http://www.valuesleuth.org A rest stop at the intersection of Market Place and The Way Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:33:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en You've seen this before, but it's a fun way of thinking about economics... SOCIALISM You have 2 cows.  You give one to your neighbor. COMMUNISM You have 2 cows.  The State takes both and gives you some milk. FASCISM You have 2 cows.  The State takes both and sells you some milk. NAZISM You have 2 cows.  The ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=111 Do you have a ministry of showing up? On occasion we're invited to go somewhere we don't really want to go.  Sometimes it's not anything against the people (like a family gathering), it's just that we'd rather not get in the car, deal with traffic, whatever.  But then MBH (my better ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=109 Do you prefer the brand or the generic? As a student of value I'm always studying what sellers are selling and what buyers are buying. When it comes to baking mix (like Bisquick), it's a pretty simple substance.  I can't personally taste any difference between the brand name and the store-brand version ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=102 In today's live-and-let-live world, someone's going to call me a freak for even saying this... The article starts: "Susan and Jeff Hartnett wanted to leave something positive that would live on after they were gone. It wouldn't be children, they decided. Instead, it would be new housing in the Eliot neighborhood so others could ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=98 It was long before the financial carnage of late 2008 that I first heard about a bank "calling a loan." I was working at a firm that sold financial analysis of small publicly traded companies, and somewhere along the way I heard the story of a company whose bank ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=89 I once heard a speaker reduce our motivations to the simplest of building blocks... that we either move towards pleasure, or we move away from pain. Over many subsequent years as I studied and then practiced marketing it became clear that we will do more to avoid pain than to ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=87 Hey! I've got this great idea! Let's turn lead into gold! World Magazine reports, though I'm sure it's known elsewhere as well, that our government spends $160 million a year to create $80 million of pennies. I remember a time in the early 1970s when my family lived ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=49 8/21 WSJ has a tidbit that says a third of Americans "expect to rely most on personal savings and investments in retirement, rather than employer accounts or Social Security...Among those ages 18-34, that percentage rises to nearly 50%." Dare I say that this last part of that statement only substantiates what ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=47 Message for the those who check in... I'm going quiet for awhile. Business (www.1080group.com) is just kickin' my butt lately (in a good way), and I've got to focus there. - the Value Sleuth http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=46 ...on this side of Glory, anyway. Jonathan Clements strikes another chord with wisdom in today's WSJ, making the point that your retirement is likely better off in a small house and investing elsewhere than betting on the big house. He concludes, "There is, however, an upside to buying ... http://www.valuesleuth.org/?p=45