hmmmm sea food!!!

the cost of gasoline and fuels have risen so drastic that the cost of simple corn has risen as well. the ethanol used to put into our gasoline has risen the price of corn, shrimp prices have fallen and most of the boats used to catch shrimp are going out of business. the price of fuel alone is to expensive and worth the work of finding shrimps. food isn’t the only area effected by the price of gas, traveling as well. airlines are going our of business due to the sky rocketing cost of fuel and when the prices are risen to the customers, not enough people are flying. hence the fall of Delta air lines who is on the brink of bankruptcy. who would have thought how much the rise of fuel was going to effect so many different industries in the time period of two years.

-eder

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food prices

the cost of food has risen all over the world. in Somalia, riots had occurred in the rise of price of food. A bag of rice has risen to 125% and riots have occurred i Africa, and Asia. in the united states according to CNN.com, the price of a dozen eggs has gone up to 100% (2$). for college students and for families on low wages these price increases are horrific. let alone in developing nations where the wages are lower and most people live strictly on these food staples mentioned. relieve needs to come from somewhere the question is where and how??

-eder

Can YOU afford Starbucks anymore?

Ok so i do not have many addictions but one of them is definitely coffee. The type of coffee that I have grown accustomed to is Starbucks. Of course there are way less priced coffees out in the world, like in Anna’s shop, but Starbucks just does it for me. Many people think it is ridiculous to pay $4 for a frappacino and after years of drinking that deliciously sweet drink,  I am finally starting to see the light. Apparently I’m not the only one. Starbucks announced that they were downsizing their stores. The slow decline of sales at Starbucks is a big indicator as to how our nation is doing economically. People right now just don’t have that kind of money to spend on a daily basis for their coffee fix. Besides my little wallet can’t handle spending $4 on a cup of coffee and then going out and spending $4 on a gallon of gas. I am greatful though for the new relitively cheap iced coffees at Mcdonalds. That’ll do just fine for the scorching summer ahead.

-Lucine

Do you take the bus?

I haven’t taken the bus, or our MTA line for quite some time. And now, I realize that it really quirks me to do so. Just my luck, I had to take the bus on Monday, our final’s day. Well, let’s just say that I was diligent enough to wait at the bus stop at 9:00 a.m., hoping to catch the 9:15 bus and still be on time. Well, it did arrive alright .. at 9:30. Then it broke down, therefore we had to transfer to another bus. Next, we had to take about 5 mins. to load a wheelchaired guy into the bus… and a tow-car hit the bus. I mean, seriously?! Who freaking hits a bus from behind??? For one.. it’s orange. And two, it’s humongous. So, there I was reading my ASR book, trying to cramp a semester’s worth of readings into my head. It is now 9:45 a.m. and I am still on Plummer and Sepulveda. Fortunately, there are 6 other students in the bus trying to make it to their 10:15 final. Well, it’s really not fortunate, but I actually felt more relieved that I’m not alone. We eventually left at 10:15 — yes, that’s the reason why I was late.

Most college students take the bus due to the rising prices of gas. Also, most of us cannot afford paying for a car and insurance based on our minimum wage salary. In addition, we still have food and housing to worry about. Some college students who do take the bus sometimes affect their grades and attendance — partly because of the circumstances I mentioned above.

In an article in the NY times, a student named Denisha Dennis was kicked out of her college due because of her failing grades. It all adds up — she lives 5 hours away, has to live with her parents (because she can’t afford it), commutes by taking the bus, then the subway, then a cab to campus. By the time she gets to campus, she is already exhausted and too tired to concentrate. I think this is a typical scenario with a commuter CSUN student. And I know I’m not the only one who gets affected by this.

Anna

Dorm Rooms Are Revoked Over Grades
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/nyregion/13dorm.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&ref=education&adxnnlx=1203440619-BE6zivI9N0QgDI9otiDeuw&oref=slogin

rice, rice, baby!

I love rice. I practically eat rice daily. I like it steamed, sticky, sauteed, sushi-ed, you name it. I even like it with some beans. Can you think of a culture who doesn’t consume rice? Everybody eats it. We could remember that food is multicultural. I love eating Jambalayas, Burritos, Sushis, Fried Rice…

The reason why I brought that up was because I’d like to address the rising prices of Rice world wide. In the Philippines, 92 million of its population depend on rice as their source of food. Most third-world countries, such as Asian and African countries are entirely dependent on rice due to the fact that it’s inexpensive. Now, our rice supply is declining, therefore causing its prices sky rocketing. These countries are trying to negotiate their rice exporting to keep the prices down. Some are even protesting against it. I just can’t imagine a world without rice.

Anna

http://www.upiasiaonline.com/Economics/2008/04/02/why_a_rice_shortage_in_the_philippines/6495/
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/2008/4/14/rice-shortage

Perez Hilton was right — it’s “wtf??”

