OT Stimulus Package?

[walter]

It's a slow day in the small town of Pumphandle and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit. A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night. As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher. (Stay with this.....and pay attention) The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op. The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit. The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel Owner. (Almost done...keep reading) The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything. At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves. No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town now thinks that they are out of debt and there is a false atmosphere of optimism and glee . And that, my friends, is how a "stimulus package" works!

[Stormin Mormon]

It's a slow day in the small town of Pumphandle and the streets are deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt, and everybody is living on credit.

A politician visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and says he's going to stimulate the economy. The politician goes to the union shop, and spends about $200 at the union shop, and buys a bunch of useless crap.

He then imposes a new tax on the motel. He takes a $100 bill from the cash register, and says he he has to pay down the deficit.

The politician then spends the $100 paying the money to campaign contributors.

(Almost done...keep reading)

No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole town now thinks that they are out of debt and there is a false atmosphere of optimism and glee .

The hotel is out $100, which it would have used to pay its bills at the end of the week. But now cannot. The wealthy store mercantile owner was taxed $100. He'll be late, paying his bills, and he had to fire three workers.

The fired workers can no longer afford to eat at the diner, and the diner has to fire four workers. The four workers have no job, so they stop buying gasoline, and the gas station lays off three workers. The laid off gas station workers cancell their order for shoes, and stop going bowling every night. The bowling alley lays off five workers. The bowling alley can't afford to have the roof redone, so the contractor lays off four workers. They stop buying roofing supplies, and the local roofing supply lays off six people, and two secretaries.

The town board is left with another $400 they need to make up in taxes, because of the spending the politician did. They raise property taxes, and business leaves town.

And that, my friends, is how a "stimulus package" works!

[Betelgeuse]

And people in-the-know purchased credit default swaps and made bazillions thanks to a taxpayer bailout.

[Stormin Mormon]

Would be nice if the OP would factor in the increased federal debt, and the increased taxes to pay for that stimulus package. Or the spending on unions and cronies.

I don't think the OP and the $100 bill on the counter really accurately reflected the US economy which is being manipulated by the Obama administration.

[Jules Richardson]

oddly enough, I read the exact same thing quite some times ago, only with the Greeks. The people of Pumphandle would do well to learn from their mistakes rather than copying them and ending up in the exact same mess ;)

[Kurt Ullman]

Name one that actually DID manipulate economy. Not, tried, or said they did, but actually had an impact.

[Stormin Mormon]

You missed it? I thought it was rather clear.

Let me guess? You're a person who thinks GWB killed the economy with 4% unemployment, and low taxes. You probably believe and BHO has 15% unemployment and 14 trillion national debt, but BHO should have spent more? How am I doing?

Christopher A. Young Learn more about Jesus

.

In your scenario, the tourist represented the role of government and got the money back. Was that the point you wanted to make?

-C-

[Bob_Villa]

WTF! It was Ronnie, nitwit!

[Kurt Ullman]

Precision is important, as old Journalist, you should know that(g).

[Davej]

[Doug Miller]

I did find one thing to agree with there: the title of the column, "Nobody understands debt" -- least of all, its author.

[krw]

>

Krugman? "...but Doug, *HE* has a Nobel Prize!" LOL!

[Doug Miller]

>>

So does Yasser Arafat.

[krw]

>>>

So does Obama.

[Dan Espen]

>>>

False analogy. But you obviously knew that.

Would it help to point out that Paul Krugman won his Nobel for Economics?

Krugman is right and Cheney agreed with him.

[Kurt Ullman]

a

My guess is that this is probably the first time the Poster has ever brought Cheney up in a positive light.

[Dan Espen]

>>>>>>>

Well, as long as you insist on name calling, I'll leave you to it.

[krw]

>>>>>>>>

Because you cannot defend your position, your only choice is to run. Got it.

[Doug Miller]

I noticed you snipped the link I posted showing Krugman contradicting himself.

[Kurt Ullman]

Which had nothing to do with the point I was making so why on earth would I have left it? And why would YOU decide that an irrelevant link was so important as to bring it up. Now, if you had sent along a link to Google Groups listing of all the nice things you had said about Cheney and I had cut that you, MIGHT have an argument. Otherwise, it seems like obfuscation.