The greatest scene in movie history.
The movie is ‘Along came Polly.’
This is also the greatest cock-block in movie history. Watch the full scene here (embedding was disabled for this video but is a superior video).
Basically the guy and girl are hitting on each other before his friend announces his little problem.
Amazing.
Regards
-Simon
We have another vid from the youtuber HowTheWorldWorks.
If there is a disaster, how much should businesses charge for their now scarce products (food, fuel, other survival supplies, etc).
Watch this vid.
How price gouging can save lives.
What!? That’s ridiculous, in a disaster situation we should keep prices low so that everyone can afford essential supplies.
This thought is well intentioned, but does not sit well with reality. Here’s why. As mentioned in the video, if there is a disaster, it is perfectly rational to hoard as much as possible in supplies.
This is because there is a very real possibility that the food and water will not be available in the very near future.
Therefore if prices are left low, there will be one person who buys up everything… while the rest go without.
If a business price gouges, first they make a nice profit (nothing wrong with that) and second they ensure that the goods are more evenly spread out in terms of who they are sold to. You don’t get one person hoarding everything as they have to pay big for it.
The second way it would work (again as mentioned in the video) is that it would encourage other suppliers (perhaps from out of town) to get their goods into the market (as prices are high). This has the effect of then pushing the prices down until the situation has stabilised (natural disaster).
Governments (or authorities) who punish price gouging are actually doing harm to the people stuck in the disaster zone. It is unfortunate that these officials feel justified in their actions since their intentions are good.
Again, intentions don’t equal outcomes.
Regards
-Simon
Here is a video from a channel I am very fond of (how the world works). Just a warning, he does get political but has some common sense views when it comes to economics and business. This is an example.
Specifically he talks about privacy settings. He talks about how google achieved what the US government was trying to achieve for 2 years (getting facebook to improve their privacy settings).
Facebook improved their privacy functionality due to google+ providing superior ability to customize your privacy settings.
Personally, I believe privacy is a non issue when it comes to social media sites (the point of social media sites is to share yourself with the world… if you don’t want something being shared, you shouldn’t be putting it on your facebook page). However for some other people this is very important.
This scenario is a strong argument for the free market. One in which I believe in to a certain extent. Rather than attempting to force a problem away (through regulation) you should allow competition to eliminate the problem mercilessly through market forces. The merciless and inevitable force of superior products or services destroying inferior products is much more powerful than an attempt by a third party to regulate the inferior product.
Regards
-Simon
This is a new category on my blog. ‘Fun on youtube.’
I figured since this is my blog I would put up any video I watch on youtube that interests me enough. I also spend a lot of time on the site.
Also, since I am always watching videos and not adding them to my favorites, I may as well add them here. I will often be adding my comments so that I can refer back to them later on (as if they were notes).
Here are 2 videos (really 1 video in 2 parts) of a man by the name of Peter Schiff testifying to a congress jobs committee (which no doubt has to do with the current recession the US is going through).
Part 2.
Comments
Video 1
1:20- Schiff claims that the stimulus actually had a sedative effect on the economy. Instead what he proposes is to have less spending (more savings) in order to stimulate economic growth. Savings provides capital for businesses to borrow.
1:50- Schiff relates his problems with government regulation as a barrier to hiring more employees. Proposes reducing government regulation.
2:50- Reason he gives for hiring being so difficult is legal liability.
3:50- Schiff claims there is a paradox in that the economy needs higher interest rates (to encourage savings) in order to stimulate the economy
6:58- Schiff claims (in response to Dr Boushey next to him) that government spending does not stimulate demand because demand comes from supply.
7:33- Schiff recommends getting rid of the minimum wage law as a way of increasing employment.
8:43- Says Obama not to blame. Some regulation had good intentions but the intentions did not match the eventual outcomes.
9:55- You can see the jobs economic stimulus creates but you don’t see the jobs they destroy.
11:25- Claims the S&P should have downgraded the credit rating of the US govt by more than it did. (From AAA to AA+).
11:45- In response, Schiff claims that the US debt ceiling should not have been increased.
Video 2
0:38- Schiff claims there should be no income tax. Instead the govt should have a sales tax. The money people don’t spend grows the economy.
1:15- Believes there will be a sovereign debt and currency crisis that the US will have to face very soon.
4:00- Claims that interest rates wont be low forever. Once interest rates rise the US will be in trouble.
9:35- When asked whether spending cuts would include the defense budget, Mr Schiff responded in the affirmative.
Hope you enjoyed them.
Regards
-Simon