Cost of Living in U.S. Increases Less Than Forecasted

An article recently published in Bloomberg says that the cost of living in the US did not increase as much as it was expected too. Inflation did not rise much, but the paychecks have also barley risen. The article mentions that McDonald's is trying to keep their prices under control to lure in financially unstable consumers.

It is a good thing that the cost of living has not increased a dramatic amount. I believe that people's incomes should also increase to keep up with inflation and living expenses. It was very interesting that McDonald's is trying hard to bring in more low income customers. I thought that McDonald's target market would be lower middle class to middle class consumers. I supposed McDonald's will try to lower the quality of their food to make it cheaper for the consumers to buy.

All Eyes on the Sharing Economy

http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21572914-collaborative-consumption-technology-makes-it-easier-people-rent-items

Many of the popular peer to peer sharing sites include rooms, boat and car rentals. However they are not the only things you can borrow. Musical instruments, car parking spaces, etc are all being shared. There are also peer to peer taxi services in place. However regulations are slowly creeping into the new sharing economy. Sites like Lyft and Sidecar were sued by California Public Utilities Commission because it did not provide evidence of property damage insurance. It was ruled that the companies can continue to operate while new rules are being put into place.

I don't think that any of this would be possible today without the invention of social networking sites. Many of the peer to peer sites let people link their social networking sites to the sharing websites. It helps put people's minds at ease and promotes sharing. I believe that people would rather get a service from a person they can connect to rather than a faceless company.

Regulations in the Sharing Economy

http://business.time.com/2013/10/07/airbnbs-woes-show-how-far-the-sharing-economy-has-come/

After New York city tried to get a peer to peer lodging service to pay hotel taxes, the companies are responding positively. Airbnb, one of the biggest peer to peer sites, initially said that the laws were outdated and refused to make clients pay the hotel taxes. Now Airbnb has reversed their stance and is now cooperating with the hotel tax. People who rent rooms in New York on Airbnb will now have to add 14% on to their bill at the end of their stay.

I think that it is good for Airbnb to cooperate with New York city. If not they might have lawsuits on their hands and that would look bad for them. Airbnb will still do a fair amount of traffic and I do not think it will effect their number of clients. I think that peer to peer sites like this one should be utilized more for a different "hotel" experience.