American Capitalism, Boo

Whenever Bryn and I get into a discussion about capitalism, we pretty much always end up on opposite sides. I know that he is very pro-capitalism and I tend to be more cynical about it. But I guess part of the problem seems to be that he is usually talking about how capitalism is intended to work and I'm talking about what is actually happening, which isn't really capitalism at all.

Anyhow, I just ran across a really good article by Eliot Spitzer (yes, THAT Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced ex-governor of New York) on Slate. He talks about GM for instance and how it specifically chose not to act competitively over the past 30+ years, resulting in the current mess that GM is in when it actually has a need to compete with foreign auto companies.

The real problem, according to Spitzer, is that we keep supplying protection from needed changes. And this is something that I would say can apply to a huge corporation or to a single individual.

Unsnobby Coffee?

So I got home and had to run to the library across the street to do some stuff online really quick. Hence, another post!

On the way home I noticed a billboard for McCafe stating: "Large is the new grande." I was unaware that this billboard was actually part of the McDonald's/Starbucks coffee wars that apparently took place this past spring until I went online to look for an image of it. This search led me to many things, among them the McDonald's site for Unsnobby Coffee that, although amusing, is highly unlikely to convert diehard Starbucks fans. Among its features is a MadLibs-style letter that you can send to friends (see picture above) to help convince them to kick their snooty coffee addictions in favor of a less-expensive coffee addiction.

Whether or not the billboard I saw was a new attack or a remnant, I thought it seemed timely considering the current economic climate. For instance, right before I came to the library, Bryn asked me if I would go pick him up a coffee (quad-vanilla-latte). I declined, citing the state of both of our bank accounts and the availability of decent coffee beans and a french press in our kitchen. If we're on a tighter budget this December, spending almost five bucks--after tax and tip--for a latte doesn't seem like the best idea. And this applies to Vivace (our personal favorite where espresso is a hand-crafted culinary art) as well as Starbucks (consistent but mediocre espresso made by automated machines).

I don't know that I'll ever find myself seeking out a McDonald's for an espresso fix, but I must admit that in my few experiences their regular coffee is inexpensive and of decent quality. (And it came out on top in Consumer Reports taste tests.) If there was a convenient McDonald's and I was a daily latte junkie, I would probably consider switching.

Fielding Calls

So far, I'm not impressed with the new WaMu. I don't know how much of it is the takeover by Chase, or how much is the whole credit crunch, but I had missed my payment date on a WaMu credit card I have at the beginning of the month and it was hit with a bunch of fees and a higher interest rate that sent it overbalance resulting in more fees. This was extremely annoying; but, I also recognized that it was my own fault for not paying attention and missing the payment deadline. What with all of the added fees, I figured I would just wait until a little later in the month and catch it up all at once.

Well, that was before I got a call from WaMu's collections department about a few days later. It wasn't just a reminder call either, it was a high-pressure, "make a payment now, or else..." type of call. Which is something I've never experienced from WaMu before, and I admit that my occasional forgetfulness has resulted in my paying a credit card bill late one or two times before. Now, I'm not proud of it, but I'll also freely admit that I've gone through a bankruptcy (after a divorce) so I've had some experience with collection agents before. The tone of this phone conversation was one I would have expected after missing two or more payments, not as a follow-up reminder less than two weeks after a single missed payment!

I was concerned that it was out of character for WaMu, plus it seemed weird that they wanted me to make a payment by phone, but then I still had to have my checkbook handy and also authorize my address. I declined that option and instead called the bank directly to see if it was a real call or not. They confirmed that it was most likely made because the account had been referred to their collections department. I responded by asking that the credit card account be closed immediately.

The drama has unfortunately continued since there was apparently some trouble with the check I mailed in that I don't understand and I've just fielded calls from them again last night and this morning. Nothing big, but I'll have to figure out what happened when I get back to town in a few days and I'm really tired of the whole thing. (Note to self: Please pay more attention to when payments are due!)

I'd moved to WaMu after Bank of America got overly corporate for me and now I'm feeling like it is time to switch banks again. Maybe I'll move my bank account from WaMu over to FirstTech Credit Union like Bryn is always trying to get me to do. I'd like to think this new direction in their collection department is Chase's influence? I mean, I understand if they are worried about their finances and such and are trying to be more aggressive with collecting outstanding debts; but exercising poor customer relations in situations like this won't help them out any in the long run.

Not that customer service really seems to mean much at most places lately anyhow.

Powerful Women: Not Just Oprah Anymore!

In my internet browsing (read: homework avoidance) I was looking at an article on the 25 highest paid women. There a few women I'd heard of (Ebay's Meg Whitman and uh... Meg Whitman), and many that I hadn't. I thought it was great that they weren't all white; for example Pepsi's Chairman and CEO--Indra Nooyi, or Avon's Chairman and CEO--Andrea Jung. And I said "Chairman" because that's what it said for their titles in the article.

And it seemed like they were making bank too! Andrea's total compensation for 2007 was $11 million. Indra took home $14.7 million. Sharilyn Gasaway at Alltel made $38.6 million in 2007! (Too bad about her name.) But when I clicked on the link to see the 25 highest paid men, well, there wasn't really any comparison. Steve Schwarzman topped the list with $350 million. In fact, the lowest paid out of all of them still made more than Ms. Gasaway at $41.9 million (Larry Fink of BlackRock). Additionally, only one of the men is not white (#20, Kenneth Chenault of American Express). Trust me. I Googled the three in the article that didn't have headshots to make sure. Compared to the (at least) three women top 25 earners who weren't white, I thought that said something.

