Chekhov’s The Ninny

To make a lasting impression, I began each course by reading a part of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. Later, my friend Uzi Segal referred to a more fitting story, Anton Chekhov’s “The Ninny”. I doubt my students can recall what the Marginal Rate of Substitution is or how to calculate a competitive

equilibrium in an Edgeworth box but they probably remember The Ninny.

I did not explain what I was trying to do. I just read the story. When I came to the last paragraph, my voice was always quivering.

Chekhov’s The Ninny

A few days ago, I invited my children’s governess, Yulia Vasilyevna, into my office. We needed to settle some debts.

“Have a seat, Yulia Vasilyevna!” I told her. “Let’s settle things. You

probably need money, but you are so officially stiff that you will not ask yourself”. “Well... We agreed that you are entitled to thirty rubles a month...”

“Forty...”

“No, thirty a month... I have it written down... I have always paid all governesses thirty a month. Well, you have lived here two months...”

“Two months and five days...”

“Two months. Exactly... I have it written down this way. You should,

accordingly, receive sixty rubles... Subtract nine Sundays... You did not work with Kolya on Sundays, did you. All you did was go for walks... Add three holidays...”

Yulia Vasilyevna flared up, and her fingers touched the edge of her

dress, fidgeting, but... Not a word was said!..

“Three holidays... So, strike twelve rubles then... Kolya was sick. Four

days without lessons... You were teaching Varya alone... You had a tooth-ache. It lasted three days, and my wife allowed you not to have lessons after lunch... Twelve plus seven - make nineteen. Subtract that... It leaves...

Hm... Forty-one rubles... Is that correct?’

Yulia Vasilyevna’s left eye grew red. It was now full of moisture. Her chin started shaking. She coughed nervously, blew her nose, but - nothing. Not a word!..

“Shortly before New Year’s, you broke a teacup and its saucer. Subtract two rubles... The cup is more expensive than that. It is a family heirloom, but... God is with you! Where haven’t we lost our own in life? Then, Kolya

climbed a tree and tore his little frock coat because you were not looking carefully... That is worth ten... The maid stole Varya’s shoes, and that also happened because you weren’t paying enough attention. You must look

after everything. You are getting constant pay. Well then, this means five more are gone... You took ten rubles from me on January tenth...”

“I did not,” whispered Yulia Vasilyevna.

“But I have it written down!”

“Well, alright... good.”

“Subtract twenty-seven. We had forty-one and will now have fourteen left...”

Both eyes were now filling up with tears... Her pretty, long, good-

looking nose was breaking a sweat. Poor girl!

“I only took it once,” she said, her voice trembling. “I took three rubles from your wife... I have not taken anything else since...”

“Indeed? Is that so? I don’t even have it written down! Subtract three.

We had fourteen and will now have eleven left... Here is your money,

dearest! Three... Three, three... One and one... Receive it!”

And I handed her eleven rubles... She took the money, her hands

trembling, and stuffed it in her pocket.

“Merci,” She whispered.

I jumped up and began pacing around the room. I was full of anger. “What is the ‘merci’ for?” I asked.

“For the money...”

“But I underpaid you and took from you, off to the devil with it, I

robbed you! I stole from you! What is this ‘merci’ for?”

“I did not get a thing at all working for others...”

“Did not get a thing? That is no surprise! I was joking just now. It was a harsh lesson... I will give you all of your eighty rubles! Here they are, waiting for you, ready, in an envelope! How can one be such a sour-faced girl? Why aren’t you protesting? Why are you silent? How is it possible to be so toothless in this world of ours? How can you be such a softy?”

Her sour smile showed, and I read the words on her face: “You can!” I asked her to forgive me for the harsh lesson and gave her, to her great astonishment, the full eighty. She timidly uttered ‘merci’ and left... I looked on after she was gone and thought: it is easy to be strong in this world!

. The Ninny and Economics

However you define Economics, this story is about Economics. It relates to

a fundamental economic situation in which two economic agents interact

to share a limited resource (their joint wealth) and it illustrates one of the

Economics’ most fundamental issues: the relationship between power and

wages.

6The story can be thought of as a sequential game. The employer repeat-

edly demands that the governess’ salary be reduced and her repeated si-

lence can be viewed as strategies in a two-player game in which credible

threats and expectations matter.

But whereas the employer appears to be thinking strategically and cor-

rectly predicts Y’s response to each of his demands, Y’s behavior might be

thought as an outcome of “cultural and institutional norms” rather than an

inferior bargaining position. According to this interpretation, the story can

be viewed as a critique of the economic approach which assumes that peo-

ple always maximize utility while ignoring such things as social status.

