Cheapskate Wisdom … About Why Auctioneers Talk Like They Do

“They talk like that to hypnotize the bidders. Auctioneers don’t just talk fast—they chant in a rhythmic monotone so as to lull onlookers into a conditioned pattern of call and response, as if they were playing a game of ‘Simon says.’ The speed is also intended to give the buyers a sense of urgency: Bid now or lose out.”

Meet the ‘Cheapest Man Alive’

He owns a successful investment firm, employs 1,000 people, and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He also brings a homemade lunch to the office every day, had the office carpet repaired with duct tape, pays “only for the meat” and nothing else at holiday parties, and, after company meetings, gathers up paper clips so they can be reused.

An Iffy Outlook For Holiday Sales

Most consumers are of two minds–they want to see the economy improve and they also want to see rock bottom prices (50% OFF) on the things they will be buying for the holidays. The contradiction is one most of us live with, and it’s one reason why retailers can’t seem to get traction.

The G-20: This Time, It’s Different

Last week’s G-20 economic summit in South Korea was widely depicted as a failure for the Obama administration and a rebuff for the United States. In many respects, it was. Obama remarked that if the U.S. hadn’t tried to set the agenda, it would have had an easier time. “Part of the reason that sometimes it seems that the United …

Cheapskate Wisdom … About Gadgets Bought for Bragging Rights

“The bizarre obsession with moderately priced vanity gadgets is part of a living-standard masquerade at the twilight of middle-class prosperity. It doesn’t matter if the electronic bling works well or lasts long. Its value is not utility — it is the ability to feign class equality in a country of crushing stratification and rising poverty.”

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