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Live in Portland, it's Marketplace Money
The Live Wire comedy troupe during the taping of Money's live "Financial Futures" show in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 9, 2009.
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Tess Vigeland gives the audience at the Dolores Winningstad Theatre in Portland, Ore., a warm welcome as she kicks off the show dedicated to teaching kids about money.
Her introduction is followed by the Live Wire! Radio Sketch Comedy Troupe, Faces for Radio Theater -- the folks who dared to put tap dancing, juggling and ballet on the radio.
1) Grocery shopping with kids:
I had a rule with my kids, once a week at the grocery store - they could buy 1 thing they wanted - so if they wanted sugary cereal - it would be their 1 thing (which it never was). Over time I only had to set 1 limit - no family sized anything. It was interesting to see what they chose each week - and also their thought process. One of my sons would have his choice picked out in 1 minute. My other son would be paged from the check out stand to bring his choice up NOW or forget it.
2) Allowance - They got 50 cents per year of age (though now it would probably be $1) and with that they had to save for anything they wanted. No begging for me to buy toys. Also, if I got a bonus at work, I gave them a bonus. They would have to total up their allowance for the year and then calculate the % from that. They still talk about that process. They are now 26 and 30.
I am continually disappointed by Marketplace Money. The current format focuses on entertainment and not the enhancement of financial and economic knowledge. Please bring back the relevant formats of the earlier Bob Potter and Chris Farrell broadcasts.
James Citti,
MPR member since 1975
Was this morning's (11/14/09) show a parody? Did Marketplace Money decide that Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!'s format was for them? Bad decision, the important subject matter notwithstanding.
I'd suggest, too, that Tess be more careful with her intro remarks. I don't know that any of us has yet lived through the present economic crisis unless you're implying that it's over, in which case you know more than many. And please qualify "we" when you suggest that the crisis might have come about because "...or maybe we're too greedy?" The "we" applies almost exclusively to those Americans with income and assets North of the upper 1%. Unlike the hypergreedy filth at the top, I don't covet any of my neighbor's possessions, and I'm not alone.
Last year at this time, I thought I detected appropriate outrage in some of Tess's questions of Chris Farrell and others. Where'd it go?
