alienation's Comments RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.comuser/253501/comments http://seekingalpha.com/article/163553-welcome-to-the-new-normal?source=feed#comment-693505 693505 Sun, 27 Sep 2009 18:39:52 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/146862-sears-retail-social-networking-pioneers?source=feed#comment-578363 578363
I'm not sure why, because, in the past, I never really thought of Sears as a place to get things. Prices were kind of high, service was not good, stuff wasn't in stock. Over the past three years, or so, things have improved. I've also gotten older, and maybe my priorities are aligning with Sears.

Sears.com is good. They have some reviews on most of their big items. You have to read between the lines of course. The site accepts customer feedback, and sometimes, it seems to go to the right people. It's not as good as Amazon, but it's better than the other appliance stores. Also, they have parts, and they guarantee to stock them for a while, which is a big plus for me. I also like that they keep selling the same thing year in and out, for some simple things.

The site has a nice "in stock" feature that checks the local store's inventory. It's useful, because you improve your odds of getting what you need when you get there.

I also started shopping at Kmart again a few years back. It used to be a mess, but it's gotten better. I get my fake Dockers there for very little money. I'm a simple guy.

I guess Sears and Kmart are good for people like me, who don't like to shop. They're relatively efficient and safe. I'm sure I could do better, but I just don't care enough to seek out a better pair of fake Dockers or the ultimate mattress.]]> Wed, 08 Jul 2009 03:22:29 -0400
I'm not sure why, because, in the past, I never really thought of Sears as a place to get things. Prices were kind of high, service was not good, stuff wasn't in stock. Over the past three years, or so, things have improved. I've also gotten older, and maybe my priorities are aligning with Sears.

Sears.com is good. They have some reviews on most of their big items. You have to read between the lines of course. The site accepts customer feedback, and sometimes, it seems to go to the right people. It's not as good as Amazon, but it's better than the other appliance stores. Also, they have parts, and they guarantee to stock them for a while, which is a big plus for me. I also like that they keep selling the same thing year in and out, for some simple things.

The site has a nice "in stock" feature that checks the local store's inventory. It's useful, because you improve your odds of getting what you need when you get there.

I also started shopping at Kmart again a few years back. It used to be a mess, but it's gotten better. I get my fake Dockers there for very little money. I'm a simple guy.

I guess Sears and Kmart are good for people like me, who don't like to shop. They're relatively efficient and safe. I'm sure I could do better, but I just don't care enough to seek out a better pair of fake Dockers or the ultimate mattress.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/146850-it-isn-t-just-location-housing-and-the-economic-recovery?source=feed#comment-573719 573719
One other thing: the Toyota workers in Japan are unionized.]]> Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:31:39 -0400
One other thing: the Toyota workers in Japan are unionized.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/146803-wal-mart-and-offering-employees-strategic-healthcare?source=feed#comment-573626 573626
Now, as for Wal Mart playing with the government -- you're forgetting that WM has a big lobbying budget, and they have been getting involved in politics since the mid 1990s. Believe me. I had to volunteer to help elect some anti-Wal-Mart candidates. Wal-Mart had a professional political operative to organize to defeat us (and he's still doing the work, outlasting community opposition). Wal-Mart outspent us 10 to 1, lost once, then won, later.

When you look at a WM store, remember - the HQ is willing to hire a political consultant and spend money to protect that store, and make sure City Hall is friendly to it.]]> Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:52:17 -0400
Now, as for Wal Mart playing with the government -- you're forgetting that WM has a big lobbying budget, and they have been getting involved in politics since the mid 1990s. Believe me. I had to volunteer to help elect some anti-Wal-Mart candidates. Wal-Mart had a professional political operative to organize to defeat us (and he's still doing the work, outlasting community opposition). Wal-Mart outspent us 10 to 1, lost once, then won, later.

When you look at a WM store, remember - the HQ is willing to hire a political consultant and spend money to protect that store, and make sure City Hall is friendly to it.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112991-broadband-why-government-investment-is-justified-now?source=feed#comment-344998 344998
The Internet was already heavily subsidized by the government, and look how that turned out. It's a free-speech mess, with many low-cost services, a low barrier to entry, and a virtual "free market" in ecommerce sites. Amazon.com destroyed the Waldenbooks at the mall. Because of Ebay, my local computer vendor no longer has a big retail storefront on the main drag. It's some kind of curio shop now. Craigslist has harmed the newspapers.

This internet government socialism totally destroyed the private online services, save for AOL, which is still hanging on. Imagine how much better off we'd be if we still had these private services, keeping their users separated on private network, so it was impossible to send email from one service to another. There'd be less spam, and more, better advertising email mediated by the online service provider.

Thankfully, the mobile phone carrier networks are rebuilding the walls between networks, raising prices, and acting as an intermediary between independent services vendors and the customer. Profits in wireless are healthy, fees are high, and capitalism is doing well again. These "app stores" may prove to be a huge boon to the wireless companies, too.

Let's not build out a universal internet that will allow rural and lower-income people to get online at higher speeds. Let's not create open wireless standards that will harm the large global telecom companies' profits, and cut into their Congressional lobbying budget. This is the slippery slope to government waste, socialism, and COMMUNISM. Just Say NO!]]> Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:31:42 -0500
The Internet was already heavily subsidized by the government, and look how that turned out. It's a free-speech mess, with many low-cost services, a low barrier to entry, and a virtual "free market" in ecommerce sites. Amazon.com destroyed the Waldenbooks at the mall. Because of Ebay, my local computer vendor no longer has a big retail storefront on the main drag. It's some kind of curio shop now. Craigslist has harmed the newspapers.

