Here we go again. Multimillionaire vs Multimillionaires, (or billionaires), who knows, who cares. The NBA claims the league lost $300 million this past season. The league will tell you it is the players fault. The players will say it’s the owners fault. I’ll take the blame. I haven’t been to a professional game in years, therefore it must be my fault because I didn’t pay to watch a bunch of overpaid people play a game I would play for free. No! I don’t take advantage of watching them on TV. Will they never learn? We had the NBA lockout in what (1998), then to get people back they created “SUPER STARS’, By allowing certain players to not follow the rules, and blasting their names on anything, and everything. These were decent players before, (Let me explain. I look at the overall skills of a player to rate them. If a player scores 30 points a game but puts up 60 shots; does this mean he is a great player. If a player is allowed to go from one end of the floor to the other with only 3 dribbles, is he a good ball handler. The answer in my opinion is NO!) The fact that professional basketball is not real BASKETBALL, but comparative to professional wrestling. They give what the so-called fans want. That’s OK it is merely a business, BIG BUSINESS, but business. In the NBA’s greed, they started raising ticket, and licensing fees. Then the players said Hey I want some of that. And I have no quarrel here. What we have here is: The NBA owns the company. The players contract with different teams for the most money they can get. It is just business. Who cares? Will we not be able to feed our kids if the two can’t reach agreement. Probably we would have more money in our pockets. I suggest if you want to see exciting BASKETBALL take in a grade school, (or as some of the upper class prefer elementary school), games, Jr high or middle school, or high school. Or a nearby division 2 or 3 College game. It won’t cost you nearly as much, and you will most likely see a more competitive game than the NBA will offer. And I’m sure your school and community could use the money. That Is How I See It. high school merely Views: 716
Tag: Economy
Oil Company Subsidies
Obama wants to end oil company subsidies. This sort of makes sense, as these subsidies are meant to promote domestic drilling and exploration. Which we know they don’t do, at least not aggressively. These subsidies amount to billions of dollars. But, what happens if they do remove the subsidy. The greedy oil companies will just raise our cost at the pump to make up for loss. Is there any way for the consumer to win. I don’t see any, and keep it a free enterprise. We can’t cut back on our use, because they will raise the price to maintain their profits, which would be lost because of less sales. We can’t use more, because they will raise their prices due to demand. I guess they just have us all “over the OIL barrel”. That Is How I See It. Views: 407
GM CEO Asks For $1 Gas Tax Hike
You may recall an article I wrote about how people in our area who drive GM products do not seem to be in touch with rules of the road, WELL how about this. General Motors CEO Dan Akerson said he would favor a $1 dollar hike in gasoline tax, including a 50 cent immediate hike… are you ready for this “To take advantage of the recent DECLINE in gas prices.” Did I miss this DECLINE?? According to Akerson this would put people in the position of buying more fuel efficient cars and lessen the burden on the auto industry to meet future mileage goals. I know I can’t afford a new car period let alone one of those HIGH-Priced hybrids and the like. I’m sure I’m not alone here. Heck it’s getting to the point I could not afford a USED car as those prices have gone up so much. A friend who sells used cars told me used cars are getting harder to buy. New car dealers who once brought the cars to auction are now selling them on their lots. I once had a New car dealer tell me he would not keep a car on the lot if it had 50,00o miles or more on it. Now I see he has cars with 150,000 miles with a price of $5,000,oo (or more). A friend traded off his 2000 Oldsmobile for a new car and was only offered $1000.00 trade in. Later the dealer had it on his lot with a $5,900.oo price tag. There is gold in them thar used cars. Now, I know the CEO of GM can afford the tax increase. Heck, he probably doesn’t even buy gas, as evidenced in his statement about the decline in gas prices. I’m sure he doesn’t buy his cars as they are most likely part of his compensation package. In other words he isn’t among the core people of our country. He hasn’t a clue about what he is saying. He is only looking at saving his company money so he can get a bigger bonus. Before I close this entry. Greg Martin, Gm’s Washington spokesperson confirmed Akerson’s statement reflects Gm’s VIEW. But GM will not actively pursue the passage of such a tax, as it would be very difficult to get enacted. I suppose that is how GM drivers feel too. After all they are supporting the company by buying GM products. That Is How I See It. Views: 189
