Bribes, Subprime, and Lottery Sales Roundup
Ever wondered what it’s like to grease a palm or two? Wondered whether it would actually work? I know I did and I’ve never greased a palm in my life but story about “bribing” maitre’ds of high end restaurants in New York makes me want to.
Here’s a gem of a story by Michael Lewis about moving to a huge house they can’t afford in New Orleans (don’t worry, he’s renting). “When Michael Lewis and his family move into a house they can’t afford, he gets a taste of the new American nightmare.” (BTW, Portfolio is a great magazine, I flipped through one issue the other day at the dentist’s waiting room and I think I’m hooked. Unfortunately, my local library doesn’t carry it but I have put in a request for it. It might join the only other subscription I pay for, Wired, which is also another Condé Nast publication, if they reject the request)
The wealth effect is related to lottery sales too. As the economy sinks, lottery sales are soaring. “Given that the fortunes of our state-run lotteries are inversely proportional to the state of our economy, it’s no surprise that America’s lotto kiosks are currently reporting heretofore unheard-of earnings.”
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Hey, I know you’re a miser
but you’re right, Portfolio is a GREAT and often overlooked publication and I’d definitely recommend ponying up the $12 for your very own subscription (and you can donate your read copies to your local library).
I bought a copy a few months back for a plane trip and have been hooked ever since. Great writing, middle of the road politics, and even though CEO’s typically grace the cover, I feel that it’s well targeted at the middle to middle-upper class that strive for more.
mike- strive for more what, exactly?we all have enough stuff and we have the national debt to prove it. why not strive to prevent our kids from inheriting a huge debt that they had no involvement in creating…
but that would require sacrifice now would n’t it?and that just might interfere with striving for more…?what exactly?
Umm… Strive for more personal wealth of course… What else would a magazine called “Portfolio” be about? Sorry, didn’t realize my comment was so cryptic.
There’s a big difference between acquiring debt to accumulate ’stuff’ and acquiring wealth. Pick up a copy of the magazine, read it, and I think all will be clear.
Patriot.. educate yourself and take an economics course before you regurgitate false information on national debt that you’ve heard at the local coffee joint.
Ask yourself this question: What’s so bad about national debt?
(Paying it sure isn’t hard for a country with 33% of the developed world’s GDP.)