Slumdog Governer

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/26/carville.republicans/index.html#cnnSTCTe

James Carville was a political adviser for President Bill Clinton in the 1990's and a huge supporter of Hillary Clinton's presidential bid last year. He wrote this amusing commentary for CNN. Carville Discusses Louisianan Governer "Bobby" Jindall's response to President Obama's stimulus speech. Jindall has criticized the presidents plan as wasteful spending. Jindall himself refuses to take any money from the package for his state, because it will enforce him to change the states unemployment law. I agree with Carville when he writes that expanding unemployment benefits will help boost our economy. A former Mccain economic adviser predicts that every dollar put into unemployment will put over $1.50 into our economy.
This is a bad move for Jindall and the republican party. He is criticizing a solution to our economic crisis, without supplying any possible ideas of his own.This is all a ploy to make Jindall the next superstar of the GOP. That fake southern accent really kills it for me.

It's Electric boogie woogie

Recently I read an article on CNN.com in their money section. The article discusses the stimulus package's affect on the electric car. President Obama has extended tax benefits to electric car buyers, by offering up to %10 of modification costs of electric cars. Not only do you save money 0n gas, but also you recieve tax releif. They also focused on some up and coming electirc cars.

As the auto-industry in the us is bombing, i have asked this time and time before. How are these american car manufacturers going to re-innovate themselves and become competitve in the car market. I think Chevy has answer with the Volt. This car is very innovative. It runs 40 miles on its just an electric charge and for longer travel has a small gas tank. 40 miles, according to the article, is more than the average american drives everyday. One could go weeks without filling up with the volt. If one is just running around town for work and errands this would be the perfect alternative.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/autos/0902/gallery.electric_car_credits/2.html

Walmart

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200902171051DOWJONESDJONLINE000487_FORTUNE5.htm

According to this article, the world's largest retailer Walmart is one of few retail stocks that is doing well. Yet they recently laid-off a few hundred employees. I learned from my boss at Wrangler that these lay-offs were not a sign of poor business at the discount retailer. In fact it is a strategy to save money. They have laid off many of their apparel buyers. These people are located in Bentonville, AR. Walmart is trying to move their buying team to NYC. Therefore these employees can re-apply for their jobs, but they also take the financial cost of moving. Another one of my co-workers noted that the retailer might be trying to compete with targets fashion oriented apparel, by hiring younger fashion oriented buyers. This just shows that walmart will do anything to save money, even if it means throwing there longtime employees under the bus.

Past Failures Helpful?

I can't think of a past failure of mine that would be helpful to me as an entrepreneur. However, I do think that failures can help entrepreneurs. Failures provide opportunities to learn from mistakes. The knowledge gained from from making mistakes helps to improve the chances of success with the next venture. Failure can also give entrepreneurs a since of determination, a trait that is needed for success.

Social Entrepreneurship

Social Entrepreneurship is the development, creation, and management of social change. A social entrepreneur is one who typically recognizes this social problem and will work through nonprofit organizations to fix it.

Low grade fashion week

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2009-02-11-fashion-week_N.htm

The recession is hitting our economy in every aspect possible. This article points to the fact that even that the most fashionable and expensive brands are downgrading during fashion week. Multiple brands are scaling down there shows, not showing at all, or using other tactics besides a runway show to promote their new lines.

I think this points to a new mentality in consumer spending. For the past few years, consumers have been buying flashy apparel items that show status and wealth. I believe now will come a time of thriftiness and how consumers can save. People are going to be off put by the notion of flashy materialistic items and high-end brands. Its very difficult for someone to flaunt their $2,000 prada bag, when many families cant make enough money to pay their rent, feed their children, or retire when planned. Social influence will make it hard for those who can afford extravagant items to even consider it.

This same mentality might keep us in a recession longer. Because when consumer are spending less and the flow of money is stagnant, then we are going to be in a recession longer.