Chuck Simmons did a fascinating analysis of the debt carried by the ten top corporations in the United States, finding they have combined debt over 2.5 itrillion/i dollars. Thats not counting things not reflected in that balance sheet position, like GMs prospectively deadly pension obligations.
I’ve become a Felicia Day fan after seeing her in Dr. Horrible, which you should watch on Hulu if you’ve not seen it, and then in her own web series, The Guild.
How is this relevant to a business blog? She recently posted about her crash course in business, dealing with the nuts and bolts of DVD production and order fulfillment. In writing, producing and starring in her own series, she gets to wear the business hats as well. You could say it’s a brand new day. As Deb and I have been known to discuss, these days the Internet is TV. Her experience are and will hardly be isolated.
Via Rob Sama, who came out as Rubinomics (I was torn and might have had I gone with my other response), this is a fun economic profile test.
I came out as moderate supply side economics, which means:
Supply Side Economics holds that capital accumulation drives growth, and that the most important role for government is to remove disincentives to capital formation, especially by reducing taxes on capital and earnings. It holds that markets generally get it right, and that government intervention should be limited, including through a simple tax code with low rates and few deductions. But markets only get it right if they get the right price signals, so supply-side economics focuses on making sure that there are as few distortions to the market as possible. Finally, the overriding goal of supply-side economics growth; equity issues are best left to the market.
I’m not sure I liked the way the answers boxed me in, but its point was to match you with one of a small set of types, so what the heck.
This post on terminating a great performer is good and all, but it made me think “what about great performers who are not recognized as such and are terminated.” Of course, that doesn’t need advice to managers on how to handle it, because to them it’s just a termination. It still struck me funny.
I’ve never looked at an employer or even a client the same way since the job I had where I was exceptional, poured my heart into it, and wound up terminated because the only people who mattered were seemingly oblivious. Going on 20 years later, I have never put the same kind of effort in for and extended time, and never regained my trust in employers or that hard work and dedication would be rewarded. The closest I’ve come to forgetting that is in my absurd degree of loyalty to my former large client, which might explain why I feel so jaded currently.
Obviously I did not come roaring back with a big “back from hiatus” CotC, doubling as a fundraiser, which was to tell me how interested people were in CotC and whether to continue it or not, whether or not to open this site up to ads as I would avoid with enough reader support, and specifically help me pay my gas & electric arrears to keep them from being shut off August 20, rendering us homeless when we’re otherwise largely stabilized.
In keeping with the preceding, if you ever appreciated Carnival of the Capitalists and/or would like to see it return, or would simply like to be charitable, feel free to hit the PayPal donation button over on the right. Anything I receive will go to the utilities until no more is needed for that. It’s for sure there will be no return of CotC in any form if I am camping on someone’s couch, or camping more literally.
There also hasn’t been a post in answer to the question posed in the comments about Blog Carnival, which I expect to return to using officially (submissions through it still get to the right place) if there is going to be a return of CotC.
There haven’t even been plain old posts, not even quick links, as I’d intended to do regularly. The trouble with quick links is what if those are good ones for an edition of CotC and I “waste them” as regular posts. Or vice-versa. I could post a ton of stuff, if not timely, from all the links I bookmarked toward the assumption I’d do a CotC Real Soon Now… if I can find them after a couple of computer reorganizations.
It seems lame to me that the family kept me so busy that any of the activities I had in mind to help keep the family housed and together were neglected or somehow viewed as less important than, I dunno, whatever would somehow keep things together, and the routine family maintenance. It’s no accident that I am typing this at 2 AM, somehow actually awake and coherent enough, for which I’ll pay later.
Will there be a CotC? Maybe. Definitely, if there’s an outpouring enough to make me insist on the time for it. Will there be posts? Probably, especially if there’s not a CotC, especially if I end up with ads that make it worthwhile for me to squeeze in time for a bit of content. Especially since it’s not exactly tough to generate that, if I make a point of it and start by mining what’s already accumulated. Especially since we live in fascinating economic times I itch to say more about.
So watch this space and I’ll try to be back soon. Heck, if you donate enough and would like me to write about a topic, perhaps that could be arranged…
Unless something trips it up, I will post a “back from hiatus and now what” (and yes, fundraiser) edition of Carnival of the Capitalists this week. I’m looking at Gmail for the first time in forever, and of course there’s not a huge amount there. If you send in an entry ASAP, it will be considered, or might make it for the next one, which should be sooner than this one, if not exactly next week.
Since this is an extra huge, catching up edition, the rules on posts being recent, and there being only one per blog, are completely out the window.
The address is bizosphere@gmail.com, or you can simly e-mail me at jay@bizosphere.com if you’d like, for this one.
Feel free to suggest posts by others, not written by you, and mainstream online media articles as well.
Thanks!
LinkedIn is in the news, with a round of financing, walue of a cool billion, and big plans that seem to be on the right track.
Around these parts, this articlle sounds funny. Some of us have been driving less for a long time. To the point where atrophied vehicles are a concern, where they can just sit and decay by not being driven as intended.
Well, that’s not what the article title says: May Retail Sales Up More Than Expected.
Rebate checks? More money on hand? Do the people who write these things actually do any shopping?
I could easily buy retail prices being up by the 0.8% stated, after factoring out certain big ticket items and gas. There’s just no factoring out the cost of fuel from the cost of groceries and other goods.
Painting this as rosy sales news is almost like thinking that the same percentage profit on $138 that you made on $50 is a “windfall.”
There is a certain amount of irony in my having organized and run something called Carnival of the Capitalists for so long as an uncompensated volunteer. Even when it only took a couple hours a week, well… it took a couple hours a week.
It’s been on hiatus, and that is one of the reasons. I want to bring it back in some form. Recently I had a fundraising drive of sorts at Blogblivion, which had a gratifying response, albeit driven by the assistance of big name bloggers. A couple of people mentioned their donations were for CotC or expressed interest in seeing it return, so doing so is partly for and inspired by them.
I’ve been accumulating links, which might otherwise get posted standalone, rather than as part of a collection, and while I haven’t looked, presumably some have come into the submission address. I’m ready to try it again, but I’m not sure it can or should ever be exactly the same.
There will be one edition to start, designated a fundraiser. I will also be looking at the option of advertising here, but if there’s enough direct support, the need for that will be mitigated. You needn’t wait for that, if you have ever appreciated Carnival of the Capitalists during its run from late 2003 to early 2008. Even tiny amounts help. The “make a donation” button at the top of the right column is the place to go for that, and thank you for your support. If you contributed previously, thank you again. No need to repeat yourself.
As noted, I’ll entertain the possibility of advertising, or some form of sponsorship. If you’re interested, let me know: jay@bizosphere.com.
There is much to say about blog carnivals, CotC, blogging, social media, and so forth, but that can wait for the CotC edition or other posts.
The main thing is that CotC has to go TANSTAAFL in the future, if there is to be one. Even if there isn’t going to be a CotC, this site has to go that way. I won’t make a living running CotC or blogging here on business and economics, but I have to make something.
