Domestic Workers Feel the Trickle Down Effect

"(Workers who are still employed, too, may find their circumstances reduced along with their bosses’. “I got a 20% pay cut,” someone posted on the UrbanBaby chat boards last week. “Should I give one to my nanny as well?”)"
The trickle down effect of the economy is taking a toll on so many. According to the NY Times article a mother in Dominica can not be as supported by her daughter who lives in America and works as a nanny and house keeper because her bosses' real estate business is failing due to the economy (loss of jobs, credit freeze, borrowing Peter to pay Paul, banks going out of business, Bush. Its all a hot mess, pick one; it will be the right answer).
This is affecting so many lives and will for years to come. This struggle is and will be so hard for so many. I would take the 20% pay cut over the job loss any day. I've looked at a homeless person and wondered, "How or why did that happen?" Now its not so hard to imagine how or why. Our lives can take any direction if the pendulum continues to get closer. Restoration and new plans or ideas need to happen fast!

Where there is a will, there is a way.

So apparently this is one of the reasons people with money are hiding, because they are embarrassed to shop. “Shopping is almost embarrassing, and a little vulgar right now,” said Ms. Buckley, an editor at Allure magazine.
I found these images to be hilarious. These people have problems. They are shopping anonymously because they have an addiction. They are shopping online so no one sees them out there physically shopping in these hard times. They can't help but to spend until the money runs out and unfortunately for some of them it will. This should make them see they need to seek help, but I guess its good for the economy.

A Sign of the Times: Make money on You Tube

Michael Buckley has ceased an opportunity and is finally getting the payoff. He launched a show on You Tube in 2006 and is finally make enough to quit his day job. He making about $100, 000 from advertisement placed within and around the video and You Tube splits the cost with Michael Buckley. The more viewers, the more money he makes. Times are getting harder, so here is an option for plan b.

Slow Day

People are losing jobs all over the world. Sony will cut 20,000 jobs within the next 3 years. The stock market is still doing badly. A governor tried to sell Obama's Senate seat. Jay Leno will be on prime time television five nights a week at 10pm (I don't get that one). There isn't anything really thrilling for me to write about.

Walmart is going to sell the iPhone.

It is really true, Wal-Mart will be selling the iPhone, but it won't be $99. It seems this is an Internet rumor. This is major news, but price will be the leading factor in this "merger." Unless the iPhone is sold through Verizon, they won't get my money. The results should be pretty interesting.

Give Them Their My Money!

Republic Windows and Doors is closing one of its factories. It employed 250 workers who are now laid off. The workers are owed vacation and severance pay and were not given the 60 days of notice generally required by federal law when companies make layoffs. "Workers also pointedly blamed Bank of America, a lender to Republic Windows, saying the bank had prevented the company from paying them what they were owed, particularly for vacation time accrued." One very interesting point from one of the workers was, "“Here the banks like Bank of America get a bailout, but workers cannot be paid?” So the former employees have decided to form a sit in and refuse to leave the factory until they get their money. I wonder how long it will take before they give those people their money.

Cadillac Records the Movie

Cadillac Records the movie was (honestly) a really good movie. Beyonce was great (that really is not a bias opinion). I don't think her role in the film is Oscar worthy as the buzz is in Hollywood, but she truly turned the Etta James character out. She played her with what my friends and I call "a really stank attitude" that you just love.

One of my favorite actors, who I've seen at the Public Theater, Jeffery Wright plays Muddy Waters. Adrien Brody was good and although he was the lead. I felt he was mostly supporting the supporting character; which means he did a great job because that is what Leneord Chess, the character he plays, did. Columbus Short does an amazing Little Walter and I found myself excited to see what he would do next throughout watching the film. Eamon Walker does a haunting Howlin Wolf. Finally, Mos Def is a truly hilarious Chuck Berry. The cars are highlights of being taken back in time. We must give major props when they are due and acknowledge the business woman that Beyonce Knowles is as the Executive Producer of this film. I do believe that because of the overall the casting and the way the story was laid out, there should be an Oscar acknowledgment for the film. Here is a taste:


Here is a taste of the legendary Etta James:


At this posting the film came in at number 9 with one more day to go. It opened in limited theaters, 686. The current leading film is in 4 times as many theaters, so I see this film riding a slow wave to the top from the number one marketing rule in business, "word of mouth."

The Trickle Down Effect

In our last class we discussed what would happen if GM were to end. We all wrote about the trickle down effect, but the proof of what could happen is happening here. I remember what it was like to not have insurance. Those were some of the most difficult times. I was stuck in the middle because I had a job that did not provide health insurance, so I could not get assistance for it. That is not an option that is available for these people. This only gets further depressing

What are the others doing?

The failed economy not only affects us in the United States, but the entire world. The world doesn't seem to be waiting for the United States to take the lead. At least, France isn't. They've decided the "plan includes aid to the country’s ailing auto industry, which employs 10 percent of the French work force, and sets aside money for the construction industry." The construction industry is one I haven't heard in all of this. It should be really interesting to see what the US decides. It just can't be an option not to support the auto industry.

Twitter Turns Down Facebook

I heard of Twitter during the election, many articles mentioned that Barack Obama checked his Twitter all the time. Twitter is a way to communicate with people in less than 140 characters answering the question: What are you doing? or "microblogging" (hint hint Professor :-)). Facebook and Myspace have included this format within their pages with "Username is..." Twitter does this without all the extra bells and whistles that Facebook and Myspace have. It has a cool "follow me" feature that allows you to be updated on what your friends, family, or coworkers are doing.

Twitter has chosen not to venture with Facebook. Their main reason is they want to figure out a way to make a profit. Unlike Myspace and Facebook, they don't want to sell ads on their pages. They want to sell direct communication between a business and the Twitter community.

An interesting note, "Twitter was being used in newsgathering, as it was during the terror attacks in India last week."

Gerald Schoenfeld Dies

I wanted to write about this on Thanksgiving Day, but was too busy creating a feast.

Gerald Schoenfeld died on November 25, 2008. He was one of the best examples of power and "was one of the most influential figures in American theater," says Jim Joseph of Jazz at Lincoln Center (and personal friend). Mr. Schoenfeld was the chairman of the Shubert Organization, "the largest and most important theater owner on Broadway and in the United States." Check out the videos below. One shows his swagger in the business world of Broadway and both show his passion. The first video from Theater Talk aired on CUNY TV this weekend where I got to catch the entire interview from 2001.




It moves me to know that some how and some way some of the choices he made created a path for my part in the theater world.

The Plunge is Official Today.

So it has been officially declared today that we are in a recession. Even after reading this article, I still don't get what took them so long to determine it. The proof is in the Dow.