Senin, 16 November 2009

11/17 Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog Since 2003

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The Economy Triggers a Rebirth of the Entrepreneurial Spirit
November 16, 2009 at 2:00 pm

Over the next couple of weeks, six finalists will be auditioning for the opening of “staff writer” at Consumerism Commentary. Each will be providing two guest articles to share with readers. After the six writers have shared their guest articles, readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback before we select the staff writer.

This article is presented by Debbie Dragon, a full time freelance writer and co-owner of ReliableWriters.

When farming was a common way of life, more Americans were self-employed than not. With the growth of corporations in recent decades, many Americans decided to get on the corporate bandwagon in hopes of climbing the ladder to success. In recent years, due partly to the struggling economy, many people are turning to self-employment. When people are laid-off, many take their skills to the marketplace and become entrepreneurs.

Thanks to technology, many businesses can be started from home and with little capital. This is a good thing, since banks are hesitant to lend money to anyone, let alone a business start-up. For a few hundred or a couple thousand dollars, a business can be set up complete with a logo, website and business structure. While it’s true that a poor economy may mean less people have the money to buy whatever you sell — many successful businesses start during a recession and are then positioned perfectly when the market turns around.

According to the last U.S Census, more than 10 million Americans are self-employed. I would be willing to wager that the number has increased drastically in just the last five years, with more people starting freelance and home based businesses “on the side” to increase their income or as a replacement for a job lost to the economic conditions. Self-employed Americans do everything from construction to accounting to crafts, but the most commonly selected industry on self-employed income tax returns is “professional and business services.”

In previous decades, there was a tendency for self-employed Americans to be male and white. During the years between 1976 and 2003, a surge of women entrepreneurship blossomed, with an increase from 27% of self-employed workers being women to 39%. Many women start small businesses in an effort to both contribute to the family income and still have the flexibility to raise their families. You’ll also notice that self-employed people are over-represented at the top of the income curves for America, helping prove that greater rewards are given to those who take larger risks (in some cases). Entrepreneurship has always been valued in American culture, and a poor economy seems to nurture it rather than squash it.

For every depressing statistic and news story given about the economic condition it’s almost as if the entrepreneurial spirit is awakened in people who are determined not to sit by helplessly as jobs are lost. The economic conditions serves as motivation for some, whether that motivation is driven by plain fear — or hidden ambition.

This is a guest article by Debbie Dragon, one of six finalists interested in being Consumerism Commentary’s staff writer.


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The Economy Triggers a Rebirth of the Entrepreneurial Spirit



The Madoff Name Premium
November 16, 2009 at 8:00 am

On Saturday, an auction in New York featured items once owned by Bernard Madoff. The auction raised over $900,000, beating expectations. Once combined with proceeds from another auction later this week, it’s likely that this money will go to investors who were burned by Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.

Here are some of the items that received winning bids this weekend:

  • Two pairs of Ruth Madoff’s diamond earrings: $140,000
  • Bernie’s Mets jacket: $14,500
  • Three duck decoys: $11,500
  • Madoff branded boogie boards: $1,000
  • A life preserver: $7,500

Serving 150 years in prison could likely be, from an asset value standpoint, one of the best things to happen to Madoff. Of course, he won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of his celebrity status. The benefits of this auction and Tuesday’s auction of larger assets such as Madoff’s boats will go to his victims. One of these victims is allegedly Zsa Zsa Gabor. She owes $120,000 to the IRS and claims her inability to pay is due to Bernard Madoff who took $7 million of her money through the Ponzi scheme.

Zsa Zsa will assemble the money with the help of her ninth husband and will do what many people do when they owe the IRS money: They will set up a payment plan on pay the debt over time.

Watch eBay and other auction houses; perhaps some of these items will continue to fetch higher prices due to their association with the most popular investment scammer in recent history.

Madoff’s Mets jacket sells for … $14,500, Les Christie, CNN Money, November 15, 2009
Zsa Zsa Gabor says she was victim of Bernie Madoff, Jessica Hudson, Examiner.com, November 15, 2009

Consumerism Commentary was included as an Editor’s Choice in the 229th edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance earlier this month with Seven Zen Principles to Guide Your Money and Your Life.


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The Consumerism Commentary Podcast is in full swing with new episodes every Sunday. Listen and subscribe now!

The Madoff Name Premium


 

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