So I was reading PerezHilton.com (surprise, surprise) and I came up with this article — Beyonce is opening up a new line of clothing for kids! Not only that, but it’s also it’s ridiculous — what 9 year old girl wears a high-heeled red shoes? I thought it was a Barbie approach to minorities. I feel that the celebrities are probably laughing at us lower and middle class right now, thinking that whatever they come up with, we will use our hard earned money to buy it.

The sad thing though, is that, they are right. We do buy stupid things like this. For example, I realized I’m “broke” was because I used my $200 on a Coach Purse. I could care less if I won’t be eating lunch (hey, that means I’m getting thinner like Mariah Carey or something, right?) But honestly — I could care less! But then again, that Coach Purse was really pretty. And it’s purple. And I feel that every envious eyes are on me whenever they see my blatant “C” all over my purse. But my point is that we are trying to influence younger children to be like that. And that is not right. These kids will also learn to save their money, not eat lunch, so they could dress and look like Beyonce. Or own a pretty designer purse that they do not need.

http://perezhilton.com/2008-05-08-wtf-3

Anna

Stimulus check really “free money”?

All of us are eagerly anticipating our stimulus package like a wide-eyed kid on Christmas waiting for Santa to bring presents. That check in the mail with our name on it is a little gift from the government to its citizens. Of course the responsible thing to do would be to save the  money we receive, especially during these unpredictable economic times. Unfortunately, many of us will be forced  spending that money on the mundane but essential items of everyday life: food, gas, and bills. Retailers are vying for the consumer’s attention (and pocketbooks) trying to sell us their products that we probably don’t need. This is how the government intended us to spend our money so that the economy could get “stimulated”.

So with the inflation rates soaring, the stimulus check barely helps us play catch up. As for me, I would love to spend the money I get on a new digital camera but instead I’m going to be making a payment on my  high interest rate credit card.  Oh what fun!

Lucine

Chasing my reality

 

 

Gas is expensive.  There’s no doubt about that.  And yet, people are refusing to believe this fact, or accept it. As gas continue to sky rocket, we continue to purchase expensive cars.  Fortunately for us, TESLA invented a new car that is completely electric.  It goes on from 0-100km/ in 4.6 seconds.  And the upside?  It’s sexy.

The downside of course is that, it costs $100,000 and you have to sign up to the 2 year wait list.  And yet this 248 horsepowered car is such a dream come true to every college students struggling to live.  I’m curious, because since this car is such a dream come true, why doesn’t the government fund this program, instead of sending billions of dollars in Iraq?  Or, use the money to set up a program that would lower the cost of this amazing car, and actually increase the demand?  That way, we are saving the environment.  We don’t need to gas for this sweet thing is rechargable at home.  It may be expensive, but to my opinion, prices are out of reach nowadays. 

It really is a dream — to bad we have to wake up and go back to our reality– our collapsing economy.

Anna

Links:

http://cars.blogs.ca/2006/07/23/telsa-motors-makes-the-electric-sports-car-a-reality

 

gas tax relief

I see there is a proposed Federal tax relief. It is supported by both John McCain and Hillary Clinton. I ran the number and then CNN verified what I came up with. That would be thirty cents per day or a total of thirty dollars. If this isn’t political white wash, what is? Most economistagree this recession is being brought in large part because of energy prices. This is their answer?

roger

Small time, big bucks.

I work in a small time coffee shop. It’s un-strategically hidden in the corner of Albertson’s and a really shabby looking parking lot. To some of the people who would actually discover us, they would think that we are some sort of hardware store. It’s really not hard to figure out what we sell; I mean, we only have an Ice Cream sign and a Tea cup plastered all over our windows. Not only that, it blatantly states that we are a coffee shop, so I don’t know what those senile people are talking about.

Here’s the thing though, I originally worked in a deli, which conveniently owns this coffee shop. It is smart that these stores are within the same plaza. The deli makes at least $5,000 daily. Meanwhile, the coffee shop is lucky to make at least $250 a day. To break even, we need to at least make $300 daily.

This goes out to every small business owners. It’s hard to survive in this ongoing recession. Since the deli has expensive prices and really quality coffee, the Coffee Shop is compelled to sell expensive items as well. I mean, $1.75 per cup of coffee is not too bad. Plus, it’s all-day refill. In addition to that, we provide free Wi-Fi connection. Not only that, but we sell yummy smoothies, “super juices,” paninis, crepes, and salads. And yet, we can’t compete with corporations such as Jamba Juice or Pinkberry’s, because of the fact that they have more money for advertising and teasing your tastes bud. Quite frankly, I don’t think our pricing for the quality of our food is too expensive. It’s just that these regular deli customers are just damn spoiled.

Δnna