OPEC stands for “Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties.” It is a cartel made up of 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
These countries produce much of the oil that the rest of the world buys, so they’ve banded together to ensure that everyone receives a fair price for their oil. The oil ministers of the member countries meet regularly in Vienna to discuss oil prices and production.
A Plutonomy is an economy that is driven and controlled by an extremely wealthy minority. The word was coined in 2005 by an analyst at Citigroup. According to the laws of Plutonomics, the rich – because they spend a lot of money – make up such a large proportion of national spending that they mess with national spending statistics.
For example, if you asked everyone in the country how much they spend on designer clothes each year, and averaged that number, you would get an inaccurate picture of how well America is dressing. Why? Because one person spending $10,000 a year on couture while 9 other people spend $0 still makes it look like everyone is dropping $1,000 on their “collection” every year.
Sexism is discrimination against a person or persons on the basis of gender. Like racism, it can occur explicitly (violence against women, demeaning comments), unconsciously (unintentionally excluding female coworkers from after-work dinners and casual meetings), or institutionally.
An annuity is a kind of tax-deferred retirement plan, but it’s usually operated through an insurance company. You pay the insurance company a certain amount of money, and in return that company promises to pay you back with interest over a period of time. An annuity is a simple way to save money for retirement without paying taxes on it right away.
You can pay into your annuity all at once (“lump sum”) or in a series of payments. Depending on your contract, an annuity might start paying you back right away or start at a later date – such as when you plan to retire.
A minimum wage is the absolute minimum amount of money that someone can be paid for a specified job. It was created to ensure that no one is unfairly compensated for their work. As of July 2009, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.
In the U.S., the minimum wage is regulated by the federal agency called the Department of Labor, but states have the flexibility to set their own higher (or in special cases, lower) minimum wage. There are also exceptions to who must receive the minimum wage. Waiters and other workers who regularly receive tips have a much lower minimum wage ($2.13/ hour). And sometimes employers can pay workers who are under 20 only $4.25 per hour for their first 90 days on the job.
(credit: JASON ANFINSEN)
Going to Bonnaroo this year? Prepare to wear your credit card on your sleeve. Er, wrist. Concert producers have switched from a paper-based to a microchip-based ticketing system, which means you’ll be wearing your right to be there in a little plastic bracelet on your wrist.
But wait, there’s more! Concertgoers can also choose to embed their credit card information in their bracelets, so they’ll be able to pay for stuff without searching for their wallets. (We all know how much of a hassle that is, right?)
You’ve got to love how easy it’s becoming to spend money. Okay, maybe it’s not such a good thing for our budgets (or our souls) here in the U.S., but think about the implications for people who live in countries with developing economies… Technology like this could eliminate a lot of hurdles to economic participation – kind of like how the invention of the cell phone ended up democratizing long-distance communication in Africa. (In 2005, 1 in 11 Africans had a mobile plan; only 1 in 33 had a land line.)
Frank Murtha from MarketPsych returns with some insight about how that annoying habit from high school follows most people into their grown-up financial lives. If you’ve been jumping off bridges after your friends up until now, maybe this will convince you to stop:
Frank Murtha from MarketPsych returns with some insight about how that annoying habit from high school follows most people into their grown-up financial lives. If you’ve been jumping off bridges after your friends up until now, maybe this will convince you to stop:
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© 1999-2011 Panera, LLC. All rights reserved
“The lesson here is most people are fundamentally good,” [Panera founder and Chairman Ronald] Shaich said. “People step up and they do the right thing.”
The “right thing,” in this case, is choosing to pay the full retail price (or more) for a bagel at one of Panera Bread’s pay-what-you-want restaurants. These locations are nonprofit, and “prices” are actually just suggested donations. Any money left over after paying the utility bills and workers’ salaries (i.e. overhead) goes to Panera’s charitable foundation.
This is genius for two reasons:
1. Amaaazing PR for Panera
2. Combining hunger and peer pressure to make people donate to your charity
Seems like it’s getting easier every day to spend money. Is this the new philanthropy? Are $10 text donations just the start? Anything that gets people to donate more money to good organizations is progress in our book.
You have to wonder, though. Is this kind of giving the way you really want to spend your donation dollars? Impulse giving is kind of like impulse shopping – it will probably make you feel good about yourself at the moment (especially if you just ate a delicious sandwich), but it doesn’t usually reflect who you are or where your values lie.
And it definitely goes against the sage advice to do your homework before you give someone your money.
© 1999-2011 Panera, LLC. All rights reserved
“The lesson here is most people are fundamentally good,” [Panera founder and Chairman Ronald] Shaich said. “People step up and they do the right thing.”
The “right thing,” in this case, is choosing to pay the full retail price (or more) for a bagel at one of Panera Bread’s pay-what-you-want restaurants. These locations are nonprofit, and “prices” are actually just suggested donations. Any money left over after paying the utility bills and workers’ salaries (i.e. overhead) goes to Panera’s charitable foundation.
This is genius for two reasons:
1. Amazing PR for Panera
2. Combining hunger and peer pressure to make people donate to your charity
Seems like it’s getting easier every day to spend money. Is this the new philanthropy? Are $10 text donations just the start? Anything that gets people to donate more money to good organizations is progress in our book.
You have to wonder, though. Is this kind of giving the way you really want to spend your donation dollars? Impulse giving is kind of like impulse shopping – it will probably make you feel good about yourself at the moment (especially if you just ate a delicious sandwich), but it doesn’t usually reflect who you are or where your values lie.
And it definitely goes against the sage advice to do your homework before you give someone your money.