Theory of Non-Productive Player: Beggars Can be Choosers March 1, 2008

Theory of Non-Productive Player: Beggars can be choosers

By Romora Edward Sitorus

           

 - begging/asking is the only activities that can produce positive return from out of no factors-

                                                                                                                                 -mora-

What is economics? Why do you study economics? Text book answer commonly tells you this: Economics studies about the management of household (macro and micro). The household have wants and its have resources. Whether the resources are limited or not, it tends to allocate them efficiently to attain and satisfy its wants perfectly.             Why I started with this? Because people always tell us that the resource is limited. If it is not limited, we will not have to do economic-based behavior. But, how limited is the universe? That we have to set a limit to it. Let’s straigth this up with example. Imagine two individuals Mr.Bean and Paris Hilton. Mr. Bean doesn’t have money, He want to have a holiday to Bali. He find job to earn the money, but he can’t find one. He tries to used credit card to buy the ticket, but the bank already closed his account. So and so that he finally gave up. We usually called this person, economically limited. But Paris Hilton, she just worked for her first album. She earns two million dollars, and she wanted to go to Bali eagerly. She can book the 120 first-class tickets with that money. But unfortunately she can’t go. She has a birthday party of friends coming up one after another. And before she realized it, she will already used up her spare time, that she have to go for her tour to asia, europe and australia for the next three months. The decision for touring is not about she wants to earn some more. Rather, it is to make sure she had enough money to Bali trip, it’s about popularity and commitment to fans. She thinks over it and she decided not to go for holiday vacasion.

            Those two examples show how both people are limited by different things, once are monetary based, but another are non-monetary based. Which of the individuals can we approach with economics bacground? Both?. I think that’s right. Both of them are actually acted according to incentives. Economics often misintepreted as merely monetary-based study. However, more than that, economics studied what makes the economy really tick. For this reason, we can analyze why people with seemingly no economic skills can do what he wanted from the accumulative compassion of others. Beggar could be one case of this. A beggar has nothing to do rather than asking for money. They are the non-economi agent (doesn’t deal with production, distribution, but only consumption) which works relying on the excess of money of others.

           

Can you travel Sumatera-Java Island without any money at hand?

            No…You said. But, i believe, Yes you can. How do I know that?  

            This is how the story begun. I found this information through brief unexpected encounter. It started when I returned back from campus at around 11.45 pm midnight. I was walking with a friend to the parking lot to pick up my bike. Somehow two kids came across me and tell me that they saw somebody was trying to elevate my bike and perfrom suspicious action about it. They said they hailed that man and stopped him from meshing around with the bike. I listened to them and believe for their sincere story. I would like to talk more, but it’s already late night, so cold, and my stomach is calling for ransom. So I, asked their name, thanked them, and said good bye.

            Several days passed away since that day. I was walking that time and simply passed two beggars in a small gateway in the university border. Then they called me; and said: You are the one we saw yesterday (in Indonesia: ini mas yang kemarin kan). I looked back and realized the same thing. These are the boy which helped me. I am so surprise; I thought they are the children of the campus caretaker. Why on the earth are they begging for money out here?

• I asked them: Why do you beg here? Where is your parent

Children: We flee from home, we beg to eat

• Ask: Why do you flee?

Childr A: I run from my brother, he keeps hitting me.

Child B: Me too, I hate my brother

• Ask: Both of you are not brothers?

Children: No

• Ask: Why don’t you go home. You should study. It’s not a good place for kids

Children: We will, next Monday

• Ask: Really, that’s good. You should study. Go to university and set your future

Children: (hesitantly) Ok…

Ask: Ok. Then. That’s the spirit. Really Nice to see you again, kids. I have to go home now.

I give them some money, and say good luck, and move on walking

            During my way home, I was thinking, there are so many questions unanswered about their life. I have to know them more. They are interesting individuals. Always smile. I can’t see any negative from their eyes. I must learn from them. They are so much of inspiration. After lunch, I rushed to the spot I was meeting them.

• Ask: Have you get your lunch?

Children: Not since the morning…

• Ask: Why don’t we go over there (food tents) and grab some foods

Children:  Ok… (they jumped, and follow there)

• Ask: Do you like Fried Rice

Children: Yes,

Ask: Ok, let’s get in here (request to the maid)

Waiting for the food, I started our discussion. 

• Ask: May you tell again about your name and your age?

Child A: I am Ari. Ari Wibowo

I am 13 years old

• Child B: I am Sony.  Sony Ericsson.

But I have two names. Another is Gilar Budiarto. I am 15 years old.

• Ask: Where do you stay now?

Child A (Ari): Near the campus. Anywhere. In the street, sometimes in the musholla. (Enthusiastically). Last night, when it was raining, I stayed in empty security post. Sony was waiting near randhu tree, so I asked him to join me in the post. Unfortunately, somebody (an intel, they called) found us. They found out Gilar bring a knife, so they decided to send us to police station.

Child B (Gilar): Yeah, I just use it for crafting; I never use it for harm things.

• Ask: How much do you get for a day? What do you usually eat?

