The Midwest chain Meijers supermarkets made a big mistake recently. A computer malfunction made everything half price for everyone that shopped there that day. Some customers realized that they had gotten too good of a deal and offered to pay the amount over that they received. Meijers however decided to let the customers keep all the money that they had mistakingly given away. 1.5 million dollars was the total loss on the day because of the malfunction. This is one of those good stories about capitalism. It shows that there are good companies such as Meijers and they are getting great publicity for the fact that they did an amazing thing for their customers. All the publicity they received is probably well worth the 1.5 million dollars lost. The businesses that have their main focus on the customer are the ones who do well.

GPS systems have changed driving forever. They talk back to you and tell you what to do. There is even a GPS now with the voice of Mr. T who quips at you to “go the right way, fool!” The fact that they tell us what to do helps us avoid accidents though. GPS units are helping us make safer decisions on the road. Some safety features are too controlling and inhibit our lives, while others are great for us. Most of these new features, such as anti-rollover stability systems, are intrusive but are definitely helping save lives. So be thankful for those little safety inventions that might be a little annoying at times-- they are making us all safer.

The idea of discount generic prescriptions is not a new idea. K-Mart pioneered the idea about two years before Wal-Mart even got in the game. Once these discounts started taking place, people started asking their doctors for the cheap prescriptions. Costco is one of the few businesses that did not generate huge revenue from massive markups on prescription drugs, even before this discount trend began. So why go for the name brand stuff when you can get the generics for so much less? If your doctor is telling you that your prescription costs a bunch, tell him you want the generic stuff.

Men in their thirties now are making less than their fathers did at the same age. This is the first time it has been this way in some time. Studies have shown that the main factor influencing job salary is the education level of the employee. These days there are very few jobs for uneducated, unskilled labor where one can actually make a decent wage. There are actually more women than men on college campuses now, another study shows. So parents: make sure you stay on your kids to do well and get an education, especially your boys.