Observe Business

People hate Octomom for having octuplets on top of her existing six children. I was initially speculating that her kids would be taken away from her within six months. I thought about it some more and I realized I was wrong. Here’s why.

Octomom is sitting on a goldmine. At the very least, she can sell the worldwide rights for an interview with her and the kids for $2 million dollars. That is a low figure for a story that has worldwide interest. The Monica Lewinsky interview sold for $7 million, that was over a decade ago. 

Here is how I would do a deal if I was Octomom’s agent:

I would sell the following package of rights for $25 million dollars:

One exclusive two hour interview to be granted after the octuplets arrive at home.

One birthday special when they all turn one.

Another birthday special when they turn two, three and four.

A first grade birthday special when they all turn five.

Another special of the Octuplets visiting Disneyland

Another birthday special when they turn 12 or 13

A final special at their high school graduations. They would be around 17 at that time.

Ten other interviews at the buyer’s choosing, each to be one hour. They can do special interest, such as ‘Octuplet #5 becomes a boy scout’.

I would demand $4 million upfront, $1.5 million to be paid out in years 2-5, and the remaining to be spread out over 12 years. 

This woman is sitting on a gold mine.

And for the sake of the American taxpayer, she should go for the money, otherwise the taxpayers will end up footing the bill for her progeny.

We’ve got to make clear, here, that a foreclosure hurts every American,” he told CNN.

No, it doesn’t.

Foreclosures are a natural way of the system healing itself. If you drink too much, a hangover is the body’s way of trying to return to normal.

The best thing for foreclosures is not to try to stop them, but to instead speed them up, and humanely help those being foreclosed upon into housing that better fits their needs, to prevent them from being homeless. That means taking the dummies who are in a McMansion and moving them into an apartment, not letting them stay in their McMansion for another three years.

What a ditz. Geithner was underwhelming, this guy doesn’t seem much better.

As a colleague of mine commented, “Undersea features are very important when looking for a mate.  I want to make sure she can hold her breath for 30 days when she’s laying eggs. “ 

The car companies want us to pour money down a rathole. I fully expect that to happen, as the administration does not have the guts to say ‘NO’. The companies threaten liquidation if they don’t get the cash. I think that’s fine. Let them go. If we are worried about unemployment, let’s just give the money directly to the employees who will lose their jobs instead.

The NYTimes has a noxious statement from the recipient-in-chief at Chrysler, Robert Nardelli.

“Chrysler will be viable,” said the company’s chairman,Robert L. Nardelli. “An orderly restructuring outside of bankruptcy, together with the completion of our stand-alone viability plan and enhanced by a strategic alliance with Fiat, is the best option for Chrysler employees, our unions, dealers, suppliers, customers, and certainly the taxpayers.” The company is exploring a deal with Fiat to share products.

So he mentioned the employees, the unions, the dealers, the suppliers, all of whom have political clout.

What about the shareholders? Oh, right. Chrysler is a private company owned by some very rich guys on Wall Street. 

This brings to mind an old story:

“”Once in the dear dead days beyond recall, an out-of-town visitor was being shown the wonders of the New York financial district. When the party arrived at the Battery, one of his guides indicated some handsome ships riding at anchor. “Look, those are the bankers’ and brokers’ yachts. ‘Where are all the customers’ yachts?’ asked the naïve visitor.”

Some choice comments from an LA Times article:

Katie Ittner, a hairstylist at Awilda Salon on Robertson Boulevard, said she had a client who called in tears because she could no longer afford to spend $95 to $250 to get her hair colored and had no idea how to do the job herself.

On a recent weekday at Gallery Michael, where the Picasso prints run from about $2,000 to $700,000, fine art consultant Robert Avellano said he opened at 10 a.m. and did not see a customer until 2 p.m.

This is the story of a guy who had an accident in which he lopped off his thumb. When he found out what they would charge to reattach it, he bid it a fond farewell.

From the LATimes: “Koemer loves working with his hands..He knew he would miss his thumb….But there were too many other bills to pay”.