Archive for July 8th, 2011

On civility: Do as I say, not as I do.

July 8, 2011

Back in January – seizing the moment after the Gabrielle Gifford’s shooting, “President Obama called for a New Era of Civility in U.S. Politics”.

“At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized, at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do,” he said, “it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds.”

Fast forward to this week’s Twitter news conference:

Obama Warns Debt Ceiling Should Not Be ‘Used As A Gun’ To Extract Tax Breaks

In some of his harshest language to date in the fight over the deficit, President Obama warned today that the debt ceiling should not be “used as a gun” against Americans’ heads to extract tax breaks for the wealthy.

Guess the President isn’t a big fan of the Golden Rule …

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Stores creating “a sense of privacy, even sanctum” … for men!

July 8, 2011

According to research coming out of Australia, and reported in RetailWire:

Male-only supermarket shopping aisles that focus on gender-specific products rather than merchandise by category could encourage men to browse longer, trial new items and spend more.

“Research has shown that there is a group of male shoppers who have a ‘fear of the feminine’ or fear shopping among women’s health products such as tampons, waxing strips, pink razors and body scrubs,”

“Further, research found that men made more purchases … of health products that were not placed in high traffic areas or next to feminine-inspired products.

Apparently, some men are apprehensive of women’s products and are therefore less likely to spend time perusing their own personal needs.”

The answer: Creating retail ‘man caves’… “Gender specific aisles providie a relief to men, inspiring them to explore and discover new products … and create a sense of privacy, even sanctum.”

I can’t wait to go shopping tomorrow … I need some “privacy, even sanctum.”

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Random Finding: Men also shop differently, valuing efficiency and independence over customer service and tend not ask for help.

Or, as Grandma Homa used to say: “Women shop, men buy.”

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Posted in Mktg - Consumer Behavior, Mktg - Shopping Behavior, Retailing | 1 Comment »

Corporate jets … “since John the Baptist”

July 8, 2011

Charles Krauthammer puts the President’s railing against corporate jets into perspective in today’s Washington Post:

What have been Obama’s own debt-reduction ideas?

In last week’s news conference, he railed against the tax break for corporate jet owners — six times.

I did the math.

If you collect that tax for the next 5,000 years — that is not a typo — it would equal the new debt Obama racked up last year alone.

To put it another way, if we had levied this tax at the time of John the Baptist and collected it every year since — first in shekels, then in dollars — we would have 500 years to go before we could offset half of the debt added by Obama last year alone.

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Posted in Debt - Deficit | Leave a Comment »