Alex A. Hutnik

A really interesting interview with Warren Buffett:

Underground Value: Notes From Buffett Meeting 2/15/2008

Popularity: 26% [?]

Unless I’m missing something because I stopped watching MTV 5 years ago, why is Facebook selling paper as one of their cheesy gifts?:

Honestly, I think the idea of Facebook gifts is ridiculous.  From a business standpoint though, it’s brilliant.  Because, unfortunately, the company has made millions selling little icons to people for a dollar.  How much does it cost to produce one?  Maybe a hundred dollars or so in wages?  You could probably crank out 2 or 3 a day, put them online, and the next day you’ve made a couple hundred thousand dollars or more.

Popularity: 28% [?]

But only if you promise to check out the larger, high quality versions in my photo gallery!

Popularity: 13% [?]

Jeff Frankel (via Greg Mankiw):

“Despite the EITC and child credit, the poverty trap is still very much a reality in the U.S. A woman called me out of the blue last week and told me her self-sufficiency counselor had suggested she get in touch with me. She had moved from a $25,000 a year job to a $35,000 a year job, and suddenly she couldn’t make ends meet any more. I told her I didn’t know what I could do for her, but agreed to meet with her. She showed me all her pay stubs etc. She really did come out behind by several hundred dollars a month. She lost free health insurance and instead had to pay $230 a month for her employer-provided health insurance. Her rent associated with her section 8 voucher went up by 30% of the income gain (which is the rule). She lost the ($280 a month) subsidized child care voucher she had for after-school care for her child. She lost around $1600 a year of the EITC. She paid payroll tax on the additional income. Finally, the new job was in Boston, and she lived in a suburb. So now she has $300 a month of additional gas and parking charges. She asked me if she should go back to earning $25,000. I told her that she should first try to find a $35k job closer to home. Also, she apparently can’t fully reverse her decision to take the higher paying job because she can’t get the child care voucher back (the waiting list is several years long she thinks). She is really stuck. She tried taking an additional weekend job, but the combination of losing 30 percent in increased rent and paying for someone to take care of her child meant it didn’t help much either.”

Popularity: 26% [?]