks are the country's main source of GDP. With the climate and temperatures in the area, I thought it'd be agriculture that would bring in the big bucks. Overall, this is far better than Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein combined.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really unique way to present your topic. It's interesting that many countries like Nicaragua are places that Americans go to "get away from their problems" but it is destroying the natural environment surrounding all of these countries. With all of the resorts going up you would think that they are making a ton of money but many people are struggling to make ends meet.
ReplyDeleteThis particular way to complete your blog post was very interesting and engaging! I thought it was more interesting than the generic blog articles we have all completed in the past. I can tell you really care about Nicaragua and the environment it is in. With all the economic resources having issues it's related to the money supply and interest rates. As resources are increasing it is causing the interest rates to increase meaning the money supply will decrease. In other words, people are having issues making ends meet.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Carlos! You did a great job catching the attention of individuals by writing about something you like a lot in your own unique way. You have a very passive stance about how you think foreign companies need to help Nicaragua with their economic problems. One thing that I think is important to help make advances in Nicaragua's economy is importing a proportional tax system, where you put more pressure on the rich and less on the poor. That way you would have more people circulating money back into the system because the poor and middle class would have more money to spend. This way over time Nicaragua will experience long-term economic growth.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting way to broadcast an economic issue for a blog post requirement. I found it surprising that Nicaragua is a place that American's go to go escape the the dilemmas that are occurring in the states. I find it sad that the natural beauty and land of tropical countries are getting replaced by modern tourist buildings and resorts. It's sad that water parks are Nicaragua's main source of GDP and that those who are employed by the water parks are barely paid minimum wage.
ReplyDeleteVery unique blog post. The connections you made from the economy to how it affects everyday life were very interesting. Lowering taxes on the poor and increasing taxes on the rich would allow Nicaragua to build the economy, would then lead the citizens to buy more things and therefore would lead to improvements. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteCarols,
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written. I think that this format of blog post really stands out enough to reach a new target audience. Economically, there's an interesting tradeoff between having natural beauty and an increasing demand for tourist attractions. Eventually, Nicaragua runs the threat that they have so many tourist attractions that they demolish the sanctity of what the tourists were coming to see in the first place.
This article, just like Nicaragua encapsulates standard econ - unlimited desire with a limited quantity of goods.
This poem was a great way to get a message and information across at once. The way u created this was unique and surprisingly didn’t take away from the message you were trying to convey. I can say this felt more like an actual blog post more than an informative post. Once again I thought the poem format was a great way to write this and it was done very well
ReplyDeleteCarlos this was very well done and certainly a different approach to a blog post. I felt like I did learn a lot and when we talk about GDP per capita which measures the living conditions in that country, you did not just give a number, you described it in detail which as a reader and economist made the story a whole lot more understandable.
ReplyDelete