Courtney Davies' Blog

While scrolling through Nick Parkhaev‘s blog, I came across an interesting post titled “Should we treat Millionaires differently?“. Nick briefly described the bill proposed by the Senate Democratic Leader, Harry Reid. This bill would impose a 5.6% surtax on any individual earning $1 million or more. This would help the government fund a $445 billion stimulus package to re-emerge out of a financial deficit.

http://taxwiz.org/image/Canadian%20politicans%20on%20tax%20burden.jpg

I agree with Nick when he states that the “bill is ridiculous”. Individuals who are earning only a few dollars short of 1 million would not be effected by the surtax. By earning the $1 million, they simply must return a large portion to the government. This could push away business opportunities created by millionaires donating to governmental projects and initiatives. Individuals would be less willing to participate in political endeavors. The tax would disrupt the financial chain created through the philanthropic nature of society.

Works Cited:

Obama, President, 000, and the Tax Policy Center estimates. “The Democrat’s Millionaire Tax: Smart Politics, Awful Policy – Forbes.”Information for the World’s Business Leaders – Forbes.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2011. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/10/06/the-democrats-millionaire-tax-smart-politics-awful-policy/>.

Parkhaev, Nick. “300 Words Per Day | Just Another UBC Blogs Site – Should We Treat Millionaires Differently.” Web log post. UBC Blogs. 9 Oct. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/nparkhaev/>.

Just last week, Apple introduced the new iPhone 4S. The iPhone 4S is similar in style and appearace to the iPhone 4, however there are multiple applications and a new operating system that distinguish the iPhone 4S from the iPhone 4.

http://www.apple.com/ca/iphone/features/

Preorders for the iPhone 4S reached one million in just 24 hours of opening to the public. This is the most first-day preorders that Apple has received for any of their products. Many critics were disappointed in Apple’s iPhone 4S but “Apple still rakes in more smartphone profit than any other company” (Akkad, Omar El). RBC analyst Mike Abramsky predicts that that number of iPhone 4S smart phones sold in the first week of sales will be 3 million.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/stocks/chart/?q=AAPL-Q

The graph above illustrates the sales of stocks for Apple over the past couple of months. Apple has successfullly marketed itself as the leader in smartphone technology. With the new applications on the iPhone 4S, such as the Siri application, Apple continues to produce popular mobile devices that are in high demand. The amount of preorders, despite the negative critique, demonstrates how dominant Apple has become in the mobile phone market. Apple’s strong brand name and world-wide reputation as a business somehow enables the company to sell products even though the general public is on edge or society is struggling.

Akkad, Omar El. “Apple Books a Million IPhone Orders in 24 Hours – The Globe and Mail.” The Globe and Mail. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/apple-books-a-million-iphone-orders-in-24-hours/article2196807/.

On Monday October 10^th, Netflix announced that the company would be abandoning the plan to split up its mail-order and internet streaming services that was established on September 18, 2011. These two services will still be available online on Netflix.com.

The decision to annul Qwikster shows the company’s acknowledgment of Netflix users’ rejection of raised prices and split services. Customers were not content with the idea of having two separate accounts and bills, as well as the increased prices. Netflix’s shares have declined by 28% since the announcement on September 18^th. A large amount of customers dropped Netflix in the past few weeks due to the 60% increase in price. Netflix realized the customers’ dissatisfaction with the new services and therefore abandoned the previous plan.

Netflix happened to rush decisions in the company without listening to customer appeal. Netflix needed to rely on its customer relationships to make executive decisions involving the entire consumer population. Netflix should have confided in its customers before rushing into a proposal that was abandoned only three weeks after it was announced.

Grover, Ronald, and Cliff Edwards. “Netflix Retreats
From Plan to Split DVDs From Web Streaming – Businessweek.” Bloomberg Businessweek – Business News, Stock Market & Financial Advice. 10 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-10/netflix-retreats-from-plan-to-split-dvds-from-web-streaming.html.