Just because you rap about money does't mean your an economist

What do MC Hammer, Jermain Dupree, Young buck all have in common? Apart from one being bankrupt, they all had at least one song rapping about how ballin they are. From ballin out of control, and being a shorty riding along in the chevy 4 door, there should be some financial responsibility involved in handling all this cash floating around. In no way shape or form am I trying to hate on the rap community. it seems rappers have a passion for low liquidity assets. Custom made chains for example a traded for currency (a highly liquid asset). This chain may seem to increase their net worth, but what it really has done is increase the net worth of the jeweler. Fast cars, Big houses, and over the top champaign bottles are all nice assets, but their is little resale value (if not none for champaign) to get anything in return once you buy them. MC hammer filing for bankruptcy with a debt of at least $10 Million dollars is embarrassing. Young Buck recently filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, and might even loose his name. He owes the IRS, child support (big shaking my head), and 50 cent over $10 million.

These rappers should have at least invested a portion of their money into something to make a return on their investment. Some rappers are to scared to talk about their financial troubles until its all to late. This silence needs to be broken. Killer Mike (rapper) has opened up a barber shop to get a little ROI (return on investment) “I should have opened my barbershop 10 years ago. I actually started seeing return on my money. I would encourage people, for financial literacy, to seek out small businesses." 

Big Boi is known for "hustling" pit bulls. The overall idea is to invest into something that will put some cash flow back into your pocket instead of spending wastefully. 

Its not about fast cars, flashy clothes, etc.... but what does matter is financial literacy and how you handle your money (and maybe a little Jeremy Bentham; happiness= pleasure - pain). Living in the now may seem fun and exciting, but will leave you with no future. A word to anyone having money problems, take a personal financing class, watch some youtube videos, or just watch Mr. Khan in his Khan Academy videos. No one wants to be bankrupt, and it only hurst the ECONOMY. 

Y= The Don 

Y= The Don

Show a little love in the economy

As valantines day approaches, some of us will spend it with a special someone, while there will be others that will spend their time with their specials friends. No matter the situation we are ready to spend our money on anything that has to deal with a love, flowers, chocolate and lets face it cute little animals. Not only will you be showing some love to your significant other, but you will be showing some love to the economy. For 2012, it is projected that we will spend $17.558  billion. Thats an estimated $126.03 per person. For myself I am almost to that average, buying a custom teddy for my honey (pic related) $24, small flower pen novelties for the office $20, treats for the office party $10, and I can't forget an excellent dinner for my babe on that day with her favorite flowers $60+. All these things are worth it because they make others happy maximizing my utility.

 A word to everyone, go out and spend. Don't only show love to the person who your spending that special day with, but buy them some flowers. support the flower shop the workers, the growers, and people who transported it their. Take them out to a local restaurant, show the staff some love for them making that day possible. Support the teddy bear and chocolate industry and even local shops to help their business out. A night out with friends or a date will help everyone in this market. 

The chart above is a glimpse of what we are expected to spend our money on. 

If your not no where near to the average, then I'm not offending you. for 2011 it was projected that consumers would spend $18.6 billion. could this current projection of $17.558 be a flop? consumer confidence could still be weak but it is al up to the purchases we make. Analyst could be expecting to much out of us they have to remember the 99% are not getting richer. we will know in a matter of time. I don't even remember how much I spent last year on valantines  day but I remember I had a great time.  "Quality is remembered long after price is forgotten"- Gucci co.

Y= The Don 

The Video Game Industry

Modern Warfare 3, Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3, and Super Street Fighter IV are just some of the games I indulge in to self sooth and take a break away from reality. With one of the highest grossing industries (outpacing the movie and music industry), games are here to stay forever. Your average gamer is about 37 years old. From the invention of the Atari, the gameboy, to the 360, your average gamer has opened their wallet on many occasions to spend their time in a virtual world. Your average gamer spends about 8+ hours a week glued to their television (and lets not forget the smartphone) yelling profound cuss words along with their occasional burst of excitement. Women make up about 42% (and climbing) of gamers in the world. Now the most popular gaming console among women by far is the Nintendo Wii. Why is this you ask? the Wii is for your occasional gamer and it is very easy to use. With the #1 global top seller being Just Dance 3, it has many women (and men) busting out their Michael Jackson moves and of the couch. Women tend to play video games with groups of friends in person, while men tend to play video games with groups of friends online. There is nothing wrong with this, we can say that the gaming industry surly knows hot to find a target market.