Ari: We usually get Rp 10000-15000 per day. We eat rice with tempe, sometimes chicken. We used to eat 3 times a day. But today we are just release from police station. We haven’t got anything to eat. Last night the police just give us rice full of ants on it.

• Ask: I see, would you tell me more about your family? And the real reason you go a way from home

Ari: I am the third from 4 children. My brother has been menace to me. For unclear reason, he asked me to beg for him, steal for him. If I am not willing to do, he will drag me to brush. It hurts me. If I unintendedly meet his eyes, he will get angry and hit me

Gilar: I am the fifith children. One day, I was playing marble with friends. My brothers told me to take a bath at home. I refuse it, so he takes me by force to home. He hit my head so hard and took all my marble. I get so angry. I also have my favorite goats. My family sold it away. and I don’t know why, but when I am very very angry sometimes I become wild. When my family sold it, I run the cage all over. And when my brother took the marbles away, I just bang the televison and vcd player our family had. I met Ari who just came home and went from home to be a free man.

• Ask: Since when you do this, begging, where have you been so far?

Ari: I have been doing this since 2006. I went home at lebaran once. But I have been stayed in a orpan house, get caught by police three times and when to many places. I usually go to the terminal (referring to the bus station). Just recently I moved to this place. I have been to so many places outside Jogja. I have been to Lombok, Denpasar, and Bali (not knowing both are the city and island), banyuwangi, pasuruan, blitar, kediri,jombang, mojokerto, tuban, babat, bojonegaor, gunung arta, ponorogo, solo,klaten, jambi, palembang, and medan.

            Gilar: I have been to Madura too. And mention the similar list of city like Ari.

           

           

Ask: How is medan?Ari: The people is atos (means: hard-headed) and frugal.Ask Say: Please….. it is only some of them  (defending birthplace)

                   Ask: Really, But you are a beggar. How do you get there?

            Ari; I just follow any bus, train, and stay wherever I want.

            Ask: So they let you join for free?

            Ari: Yes

…… (We talked about other topics of interest, his experience in merapi cave, entering jungle to prove a story he heard, etc.)

It seems to be Monetary Rules do not apply for Kids: The Law of Attraction

            Kids are the most noneconomical agents ever to exist. Ari and Gilar is the living witnesses. I find out the facts to be true in this case. People have empathy for children even more too poor children. In the west or east, the similar situation exist, kids are protected. But somehow, what I know in the east, altruism plays great part in discriminating between children. Adult can act very disriminatively concerning the children of their own. They might forgive their own children so easily, even spoil them, buy them unecessary stuff, and make their children into a spoilt alien. But they may do unfair to other children who fight with their children. They don’t look objectively but only look for the other children mistakes. Surely, the situation changes rapidly today. People get better heart and open mind. They know every child is angels. We act the same toward angels, any of them. And the change of paradigm is good.

            Ari and Gilar can enter any public transportation they wanted without paying for ticket. All they need to do is to ask and waiting for the answer. But how can people reject the request of child like them. If they can give it why should they hold the opportunity to help the children? The point is, people usually give monetary discrimination toward children. Most of them this has much to do with the inner feeling. People are reminiscing their own desire in they childhood. They think about how powerless they were and how they really wanted so many things during that time. People see themselves in the children eyes.

            How much do we invest for children? If we asked for individual, people would say: a lot. Ari told me that his parents sell 4gr gold necklace to searched him. What makes kids are so powerful in monetary power. That is they asked what they want. They rely on others. And People like someone who trusts their life to them. People, naturally fall in love to people who are willing to rely fully on them.

            What kids need in their life? Many but basically they pursued what they want once at a time. They see things and asked for it. They think simple and focus. They don’t have agenda behind their request (at least most that I know). It makes somehow “the law of attraction” come to them. They do whatever they want to do. And people find the child has a clear objective that they don’t hesitate to give what they want.

The incentive of people is the feeling of giving virtue to children. It makes children become the creature that are set very minimum for economic obligation. They gained more with less effort. It goes beyond “the law of production”. Sometimes, People realize that their decision to grow mature is great, but they lose many incentives as they claimed themselves as adult. By seeking approval as an adult as”I want to be independent, stop ordering me like that”, is the basic foolness of teenagers. They let go one of the best thing ever happened to them. That is the openess and the awareness that people are naturally depend on others. Independence is attaining through dependence. When people say “the children inside of us”, it refers to the understanding that children do spontaneous things without any concern about resources. Their unconcsious dependence and brave quest to get what they really desire gives them power of the universe. The God and universe conspired to help him.

Economics explains why children are favoured. We love children. We are inspired by them. We are once in their shoes. We know almost everything about them. And we know they are basically good in nature. We know they are our future. We know that our ancestor have been doing the same virtue toward us as what we do now to children. The ancestors give us the earth as heritage to us, and we have to pass it to children. We know that they are part us. That’s the reason why we help them. That makes us invest more on them. That makes marketers get into parents’ wallet more effectively by attracting childrens to buy. We simply admire this non-economic ability agents (the children) that we can provide them services without monetary incentives as a return.