5. Submission

Given that The Ninny can be viewed as a story within economics, I “ad-

vised” Anton to “submit" the manuscript to a “top five” journal. Here is the

journal’s “response”:

Dear Anton:

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to our journal. After consulting with 7 exceptional referees and after reading the manuscript myself I came to the following conclusions:

Strengths:

1. The narrative craftsmanship is exceptional.

2. The exploration of human behavior and ethical dilemmas offers profound insights into the complexities of interpersonal relationships.

3. The paper touches important real-life situations.

Weaknesses:

1. The manuscript is too short and lacks the extensive development we look for in any submission to our distinguished journal.

2. The manuscript lacks a formal model or empirical analysis.

3. There are no robustness checks.

4. The manuscript lacks references to the relevant literature.

5. Interdisciplinary Potential: Exploring connections to behavioral economics or economic sociology could enhance the manuscript’s appeal.

6. The manuscript lacks a conclusions section.

Recommendation: Reject and resubmit.

Minnesota bans Bitcoin ATMs

 Mr Killaly, the former ATO deputy commissioner, says the arrangement between Shell’s Australian arms and Shell Global LNG has the hallmarks of a “high risk tax avoidance” case.

His comments are made on the basis of public information and not from any historical knowledge from his time at the ATO.

“You’ve got an Australian entity dealing with an entity that has a base in a low-tax jurisdiction,” Mr Killaly observes. “It’s happening over a number of years.”

Shell Game: How , Tropical Paradise , Singapore sells much of Australia’s gas

Jim Killaly

Did the Swedes boost tax revenue by abolishing their inheritance tax?

Data centers aren’t the enemy — They’re the future | Bloomberg News

DuckDuckGo Bangs

What are DuckDuckgo bangs? Bangs are shortcuts that quickly take you to search results on other sites. For example, when you know you want to search on another site like Wikipedia or Amazon, our bangs get you there fastest. A search for !w filter bubble will take you directly to Wikipedia. 

Remember, though, because your search is actually taking place on that other site, you are subject to that site’s policies, including its data collection practices. We’ve had bangs since 2008 as part of our geek roots. Now we have thousands of !bangs and you can even submit your own.

Nigerian law enforcement agency, the EFCC, says 60% of college students are involved in online fraud
 
Ohio: 25 convicted in BEC fraud run from Nigeria that stole $215 million and had 1000 victims
 
AI and ChatGPT can now create fake ID’s and other fake documents
 
Fraud Studies: Here are links to the studies I’ve written for the Better Business Bureau: puppy fraud, romance fraud; BEC fraud, sweepstakes/lottery fraud,  tech support fraud, romance fraud money mules, crooked movers, government imposters, online vehicle sale scams, rental fraud, gift cards,  free trial offer frauds,  job scams,  online shopping fraud,  fake check fraud and crypto scams
 
Fraud News Around the world

• Uganda arrests 169 foreigners after raid on fraud call center
• Microsoft flagged 8.3 billion phishing emails in three month period; many of which used QR codes or CAPTCHA’s
• Morocco: Police arrest woman from France wanted for operation that called and impersonated banks, got credentials and stole money from accounts; got €640,000
• Atlanta: Two former letter carriers and a bank manager charged with stealing mail, including gift cards and a Treasury check for $4.5 million
• California issues state recommendations to fight financial fraud
• Miami: Man arrested for advertising apartments for rent on Facebook Marketplace that he didn’t own and collecting tens of thousands in deposits
• New DOJ Fraud Strike Force announces results for the last week
• Boston: Two men plead guilty to bank fraud where they stole identities of victims, provided runners with the fake ID, and then had those runners withdraw money from victims’ accounts, got millions ‘
• Thailand: Five Chinese men arrested for selling counterfeit cosmetics
• Canada: Quebec man arrested for grandparent fraud in Manitoba faces more charges as other victims are identified
• Los Angeles: Chinese man gets 15 months prison for importing $200 million of counterfeit goods into the Port of Los Angeles
• Nigeria extradites man wanted for $245 million Ponzi scheme to China
• Pennsylvania: Canadian man extradited from Panama gets 15 years prison for grandparent fraud
• Connecticut: 50 people show up at courthouse to pay “fines” they didn’t owe after receiving scam text messages

Humor

• California: Two arrested in scheme where crooks bought goods at Nordstroms and returned counterfeit goods for a full refund
• Man just released from prison steals semi-trailer full of new corvettes

FTC and CFPB

•  FTC settles case with data broker Kochava over selling phone location data

Benefit Theft

• Small Business Administration refers $22 billion in suspected fraudulent PPP loans to collection
• Baltimore: Man here illegally from Romania gets 22 months prison for fraud in getting SNAP food stamp benefits
• Michigan: Man charged with Identify theft to get unemployment benefits and rental assistance from State; got $400,000
• President says 300,000 illegal immigrants kicked off social security, 100,000 from Medicare
• Los Angeles: Tax preparer pleads guilty to filing false tax returns for clients and also to PPP fraud
• Pennsylvania charges 1500 over SNAP food stamp benefit fraud that caused losses of $10 million
• St. Louis: Man gets 42 months prison for PPP fraud, ID theft, and fake checks
• Chicago:Police sergeant charged with PPP fraud

