Jakarta needs more people? Jakarta?

Glodok area of Jakarta

Tonight I attended a presentation by a couple of researchers from the World Bank. One of them made the “counterintuitive” assertion that Jakarta’s public transportation required greater density. He then mentioned, among other places, Curitiba, Brazil – the home of Bus Rapid Transit – as a model. When I spoke with him afterward, he again contended that 1) greater density, by itself, would lead to improved public transit in Jakarta and 2) Curitiba was denser.

So what’s wrong here?

You’re not qualified to work at Dunkin’ Donuts.

Help-wanted sign at Dunkin' Donuts. Click for larger image.

Here are the qualifications for working at Dunkin’ Donuts in Jakarta, as posted on the window of an outlet at a gas station. If you’re a relatively tall, thin, young, and attractive high school graduate who doesn’t wear glasses, a job is waiting for you!

• Male or female, maximum age 22, not yet married.
  • Once you reach 23 or get married, you get to help make the popular Soylent Green doughnut.
• Minimum height: for males, 165 cm (5′ 5″); for females, 157 cm (5′ 1.8″).
  • I guess males need to be taller because … Okay, I don’t know why.

Reducing unemployment, Indonesian style

Officially, the unemployment rate in Indonesia is between 7 and 8 percent. My amazing experience at the Jakarta Eye Center might explain how a relatively poor country could have a lower unemployment rate than the United States. As far as I can tell, a single enterprise will employ many people, probably at low wages, each performing a separate task that our ruthless corporations would either eliminate outright or combine into one position. So, for a simple checkup,  I dealt directly with more than a dozen people!

My appointment cost about $23 (U.S. dinero). Here is what the Eye Center provided: