Why I love Father Z.

I have been following What Does the Prayer Really Say for several years.  I started before I knew anything about traditional Catholicism, and mostly out of a love for the Faith, and to gain some insight to be used for apologetics.  Why did I start following him?  Lines like these:

[concerning the young man who refused to wrestle a girl at a state tournement]:
"Inter-sex wrestling should only be private and after the marriage is witnessed by the Church."

[concerning a priest who answered a cell phone during Mass]:
"If you have feather pillows, place them on a horse drawn cart.   Then, carefully lifting the pot of tar onto the back of the cart, light your torches and heft your pitchforks.

But seriously… we don’t know the reason for the call.  Perhaps he was waiting to hear if he had won the lottery, or had perhaps been chosen to appear on American Idol.  Perhaps he was waiting for notice about an indictment or a stock deal.   It might have been really important!"

"Also, pray to the priest’s guardian angel to brick his phone if he ever does it again.
After that, perhaps you could have a little project with your kids.  Make signs with those NO PHONES symbols on them to hold up during Mass.

Then sit in the front pew.

Just kidding."

Those were what drew me in.  Along the way I learned a great deal about theology, especially how the prayers of Holy Mass are theologicall dense, and are supposed to help us focus on our Faith, as well as history, art, music, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Hallmark of a Good Teacher

Years back, a colleague interested in weight training told me about a particular website.  Seeing as the entire site is not entirely kosher, I will not post it here.  Needless to say, I checked it out and continue to do so because the training information on the site is intensely amazing.  Contributors include up-to-date research, and when discussing training methods, there are always scientific data to back up their claims.  One contributor, CT, is a strength and conditioning coach.  Being an in-the-trenches coach, he is constantly providing insight on training technique, exercise science, and such to the readers (who mostly want to get big and strong).  Here is what a reader commented concerning CT:

"" It's my pleasure and I really mean that" Your passion for this stuff is contagious. Some years back I did a couple of triathlons because my wife challenged me to one. I joined a beginner triathlete forum and I've since been promoted to a moderator on the strength training sub-forum. I always want to answer everyone's questions, which are usually pretty basic so even a stupid guy like me can handle them. And it's all your fault! The knowledge you have shared so freely has made me feel like I need to pay it forward."

What the commenter mentions is THE hallmark of a good teacher.  Trust me when I say this, but CT puts his passion into everything he rights or produces.  He practices what he preaches.  This is contagious.  When I read his stuff, I can't wait to try it out.  Why?  Because of the passion he has for his subject.  This is what a good teacher/mentor MUST have: a passion for what they teach.  When I was let go from my previous assignment for no apparent reason whatsoever, some of my students, when I saw them, would tell that they missed me tremendously.  Why?, I'd ask.  "Well," they'd say, "she's nice, and she kinda knows what she's doing, but you LOVED what you did. You brought passion to the class, you challenged us."  One student even wrote me a thank-you card: "I never knew what a treasure my Faith was.  Thank you."

When I was in college, one of my teachers made it a point to say that the best teachers are those whose students surpass them.  Why is this true?  Because those teachers brought passion, which encouraged the students to go above and beyond.  The best teachers are anonymous, while their students shine.  It would be wonderful if it were the parents that were these anonymous teachers.  Alas, we have decided that parents can't do their job.  Rather, we must have our kids raised in state schools, learning state-approved things.  Is there any reason why youth today lack a passion for knowledge?

Hiatus: Taking a Nap from Adam Smith

Wealth of Nations is not an easy read.  I've put it down for a nap for a bit. When I pick it up again, I'll start writing on it again.

Adam Smith on Wages

Reflecting on Adam Smith's treatment of wages, it is important to begin with a base assumption.  First, it must be established that according to Adam Smith, price is determined by several factors: demand--the more demand there is for a good or service, the higher the price; supply--the more there is of a good or service, the lower the price; value--despite the supply or demand, an item that is deemed valuable or important will have a higher price.  That being said, we can now progress on to wages, more specifically, what wages actually are: the price of labor.

Smith is operating under the definition of wages as the price paid for labor, labor being a service provided by the laborer.With this definition of wages, a number of conclusions can thus be drawn.  First, wages, like price, are subject to fluctuations due to demand, supply, and value.  Second, just like price manipulation is bad, so too is wage manipulation by both employers and laborers.  These two conclusions are the focus on this reflection on Wealth of Nations.

Just like the price of objects is determined by their scarcity, the demand for them, and their perceived value, so too are wages.  In places and industries where labor is scarce (supply is short), laborers are rewarded with higher wages.  Consider physicians.  The amount of schooling, training, interning, and practice that goes into preparing a physician to enter into the medical field diminishes the supply of doctors.  Following the laws of price, physicians, therefore, will get high wages.  Contrast that with most factory workers.  Such positions require little training and skill, so there is a high supply of laborers and thus wages are lower. This pattern is not only true for the macro-economy, but for the micro-economy.  For example, within a certain region, say Silicon Valley, the demand for highly skilled computer technician is much higher than say, Cleveland.  Thus, even though there may be a large amoung of computer technicians in Cleveland in a certain year, wages for computer technicians in Cleveland will not be as high as Silicon Valley. 

If wages are governed by the same principles as prices, then if price manipulations are detrimental to an area's economy, so are wage manipulations.  Smith mentions two types of wage manipulations.  The first is the secretive collusion between employers within a certain industry to set wage ranges within that industry.  Smith seems disgusted by this action, but admits that while we may not know it, it certainly goes on.  The next sort of wage manipulation is on the part of the laborers, when they strike or demonstrate.  Smith is likewise against such behavior (although he recognizes such behavior as the result of desparation: "they are desperate and act with the folly and extravagence of desperate men, who must either starve or frighten their masters into an immediate compliance with their demands.") 

When price is controlled for any length of time, it destroys the labor markets.  Say a monopoly causes prices to rise above their natural levels. This unnatural increase in price goes against the natural demand curve for that good or service, so less people will purchase the item, which utlimately causes the monopoly to lose profit, which causes them to limit overhead spending by virtue of the labor market.  What happens when "masters" and laborers enter into collusion to set prices of labor?  When laborers get together to set the prices of their labor (read: Unions and "collective bargaining agreements"), a common result is what is happening in state public education pension plans and at General Motors.  In both cases, the unions have demanded certain things, which the employers have agreed upon.  Now, many states' pensions will be bankrupt because of these demands, and GM's failings have a lot to do with the outrageous demands of the UAW.  However, the collusion to keep wages down (or even not to raise wages appropriately) creates a cash shortage that ultimately leads to a downward spiral.