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Featured money Money bag

What Would You Do If a Bag Filled With Money Dropped at Your Feet?

That very scenario happened to a poor California man who said that some days he only has $1.00 to buy lunch.

Joe Cornell told reporters that he was volunteering at a local Salvation Army, when a bag of money fell off a Brinks Security truck and landed at his feet. I can here some of you saying that this was his blessings, after all, the money bag sort him out and fell right in front of him. A bag that contained $125,000.00

What did Joe do? He turned the money in to the authorities.

When he was asked why he returned the money, Joe said that he wanted to set a good example for his grandkids.

“I thought ‘What type of man do I want my grandkids to think I am?’,” Joe said, “I want them to think I’m a just man that does the right thing and I did the right thing.”

KMPH reports that his wife cried when she heard what Joe did, considering that the are so poor.

Joe did not get a reward for turning in the cash.

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Entertainment money

How Much Money does Candy Crush Make Daily?

For a game that involves lining up confectionery in a row, smartphone app Candy Crush is notoriously addictive and is played by more than 45 million users a month, AppData reports.
It is a fine way to entertain yourself but some have lost control of their habit.

The game’s manufacturer, King, makes $670,000 a day from users purchasing extra lives or access to the next level.

Users are blocked from playing for a period of time after completing various levels until they choose to pay.
Hooked readers said they regretted spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars on Candy Crush.

An upset wife fumed that her husband had cracked the triple digits with his addiction. “My husband spent over $100 on it, which made me mad,” Lexie said.

But that’s nothing compared to Jeanna. “I spent more than $1,000 on tokens via PayPal,” she wrote. “That was a huge mistake”.

How do these expensive addictions come about?

Technology blog Gamasutra calls it “fun pain” where so-called reward mechanisms “defeat a consumer’s ability to make informed choices about the costs and value of these products.”

Mobile gaming companies are also using the latest technology to replicate the “appetizing” qualities of poker machines, according to Professor Sudhir Kale, a marketing and gaming expert from Bond University.

He said the same combination of “fixed” and “variable” rewards perfected in poker machines is being programmed into mobile phone games such as Candy Crush.

Only a small number of people become addicted to games such as Candy Crush, Kale explained. Addicts become stimulated by a secretion of dopamine by the brain.

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college Express Yourself money

My Gripe With College

I can’t believe I’m actually writing something negative about college only three days into my second attempt at college but, I guess there’s odder things to believe. This is going to sound like just another lazy college student moaning and groaning to some but, to others I hope to understand what I’m getting at.

So I started this semester off this past Tuesday with a total of five classes: Writing Comp. 101, Algebra 035, Public Speaking, Intro to Visual Art and Art History, and Intro to Mass Media and Communications. I planned to be out in two years and transfer to a four-year university to continue my studies so I needed to take five classes per semester; I was going to be very busy…or so I thought. I quickly dropped my Math class because, and I do admit this is my fault, I cannot mentally sit through a two-hour math class without wanting to go berserk and I’ve already completed a Basic Algebra class last Fall at William Paterson. Today I decided to drop my Intro to Visual Art and Art History because it’s not a class I have any form of interest in and just would do horribly in. Now after reading that I know I defiantly sound like a total underachiever but bare with me here.

If you go to any University/College you’ll always be made to take these “core” classes along with other required classes just because they say so really. I’ve never understood why I need to take classes under “Natural Science”  or “Mathematics” when what I plan to major in, journalism,  has nothing to do with either. The same has to be said for my time at William Paterson, I mean they put me in “Gender Lives and Studies” and the only writing related class I could really take was a basic Writing Composition class. I will never understand why I’m made to take classes that will not benefit me or my major even on the smallest sense; on top of it all, I doubt that once I walk out the door of any class I deem as “useless”, I won’t remember a thing past the times I need to be there and when I leave. Shouldn’t any College help me pursue my future and major instead of charging me an arm, leg, and first not even born yet child to take classes I don’t need?

 

Sigh…I think I’ve ranted enough. Now if you don’t mind me I need to go hunt for a class or two to fill my schedule back up a little.

 

 

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college Express Yourself family job money teenager

The Desire To Be Independent

Last night I drove my friend Kim and her sister home and got into one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in quite a long time. Kim believes her boyfriend needs to become more independent from his parents as she sees them as still treating him as if he is a young kid, he is actually nineteen. He recently got a good paying job and she says that he is on his way and hopefully will become less dependent on his parents. Her sister on the other hand says that neither of them are ready to be fully independent; she brought up very good points seeing that both live under their roofs of their respected parents still and a part time job will never even pay half of any bill. Her final thoughts on the matter were “You’re both not ready to be independent , nobody is forcing you to do so. Ya both can still ask your parents for whatever you want unlike when you’re older. You need to enjoy that luxury while you still can.”