Scam Compounds

• Thailand: Police arrest three Nigerians and a Thai woman over network that ran romance frauds
• Cambodia: After police raids on scam compounds, workers flee and 100 Chinese arrested
• Sri Lanka police arrest 37 Chinese at scam compound
• Cambodia: Police raid scam compound, arrest 16 foreigners, free one Japanese worker

Bitcoin and Crypto Fraud

• Minnesota bans Bitcoin ATMs

Ransomware and data breaches

• South Carolina: Medical system hit by ransomware; loses data on 170,000
• Miami: Two US cybersecurity professionals get four years prison each for ransomware conspiracy
• Attack cripples systems of Adam County, Mississippi
• Cincinnati: Latvian man who ran Russian ransomware operation and was extradited from country of Georgia gets 102 months prison

ATM Skimming                                                       

• How a Romanian crime family created a ATM skimming empire (video 1:15)

Romance Fraud and Sextortion 

• Rhode Island: Three Nigerians charged with romance fraud; local bank lost $1.3 million from funds transferred by money mule victims
• Norfolk: Nigerian man arrested in the UK for romance fraud

To err is human. To blame someone else for it is Trump's policy.

FBI targets journalists along with billionaires

• “At 6:05 a.m. on Jan. 14, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation converged at the door of Hannah Natanson, a reporter at The Washington Post. They had a search warrant and entered her home, seizing her iPhone and other devices … The event put Ms. Natanson’s name among the targets of the Trump administration’s aggressive campaign against news organizations. There was no precedent for the Justice Department’s searching a reporter’s home in connection with a national security leak investigation, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. But on Monday, Ms. Natanson was recognized for something else: a Pulitzer Prize.” First, the F.B.I. Searched Her Home. Then, She Won a Pulitzer. [Gift Article]
• “Nearly three weeks after The Atlantic reported that some government officials were alarmed by FBI Director Kash Patel’s behavior, including conspicuous inebriation and unexplained absences, MS NOW reported this morning that the bureau has ‘launched a criminal leak investigation’ that focuses on the Atlantic journalist who wrote the story, Sarah Fitzpatrick.” The FBI Is Reportedly Investigating a Leak to an Atlantic Writer. [Gift Article]
• The Guardian – World’s most powerful are suing media outlets before stories are even published, says editor. Powerful figures are increasingly threatening to sue media outlets before they have even published a story, the editor of the Wall Street Journal has said. Emma Tucker, whose title is being sued by Donald Trump over its reporting of his relationship with the late child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, said the act of reporting itself was now under threat from the use of lawfare. She said the tactic of threatening to sue newspapers before they had published a story had become an established PR strategy of the powerful amid greater distrust of the established media. “One of the biggest challenges to us now isn’t so much what happens afterwards,” Tucker told the Truth Tellers journalism summit. “It’s what happens before you even publish. That is a massive challenge for us…”
• Kash Patel’s war against The Atlantic intensifies (New York Magazine) / The Atlantic follows up bombshell Kash Patel exposé with new exclusive on his fav boozy swag (Mediaite) / ‘Atlantic EIC Jeffrey Goldberg, in a note to the mag’s mailing list titled “Inside the Kash Patel story”: We live in a period in which some media organizations buckle under government pressure. I promise you that we will never give in. If a story is true, we will publish it.’ (Corbin Bolies)

Inspired, negotiated and orchestrated by a trio of friends / advisers / colleagues – the late, great Paolo Ettore, the creative ‘perfect guest’ Fabrizio Caprara and New Zealand’s Sundance Kid, Brian Sweeney.

It Was 20 Years Ago Today

The places where we seek wisdom

 

Coffee May Protect Against Aging, And Caffeine Isn’t The Main Reason.

The places where we seek wisdom

In a world seemingly obsessed with youth, we can easily miss the gifts that come from our elders

At a recent retreat I attended at a Buddhist monastery in France, retreatants had an afternoon to put questions to a panel of monks and nuns. Almost all the questions were about how to remain actively engaged in living mindfully, whether developing nourishing practices for oneself and others or transformative resistance to injustice. While listening to the monastics offer their thoughtful reflections a question popped into my head: “Where do people go on a regular basis to seek wisdom?” 