But I'm too tired to really figure out the ultimate significance right now. Instead, I will go make some sketch models out of paper and leave you, gentle reader, to come to your own conclusions.

Inspiration = No Sleep

Due in part to too much coffee at too late of an hour (5 pm) yesterday evening and a general tendency towards getting involved in new projects while avoiding the ones that have looming deadlines, I was up until 5:30 am this morning tinkering with my website and hashing out some art ideas. The website is looking better (www.anthonycallaway.com) but I still have to go into school and power through the stuff I really should have been doing. Namely, the digital presentation and physical process book that is due tomorrow. *sigh*

What I'm kind of excited about though, is the possibility of taking some of the prints I made at Pilchuck this summer (see example above) and creating postcards and magnets for resale. I could sell them directly on my website and also market them wholesale to gift stores and bookshops. I've taken the first steps toward putting this plan into action (which is what kept me up so late) and today will sneak in some time to work on getting better quality images of the pieces I like best. At best, it could turn into a venture that brings in some income while also shamelessly self-promoting my work. *crosses fingers* At worst, I wouldn't have invested too much into it and would have a bunch of things to gift to friends, family, and strangers.

Thrifty at Thirty?

If there's one thing I learned from my father, it is how to appreciate a good bargain. This doesn't mean I'm cheap. In the past I've paid $500 for a piece of luggage and driven a new car off the lot after paying the full sticker price. (I was young and dumb and didn't know how to haggle.) But as I've gotten older (30!), I find myself looking less and less to material things for happiness. This is a positive thing for me. I don't buy nearly as much useless crap as I used to in an attempt to keep my tiny apartment less cluttered and my bank account more solvent. Although I haven't yet achieved the desired lack-of-clutter level or solvency that I would like, it is--like everything in my life--a work in progress.

Which brings me to Dollar Tree. I spent a few days in Yakima last week and was happy to go visit family and have a few days to do whatever I wanted. The morning I caught the Greyhound bus was the same morning my paycheck had been directly deposited into my account. My bills were all paid and I had some extra money burning a hole in my bank account for the first time in quite a while. The shopping in Yakima may not be first rate, but I figured that I could find something I wanted there in three days time.

So what did I come home with? Four bags of stuff. Three from Dollar Tree and one from Goodwill. Not only did I do all of my mini-vacation shopping on a budget (unintentionally), but I actually bought someone else's castoffs.

I do really love Dollar Tree. I'm not ashamed. My three bags of things consisted of things like sponges, dish detergent, liquid hand soap, cedar blocks for the closet, a hardback book, dental floss, sandwich bags, and Skittles. My total bill was $18.31, which was less than the retail price on the book ($23.95). What thrills me about shopping at dollar stores, especially Dollar Tree, is that I can buy a bunch of household items for so very, very, very much less than I would pay at a place like, say, Fred Meyer. I would have been lucky to get out of a regular store with an array of toiletries and cleaning supplies in a single bag for twenty bucks, let alone all of the stuff I got; so I can't help but revel in the fact that I was being a bargain shopper. Thanks dad. All those years of dragging me to garage sales and scouring the newspaper for free events wore off a little bit. In fact, the receipt is sitting on the counter in the bathroom and I have no immediate plans to throw it away because when I see it, it reminds me of how much money I potentially saved. Brushing my teeth tonight was made more pleasurable because of that receipt.

The Goodwill thrift store was kind of fun too. I bought a shirt for work since I have to fit a specific color scheme and don't really want to invest much in outfits for a place I'm disenchanted with. I figured I could afford to spend four bucks to give me another option to drop into my current workplace wardrobe rotation. And I bought an unopened package of socks that was cheap because of irregularities (maybe they need Metamucil). What I find amusing about this is that the last piece of new clothing I got was a Burberry sweater the week before. It was a gift, and also from the outlet store, but the sale price was still more than I would ever spend on a sweater. This did not keep me from accepting the sweater and entering into a close, deeply meaningful relationship with it.

Am I really turning into my father? Not yet. My years of experience in the service industry (restaurants and spas) means that I know better than to leave two crumpled dollar bills on a thirty dollar tab. And I would never buy a brand new car without a stereo or air conditioning and then drive around with the windows down and a portable radio on the seat next to me (yes, he really did that). My mother was a banker's daughter who grew up with nice things. I think that some of her habits rubbed off on me too.

Black Gold

Oil prices keep climbing scarily high. I was kind of excited yesterday when I was able to get some gas for $4.19 a gallon instead of the $4.37 they are charging a couple blocks from my house. There is a dearth of articles talking about how the oil prices are only going to go up, up, up! Examples from Slate are: Gas Bubble: Oil is at $100 per Barrel, Get Used to It and Gasoline is Cheap: Four Dollars a Gallon is Outrageous! We Should Be Paying Much More.

Therefore, I was rather excited to find an article today from Fortune (via CNNMoney.com) entitled Why Oil Prices Will Tank that offered some hope against the projected permanent $5 or $10 a gallon gas prices. Whether it turns out to be true or not, at least there is someone who has a decent argument against the spike. The author compares the current state of the oil market to the housing market and has some really good points.

Although it is difficult to have to pay so much more for gas personally, I really worry about people working low-paying jobs who have to commute. Looking at all of the high-priced residential projects that keep popping up in Seattle makes me wonder who is going to be able to afford to live in them. And even if there are enough people to buy all of these condos and the influx of people to the city creates more jobs, a big portion of those jobs will be service oriented and low-paying. Meaning that the people working for $10 an hour in and near the city are more likely to have to commute from a more affordable community.

I'm anxiously awaiting the light rail that is coming in soon. Soon! Maybe? (Better than a monorail. That was a cool idea that seemed more romantic than realistic.)