Drivers Beware In Gary Indiana
We all have believed Cops have had quotas for traffic stops. After all they have to bring some money in to help pay their salaries. Finally a City which is not ashamed to admit their police officers, have quotas. they have not stated what the consequence is if you don’t meet the quota. ” What is the quota?” you ask. The quota is at least one “1” traffic arrest an hour. Gary’s Traffic Commander, mothy Tatum said this quota will remain in effect as long as he is “COMMANDER” . His actual edict says 10 traffic arrests per officer assigned to his traffic division per shift per day. Good Luck holding your job Timothy. I understand the prosecutors are already protesting your quota. They can always decide to NOT PROSECUTE. The voters probably will not appreciate your move. I’m not sure one cop can write 1o citations a day. I’m thinking what you are creating is an aura of “I have to meet my quota, so I’ll write up this poor guy driving the old car. He can’t afford to protest the stop, and pursue it in court”. Or “I’ll stop this guy, he’s from out of our area, and will just pay the fine.” Then, of course, there is the wealthy who will pay just because it is such a trifling amount it is not worth the time to go to court. Kind of sounds like everyone could be a victim of this QUOTA. I hope the traffic officers have enough pride in themselves to not make up violations to meet their quota. Or that an unreasonable stop does not end with injury to the cop or citizen. I know I will do my best to avoid Gary Indiana, and there goes my money I may have spent there. After all I’m sure they don’t need my money in this haven of high employment, and economy. It seems to me the “Quota” would be a valid defense, in court. But I’m not a Lawyer, or Judge. Hats off to Gary for admitting they have a traffic citation quota. Most places would not. That Is How I See It. UPDATE: UPDATE: Just in. Gary Mayor Rudy Clay Says Quota’s are over. Police Administration says never existed. Don’t know if Gary’s Traffic Commander, Timothy Tatum, is still Commander they have Views: 103
Indiana Pacer Economics
It seems the Indiana Pacers, who was in last place in attendance, despite a more successful season than in several years past. Have come up with their own Economic Theory. Actually it is not an original theory. And I have discussed this before so forgive me if I occasionally repeat myself. For some reason the Pacers have decided if you can’t sell more tickets just raise the cost per ticket. What is the effect of this? Apparently they subscribe to the theory that if you charge more it increases the value of your product. How about decreasing overhead. I know Indiana is a small market, and to compete with the larger market teams, You have to pay players more to keep them. But there is always the path taken by the Chicago Cubs. Player development. What kept the Cubs going through all these losing years. Developing players for other teams. How many top players in the last 30-40 years were brought up by the Cubs only to go on to other teams. Think about it, I remember the rumors always that Wrigley made more money by taking players other teams wanted to develop, doing just that and collecting his money. As I have stated before the way to increase profit is to decrease ticket prices, which will put more people in your seats. This serves three purposes. 1 IMAGE. It looks better if you have seats filled. It gives the impression that you are more successful. 2. Increased CONCESSION, and SOUVENIR sales. Souvenirs equal ADVERTISING. 3. Do the math. 50% seats filled with a 9% ticket increase. or 100% seats filled without a 9% ticket increase. If you are filled to capacity every night then you can experiment with raising prices. That Is How I See It. several years Views: 115
Foreclosures Down
Government reports FORECLOSURES are down for the seventh straight month. Well that makes sense. After all the foreclosures began, what, 3 years ago at extremely high rates. The wealthy bought these foreclosures for pennies on the dollar. Three years of foreclosures, eventually the supply of houses to foreclose on has to drop. After 3 years of foreclosures we are probably getting down the the last of the people who still have jobs, and are able to make their payments. Let me point out that not all foreclosures were due to the actual mortgage payment. Many were due to our government greed. Like my house the government raised my taxable property value to twice the actual market value. Which meant I was paying 12.85 times more than my neighbors. I was told the reason my taxes were so much higher is because my house is brick. Not a brick facade, but 3 brick thick. This raised my mortgage payments by over $250.00 a month. Now my Income did not match that kind of increase. Eventually my attorneys, advised me to spend the money for an independent appraisal. This showed the true market value. I took it to the clerks office for an appeal. I won and they finally lowered my tax value to my market value. I was still paying