The Fury of the Greeks
Posted on 20. Apr, 2010 by admin in Economy, Uncategorized
The whole world’s been shaken by the financial crisis, but not like the Greeks. Years of big spending and lending has left the country vulnerable. Its national debt is almost half a billion dollars – which is actually larger than the whole Greek economy. And the crisis has reverberated around the world, affecting stock and bond markets and currency exchanges. With the help of the EU and the IMF, the Greek government is trying to pull things together. But has life changed for the Greeks themselves? We checked in with our man in Athens – filmmaker Orfeas Peretzis, on a break from a music video shoot on the island of Mykonos – to talk about the crisis.
http://www.vimeo.com/11083618
Dennis Hof Runs a Brothel–Should He Run the Economy?
Posted on 19. Mar, 2010 by admin in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
We’re debuting our new economic program, “Little Green Shoots,” today. When we read the statement by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that he was starting to see “green shoots” in the economy, and we wondered, where? Instead of asking another politician or an economist, we decided to go to the people who would really know: the small business owner.
After all, small business owners are lauded by Congress as the “backbone of America,” and they’re also the ones bearing the brunt of the recession.
First up is Dennis Hof, owner of the Bunny Ranch brothel in Carson City, Nevada.
How to Start a Restaurant
Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by admin in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
The economic crisis has caused a lot of businesses to close their doors, but it hasn’t been all bad.
Luis Morales saw an an opportunity in the crisis. With two fellow investors, he decided to open the first modern pan-Asian restaurant in San Jose, Costa Rica. Called Gan-Bei – which means “Cheers” in Chinese – the restaurant is the one place that serves fortune cookies in all of Costa Rica. So if you’re in San Jose and want to hear your fortune, go to Gan-Bei!
We recently spoke with Morales about the trials and tribulations of starting a business.
http://www.vimeo.com/9759667
Suck it, Congress!
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by admin in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
The Iwig family knew they’d run out of time to save their dairy – the bank was ready to foreclose, emergency funds promised by the federal government were slow in coming, and their congresswoman wasn’t returning their calls. So they played the last card they had: their community.
Check out the latest “Political Graffiti” episode, featuring the conclusion of the battle to save the Iwig family farm.
Little Green Shoots: Lottery Blues
Posted on 25. Jan, 2010 by admin in Economy, Uncategorized
Who couldn’t use $100 million right now? With the economy in a recession, gambling could be a tempting solution to society’s woes. But according to New York lottery spokesperson Jennifer Givner, lottery ticket sales were actually down at the end of 2009. In this latest episode of Little Green Shoots (click here for previous episode on smoking), we headed to Park Slope, Brooklyn, in order to see whether people were still taking chances on the lottery.
Little Green Shoots: A Coffee Cup Half Full?
Posted on 09. Nov, 2009 by admin in Economy, Middle Class Crunch
“The whole market is doing great,” said Nathan Slusser, a salesman at the upscale kitchen store Sur La Table in New York’s Soho neighborhood. He pointed to a shelf shining with coffee machines in all sizes and colors and added, “In fact, vendors are regularly releasing new models because of the demand.” Slusser’s hand came to rest on a particularly fancy machine with stainless steel casing and a price tag of $229.95. This was the Breville Café Roma Espresso, which makes both espresso and regular coffee. “These are very popular,” Slusser said. “It’s an investment.”
Bringin' it all back home
The economic crisis has gone a long way in re-domesticating coffee brewing. While Starbucks recognizes this and has responded – a spokesperson told us, carefully, “[G]iven the current economic status in the U.S., we’ve implemented a variety of a value based offers to address customers’ desire for everyday value” – home brewing seems to be percolating.
“I make it at home and bring it to work,” said Millee Moctezuma, on a cigarette break outside an office building on Broadway. “I used to go to Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, but not anymore.”
A New York City government worker, Chris regularly bought his morning coffee at places like Starbucks until a year or so ago, when he started making his coffee at home. “It’s a matter of habit now,” he said, “and I’m saving money too.”
Other coffee vendors are feeling the effects, too. Moshe Nisanov, who runs a little coffee stand called Kosher Luncheonette on Fulton Street in downtown Manhattan, readily admits, “Business has slowed down… because people just don’t spend money.” To keep his regular customers coming, Nisanov often lowers the price of a regular-sized cup of coffee from $1.25 to one dollar.
And over at ‘Wichcraft, an outdoor café in Midtown’s Bryant Park, server John Newman says, “People are generally buying smaller sizes.”
- Oli Foster