This internet government socialism totally destroyed the private online services, save for AOL, which is still hanging on. Imagine how much better off we'd be if we still had these private services, keeping their users separated on private network, so it was impossible to send email from one service to another. There'd be less spam, and more, better advertising email mediated by the online service provider.

Thankfully, the mobile phone carrier networks are rebuilding the walls between networks, raising prices, and acting as an intermediary between independent services vendors and the customer. Profits in wireless are healthy, fees are high, and capitalism is doing well again. These "app stores" may prove to be a huge boon to the wireless companies, too.

Let's not build out a universal internet that will allow rural and lower-income people to get online at higher speeds. Let's not create open wireless standards that will harm the large global telecom companies' profits, and cut into their Congressional lobbying budget. This is the slippery slope to government waste, socialism, and COMMUNISM. Just Say NO!]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/112169-three-christmas-presents-from-the-u-s-economy?source=feed#comment-338490 338490
On Dec 25 09:12 AM Cynical Sam wrote:

> The average US household Credit Card balance is now at about $10,000?
> Bull! If that often repeated statistic is true, the long overdue
> correction is just starting. What's the Average Household Income?
> I think it's around $60K - they have $10K in high interest CC debt?
> Either hide the women & children & stuff your money in the
> mattress or quit repeating that rediculous stat. Do yourself &
> your readers a favor & investigate the source of the CC debt
> "legend".]]> Fri, 26 Dec 2008 03:52:09 -0500
On Dec 25 09:12 AM Cynical Sam wrote:

> The average US household Credit Card balance is now at about $10,000?
> Bull! If that often repeated statistic is true, the long overdue
> correction is just starting. What's the Average Household Income?
> I think it's around $60K - they have $10K in high interest CC debt?
> Either hide the women & children & stuff your money in the
> mattress or quit repeating that rediculous stat. Do yourself &
> your readers a favor & investigate the source of the CC debt
> "legend".]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/94345-economic-outlook-bracing-for-a-rocky-road?source=feed#comment-248043 248043 Mon, 08 Sep 2008 05:51:40 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/94285-regulators-share-blame-for-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-247571 247571 Sun, 07 Sep 2008 13:20:22 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/94285-regulators-share-blame-for-the-financial-crisis?source=feed#comment-247546 247546
I believe the New Deal did prolong the GD, but, during the postwar boom, the so-called "socialist" laws and bureacracy led to the creation of the "middle class". This more even redistribution of wealth, combined with increased regulation, has helped prevent subsequent dips in the business cycle from turning into depressions.

@ original post - perhaps we're seeing increases in government employment as a reaction to a fears of a recession, and increased unemployment. Perhaps it is merely smart management - if your income isn't directly dependent on the market, hire in a down market. Healthcare employment may be increasing due to marketing efforts by insurance companies to be health insurace more accessible -- due to fears of socialized insurance, they try to increase the number of insured to create political resistance to "single payer". Healthcare and the insurance industry spending that funds healthcare may behave more like government or "socialized" spending, because the services they provide are like socialism, except service is not available to people who do not purchase the insurance (the expenses of poverty are not included). ]]> Sun, 07 Sep 2008 12:51:51 -0400
I believe the New Deal did prolong the GD, but, during the postwar boom, the so-called "socialist" laws and bureacracy led to the creation of the "middle class". This more even redistribution of wealth, combined with increased regulation, has helped prevent subsequent dips in the business cycle from turning into depressions.

@ original post - perhaps we're seeing increases in government employment as a reaction to a fears of a recession, and increased unemployment. Perhaps it is merely smart management - if your income isn't directly dependent on the market, hire in a down market. Healthcare employment may be increasing due to marketing efforts by insurance companies to be health insurace more accessible -- due to fears of socialized insurance, they try to increase the number of insured to create political resistance to "single payer". Healthcare and the insurance industry spending that funds healthcare may behave more like government or "socialized" spending, because the services they provide are like socialism, except service is not available to people who do not purchase the insurance (the expenses of poverty are not included). ]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93386-the-election-s-impact-on-the-market?source=feed#comment-242698 242698 Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:45:56 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/93308-questioning-obamanomics?source=feed#comment-242665 242665
@BCNCV - he'll probably make good on the tax cut promise. We're taking a one-two punch, first this housing crash, then the war debt. There's no way to raise taxes when people are experiencing increasing unemployment and the economy is soft. I suspect Obama's divergence from the traditional Democratic Party policy will be that government money will be funneled more into this energy project, to "make jobs," rather than to pay for social services (he said nothing at all about protecting welfare, but raised infrastructure and energy issues). I wouldn't be surprised if the conditions for receiving this workfare were even harsher than what we're used to -- he may require that people travel for these jobs, put up with low pay, and even do actual labor.]]> Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:57:00 -0400
@BCNCV - he'll probably make good on the tax cut promise. We're taking a one-two punch, first this housing crash, then the war debt. There's no way to raise taxes when people are experiencing increasing unemployment and the economy is soft. I suspect Obama's divergence from the traditional Democratic Party policy will be that government money will be funneled more into this energy project, to "make jobs," rather than to pay for social services (he said nothing at all about protecting welfare, but raised infrastructure and energy issues). I wouldn't be surprised if the conditions for receiving this workfare were even harsher than what we're used to -- he may require that people travel for these jobs, put up with low pay, and even do actual labor.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/93308-questioning-obamanomics?source=feed#comment-242620 242620
The Republicans aren't so good at this second phase - they keep cutting taxes and put us deeper into debt.]]> Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:53:41 -0400
The Republicans aren't so good at this second phase - they keep cutting taxes and put us deeper into debt.]]>