Showing all posts tagged with money.
Innovation is for Losers
This proposed $25 billion loan to General Motors is really bothering me. I don't understand how anyone could think they deserve it; they dug themselves into this stupid hole by refusing to run their business like a business. It seems like all GM does is crank out trucks and SUVs, ignoring the fact that people won't be able to afford to drive them for much longer.
So how did this happen? It's pretty obvious, really. GM makes about ten to fifteen thousand dollars on every SUV they sell, making them far and away GM's most profitable vehicle. When gas prices took off this year, people stopped buying them (30% drop). In fact, GM's US sales have dropped about 45% YTD. Instead of behaving like a business and adapting to changing market conditions, GM did stupid stuff like offering $2 gas to their customers for a year. Obviously, it's a little too late for them to do anything about it now, but they should have seen this coming. Look at Toyota, for example. They started selling Priuses in Japan in 1997 and worldwide in 2001, several years before the American car manufacturers did. General Motors is unoriginal, uncreative, and unimaginative. They're just now coming out with the Volt over there ←, although I wonder how it will work out based on the debacle that was the EV-1.
How Much is $700 Billion?
A lot. My favorite one is 2200 McDonald's apple pies for everyone in America.
The Internet is a Scary Place
I've found a couple of things worth sharing. First is this:
http://fjetsam.com/index.php/internet/today-is-the-day-i-was-rick-rolled-by-the-muppets.index.html
I think you can guess what it is.
Websites are Expensive :(
I'm thinking about buying my own domain and hosting, but it's $$$. If I get one it'll be pete13.com, so tell me if you think it's worth $150 over two years. I'm not totally sure, but I do like the idea of having a real domain.
