Kids out of school, so she who makes videos is banging out some waiting material... and here comes one from New York, in which I argue for free market regulation of the securities markets. This of course is job you can do without needing permission from anyone.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
China Videos
And here are a couple of videos from China, one interviewing a staffer at a trade show, and another a Merchant from Ghana (mostly in Ghan) ...
Trade Show Book Fair Representative...
Interview with businessman from Ghana...
A subtext of the Ghana video is how his work is his lifestyle, including bringing his Fiancee to Hong Kong as well...
Feel free to forward these on...
Video: Demand During Bust
I've put up a two part youtube on the topic of How Demand Widens During a Economic Bust, which you can view
part one here
and part two here.
Feel free to forward them on...
Why is flu vaccine free?
Karen D Coster at http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/ has juxtaposed a series of news article to demonstrate what we see all to often:
A poorly run company goes bankrupt, it is bailed out by a government contract, and a politician hails the event as a wonderful thing. No doubt because of the wonderful campaign contributions the company will be able to give.
Aside from what De Coster says, I am mystified as to why flu vaccine must be “free” and thus under total government control.
We need eggs, the government does not control eggs, we have plenty of eggs.
Flu vaccines are easier to make with far cheaper infrastructure than is required to produce eggs.
Why we do not have a free market in flu vaccine, i do not know. I do know we are headed for trouble becuase of this foolishness.
Neon On Furniture
Neon makes comments on Sourcing furniture, and I'd like to converse...
Neon:
With existing 'off the shelf' items the argument is: what's to stop the retailer going around you and buying from a cheaper source? Well... since you're distributing tha minimum order amongst all the retailers perhaps there wont' be enough demand for another importer to take on a minimum order, so you're effectively crowding out the competition.
***Perzactly!***
I do see importers all the time taking off the shelf items and basing their business on it. Some who have good products and distribution deals, usually who've been around for a while, make millions. Others seem to build their company product by product such as https://www.shortgrass.co.uk/catalog/index.php
***Yes, but we have no idea how they are doing financially, and anyone can compete on price with all of them ...***
You could always go in with some pictures of furniture from the internet that you don't see in stores and ask the retailers if they like it. Then you could become the importer, and have a distribution deal with the manufacturer.
***But back to problem #1... compete on price... I challenge the idea that furniture is unique in that aesthetics must be seen to be appreciated. One might shop around for burl card tables (meaning natural rough wood in natural shapes) without ever showing a picture, since furniture retailers already know what this is, but one never sees it as a card table.
I'd also observe if one cannot describe the problem to solve, then one either is not solving a problem, which is fundamental to starting a business, or one ought consider a field in which they can describe a problem to solve.***
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Price Gouging
Price gouging is a critical event necessary to relieve shortages during a disaster, so the government outlaws it, and the media condemns it. Rabbi Daniel Lapin teaches in his book Thou Shalt Prosper one facet in Jewish culture that supports business acumen is the tendency to reject the snapshot in favor of the video. A snapshot is often misleading, a video shows what happened before and after.
A snapshot shows a line at a gas station and the price on the board something like $25/gallon. We are duly outraged.
A video shows gas distributors from Amarillo to Memphis to Atlanta directing their trucks with $2 a gallon loads to New Orleans, where gas is fetching five or ten times that. Soon new Orleans is awash in gas, and the prices come tumbling down.
Those highest prices quoted, according to studies, average about 15 minutes on the boards, before others begin to undercut it. Ten or twelve hours later that extra supplies come rolling in. Spot prices begin dropping fast. Problem solved.
The "gougers," after paying overhead for 24 hour operation (and security) usually end up with nothing else. Who benefits? As usual, in a free market, the consumers.
Rationing does not work since the gas fails to end up in the hands of who needs it most, and it fails to draw in more supply.
In USA we are not free to contract. We are not free to alleviate shortage in a disaster. It is against the law.
China Fueling Commodities Surge
Andy Xie says China is foolishly loading up on commodities, with no particular reason. Well, why do countries, or anyone for that matter hoard commodities? One reason is they expect war.
It is astonishing to watch US Govt criticize Iran when A. it is none of oour business, B. We back regimes that do far worse, C. We do far worse in USA.
Perhaps we should attend to the plank in our eye before we attack wee Iran. We couold start by lifting trade embargoes.
How Medicine Works
But if you took my online class, you already knew this:
Big Pharma gives up a sliver of profits over ten years if taxpayers will pick up the tab for over-costed and over-priced drugs, and the politicians and government news sources, such as Bloomberg, report it as a victory for consumers.
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