corybraiterman wrote:
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You explained the problem with your current location, but what about other locations?

I don't think you understand tax writeoffs, either. Losing money to get a tax writeoff doesn't make sense.

The owner doesn't want to be in a non-mall location due to security reasons. Also moves cost a fair amount of money, and at this point, there's no sense in throwing good money after bad.

Quite frankly as to the other point, I'm just gonna hope you can read between the lines here. I know for a fact what overhead costs. I know what they sell and can make very educated guesses on how much of it they do sell. I know for a concrete fact that many stores here are not making overhead, much less any semblance of profit. I know why places like Radio Shack and New York & Co are still open - they're corporate, so one store losing rent isn't that big of a deal, just the store being open is an advertisement for the brand.

I'm sure you can make some really good guesses why a small store would stay open despite being a money drain. Figure it out.

corybraiterman wrote:
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CSXrailfan wrote:
I guess I'll have to start going to the store at Hudson Mall, Jersey City's last last full time new and used music store?

uh... 'fraid I don't get the pun you're going for here, but ok.

Stillinjc: If the economy were better, we'd be doing just fine. Not fantastic, but we'd be making money. TONS of people were downloading just four or five years ago, and we were doing 3-4x the business we are now. There's no traffic here in this mall - it isn't just us.

My prediction on which other stores don't last the year, assuming the owners aren't just using the businesses as tax write-offs and don't care if it's losing money? The furniture store across from us, the men's store next to us, the boutique clothing store on the other side of us and the perfume store near the center of the mall.

None of those stores are affected by downloading, it's just that business is not good - people aren't shopping at this mall anymore. Combination of the neighborhood, poor public transportation compared to Newport, lack of destination stores, etc.

ianmac47 wrote:
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teacher wrote:
hope he finds a way to sue you.

Fortunately, we don't live in a country where government can censor criticism of its officials.

heights wrote:
I am glad no one is calling this an accident because it was not, it was murder. This dope addict took out 2 useful lives. 2 family men, with careers, one had a 4 year old son the other a daughter in a university. 2 men, who made worth while contributions in our world. 2 men, one going to work the other coming home from work. Such a loss that while in the headlines will be on our minds. Unfortunately when this blows over we will go on with our lives and something similar like this will probably occur again.

MDM wrote:
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heights wrote:

I guess that will bring J.C. in full circle back to where it began. It's funny to hear of China, a communist country, having wage issues.

My wife's job requires her to deal a lot with China. Her employer has moved a lot of its manufacturing out of China (garments & textiles) due to the deteriorating situation there:

1. Inflation: The Chi-Coms have been printing money like mad to keep their economy going. China misallocated the billions in trade they received in order to keep the massive population of poor employed. Through their basically government run banking sector, they have loaned money to:

Build cities that nobody live in.
Build malls that have no stores
Subsidies inefficient state run factories that produce low quality products that nobody wants.
Build high speed rail lines that are not needed and kill their passenger.
Build sky-scrapers with steel that weighs a lot less than steel should (next major earthquake that hits a place like Shanghai will be 'interesting' to say the least).

As trade slows, the Chi-Coms just printed money to keep the whole circus running. As a result, workers wages no longer cover the basics like food. Factory owners are finding out they cannot deliver goods at prices quoted (garments are ordered over a year in advance) because they have to keep raising wages. Often, after holidays, workers simply don't come back to work, causing delays in delivery.

2. Currency Controls: The elite are exchanging Reminbi for dollars, euros, yen, and gold and leaving the country with it (same thing happened in Thailand in 1997 right before the collapse). The government has now instituted currency controls to stem the tide of foreign reserves leaving the country. As a result, the factories can't import the trims and other items they need to complete the orders (they have to pay for them with dollars, yen, euros, etc.). There is no way they can pay for the stuff. A work-around has been to setup shell companies in Hong Kong, where the currency controls don't apply.

3. The place is poisoned: China became a leader in delivering refined silicon (for solar PV panels) by skipping an expensive step... heating up the waste product (silicon tetrachloride) to 1,800 F to recycle it. Instead, it gets dumped around the plants, killing everything (it breaks down into hydrochloric acid). This has been repeated in other areas (mining). China is running out of potable water and arable land. Parts of their agriculture sector is now pollinating trees BY HAND! They managed to kill off every pollinating insect in the area. Without real tort law and property rights, a farmer sees his fields poisoned and he has no recourse.

China is going to have a very hard economic landing...

JCorNYC wrote:
Ports aren't the only ones going automated....
office jobs.... almost everything that the human hands usually do , will be automated.

But the Powers-at-Be want job creation... BAH!

there will be more people without jobs because machine will take over our lives. we can blame our government for that.

ianmac47 wrote:
The street cleaners tend to move way too fast to really do a thorough job. Also there would be better results if people were hired to pick up trash manually as is done in many, cleaner European cities.

But as was previously mentioned, street cleaning here is not about cleaning streets, but generating revenue. If the city were worried about cleanliness, there would be more litter cans and there would be litter crews to clean up at least the commercial streets.

But when the citizens keep whining over how high their taxes are, the only option for government is to cut services to balance budgets and find alternative revenue streams.

On_The_3rd wrote:
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WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
What are you supposed to do? Hold it in?

For a 15 minute train ride, yes.

Same unwritten rule applies for clipping your fingernails, brushing your hair, applying make-up, etc.

But hey, it's a city, we all mine as well live like animals shitting where we eat and having sex in public, right?

Vigilante wrote:
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WhoElseCouldIBe wrote:
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Vigilante wrote:
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JaeTea wrote:
I walk down that block every day during lunch break. I think its a lovely part of down with the historic brick faced buildings.

I've walked past that small park and see people "hanging" out there. The one day, one guy was smoking weed while the other was rolling a joint. This was like at 12 noon.

IMO, there's a lot worse they could be doing. I think people are blowing that block WAY out of proportion.

How do you think they pay for that weed? That's right, they steal stuff like GPS units from cars and just about any un-attended UPS package and anything else that isn't nailed down. People have to stop pretending that homeless drug addicts are charming and harmless. Do you people have any clue as to what is really going on in your neighborhoods?

So what's your point? People shouldn't be allowed to chill in a park?

They can chill all they want as they wait for you to leave your apartment so they can "go to work".

Vigilante wrote:
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JaeTea wrote:
I walk down that block every day during lunch break. I think its a lovely part of down with the historic brick faced buildings.

I've walked past that small park and see people "hanging" out there. The one day, one guy was smoking weed while the other was rolling a joint. This was like at 12 noon.

IMO, there's a lot worse they could be doing. I think people are blowing that block WAY out of proportion.

How do you think they pay for that weed? That's right, they steal stuff like GPS units from cars and just about any un-attended UPS package and anything else that isn't nailed down. People have to stop pretending that homeless drug addicts are charming and harmless. Do you people have any clue as to what is really going on in your neighborhoods?

VanVorster wrote:
Sorry about his untimely demise but that clip Cory was not the least bit funny/entertaining to me at all.