more than my neighbors. Then a year ago,, they finally reached the levels my neighbors were paying. But now with property values falling all around. (In fact our county government raised our tax rate because the property values had fallen so much. But my house remained the same as 3 years ago when they agreed to the independent appraisal value. So my property tax is on the rise. (good thing I always pay extra to my escrow account), But back to the foreclosures, the report said that ONLY 69,532 houses were foreclosed last month. Isn’t that still quite a few houses. Fewer houses to foreclose equals fewer foreclosures. Now that the wealthy have the foreclosed houses, they are more people are renting. According to the recent report I read RENTS, are rising more than the cost of owning a house which is finally falling. We’ll just have to see where this trend takes us. Sorry if this was hard to follow. BUT anyway That Is How I See It. more than Views: 101
Property Tax Capped? Raise Rates
Our state implemented a 1.1% cap on property taxes about 3 years ago. The 1.1% is of appraised value. (You have to watch what the governments appraised value is. The last time they appraised my property at 2 times the market value. I had to pay for a private appraisal, and file for a hearing to get the proper appraised value). Anyhow, the people were happy with the cap. After all the government had previously did away with business inventory tax, not to mention the tax abatement that big business received. Finally, We The People, were receiving some relief from the higher taxes we were paying to offset the breaks business was getting. WRONG!! it was just announced in our local paper the County Government has decided, (now get this). Due to the many foreclosed homes, and the decreased value of property, it is deemed necessary to raise the tax rate. That means the assessed value tax stays at 1.1% we just pay a higher rate on that 1.1%. We were paying “$ X” per $1000,oo appraised value. Now we will pay #$ 2X” per $1000.oo appraised value. “Gotcha again” says the Government. That Is How I See It. Views: 133
NASCAR Sponsors
Before I begin let me say I know about competition in the business world. Advertising is what drives the business. But now with NASCAR losing more and more sponsors, shouldn’t their be limits set. Winston was the Corporate Sponsor, (the main sponsor who buys the naming rights), for 32 years, (1971-2003) Winston Cup rang in all NASCAR fans ears. Although they were not allowed to advertise their own product on racing cars, they continued to just use the name WINSTON CUP, still the name was linked with cigarettes. With R.J Reynolds owning the naming rights, non R.J. Reynolds cigarettes were not allowed to sponsor cars. This was before the ban of CIGARETTE advertising from being on Racing vehicles. From 2004 to 2007, Nextel held the rights and a special exception had to be made to allow Cingular/AT&T to run out their contracts. Beginning in 2008 Sprint has been the naming rights owner. What we end up with is in reality advertising censorship. Verizon’s sponsorship is up and will take their approximately $17 million dollar motorsport budget to the IndyCar series. This because of a clause in the naming rights contract that prohibits any company competes with SPRINT from sponsoring a car. I understand that because we are not talking pennies when we talk about naming rights. But let’s look at other sides. CRAFTSMAN sponsored the truck series for years. Yet I saw other wrenches being used. I think I even saw a SnapOn sticker somewhere. Should not all trucks have used CRAFTSMAN tools. No other names like on tool boxes, etc. The Corporate Sponsor’s name is the most prominent name. Just as SPRINT is the prominent name. To tell you the truth I didn’t even realize VERIZON sponsored a car. If the USPS (United States Postal Service) were to become the Title Sponsor, we would lose UPS (United Parcel Service), and FED-X. I know I’ve been all around the subject. Now to the point. In this economy owners are scampering to find sponsors to keep their cars competitive. We have less cars trying to qualify. Less cars means less competition. Less competition means less interest, etc. I can give you an excellent example of sponsorship. I played Softball and coached softball for many years. Our city has a population of about 15,000 people, counting the children. At one time we had; I want to say about 7-9 men’s leagues. Women had 5-7 leagues. Each men’s league had 7-10 teams. Each women’s league had 5-7 teams. We had no problem finding businesses to sponsor our teams. They paid our league fees and bought us shirts. Sometimes they paid for us to play in tournaments. As time went on our league fees went up. Now we are lucky to have 4 men’s league with maybe 5 team each. The ladies are way down too. Now we buy our own shirts with the sponsor’s name on it, and have to pay our individual memberships, and usually make up the difference for team sponsors. Ours is not that we have a Title sponsor. It is the cost has gone up so much, business is down and can no longer afford this little gesture of community involvement. Big business is in the same boat. Why handicap the racing teams by eliminating sponsors. We have what 5-6 Cell phone companies that even if they could afford to sponsor a car is barred from doing so. Less sponsors, less cars, etc. Many of the cars are using multi main sponsors for different races. Can NASCAR afford the loss of revenue? That Is How I See It. PS. Excuse my rambling this is a hard subject for me to put across. Views: 147
