1993_05 The Daily Collegian May 1993

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2 —- Opinion
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The Daily Collegian
Tuesday, May 4, 1993
Commentary
capitalism
By Misha Gulyaev
When I entered Moscow University in the mid-
1980's, my budget consisted of two sources — my
parents and the university.
The university paid me 40 rubles as a stipend and
my parents sent me 60 rubles every month. An average
monthly wage at that time was 250 rubles.
An American dollar was worth three rubles on the
black market, so I was not poor.
Even though I was getting roughly 33 American
dollars every month, I was not poor because the 100
rubles I had every month covered my rent, paid all my
bills, and bought my food.
Of course. I could not afford to buy a car, buy fancy
clothes, or any electronic items, but I didn't struggle
with life and I had enough time to study.
Later, when my parents ceased their financial '-
support, I began to work and earned more than 300
rubles a month giving private English classes to
schoolchildren.
Some university students in those "good old days"
were more entrepreneurial than I in helping foreign
students make ends meet. East European students
would commute to Poland or West Berlin and bring
inexpensive consumer goods that were in short supply
in Moscow.
Their Russian friends would buy whole suitcases of
blue-jeans or leather jackets and resell them on the
black market. Some students even dealt on the black
currency market, risking their student status.
Even in Mikhail Gorbachev's time, one could go to
jail for having more than 30 American dollars in one's
pocket.
However, this was not the norm. Most students
didn't violate Soviet laws, studied hard, and money
was the last thing for them to think about.
No more.
The Russian market reforms of the past two years
have drastically changed student's lives.The stipends
and their parents salaries were devalued with a
monthly inflation of more than 20 percent.
Food prices, rent, travel expenses, it doesn't matter.
All went up. The life for a Russian student became
really tough. Today, few of them can afford not to
work. Just like American students, they work in
restaurants, bars, and supermarkets. They prefer
locations where the clientele is foreign and pay in
dollars. )
Many students now are engaged in private business.
Some of them have their own business, and many
work for somebody else, trying to use the knowledge
and experience they have.
For example, the journalism students at Moscow
University started a private information agency to sell
news to Russian and foreign media. The English
See Capitalism page 3
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Letters
Making the transition
Dear Editor, . ,
As the United States continues to shift from a
manufacturing to a service economy, its citizens lack
the skills to make a comfortable transition.
As a result, unemployment numbers are quickly
rising. "In recent months, several national companies
have announced plans to tighten corporate belts.
International Business Machines Corp., United
Technologies Corp., McDonnell-Douglas Corp. and
Sears Roebuck and Co. said they will lay off thou¬
sands to reduce costs." (Fresno Bee, 2/8/93, pg. 1)
Unfortunately, politicians gather to discuss the
economics causes and effects of unemployment but
often times overlook the social dilemmas suffered by-
this growing population
Problems extend beyond a shrinking job market and
inflation. Today I will discuss unemployment, who
comprises the 'unemployed population,' and its
consequences for the unemployed and those surround¬
ing them.
According to the United States Department of Labor,
"People are counted as unemployed by the government
if they do not have a job but made an attempt at
finding one within the past month." (Beeghley, pg.
284)
This national statistic, however, does not include
those individuals who are discouraged by their inabil¬
ity to locate work and decide not to continue their1 job
search. The U.S. Department of Labor also docs not
take into account 'undocumented aliens' who have
worked in the United States before and now face job
loss from a tight labor market. If the official recorded
number of unemployed is rising, then the actual
population must be multiplying at a greater rate.
Let us now turn to who actually makes up the
unemployed population.
It has been established that the bulk of individuals
who suffer from unemployment are minorities.
"Blacks have an unemployment rate twice that of
Anglos, while Hispanics have an unemployment rate
one and one half times that of Anglos." (Beeghley, pg.
285)'
Some, like William J. Wilson argue that poor Blacks
are socially isolated in ghettoized urban areas as
middle class Blacks move into suburban areas.
The outward flow of middle and upper class blacks
destroys previous job networks and creates a defi¬
ciency of role models. ,   ,
- Others credit the high unemployment rate among
minorities on their low high school retention rates. As
Black and Hispanic students dn>p out of school at a.
greater rate, they are less qualified for many employ¬
ment positions.
Carmen Lopez of Sanger left school at the age of
fifteen when she learned she was pregnant. She
explains::'"It's not that I am lazy and do not want to
work. No one will give me a job because I speak
broken English and have trouble with math." (Personal ->
interview, 3*15-93)
Basic reading and writing skills are a must in a
technologically advancing society as the United States.
And lastly, it is important to note the many social
problems the unemployed suffer as a consequence of
their jobless status. Those who have been laid off or
remain unemployed resort to borrowing, stealing or
See Transition, page 3
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