linklings, with a rebel yell edition

Nov 21, 2008

linklings, with a rebel yell edition

Read this, then tell me why we aren’t rioting in the streets. I have a sad confession to make – I’m an armchair activist. I’m a member of the 101st fighting keyboardists. I’m not going to wave placards in the streets or burn effigies of Hank Paulson on Wall Street. At the same time, I’m wondering when it’s going to happen. I’m getting to that point. I’m mad. I want to know why GM deserves a bailout and Circuit City doesn’t. Or why Vikram Pandit or Ed Liddy deserve one and Mr. Small Businessowner doesn’t. Why?

I am preparing for the brave new world of creative income generation. The consulting contracts in the financial services industry in New York are gone. Gone. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men aren’t going to put Humpty back together again. I think it’s going to be a while before I find a new contract, so I’m planning on attacking problogging and independent, non-affiliated consulting with a vengeance. I’m going to look for a job, but to be honest I don’t see much security there, either, so I’m going to hammer away at the wealthstreaming. I’m scared (which is good) and excited. I’ve been complacent and shriveling away mentally at work for a long time now, so if nothing else being forced to scramble is going to be good for my soul…

A few links for the weekend:

When Is It The Right Time To Start A Business?: A good question – I’m not really going all in and creating a business, so to speak, but my little sole proprietorship is going to be increasingly important in my life over the next few months…

Stop Taking The Small Things for Granted: It’s a bit early for Thanksgiving, but after reading this you’ll be ready to give thanks. I know that it’s easy to be complacent about little things like enjoying the outdoors, but think about two months without seeing the sun and you’ll realize you have a LOT of little things to be thankful for.

Job Interview Tips: I’m itchy, too – I’m ready for something new, and I’m going to be on the job interview circuit soon enough, I think (although my first preference would be to generate enough “non-traditional” income to stay “unemployed”).

Piqqem: Crowdsourcing Stock Picks: I signed up with updown, who seem to be a competitor to piqqem. It’s a nice idea, although I hardly see how anyone’s getting excited about stock market investing these days.

Read the Fine Print Before Signing Any Loan – You Might be Surprised at What’s in There: Fine print is there for one reason – to screw the consumer.

Dow, The Near 6-Year Low: In a sense, this is an 11 year low. Stock levels now are about the same as 1997 levels. I know there are dividends, splits, etc., but is anyone happy about the idea of $100 invested in 1997 being worth $100 today? I’m not.

Are You Ready to Lose Your Job?: This article was a useful one for me – and apparently yes, I’m ready…

A few extra links:

photo credit: rastafabi

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vilkri

I read the link to the nytimes blog, too. My biggest concern is that there will be some sort of social unrest. I think the recent developments - spending tons of bail-out money - may be the last drop. Until very recently corporate profits have represented the largest percentage of GDP and the income disparity between the rich and poor has grown steadily. To top it off, corporations and the wealthy are mostly the beneficiaries of the bail-out. When are the masses going to be mad enough to scream "enough is enough"? (Mind you, I have been lucky enough to be on the "right" side of the equation.)

deepali

I am so torn on this. On the one hand, Mitt Romney, whom I don't like, says let the auto makers figure it out themselves. On the other, Jeff Sachs, whom I admire, says bail them out. What to do? Both think this is the opportunity we need for restructuring and pushing towards sustainability and greening. Romney is trying to get rid of unions. Sachs thinks throwing money at the problem is the best solution. And I'm particularly interested as this is my hometown - when they collapse, they take an already embattled midwest with them. Detroit employs more than autoworkers - some of the best and brightest of the midwestern universities (and beyond) work for them.

On the other hand - I told you so. Those of us who got torn down for being treehuggers simply because environmentalism makes us think in the long-term are feeling our bitter satisfaction.

As for why GM and not Circuit City - I assume industry falling makes a bigger impact than a big box retailer....

And on being scared - that's not fear. That's fearlessness. :)