Jack Seay Weblog

Apr 13, 2004

Quick Economics

Somebody always pays.

If you win the lottery, millions of people lose (and pay you).

If you win a sweepstakes, a corporation is advertizing a product, and passing along the costs to the customers. They may or may not reduce their production costs through higher volume, and may or may not pass that savings on to you.

If the government gives you with it's right hand, it's picking your pocket with it's left hand. If the government taxes (including the lottery) to give to the poor, ask what percentage actually gets there and does it really help. Could private enterprise and charities helping the truly needy do a better job?

If something happens, that's called an effect. There is always a cause. Look for it.

If a business wants to pay you more than your skills are worth, find out why. Do they want you to lie, deceive, and manipulate, then keep your mouth shut? Somebody always pays.

If a name brand perfume costs 10 or 100 times as much as an identical smelling generic, who is getting fabulously wealthy at your expense? Do you want them to?

Anytime you buy anything, you have just decided to spend that money on that one specific item instead of any of a million others. Was it worth it?

If you declare bankrupcy, someone else pays your bills.

If it seems that one person is helping millions of people, there are probably a lot of people helping him/her that may not be getting credit for it.

If you are getting paid for not working (but able to work), someone else is working and their money is being taken away and given to you.

If you see trashy reading material next to the cash register, it's because they paid for placement there, not because the store manager thought it was great literature.

If you see a high priced name brand item on a grocery shelf next to an identical generic, remember the brand name paid for shelf placement and spends a lot on advertizing to make you think it is superior. Is it really better? Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

credits:

The line "Somebody always pays ...", is from the movie Memento, written and directed by Christopher Nolen.

These thoughts partly inspired by "Give Me A Break", by John Stossel; and partly by my work in business and government.

I will take credit for any errors.