The most expensive thing I ever bought with my own money, I did feel quite accomplished to do so

Going through middle and high school I was always labeled as the “rich kid” and I tried so hard to shake that false nickname. That goal coupled with just growing up can explain why I desire to be seen or at least try to be independent and make my own way. I can’t even remember the last time I asked for a gift, birthday or even Christmas, on top of that fact nights I go out with friends I always turn down any money my parents want to give me. I’ve gotten into the habit of “If I can’t afford it, I don’t buy it.” It seems to be quite a good motto to live by. My desire to be independent is fueled by my pride, I feel that relying on my parents when I’m eighteen isn’t something I should be doing.

Looking around at my group of friends most of them go to school full time and a handful have a job on the side. Of course thanks to scholarships and loans that money earned from a job is mostly used for leisurely purposes and rarely saved or invested. On the other hand though, most of them want to make it on their own as well and really just grow up and be dependent on no one by themselves. It’s safe to assume that all of us teenagers want to be independent.

Perhaps though, my friend’s sister is completely right. Perhaps none of us teens are really one hundred percent ready to make it on our own just yet. We still live under our parents roofs and I can’t say I know any of my friends who pay all of their own bills by themselves. We still have the luxury of being helped by our parents and it really is something we should enjoy and not brush aside. I guess my desire to be fully independent can be put on hold for at least another year or two.

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Featured money

A Stripper Post Picture Of One Night’s ‘Earnings’ – Pic

I am definitely in the wrong business.

On Monday, a Redditor using the name “Menagerii” made office workers around the Internet drool after posting a picture of what she said was the cash she made in one day’s stripping. The photo, posted to the r/pics subreddit, was captioned, “From now on when people ask me why I’m a stripper, I’m just going to show them this picture (one day of work- 1130am to 3am).”

Redditors counting at home soon realized the tips totaled over $3,000. MSN claims the number is actually $3,445. Although this is about twice what Menagerii said she normally takes in, $1,500 a night (give or take) isn’t anything to sneeze at, either.

The tantalizing stack of bills was earned during a 15-plus hour shift at an all-nude joint in Atlanta, according to Menagerii. Over the course of the day, Menagerii said she had “30 or so table dances and five stage sets.” A stripper for four years, she also revealed she has implants (“went from a 32b to a 32d”), a six pack and is working to put herself through engineering school.

While impossible to substantiate independently, Menagerii has written about her experiences as a stripper before. Last month, she hosted an Ask Me Anything on Reddit in which she spilled other tips and tricks of her trade.

 

 

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Mitt Romney money Politics

Mitt Romney – My Wealth and Fame Makes Me Very Happy – Video

After trashing 47% of Americans earlier this week by calling them “victims” and suggesting that these Americans are unwilling to care for themselves, another video featuring Mitt Romney is making its rounds on the internet. This video shows Mitt Romney, explaining how privilege he is to be rich.

Said Romney;

When I was a boy, when I was a boy I used to think that becoming rich and becoming famous would make me happy. And boy was I right.

With that statement, Mitt Romney laughed, thanked the audience and exited the podium.

Earlier in the week, another video was released featuring Mr. Romney. In that video, Romney is seen speaking at a private fundraiser, telling his fellow millionaire donors, “my job is not to worry about those people.” Those people, are the 47% Romney criticized earlier in his speech, calling them poor and dependent on the government for food and shelter.

Categories
money Politics taxes

New Poll – Americans Believe Rich People Don’t Pay Their Fair Share In Taxes

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the income gap between rich and poor widens, a majority of Americans say the growing divide is bad for the country and believe that wealthy people are paying too little in taxes, according to a new survey.

The poll released Monday by the Pew Research Center points to a particular challenge for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, whose party’s policies are viewed by a wide majority as favoring the rich over the middle class and poor.

The poll found that many Americans believe rich people to be intelligent and hardworking but also greedy and less honest than the average American. Nearly six in 10, or 58 percent, say the rich don’t pay enough in taxes, while 26 percent believe the rich pay their fair share and 8 percent say they pay too much.

Even among those who describe themselves as “upper class” or “upper middle class,” more than half — or 52 percent — said upper-income Americans don’t pay enough in taxes; only 10 percent said they paid too much.

