Whatever Happened To Responsible Spending?

It seems no one knows how to budget responsibly anymore. As a matter of fact, one could say the phrase responsible spending is more of an oxymoron these days than anything else. Of course you could also say those who are supposed to know how to spend responsibly are nothing more than morons!

Yes, we’re in the midst of hard economic times. But reality is, this was brought on by greedy leadership who figured they could spend like there was no tomorrow. Then, even when companies tanked and did poorly, the leaders and CEO’s who failed, were rewarded with outlandish bonuses and salary increases.

The bubble had to break sometime. Since it was a really big bubble, it broke in a really big way!

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The Best Coffee Isn’t Always The Most Expensive Brew

A new survey reveals you don’t have to spend big bucks…
Just to get a great Cup of Joe!

It’s no secret some people will go to any length, and pay any price, as they search for what’s known as the perfect cup of coffee. I’ve been known to even argue with people about where to find the best cup of coffee. In my books, there’s no better cup of coffee than the one found at Tim Hortons. As a Canadian, I was thrilled when Tim Hortons decided to expand into the States. As a matter of fact, when the local Tim Hortons opened a couple years ago, I was the first in line!

But, do you really need to spend tons of money to find that perfect cup? A recent survey by Consumer Reports says no!

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Do They Really Get A Big Bang For Their Buck?

Is It Really Worth It?

It’s time for another Super Bowl and that means it’s time for outlandish spending when it comes to advertising dollars. Many people say it’s the Super Bowl ads which pull them to watch the game. Some go as far as saying the best part of the game revolves around what advertisers do with the Super Bowl commercials.

But, at a whopping $3 million for a mere 30 second ad! It begs the question - Are advertisers wasting their money on these crazy ads?

Then, toss in the fact that the economy is in a hard way these days, and just this week alone thousands of people were pink-slipped, you have to wonder what company execs are thinking. How can these same execs that are handing out pink slips and slashing budgets, justify spending $3 mil on a 30 second ad?

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Stinking Economy = More Traffic Tickets!?

Once upon a time many people believed police wrote more speeding tickets at the end of each month. Why? They had to hit some kind of magic quoto number. As a result, at the end of each month more speed traps appeared and the ever-conscious driver trying to shave a few minutes off travel time, would slow down in fear of getting a ticket. Of course police everywhere deny such reports and say they do not step up speeding tickets at the end of each month.

Now, just when you thought you could believe them, word comes out that police are writing more tickets when the economy stinks! Just what we needed right? When many are concerned about stretching the every-shrinking dollar, we now need to be aware that the police are looking to dip into our wallets.

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All Our Problems Will Magically Disappear

A New Day Has Dawned!

If you believe the media hype and the press releases, we should wake up this morning to lower taxes, no more foreclosures, and a job in every pot. We should now have access to free healthcare and even our bank loans cleared. After all, wasn’t that the platform President Obama ran on? He ran on a message of hope where all of our woes would magically disappear. The best part of it, we don’t have to do anything to be set free! Big Daddy Government is now in charge and Big Daddy Government will pay for everything and make sure all our needs are met.

So, what does your bank account look like today? What’s in your cupboard for food? Have you scheduled that long overdue surgery? What? You haven’t done that yet? Well why not? Could it be that you’re waiting for the political rhetoric to become a reality? If you are, I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you may be waiting a long time.

While I wish President Obama all the best, now it’s time to see if he can put any traction to his political promises of change and hope.

In the meantime, everyone else needs to figure out how to continue moving forward in the face of tough economic times.

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Movies Are Supposed to Provide A Sense of Escapism

Klaatu Looking For Answers in The Day the Earth Stood Still

We find ourselves in some tough economic times. Not only are things tough in the economy, but we’re also in the midst of the Christmas season when people are hoping to buy gifts for loved ones. When faced with tough times, people usually head to the movies. Why do they go to the movies when times are tough?

To escape the reality of what’s going on in the world around them for a couple of hours.

To get their mind off what’s tearing them apart, and slip into some fantasy world where things are fun. To go find a place where they can live happily ever after.

Aside from writing this blog, Just My Two Cents, I also have a movie review blog called Frame by Frame. That’s where you will find my full review of The Day the Earth Stood Still. While I will highlight some aspects of that movie here, this is not a review of the movie. Instead, The Day the Earth Stood Still generated some ideas on the topic of politics in movies.

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A City On The Edge of the Erie

For people living near and around Rochester, New York, much of what goes on in the city could be referred to as a soap opera. It seems every time you turn around, there’s another example of poor decision politics going on. Could it be those in leadership are always looking for the quick fix instead of the right fix? Officials in Rochester have a tendency to put all of their eggs in one basket. Then, they go for government funding, and in the end, many times, the project fails.

Could it be that’s happening again with PaeTec?

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Looking For Handouts, While Throwing Punches

First Wall Street told us the sky would fall if they failed. Financial CEO’s with they big dollar salaries and perks galore told the federal government if they didn’t give them money, the entire economy would collapse. Going against public opinion, the government decided to hand out billions of dollars of taxpayer money to prop up Wall Street. We now find ourselves on the other side of the bailout, and not much has changed. Expect for companies like AIG who could afford their all expense paid business trips, Wall Street continues to grind along.

Not only did the sky not fall, but Black Friday sales were up this year!

Now it’s the automakers turn to strong arm the nation. Their first trip to Washington did not go well. They were sent packing as nothing more than greedy CEO’s looking for a handout. As one leader said, “They arrived on Capital Hill in their private jets with a tin cup in their hand.” Not only did Capital Hill not buy it, but the nation has not bought the song and dance either. A recent CNN poll reveals that once again the majority of the people in the nation are against any kind of bailout. Of course the automakers are quick to say it’s not a bailout. They say they’re looking for a loan. But, if one were to check their credit report, I would say it doesn’t look good and therefore their credit rating number is rather low.

Of course we know what that means, if you have a low score, you don’t get a loan.

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Is Black Friday Dead?

It is no secret economic times are tough. Of course if you listen to the government leaders, various talking head pundits and the so-called financial experts, you’re probably filled with lots of fear. Lets face it, there’s a lot of fear-mongering going on these days. If we believed all the reports from the people who are supposed to be in the know, we’d all have our heads buried in the sand. There was plenty of doom and gloom with early predictions of a weak Black Friday. Some people even said the name should be changed. Obviously those calling for the name change don’t understand the meaning of Black Friday. The term is not one of doom and gloom. It’s not even used to describe the crazy antics of shoppers. No, instead, it’s a term describing the fact that retailers use the Friday after Thanksgiving as a way to determine if their sales will move out of the red and into the black.

But, could it be the know-it-alls are full of hot air?

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Rochester, New York Announces Incentive Bonuses

While performance-based pay is commonplace in the private sector, the Mayor of Rochester, New York has decided to implement the practice at the government level. As a result of his new plan, the already cash-strapped City of Rochester, is handing out thousands of dollars in bonus pay. This plan, especially coming at this point in time, has at least three major problems.

• The economy is in a bad way.
• Mayor Duffy is handing out taxpayer money to pay huge bonuses.
• Mayor Duffy spends more time crying for money in Albany than he does at home. How can he justify this reckless spending?

All of this also comes at a time when the President of the University of Rochester, Joel Seligman, announced this week he will not take a pay increase next year because the U of R is uncertain of what will happen to their funding stream in the midst of the current economy.

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