Who's rich? McCain and Obama have very different definitions
Obama didn’t hesitate. “I would argue that if you are making more than $250,000, then you are in the top 3, 4 percent of this country,” he said. “You are doing well.”
McCain took a far more discursive approach to answering the question but ultimately settled on a dramatically higher figure: “I think if you’re just talking about income, how about $5 million?”
The Arizona Republican quickly added that he was “sure that comment will be distorted,” and his campaign said Sunday that he was joking.
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“If you do surveys, 95% of people think they are middle class,” said Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan group that has analyzed the candidates’ tax proposals. “This is including people who are objectively quite poor and people who are objectively quite rich.”
I am rarely ever completely speechless
- Guy with the wristbands: is she over 12?
- *the longest silence ever*
- Me: I'm actually over 21...
Me, pretending to play golf…or just my expression when my mom starts to take photos of me.
TSA's Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Bag Procedures
This means I still have to take my laptop out of my backpack everytime I fly.
Abercrombie's Empire
The topic of A&F has been on my mind lately, after visiting the London flagship store which was a tourist experience that was totally worth it - a live model greeting you at the entrance, and every single employee was model-esque (I guess the British have less of a problem Americans do when it comes to hiring discrimination practices). All they really do is fold clothes, and work a cash register, oh and occasionally dance to the music when they have nothing to do.
But prep-cool is back in style, what with the launch of Ralph Lauren’s Rugby…it’s all along the same theme of taking a rather obscure (sometimes elite) sport for Americans. Instead of focusing on the style, I took a look at how A&F is structured. The company, which originally began as a sporting goods store (Ernest Hemingway bought the gun he used to kill himself from Abercrombie) in 1892, and was purchased by The Limited later on, has five brands: A&F, abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No. 925, and Gilly Hicks, to effectly sell to different portions of the market. Our local mall has A&F, abercrombie kids, and RUEHL No. 925…and they were…pretty empty when malls across the state were packed today due to tax free weekend.
I’m always interested in how clothing/fashion companies price and change with the economy. How do they stay current if their “lifestyle brand” goes out of style (A&F very much has a very defined look)- how far can they deviate from their style in order to sell to consumers?
“We do not compete on price or promotion regardless of macroeconomic conditions, although it may be both easy and tempting to drive short-term sales with pricing and promotional efforts,” Jefferies said.
In fact, he said the company might even raise prices, “where quality and iconic status dictate.”
Meanwhile, Abercrombie is focusing on expanding internationally to offset the sluggish U.S. economy. It plans to open three Hollister stores in Britain in 2008 and will also open stores in Milan, Copenhagen and Tokyo in 2009. (AP)