Joey Tung's Blog

As of February 4^th, 2013, there will be no more pennies. The federal government has finally decided that it is not worth it to make any more pennies. The current cost of production for the coin exceeds its actual worth with it taking $0.016 to make every penny.

It is reported that in 2006, making pennies has costs Canada $150 million.

So how will this affect consumers?

Prices almost never ring up to end in 0’s or 5’s, so how will consumers pay for an item that costs $4.26? The government proposes that businesses either round up the price or round down. Prices ending in 1,2,6 or 7 will be rounded down while those ending in 3,4,8, or 9 will be rounded up. On paper, this sounds like a good system.

But for some people, every cent counts. Does the government assume that consumers will be willing to pay the extra few cents? Of course, a few cents is a minute amount of money, but in the end, it all adds up. Cents become a dollar. Many cents become dollars.

For me, this is not a dramatic change. Sure there will be changes in the economy but I believe it will be minimal. It will, however, be interesting to see the reaction for those who are skating close to the poverty line.

Sources:

• http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/07/30/penny-end-date.html
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/03/30/f-penny-faq.html

Photo:

• Flickr

Ever since discussions between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands (or Diaoyu Islands) arose, tensions between the two countries have been tense. With both sides standing firm and claiming the islands as theirs, a resolution is far from near.

To show their support, citizens of China have launched an economic boycott on Japanese products. The most notable example thus far is China’s boycott of Japanese auto companies. It would make sense that by not purchasing any Japanese products, this boycott has to be useful.

But is it really?

It is shown that Toyota’s sales have fallen 40% year-on-year in September and Mazda and Nissan have been following the same pattern. However, profits for other auto companies such as General Motors have experienced increased sales in China.

Looking at these reports, it would seem that an economic boycott is an effective way to show China’s attitude towards Japan.

Also, based on a 2011 study, the higher the status of the company, the more effective a boycott seems to be. So targeting large auto companies like Toyota seems to have been a smart decision for China.

Sources:

• http://business.blogs.cnn.com/2012/10/09/do-economic-boycotts-work/

Photo:

• Flickr

The one object I will always associate with  Thanksgiving is the memory of a magnificent, succulent turkey sitting in the middle of my dinner table– even if I haven’t had a turkey for Thanksgiving for two years now. However, I have alternates. I have food on my table that is equally as satisfying.

Unfortunately, not everyone gets an alternative.

The Daily Bread Food Bank has only reached one-third of their donation goals. As of Thanksgiving today,” $265,000 were collected along with 155,000 pounds” of canned food, a far cry from their goal of raising $400,000 and 400,000 pounds of canned food. They have seen a considerable increase in the number of people who need to come to food banks since the recession yet no particular increase in donations.

I feel that this is to be expected. The recession has affected most people, and those who were already at their financial limit were pushed over the edge and now need the help of food banks. Those who were doing adequately now have to watch every penny they spend. With the prices soaring nowadays, most notably in “gas prices, food prices, and rent prices”, it is no wonder that people don’t have spare cash to spend on donating.

Sources:

• http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/life/article/229910–daily-bread-food-bank-still-short-of-thanksgiving-drive-goal
• http://www.680news.com/news/local/article/409301–daily-bread-food-bank-needs-your-help-still-looking-for-food-and-donations
• http://www.torontosun.com/2012/10/08/food-bank-strives-to-meet-target

• Flickr

After the debate that happened on October 3rd, it is evident to those who watched it that Mitt Romney delivered a stronger performance that night. Will this be the deciding factor as to who will win the presidential election? Certainly not.

Just days after the the debate ended, Romney already has a 4% lead over Obama, a sizable turnover as Obama was originally in the lead by 9%. Clearly Romney gained a boost after the debate, but is this enough? Reports show that despite the poor execution, Americans are starting to realize that the economy has not been as bad as it was years ago; some might even say that it has gotten better.

Based on personal judgement, I believe that people value personal experience over public wins. Even though Romney has narrowed the race with his strong presentations, he is still running against the current president, someone who already has valuable experience as to how to run a country. People are creatures of habit and tend to avoid change because change is unknown; change is unfamiliar.

As a follower of the past two presidential elections, I believe, and hope, that Obama wins, mainly because I feel that Americans have failed to realize that the poor economic state that they are in wasn’t brought on by Obama.

Sources:

• http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/why-barack-obama-may-pip-mitt-romney-despite-debate-debacle_804570.html
• http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-09/polls-skewing-after-obama-romney-debate-neeed-more-time.html
• http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/08/romney-takes-four-point-lead-over-obama-after-debate-victory/

Photo:

• Flickr

Coming across Aron Chitsaz’s blog post on Buckley’s strange way of advertising their product, I was instantly reminded of the times when I’d be forced to take Buckley’s whenever I had anything that resembled a cold. The bottle never seemed to run out. It would always be there, waiting for me to use it.

Buckley’s has developed this self-depreciating way of advertising their cough syrups so that their tagline is now, “It tastes awful. And it works”. From a customer’s perspective, because Buckley’s is a medicine, it has no need to be pleasing to taste buds. It is not something customers buy because they want to drink it; they buy it because they need to. Along with that, there seems to be an underlying message in our conscience that makes us believe that because it tastes so dreadful, it ought to work! If presented with the choice between a sweet tasting, fruit flavoured, cough syrup, I’d choose Buckley’s because I think Buckley’s taste like a medicine should.

Given that reflection, it makes one wonder whether the success of Buckley’s, “It tastes awful. And it works”, angle is attributed to the manipulation of a human mind. Have we been brainwashed by the fact that a lousy taste means a natural taste and that natural equals the better syrup?

Sources:

• https://blogs.ubc.ca/aronchitsaz/2012/10/07/buckleys-advertising-strategy-seems-awful-and-it-works/
• http://www.buckleys.com/about/history.htm

Photo:

• Flickr

You never know who you might be on the phone with.

Becoming Green, a company providing sonar energy roofing panels, has admitted to the hiring of prisoners from the Prescoed minimum-security prison to work at their call centres. The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that 23 inmates are participating in the company’s effort to support the rehabilitation and resettlement of offenders. They are paid £3 a day.

The noteworthy detail in this is that since this incident, 17 of the company’s original staff have been let go. Becoming Green claims that this is a normal happening in call centre environments and that no staff member has been replaced by prisoners.

A former employee recalls when the staff of Becoming Green was informed that prisoners were going to work at the company; prisoners whose crimes ranged from murder to drug offences. Some staff members claim to have felt pressured to resign after they realized that the company had acquired capable “employees” for nearly no cost.

How ethical is it for a company to exploit the low costs of hiring prisoners? Does their assertion that hiring offenders equals a rehabilitation chance balance this issue out?

For me, this is an issue that is in need of a few guidelines.

 
Sources:

• Prisoners paid £3 a day to work at call centre that has fired other staff
• Call centre brings in prison labour at £3/day, fires regular workers
• Row over Prescoed prisoners paid £3 a day at call centre

Photo Credit:

• Chain Gang

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