On Rural Income

Rural lands are known for their contribution to the national income through agricultural production. Acres and acres of land are allocated for the sole purpose of feeding the population that lives in cities. What if the allocation of resources is disrupted in a way that spoils the welfare of the people living in these rural areas? What if they find that growing wheat, grains, or vegetables no longer sounds profitable? In that case, the villagers or their offspring would flee their homes, looking for new prospects outside their world. Discouraged, they would stop producing food, causing prices of the food to plummet at the country level.

Such a scenario has been coming true in many parts of the world. Masses of villagers move to cities at a greater pace than ever. They find it difficult to raise their family merely by harvesting crops. Family ranches with less than an acre of land barely make ends meet, as it is costlier to practice farming on a small scale. Big farmers with hundreds of acres of land can minimize their costs by making use of economies of scale.

Governments must act in such cases by coming up with policies that can encourage these small farmers to continue producing. Subsidies are one of these policies since they have the potential to raise their income to levels that enable them to keep going.

Small farmers can also form what is called "co-operative farming", getting together with neighboring farmers to produce on a larger scale. Such a practice has cost-saving features that help farmers cope with the ever-rising costs of agricultural production.

K-pop Hype

 

K-pop Artists

It all started with "Gangnam-Style", a Korean song listened to billions of times on Youtube, breaking all the records for most watched music clips of all time. Korean Pop, or K-Pop, created its own genre of music, gathering an avalanche of fans from all around the world quickly. This new genre combines dancing with singing, boasting catchy words and fast tunes.

Korean culture has been attracting a lot of attention for the last two decades. Surprisingly, Korean films were the first to reach the rest of the world. These movies introduced the Korean culture to the audience, helping people get a glimpse of how interesting and diverse the Korean culture is. Then came the Korean TV shows, love stories that have managed to get millions of viewers to glue their eyes to the TV screens.

When they first became acquainted with Korean music, young people enjoyed it almost instantly. They embraced the music right away, impressed by the way they danced and sang. K-pop groups have been followed so heavily that their way of dressing became fashionable among fans. In the eyes of their fan base, K-pop has been a cult, and the artists have been idols.

K-pop’s rise has proven that the next generation wants a change from the mainstream entertainment that has been put forward by the West. They want alternatives to what's been around lately. It appears they have found that in K-pop, and they intend to keep it as a lifelong expedition. The torch that has been kindled by the K-pop stars does not seem to vanish for quite some time from now.

Sevilla FC - A Team Destined to Win

 

Sevilla F.C. is a football club from the historic Andolucian area of Spain. Older generations might remember their name as one of the few clubs at which the legendary football player Diego Maradona played during the 1990s. Although they have not had much success in their national league (La Liga), it is their international performance that has made them famous. They have won the UEFA Europa League Cup a whopping seven times in the last 20 years, the last being the 2022–2023 season. They have been reigning supreme in this competition, having won the most trophies among all the clubs involved.

Sevilla’s success lies in their ability to build up a capable team, even though the finances are not always right for them. They sell their best players for a profit, yet the player they buy instead still proves to be as good as those leaving. Thanks to their scouting crew, the new transfers shine through the new season, bringing them both success and the income that is necessary to keep going in the industry. Added to that is the fan base, which never fails to support their team in any situation.

Furthermore, Sevilla has always come up with key players that uphold the team individually, not leaving the team until they bring success. Ivan Rakitic, Frederic Kanoute, Jesus Navas, and Ever Banega all played at Sevilla long enough to win one or two trophies before moving out.

Sevilla, the king of the Europa League, owes its success to good management practices at the club level. The perfect combination of seasoned players and young rookies brings about cohesion that is destined to win cups.

Population Growth and Its Implications

 

The world’s population is growing at an unprecedented rate. While some argue that population increases can be a good thing, others favor the idea that the world’s sources are not enough to match such an increase.

The proponents of population growth claim that the more people there are, the higher the production rate in a country. As productivity goes up, the total output in the economy goes up as well. Economic growth, in turn, enables people to access goods and services more comfortably, promoting improved living standards. Population growth will also hint at increasing demand for goods and services, which will signal producers to produce more.

What if the increase in population cannot be diverted to higher productivity like we mentioned above? There will be more people searching for work than there are available vacancies. The surplus labor that has come to exist because of population growth will have difficulty accessing jobs. Since these people will still need to be fed, there will be excess demand in the economy that cannot be met with increases in the supply side of the economy. This would mean supply falling short of demand, causing prices to increase.

Those who oppose population growth pose that the world’s natural resources are already scarce and will never be sufficient if population growth does not slow down. Energy, oil, and food prices will hike, leading to starvation and deprivation on a global scale. Wars will break out.

As a result, population growth can be a good thing if it is converted into productivity. If not, it will only mean poverty.