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Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

thehustle.co

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Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#421

Post by Gh0stRAT »

logfromblammo wrote: post #291
birdman3131 wrote: post #265

Earlier quoted context omitted.

52 weeks x $100 x 12 months = $62,400 is wrong. The 52 weeks means the 12 months should not be there. 52 weeks x $100 = $52,00

If the unit has been chopped up such that all 52 weeks of the share have been sold, then a combination of people will be paying $100 per week of ownership, every month. Your share of the monthly maintenance is allocated by the number of weeks you "own". You aren't just paying maintenance for the week that belongs to you. Original calculation of $62400 is correct. Part of the scam is obfuscating from you the true cost…

As much as I hate all the block chain hype, I could see smart contacts facilitating this kind of coordination.

I guess there would still be a discoverability problem, not to mention the very significant risk of putting your money into a scam.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#422

Post by ggg9990 »

kolpa wrote: post #407
btilly wrote: post #307

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Berkshire Hathaway. Per https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-buffett-insuran... , they are planning for handling a potential $400 billion catastrophe.

The article sort of implies but is unclear. Berkshire's General Re does reinsurance, not re-"reinsurance". Is there a recursive step -- Could General Re face a claim that it needs to leans on the rest of Berkshire to pay? The article says its insurance companies face a 2 percent chance of being "$12 billion" insolvent, which Berkshire could cover from non-insurance profits. But would that still be true if the claims…

No way that Berkshire pays a $500b claim. They would find a way to stick the US taxpayer with the bill as many smaller companies have done before them.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#423

Post by patrickg_zill »

btilly wrote: post #307
Zetaphor wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Who insures the reinsurance company?

Berkshire Hathaway. Per https://www.reuters.com/article/us-berkshire-buffett-insuran... , they are planning for handling a potential $400 billion catastrophe.

reinsurance is also a nice way to reduce a company's taxes, and to hold money offshore. Many reinsurance companies are owned by another company; but the "re" is incorporated in a low or no tax jurisdiction such as Cayman Islands or Bermuda.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#425

Post by MisterOctober »

kolpa wrote: post #409
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Calhoun said he would not be quitting his job as a sales associate at the Reliable Office Superstore in Bloomington Anyone that thought he could quit his job needs some math lessons and financial education. $1M isn't enough to retire if you're under 30, especially when taxes come out.

"quitting your job" is not "retiring", and $1M in 1993 generates a decent enough amount of long term interest for a low cost of living area.

^ it would also solidly cover educational expenses and income loss, etc, in the event one wanted to change careers. One could move to the industry of one's choosing with that kind of cushion.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#426

Post by cobbzilla »

kolpa wrote: post #409
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Calhoun said he would not be quitting his job as a sales associate at the Reliable Office Superstore in Bloomington Anyone that thought he could quit his job needs some math lessons and financial education. $1M isn't enough to retire if you're under 30, especially when taxes come out.

"quitting your job" is not "retiring", and $1M in 1993 generates a decent enough amount of long term interest for a low cost of living area.

The prize was paid out at $50k/year for 20 years. After taxes, that could cover a modest living in many parts of the country, but I'd agree that is not "quit your job/retire" money, even in the 90's.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#427

Post by wutbrodo »

lotsofpulp wrote: post #372
fwip wrote: post #335

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The conclusion of the podcast was "If you spend $800 you're probably safe, below that it's hard to know if it's good or awful. Above $1500 is too much."

Considering Marriott/Hilton/IHG requires their hotels to use a 10 year warrantied mattress that only costs $250-$300 each, I'd say even $800 is too high. Even though that's wholesale price, doubling should be enough to get a single unit price. People would be better off investing in some HIIT cardio excercise if they're looking for a good night's sleep. And eating less / more nutritious food.

Exercising and eating right aren't 100% fungible with money. That's not even close to the blocking factor for most people.

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#428

Post by andrewem »

cobbzilla wrote: post #426
kolpa wrote: post #409

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"quitting your job" is not "retiring", and $1M in 1993 generates a decent enough amount of long term interest for a low cost of living area.

The prize was paid out at $50k/year for 20 years. After taxes, that could cover a modest living in many parts of the country, but I'd agree that is not "quit your job/retire" money, even in the 90's.

The story calls him a "A $5-an-hour office supply store salesman", so at 2,000 hours a year it's $10,000. That makes the gross prize money five times his salary.

He could easily have paid for someone to attend Harvard on the prize money (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1990/3/20/ivy-tuition-rat...).

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#429

Post by mrbill »

namibj wrote: post #384
mrbill wrote: post #349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mattresses (Casper), office chairs (Steelcase LEAP), keyboards (something with Cherry MX Brown switches). I spend the majority of my life using these bits so I buy quality.

Do you have any arguments to convince an employer to buy Cherry MX Brown (style) keyboards, instead of <15$ flimsy, flat membrane ones?

I usually brought my own keyboards (you can get one with MX browns or mx brown clones for $35-75 on amazon) to whatever job.. but at this one they saw my keyboard, said "Budget of $100, spec out whatever you want, and we'll order it."

The guy said "$150 for a keyboard and mouse of someone's choice, amortized over a year or two, is a tiny price to pay to keep our people happy."

I ended up with a Das 4C board at work (with browns) and a custom double-shot keycap set (bought out of my own pocket).

Re: Why nobody ever wins the car at the mall

#430

Post by toephu2 »

Animats wrote: post #9

Since this is a California on-site thing, California sweepstakes law applies.[1] - "The exact nature and approximate value of the prizes must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when they are offered." - "The law prohibits the company from misrepresenting the odds of receiving any item offered." - Prohibited: "Failing to award and distribute all prizes of the value and type represented." Online complaint form here…

California has tens of thousands of local businesses, and yet only one official office to police them?

Lets say I get ripped off by a restaurant, store, or local company (and I find out later after looking at my CC bill), what recourse do I have? Call the police? What are they going to do? Do they even handle financial fraud? File with the attorney general of California? Is his office really going to look into my issue? Do we just assume all companies are law-abiding? This doesn't make sense to me.

(I know you can call your CC company and dispute the charge, but that doesn't punish the company doing it, except maybe not crediting them that one charge, that is not a deterrent to overcharge your customers, there should be some form of punishment by a government authority)

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