Monthly Archives: September 2014

Understanding money is like attempting to comprehend the meaning of life. The problem stems from discussions around money and economics. The language is twisted and confusing to outsiders. John Lanchester’s article Money Talks, speaks in depth about today’s economic system, and the discourse surrounding it.

Lanchester lays much of the blame for the 2008 collapse upon experts intentionally making terms more complicated than necessary. Lanchester gives examples of where the language of economics has failed: “To bail out means to slop water over the side of a boat. That verb now means an injection of public money into a failing institution…Credit now means debt… inflation means money being worth less.”(33). Lanchester describes these terms as “reversified”, that is to say their meaning is the opposite of an original impression.

I think a larger flaw in the monetary system instead stems from a lack of education and awareness. Many children don’t have a chance to learn about money until they are in the thick of debt for post-secondary education, while paying rent and taxes. It’s a pattern that allows young people to be taken advantage of, where even a small amount of knowledge would help people make better decisions. My grade ten planning class should’ve included lessons to teach soon-to-be tax payers, savers, spenders and investors, basic skills in money management. The world assumes we all know. It’s the same with the meaning of life, but none of us have a clue.

Works Cited

Lanchester, John. “Money Talks.” The New Yorker Annals of Argot 4 Aug. 2014: 30-33. Print.

Picture from The New Yorker

Recently, a new marketing strategy has fallen into place with video games. Publishers have started releasing their incomplete games with added incentives, encouraging consumers to purchase the product without knowing anything about it.

In his opinion article on pre-order culture, Ben Kuchera suggests that pre-ordering could be seen as gambling: consumers who pre-order games have no impression other than what is released as previews from the publisher. There are no reviews available, no opinions to help a consumer’s choice before spending money. Kuchera claims “That’s not marketing, that’s customer hostility” (2014).

I personally have noticed this as a consumer, spending money on video games is no longer a simple purchase. The exclusivity of content limits choices customers have. Ultimately pre orders lead to the releases of incomplete titles, to sell the missing pieces separately. In some cases, retailers like Game Stop sell “exclusive content” meaning you have to purchase the game there to receive all of what the game has to offer.

Consumers who do pre-order games simply encourage publishers to continue with this new manner of manipulation. It’s up to us, the consumers to stop the publishers from continuing on this pattern.

Works cited:

Kuchara, Ben. “You Shouldn’t Pre-order Alien: Isolation (or Any Other Game).” Polygon. Polygon, 10 July 2014. Web. 19 Sept. 2014.

Picture from Game Stop

British Columbia’s largest credit union (By membership) Coast Capital Savings has continued to show loyalty to their customers and community.

There are several things that make Coast Capital Savings (CCS) stand out among credit unions in BC. CCS is dedicated to donating seven percent of pre-tax profits to community, while still offering completely free services that help Canadians save, manage, grow, and protect their assets. CCS offers opportunities to youth (both citizens and employees) with the goal of creating skills and offering experience for leadership rolls, while empowering them to make decisions that can positively affect their communities.  Together with UBC’s Sauder school of business the credit union has created the iHub, which sponsors ethical business entrepreneurs in the Vancouver area.

Coast Capital has been named one of BC’s top employers (2014) and in 2005 received the Ethics in Action Overall Leadership Award for Large Business. This contradicts Milton Friedman’s article: “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Profits” where he claims that it is not possible to take social ethical responsibility as a business without taxing its stakeholders. CCS has found a balance to be both financially and socially successful. As an institution, Coast Capital’s mission is to “change the way Canadians feel about banking forever”. This is a standard other Canadian businesses should strive for in their respective fields.

More info:

CCS Community Report 2013: https://www.coastcapitalsavings.com/About_Coast_Capital_Savings/Corporate_Information/Corporate_Social_Responsibility/Citizenship_Report/?intcid=f_amp_bn_140808113141

Picture from: https://www.coastcapitalsavings.com/About_Coast_Capital_Savings/