Now for the heavy stuff. Activision/Blizzard (the producers of Modern Warfare 3 and many other titles) currently has their stock valued at at $12.18 a share. As you can see below the sudden increase from September to November was all the hype building up for the release of Modern Warfare 3. From then on it went back to its normal grove but enjoyed a sudden pop. If I was ATVI (their ticker name) I would be thinking of more ways to grab the consumer to spend more and they have done just that.

  (Thanks to CNBC for the chart)

With the Release of their Call of Duty Elite which offers a free service that lets you track all your data with extra advice on all the hot spots of action I can surely say these guys have started a trend we will soon see in other video games to come.With the release of their mobile app to stay in the know even on the go, there is no way of getting away from MW3. Their yearly paid subscription service offers members a chance to get new maps every month, post videos, and the oputournity  to compete for prizes which keeps customers attracted to their game. This approach will be copied far and wide to retain customers by giving them more access than just your regular gamer. 

We can see the price of games surely to go up. You just won't notice it. by paying that $60 plus tax along with another $50 for all the goodies, every company will be quick to jump on the extra cash. With a giant that generates over $25 Billion in annual revenue that employees around 120,000 employees, its no wonder they have an average $90,000 salary!!!! I think its time for me to go into the gaming industry!! 

I like to thank the entertainment software association for their information*

Y= The Don

A world with one currency

Hello all!!!! First off I would like to thank you for taking the time to read what I have to say. As an economist at heart I will try to bring touch on everything from politics, lifestyles, video games, music, food, culture, anything and everything and put it into an economic context that will be easy to understand. The purpose of this blog is not to undermine society, but to bring into light some ideas, concepts, and lifestyles from every aspect a person has to offer. These post will not just be from my point of view, but I will often take polls online to get the publics opinion. As the title says, we are a Globalized Market (meaning we are the market), and we are more connected than ever.


Not to long ago, I stumbled upon an exciting piece of literature that was passed down to me by a communications person. The article had two main points 1.) a secret world called silk road where you can buy anything!!!!!!!!! 2.) the currency it used was called bit coin which was an online currency that was valued by the MARKET. The way bit coin works is simple, you take your own currency you have (the dollar) ask for a deposit slip and simply write the place it will go to (Mt. Gox for example, which is an online exchanger). The currency you had is then transformed into bit coins which are stored on your online wallet that is able to purchase anything on silk road. Now this is where things get a little tricky. Bit Coin is a DE-CENTRALIZED currency, meaning it is not ran by the federal reserve or the International Monetary Fund.  In other words, the government can not print as many bit coins as they like which would cause inflation to settle in (making a big mac priced at $5 to $10). The thought of this idea is purely insane. by 2013, bit coin will have reached its maximum amount of bit coins it can produce and no more will be available. Now this is totally flipped in the way we do things in America. The Federal Reserve has the power to print off dollars whenever they like making the value of our currency decrease. Although Uncle Ben has spent his whole life studying the great depression and see's this as a good idea, some people beg to differ (story to come at another time). What would happen if we took that same concept and put a limit on the amount of dollars that was floating around the world? some guesses would be, the US would not be able to pay its debts, and some people would be left out of a check (unemployment insurance, Social Security etc....). What if putting a limit on the amount of money floating around is the solution? similar to the allowance your parents would give you. Surely this would make people spend within their means and not to over spend purely because the excess money would not exist! When we examine Bit Coin, it is an Asset that is treated as a currency on the online world. 1 currency to rule the world. I had asked people their opinions on a single world currency and I was quite surprised on some of their responses

Homie 1- "Countries would fight over what kind of symbol to put on the currency. One thing it will do is make foreign trade easier but more expensive"

Homie 2- "NO. Not feasible. Look at the Eurozone its falling apart already. Can you imagine a central bank THAT big?"

Homie 3- That is the day the world will know PEACE...

Homie 4- everyone would have the opportunity to start over new, no one more rich or powerful than the other. It WOULD NOT be fair though, to those who have worked for a long time to get where they are now...

In all honesty I feel that we already do live in a one currency world. If you were to look at the stock market and look at the value of gold, oil, cotton, sugar etc... everything is priced in dollars. For germany to buy oil from Saudi Arabia, they would have to take their currency, exchange it for dollars, and purchase the oil. In my eyes the dollar is the one world currency. 

I am always open for feedback!!! feel free to drop a comment!!

Y= The Don