Free Papers?
I don't understand the concept of AM New York and Metro. For those of you who do not ride the NY subway system, there are various people that stand around the subway entrances and urge you to accept these papers. They usually will add outrageous claims, such as "this paper will enhance your morning commute dramatically" or "have a wonderful day". These people often look poor.
Anyway here is what puzzles me about this seemingly free paper daily giveaway. First, are these people being paid to stand outside in the freezing cold, or inside in the urine-soaked subway, and hold bundles of papers? I have to assume that they are being paid, or else it makes zero sense for them to be doing this. There is a slim chance that they are just very nice giving people, but if this is the case, I feel like they would devote themselves to a different cause. It seems strange that a bunch of giving people would get together and decide that their collective mission in life is to give other people newspapers on the subway. Possibly, they would rather devote themselves to feeding the hungry or taking care of the ill. Possibly, they themselves are the ill.
So if they are being paid, who is paying them? We are, I think. This is probably what happens with some of the taxes we pay. The government takes some of it, and then pays these people to give out papers to us. In a sense, we are just paying for the AM New York and Metro through the conduit of our NYC govt. Does this make sense? Maybe...it depends on if these people would have other jobs or not. I don't know the answer to that brain-teaser, so I don't know if this whole thing makes any sense.
And finally, why, please tell me, are there 2 of these papers. I've never actually taken either of the 2, but I'm wondering what the difference is. Are these papers in competition somehow? Is one more of a tabloid and the other more serious? My bet is that the government or whoever is running this racket is playing a game with these people. They tell them "Hey, whoever sells more (the AM team or the Metro team) will get some extra money at the end of the day!" This encourages the sales teams to really push the papers on us commuters, even if we just want to listen to our I-Pods. Ironically, this extra bit of cash incentivizer will also allow these people to purchase other papers of their choice.
Anyway here is what puzzles me about this seemingly free paper daily giveaway. First, are these people being paid to stand outside in the freezing cold, or inside in the urine-soaked subway, and hold bundles of papers? I have to assume that they are being paid, or else it makes zero sense for them to be doing this. There is a slim chance that they are just very nice giving people, but if this is the case, I feel like they would devote themselves to a different cause. It seems strange that a bunch of giving people would get together and decide that their collective mission in life is to give other people newspapers on the subway. Possibly, they would rather devote themselves to feeding the hungry or taking care of the ill. Possibly, they themselves are the ill.
So if they are being paid, who is paying them? We are, I think. This is probably what happens with some of the taxes we pay. The government takes some of it, and then pays these people to give out papers to us. In a sense, we are just paying for the AM New York and Metro through the conduit of our NYC govt. Does this make sense? Maybe...it depends on if these people would have other jobs or not. I don't know the answer to that brain-teaser, so I don't know if this whole thing makes any sense.
And finally, why, please tell me, are there 2 of these papers. I've never actually taken either of the 2, but I'm wondering what the difference is. Are these papers in competition somehow? Is one more of a tabloid and the other more serious? My bet is that the government or whoever is running this racket is playing a game with these people. They tell them "Hey, whoever sells more (the AM team or the Metro team) will get some extra money at the end of the day!" This encourages the sales teams to really push the papers on us commuters, even if we just want to listen to our I-Pods. Ironically, this extra bit of cash incentivizer will also allow these people to purchase other papers of their choice.
posted by The Fades @ 6:35 AM
1 Comments:
At 4:57 PM,
Anonymous said…
Ari,
these people are being paid by their respective newspapers. Have you ever heard of advertising sales and revenue? How do you think the Post makes money. I can tell you that the $.25 we pay doesnt cover the costs. Those who puts ads in the paper pay money for this service and that my friend, is how most daily newspaper publications make their money.
You go back to being a lawyer I will handle the business side of this relationship
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