Blame It On The Economy
Aren’t you tired of professional sports blaming their slumping attendance on the ECONOMY? I am. NASCAR claims their attendance is down because of the ECONOMY. Is it the Economy or is it just the fact they are losing their appeal. From what I have seen even the the TV viewership is down. That is not an ECONOMY issue. Just think what a Race Party you can have for the cost of the tickets. But, under the leadership of Helton and the heir of the France family, I personally believe it is the false, the ill-fated trust of the France heir, in Helton which has led to the downturn in FANBASE. First they wanted to separate themselves from the “redneck” heritage of the sport. Then they decided that people came only to watch their big name, well financed, drivers. So they gave them “SUPER STATUS”. Automatic starting positions, regardless of qualifying time. What this amounts to is they do not have to set up for qualifying, They just get more practice on their racing set up. Then came the “CHASE”. Big deal. All that accomplished was a HYPE point. No longer would the best performer throughout the season be champion. Now only, what is it, 12 drivers, get to compete. This after a reset of points. An example a driver could be in the top 10 of every race. But because he hasn’t won a race it is possible he may not make the “CHASE”, he probably will but if the Race winners were evenly spread among twelve racers, He would start so far behind the the others that he would not have a chance of winning. He may have won the Championship under the old system. We will never know. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Now they have the NASCAR’s car. Nothing related to the showroom car. Unless NASCAR decides to open up their own dealership and sell these cars. Wake up FORD, CHEVY, and TOYOTA. How much can a decal cost. Let us consumers have some of that money you invest in NON brand cars. You can probably make more money that way. I ask you is a decal with your name on it worth the millions you pay for it? NASCAR is seeing a steady drop in fanbase. Even on TV which is free. Most is not related to the Economy. But to the lack of entertainment value. As for the other sports. You have your STARS. You pay so much for. Do you really think they bring in that many people to see your TEAM. How many tickets do you have to sell to meet their Exorbitant pay. I remember a time One YANKEE player made more than the entire payroll of the Montreal Expos. What do they bring to the game that is so special. If you want to see real baseball watch your local Little League or High School team. You spend Millions promoting these players to make them seem to be supermen. Get real players and bring your cost down, so people can afford to attend games. I guess that is why the NBA, NFL, etc do not like the small venue teams. Usually in these areas you don’t have the Millionaires who can afford to attend the games. You will always have the die hard fans. That will somehow come up with the money to attend at least one game. Let’s see. A family of four, 2 Adults, 2 children. At an average of $60 dollars a ticket, that is $240. Plus an average of $20 to park. We are now up to $260 to see millionaires play a simple game. Usually attending a game means souvenirs for the children. A cheap souvenir usually costs $10, that takes us to $280 for the game. Lets not forget snacks. Usually $5 for popcorn, that is a lot of markup. Drinks for the kids which usually cost $4 ea. Beer for Mom and Dad. Minimum of $5 ea. So we now have spent $38 for snacks. Raising our cost to $318. Many times in order to take in a game we eat out. Even at Burger King that is at least a $20 bill. Now we are at $338 to watch players who make more for one game than we will in 1 to 3 months. Blame the drop on the Economy? Some teams have acted on this and dropped their ticket prices and snack price. They are gaining Fanbase. This will result in more licensed paraphernalia sale, and as the economy picks up this income will grow. Wake up Owners and Players. I am a Union Man. I understand players want to get as much as they can. Owners you want a larger profit. I understand this. But what you don’t understand is you can price yourelves totally out of business. Isn’t it better to make $20 on one ticket and have 38000 people attend, or $4o and only have 18000 people attend. The 38000 will spend more on lower cost accesories than the 18000. Both be reasonable. Fanbase is the key to profits That Is How I See It. Views: 97
