The Chimera of Macroeconomics

  We come into being with certain boundary conditions: 1)      Our time in Here is limited to 125 years. Therefore, we have to economize on time before all else. In other words, “ Saving Private Time ” (T) is it all through life.   2)      We have a life cycle of introduction, growth, maturity and decline. We in the introduction cycle largely rely on parents. On the contrary, we since the growth and on have to rely on the human and physical assets to which we are entitled; for the purpose of creating utilities for the sake of sustaining and pleasing the family on one hand; for the other goal of investing in assets for the future, for longer or for shorter, on the other hand. Economizing on the assets (M ∙ U) is the other key all through life.                            All in all, the largest bang for ...

  From time to time, we say “at the end of the day.” Most probably, that is at an occasion of reflection. In turn, such a reflection is for the purpose of performance evaluation over a certain period of time up to the end . The evaluation would rarely be for fun, but it must be for the sake of reflecting the past performance on the future activities in such a way as to improve efficiency, which is to be defined in U ∙ M ∙ T -1 .                Apparently, however many and however great utilities are meaningless without reference to the period of evaluation, which we in economics call “ the accounting period .” As such the question “when to compete” boils down how for us to name the accounting period.              By nature and by construct in economics, the accounting period depends on the type, kind and sort of economic activity. After all, the right ev...

  For better or for worse, we are born with limited physical and mental capacities vis-à-vis unlimited desires of indefinitely many kinds. Providentially, we have to gratify each desire bit by bit every once in a while. Yes, consumption of goods and services is periodical while we are in Here.              On the other hand, nothing pleasant to consume comes for free. Consequentially, we have to produce utilities, necessary or desirable, directly or indirectly, and that also periodically. In modern times, our life is communal as well as private; we spend some time in the public arena producing some things potentially utile and consuming other actual utilities. Particularly we trade periodically in the public market of consumable products on one hand and creative services on the other.              Now, a clear definition, may it be implicit, of the accountin...

  We in the physical world have three ultimate kinds of resources, viz. Time (T), space (L 3 , L for Length) and Mass (M). By definition, resources are limited. Limited in what sense? Of course vis-à-vis human wants, or “necessities, conveniences and luxuries” Thomas Malthus talked about (1836).              See we told you so: Economy ( 经济 , jīngjì ) in the meaning of “efficiency” is a necessity in life of us the human. “Economy” in what terms? Of course, Utilities per hour of Time (M ∙ U ∙ T -1 ); whereas Utilities encompass necessities, conveniences and luxuries; whereas the time is our ultimate currency in Here on Earth. Probably, the Malthusian “indolence” would be a type of convenience or another type of luxury; so might “leisure” be. Oh wait, we when in Economy need a fourth dimension of accounting, the Value of utility (U) W.S. Jevons talked about (1957 posthumous).        ...

  Imagine, as opposed to realizing, we are in the widget “market” of Mini-polis in the month of April 2036 wherein the unit of account is the thaler and the medium of exchange is thaler bills, solid (cash) or “thin-airy” (deposits). Ah, we are in the textbook not in the realty; demand schedules of households and supply schedules of firms exist ex ante , but lining either up in a “nicely” order for the purpose of accounting is ex post .                  We further suppose the demand schedule of the community for the month instant to be: the demand “curve” p= -2 ∙ q+ 47 (in thalers , meaning thaler bills).             To begin, we never forget that half a widget is useless, not to mention the infinitesimal thereof. On the flipside, we understand that the intercept 47 , which might conveniently be called “the constant,” equals the “marginal benefit” of t...

  Q1. How likely is your taste for “Hersey Kiss ball” to increase as you take more? Q2. How consistent would your taste for “Irish potatoes” be time after time? Q3. How often would you measure the value of a product in terms of “the Irish meat”? Q4. How ready are you to work for longer hours at a lower wage? Q5. How often do you take a piece of cake and a nap at the same time?   My guesses might be as good as the guesses of you who are not established economists such as Paul Samuelson, William Nordhaus, Gregory Mankiw, Paul Krugman…. and Robin Wells   Let’s check out some realities. No.1. “The product” is supposed to be unique and independent from all the other goods and services. The market denies taking any substitutive product out of indefinitely many into consideration. The product is fixed in the first place. Don’t when in the market even think about a single substitute across products. No.2. “The market” is conceived only for the defined time p...

  Scene #1. Paul Samuelson and William Nordhaus, Economics (19 th and final ed.), p.159 Some goods or productive factors are completely fixed in amount, regardless of price. There is only one Mona Lisa by da Vinci. Nature’s original endowment land can be taken as fixed in amount. Scene #2 . Gregory Mankiw, Macroeconomics (8 th ed.), p.508 Panel (a) of Figure 17-5 shows how the … price of housing P H … is determined by the supply and demand for existing stock of houses. At any point in time, the supply of houses is fixed.   Really amazing is how on Earth those household-name economists have so powerful blind spots in their eyes.   Blindness #1 . There is no way to trade what is in the inventory aka “stock.” For instance, we, if not they, can by no means purchase Mona Liza or “the fixed stock at any point in time.” In the first place, the object must be put on the block possibly to be purchased. Blindness #2. In the second place, there in the world does ...

  Suppose Mom ready for the weekly grocery shopping. Setting off, she has the “Irish potato” among other products in mind.             Question: No. 1. Would she purchase potatoes in a “fixed quantity,” no matter what? ② How close a substitute is “Irish meat” to the potato? ③ How many “substitutes” are there in the market, for that matter? ④ How often does she measure the utility value of potatoes in the quantity of “meat” or any other product? ⑤ Does she have loyalty to any of the sellers in town?             The respective answer in order: ① No, not quite. It depends; ② Very remote if ever; ③ Definitely indefinite; ④ Never, if ever; ⑤ Usually not, but we don’t know for sure about her whim. No matter which, “unsure” is everywhere identical to a “no” if in a theoretical proposition.                Now we ch...

  Back home after spending the afternoon hours in the library, Alicia faces a dishful of sushi prepared by loving Mom. Alicia, the rational, never grabs several pieces handful. She takes piece by piece, each in its entirety. She never leaves uneaten half, not to mention one thousandth (1/ 1,000) thereof. In economics jargon, the piece as in the dish is the “marginal” unit.   There is no question that she is crazy for the very first unit of sushi. The question: Is there any cost taking the first? Yes of course, nothing good comes for free. Yet, the cost of preparing sushi is irrelevant because it is already “sunk.” The relevancy comprises of gaining weight, mouth smell, getting many things around dirty and the feeling of fullness. Wait; does her time at dinner come for free? Never, the time (duration) is the most valuable currency for all of us with limited time of life. Time is the most critical cost because she has many other things to do at each “moment” of life. Is her...