It doesn’t require a lot of research to know that most people do not actively engage with organised religion or spiritual practices and traditions in the same way they did in the past. Regardless of one’s opinions about religion and spirituality today, they were, for much of human history, the main routes through which communities sought guidance and direction for how to live their lives, how to contribute to society and what to do in challenging circumstances. That would be a wonderful topic for another day. But for now I’m wondering about the places we might rarely think to look for wisdom but where we might find wise guidance for how to live our lives. 

---

I love the print “First Kick of Life”, a 1974 colour etching by American author, artist and designer Kay Brown. Held at the Brooklyn Museum, the print shows two mirror silhouettes of a pregnant woman, one blue and one white, set against an orange background. Brown was one of the founders of the Where We At: Black Women Artists collective (WWA), a group affiliated with the Black Arts Movement (BAM) of the 1960s and ’70s. Like BAM, WWA was focused on social awareness, artistic practice and self-representation as well as collaborative efforts for wider public recognition and reception of issues important to Black women artists.

Kay Brown’s ‘First Kick of Life’ © Estate of Kay Brown

The title of the print explains why the woman has her hands on her stomach: she is responding to the new life growing in her body. Shown with her back arched and head raised, she looks as if she is receptive to the knowledge her body is offering her: that it is full of life. This tender composition reminds me of the miraculous process of creating another human being. But it also prompts me to consider how our bodies constantly give us information about our internal and external life experiences. I think that to tap more deeply into this awareness is to begin to access the wisdom of our bodies.

That may sound vague, but I think back to how many times I have made decisions because of some gut feeling or when I have ignored my body’s cues. If we thought of physical sensations and emotional responses in this way, who knows how it could change the way we listen and respond to our bodies on a daily basis? And how that might affect our wider and interconnected lives.

---

In the 1894 painting “The Adoration II” by Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler — an artist whose works I’ve discussed many times — a young boy centred in the canvas sits on his knees in a pasture of chicory flowers. His calves are tucked neatly beneath his thighs, and his hands, directed towards the ground, are gently held together as though ready to receive something. Hodler used his son, Hector, as a model for this piece. 

The painting is seemingly simple and sparse. Yet the figure’s posture is one of reverence and makes me think of ancient illustrations from different spiritual traditions of a disciple or student sitting at the feet of a teacher, although here it is as if the non-human world takes the role of teacher. The concept of Earth or nature as a source of wisdom is not new, by any means, but it is one that we readily and repeatedly forget or ignore. 

‘The Adoration II’ by Ferdinand Hodler © Gottfried Keller-Stiftung

As April came and went, I found myself bowled over by how lush and generative the spring season has been. Cherry blossoms have weighed down tree branches, poppies have started to bloom in meadows, and the woods have filled out so one can barely see patches of blue sky unless you look straight up. What has continued to arise for me, watching this season unfold while also reflecting on the ongoing damage we, as a society, are inflicting on our planet, is how resilient Earth is, and how much of that strength might lay in its interconnected ecosystems. 

There is so much wisdom for us to learn from how Earth survives and thrives through a web of interdependence across different species and from observing the more visible natural cycles of life throughout the year. Hodler’s painting reminds me that we are all, in a way, like children receiving the gifts of Earth’s abundance and generosity, strength and wisdom. Yet, unlike the child in the painting, too many of us are indifferent to the value and the wonder of this planet we inhabit.

---

I was immediately drawn to the 2021 print “Aunties Inside” by American multimedia artist Melissa Joseph. Joseph is of Indian and Irish descent and the print shows four of her aunties in India sitting closely together as if they are presiding over something, or simply holding court, waiting to receive us, the viewers. The women are wearing brightly coloured dresses and saris, and each of them is wearing a bindi in the centre of the forehead. Traditionally the bindi symbolised the third eye, an element of belief in some eastern spiritual and religious traditions that an invisible eye positioned in the middle of the forehead can be a portal of insight and wisdom, a way to see beyond the ordinary. 

In a world seemingly obsessed with youth, we can easily miss the gifts that come from life experiences

I wanted to include this image because I think many of us live in societies that continually diminish the significance of older generations. We value youth over advanced age, instead of learning to see and appreciate what every generation has to offer a community. Something about this painting made me think about my own childhood, both in Nigeria, where I am from, and in other countries. 

I grew up with many aunties active and engaged in my life, and more generally in Nigeria children across ethnic groups and cultures are taught, from the moment we can understand, to respect our elders and be open to the wisdom they might have to offer. Of course, not every person older than you is wise, but people with more life experience often have some wisdom to share, even if it is about mistakes made and lessons learnt. 

Sometimes, in a world seemingly obsessed with youth, as well as generally with what is new and cutting edge, we can easily miss the gifts that come from the life experiences and some sustained practices that generations held before ours. We do not always have to search far for wise counsel and guidance. Sometimes trees of wisdom are growing in our midst, if we could only recognise the fruit they offer.

enuma.okoro@ft.com

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