My family stopped using a phone landline three years ago. And we are part of a growing market if you read Jess Milcetich's story on the reasons you either keep or ditch your landline. We did it too to save money. But the story made me revisit our cell-phone plan.
Another holiday weekend is upon us so before you head off to the beach or your backyard barbecues, here's a quick run down of what you might have missed this week.
Incomes drop a whole bunch.
Local grocery store closing.
Direct bus service to New York canceled.
Blame it on Gustav.
And of course you'll want to check out this week's podcast from the business staff. What can you expect to hear? All about shiny things and dumb people.
My dad told me at a young age to go to college for the same reasons I imagine a whole lot of York County tells their kids:
Get a better, more stable job than working in the factory ... and financial security.
From the bottom of the labor pyramid that supports this country, where I'm proud to say my father is, the view is that if you can get through college, you'll be on easy street.
Well, yes and no. College degrees might on average earn someone more over a lifetime, but it's far from easy street. Especially for those who took huge loans because mom and dad couldn't pay for college.
Some of those horror stories appeared in today's New York Times.
So a question for those York County parents sending their kids back to college this year: Are you worried about repaying the loans you and your children have to pay for college? And do you still think a college degree is worth the cost in today's economy?
Happy Friday afternoon, York! Here's the news that you may have missed this week.
Sellers react to E-bay rule changes.
Restaurant goes smoke free early.
Businesses take steps to reduce energy costs.
Russia, Georgia situation still tense.
And of course you don't want to miss this week's edition of Money Talk. Check it out below.
Now, I know I was idealistic coming out of school. Most grads are. But I am amazed that 68 percent of the members of Gen. Y (referring to someone who graduated high school in this millennium) said they would not work for a company that was not "socially responsible."
Scroll down on this story for the talking point, under the "More than just talk" heading. I kid you not, it's that high. I for one was very surprised.
What do you think? Is this the start of a more philanthropic capitalism ruling the world? Or does it mean 68 percent of Gen. Y have hopelessly limited their job prospects?
With just a few hours until the weekend, it's time for your dose of business news.
Gas still too high; people want to share rides.
Local businesspeople get their groove on.
Green-collar jobs on the rise.
And for the latest from your biz staff, check out this week's podcast for a look at the real estate landscape and what first-time homebuyers need to know.
...to submit an entry for the "Name our Blog" contest. The deadline to e-mail me submissions (jmilcetich@ydr.com) is this Friday.
If you haven't checked out the rules, you'll want to do that here.
I'm looking forward to getting some crafty submissions.
It's been a crazy busy week for the business staff. What with a bunch of companies releasing earnings reports and Boscov's filing Chapter 11. Yeeesh.
I'm glad it's almost the weekend. And I'm sure you are too.
We're going to mix things up here this week and instead of a list of links for you to check out, I'm going to leave you with our brand-spanking new podcast. Take a listen. (P.S. You have to leave this page open while you listen, but just open another browser window so you can get on with your regularly scheduled Internet surfing.)
It is the No. 1 reason I do not cook as often as I would like.
Spoiled produce. It only takes one unplanned late night at work or other schedule speed bump to throw off my well-laid plans of cooking for a week. And when the plans go awry, the ingredients spoil, so I just give up all hope of cooking the next week because I don't want the food to just go to waste again.
Thankfully, the article offers some tips, especially important as more of us (myself included) try to cook more to save money.
Does anyone else have this problem? Or was this story written just for me?
Another week has come and just about gone and I'm here to catch you up on what you might have missed this week.
Shoppers be on the alert for sales.
New winery opens in Adams County.
Is anyone surprised Big Oil had a big quarter?
Big name sports company finds major worker violations.
How germy is your work environment?
But the company also said it was not telling those on their payrolls who to vote for. According to Reuters, management meetings over the past few weeks have outlined how a bill backed by Obama could make it easier for Wal-Mart employees to unionize.
The result could be higher labor costs which, in addition to the obvious and implied drain on the bottom line, would result in layoffs.
Keeping overall labor costs flat while having to pay individual workers more would mean Wal-Mart could keep fewer people on the payroll.
Again, the company says it's not telling employees who to vote for. But then again, how else is could a statement like "we would have to eliminate jobs if a union comes in and does its job" come across to John Q. Worker?
Do you think that is going to hurt Obama come November? Do you think it's right for Wal-Mart do do? And do you think the only reason we know about this is because it's at Wal-Mart, and similar conversations are happening at smaller businesses all over the country?
The business blog, which is currently titled "Mind Your Own Business," is going under a bit of a redesign, which will launch shortly. Along with our fresh new look, we'd like a fresh new name and we want your help in coming up with one.
The rules are simple.
I think Kevin Costner is one of the two most underrated actors in Hollywood (the other being Jeff Daniels, but he's not vilified, so I'll save his defense for later).
That being said, I thought I would be alone in thinking Swing Vote would have some redeeming quality, even though on its surface its summary is absolutely stupid: One man decides presidential race, yeah right.
Well, looks like the New York Times has my back. The movie holds up a mirror to a political process where politicians forget who they are to mumble a party line, and how and why our American everyman (played by Costner) has dropped out of the process. It tries to be comedy, but it's undertones are serious, and spot-on. Yes, the New York Times said all that.
So why is this on the business blog?
Because it seems like this is what the review is saying: In order to tell the story of the breakdown in the political process, you need to first tell the story of one every working man (or woman) who has been left behind. He is the backbone of this story, and when he breaks, America comes falling down. I kind of like that a Hollywood movie respects that notion.
I think I have a movie to see ...