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Domestic Policies money Wall Street

Question: Who Wrote the Book of Face?

My wife has given me permission to gloat a bit after I said this about Facebook, and Wal-Mart, by-the-by, yesterday on this very same blog. The reason? Wall Street had a nice day today, but the ‘book fell on its Face, dropping to $34.03, almost $4 from its opening last week. Meanwhile, a real company that makes real products that are really, really popular and, by-the-by, expensive relative to their competition, Apple, climbed 5.8% (%!) to $561.28.

This spells short-term trouble for Facebook and other social networking sites considering going public. Perhaps it’s just the leftover blahs from the past few weeks. Perhaps it’s the lingering blah form the remnants of Recession George. Perhaps this is a blip and the stock will rise commensurate with the hype as the economy improves.

Perhaps, but I don’t think so.

Facebook will never be like Apple or Google until they actually have something to sell that doesn’t involve people checking the box on a privacy policy that prints out at Moby Dick-like length and, by-the-by doesn’t really protect your privacy. They have loads of information, but now have to find a way to sell it in a responsible, green, diversity-friendly way.

I wish them every good luck with that.

Please join the conversation at  www.facebook.com/WhereDemocracyLives (for free) and on Twitter @rigrundfest 

Categories
money Politics United States

While Congress Got Richer, Average Americans Got Poorer

The New York Times is once again, shedding some light on the selfish, mine mine mine mentality that is now elected Congressional members. Apparently, Congress is the place to go if you want to be a millionaire, while the rest of your constituents suffer!

While the median net worth of members of Congress jumped 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, the net worth of the richest 10 percent of Americans remained essentially flat. For all Americans, median net worth dropped 8 percent, based on inflation-adjusted data from Moody’s Analytics.

Going back further, the median wealth of House members grew some two and a half times between 1984 and 2009 in inflation-adjusted dollars, while the wealth of the average American family has actually declined slightly in that same time period, according to data cited by The Washington Post in an article published Monday on its Web site.

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Mitt Romney money Politics presidential Republican

Poor-Man Romney Says Government Employees Making More Than He Is

With all you government workers making hundreds of millions of dollars a year, you will expect the economy to be a lot better than it is now. You will also expect everyone to drop their present jobs and flock to the government for jobs.  After all, why would anyone settle for anything less than $35 million a year!

According to Mitt Romney, who made up to $37.5 million in 2010,  government employees are making “a lot more money” than he is. Speaking at a fabrication plant on Monday, Romney targeted government employees, saying that if he becomes president, he will reduce the work force by 10%.

Wearing his best plaid work shirt and Tommy Bahama blue jeans, the candidate explained to workers at Giese Manufacturing that he would slash the number of federal employees if elected.

“We have to cut back on the scale of the federal government,” Romney declared. “And for me that will start by reducing federal employees by 10 percent. You do that through attrition.”

“And then something else that is just as important, and that’s to make sure the people who work for government don’t get better pay and better benefits than people that work in the private sector.”

He added: “The tax payers shouldn’t have to have money taken out of their pay checks to pay people in government who are our servants who are making a lot more money than we are.”

It’s a good thing we have the poor-man Romney looking out for us, having his finger on the pulse of exactly who is bringing down the economy – at last check, Romney was worth over $250 million. But that was about two hours ago. We’re sure a few more millions were added since then.

Categories
money Politics presidential

Michele Bachmann Campaign Running On Fumes

And we are not talking about the exhaust fumes Sarah Palin likes to smell either. No, Michele Bachmann’s campaign is so broke, they can’t even pay attention…

Okay, okay…, back to the facts.

The New York Post reports;

Insiders are whispering that the Tea Party darling’s financials are grim and she may be out of the race before she makes it to the Iowa caucus in February, even though she has a strong base in the state. Sources tell us say Bachmann’s skeletal staff are holding their collective breath until the deadline to disclose her fundraising report on Oct. 15.

Meanwhile, we hear a computer vendor has called her campaign headquarters threatening to shut down the power due to an outstanding bill. Sources say she had about $400,000 at the beginning of September, but also stacks of bills.

“She does not like to ask for money. She should have been focusing on big donors about three months ago,” a source said. “She’s only cultivated low dollar donors with direct mailings and that’s hurt her.” But at a rally in Virginia yesterday, Bachmann declared that she does not intend to back out of the race. “We intend to be the comeback kid in this race,” she said. Her rep said, “None of that is true.”

 

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