For years and years, society has idolized pop culture icons and music artists. It is no surprise that articles with titles such as Lady Gag to Release New Song are even more popular than ever. Since the music sensations and music industry have so much influence on society, is it possible that they are helping our economy too? The answer is yes. It is no doubt that music icons are helping shape our world’s economy. Consumers want their products and with today’s technology music artists are able to create more than just music. They are able to create revenue by selling goods and services. It isn’t uncommon today to walk into a store and find a shirt with Lady Gaga’s face on it or find sunglasses that are inspired by some of her many music videos. Music sensations like these are helping fuel are economy because people want to buy products that are created by them or inspired by them. Stores selling music inspired clothing and accessories are more popular then ever. This stores help stimulate our economy by selling the products that are inspired by music sensations and the music industry and they are creating jobs. The music industry plays a huge part in our economy because they help sell products that are in high demand and that consumers want to buy.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lady-gaga-to-release-new-song-later-today-20110509
-Alanna Moore
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Microsoft May Have More Than Just Word!
Over the best few years, video chat has become increasingly popular. The communication service called Skype has been more popular then ever. People are spending hours and hours video chatting with friends and family who they would not be able to see otherwise. Skype gives its consumers a more personal feel than your average phone does. By using Skype, consumers are able to see the person they are talking to making the service more comfortable because it is most like communicating with someone face to face. Since Skype has become so popular and so powerful, it is no wonder that Microsoft is plans to buy Skype. By buying Skype, Microsoft will be able to better please consumers because the demand for video chat services such as Skype are high. Microsoft will also be able to better compete with Apple and other companies. By buying Skype, Microsoft will be buying and controlling a company that consumers want and use therefore Microsoft will be worth more and their company will be even more successful. Microsoft should buy this service, so they have better control of computer program industry. Microsoft will be worth millions more. They will also be able to help fuel our economy since consumers will want their products. A demand for their products will help our economy flourish.
-Alanna M.
-Alanna M.
Help Wanted?
With the un-employment rate quickly heading towards 9% it is a shock to hear that there is a scarce for manufactures. In this article by James R. Hagergty it says that the retirements from the baby booms generation is the main cause of why they need more workers. Hagergty also mentions that in the U.S. education these days there aren't enough math and science people which is what is needed to succeed in manufacturing. The last reason Hagergty mentions is that the number of U.S. manufactoring jobs is growing, making the demand for math and science people grow larger. Manufactures are in search for talented people who can not only weld but shape metal in a lot of intricate ways. These days manufactures are in low demand for well-talented welders. Back in the day thousands of people would apply for these jobs, and today only ten people apply for manufacturing jobs. When discussing futured with friends eveyone talks about how their math and science people and how they want to be an engineer when they grow up. So they may have a scarce of talented math and science people now, but in a few years the demand for these talented people will go down and the supply of them will go up.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Texas Ranger Season Ticket Prices
A year after the Texas Rangers made their first world series appearance tickets have only increased by less than five percent. The Texas Rangers organization was able to raise the price of season tickets because the increase for demand to see the Rangers play has gone up. The main reason increases for season ticket pricing has only gone up for prime seating locations in the ballpark. However the Texas Ranger organization actually lowered some of the season ticket pricing in some of the non-popular locations. The course of action to decrease the amount one would pay for the “bad” seats and to increase the amount one would pay for the “good” makes more economical sense for the Texas Rangers organization to turn a profit. The strategic move only makes sense for the Texas Rangers organization if people only want to sit in the “good” seats. The only possible way for the new increase in prices could backfire on the organization is if people thought that it would be more of a bargain to sit in the not as good seats for a lesser price, which is highly improbable. Another main reason why the Texas Rangers only raised their prices five percent is because they are trying to increase their season ticket base for the years to come thus giving them a sustainable revenue base. The Rangers are not trying to exploit the new enthusiasm for the team by dramatically increasing prices.
-Johne
Facebook vs. Google
Over the past two years Facebook has grown a substantial amount over the Internet and threatens other Internet corporations such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Before Facebook became popular, individuals used to find out information on their browser using search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. However recently people have been using Facebook to find out all their information. This competitiveness over the Internet has recently hurt the search engine companies particularly Google, because Google is used to dominating and controlling the Internet market. Since Facebook is becoming more and more popular, Google’s success over the Internet is being endangered economically. Google feels people are starting to find out new information on Facebook thus the demand for search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing are decreased. Facebook is also making more of a profit than Google because it hires less workers and not having to pay as many people, while still putting out the same quality of information and work. Since Facebook is earning more of a profit they are able to explore and invent new ideas that they could benefit from in the future. Google and the other search engines are not hurt quite yet, but in the near future Facebook will catch up because of their profit margins. As long as Facebook’s demand is increasing and Google and the other search engines are decreasing, Facebook is looking to become a very successful company.
-Johne
LBJ 5 Year Project
Since I live very close to LBJ and use it frequently to get to where I need to go I am pleased to hear they are trying to do something with the traffic problems that occur on an everyday basis. But before things get better they are going to get worse, that of course being the construction being added on to the heavy traffic flow. I think that the new and improved LBJ will benefit not only the traffic flow but the near by business along LBJ, and the construction companies that are supplying the work and materials. This new big project will allow the construction company to hire more workers and supply more jobs. LBJ could have a domino effect on the near by business since the businesses could see more business, the business might have to hirer more workers, thus creating more jobs. The new project on LBJ can be very impactful towards the local economy. However the only hold up with the new project is that it is expensive costing around 2 billion dollars. Now on the flip side this could hurt the economy because this raises the question of how this is going to be paid for. The article says it will be paid for through raised taxes, and tolls along the new freeway. However in the long run, this looks to benefit people more than hurt them seeing that traffic will flow more smoothly bringing twice as many drivers on LBJ prospering near by businesses.
-Johne
Moms and Depression
Mothers have a high rate of depression, which has lead to many studies on the topic. This study shows that mothers who have solid jobs have the lowest rate of depression. This can lead to a difficult decision for mothers in tradeoffs. On one hand, a working mom is giving up time that can be spent raising her kids. However, stay-at-home moms are at higher risk of developing depression. The study connects this depression rate with the income difference between a family with two working parents and one working parent. This is another tradeoff that mothers must deal with. A stay-at-home mom is gaining more time with her children, but lowering the potential income of her household. The researchers concluded that this could increase stress and lead to depression. The mother must be looking to protect her own self interest and her family's interests in her decision. Working a full time job does offer many incentives, with a steady salary. A mother who is working could be able to afford better goods for her family, which is also very appealing. Also, working mothers who make more money stimulate the economy because they have more money to spend. However, if a mother makes the decision to change from a full-time mom to a full-time worker, this could impact unemployment rates as more people look for jobs. Ultimately, the issue is a lot more complicated than just one study can cover and it should be completely up to the mother whether she works or not.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)