O/T: IRS Rebate Check

[Lew Hodgett]

Enjoy

Lew

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How to use Your IRS Rebate check...

As you may have heard, each of us will be getting a tax rebate check to stimulate the economy.

If we spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China.

If we spend it on gasoline it will go to the Arabs. If we purchase a computer it will go to India.

If we purchase fruits and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.

If we purchase a good car it will go to Japan.

If we purchase useless stuff it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy.

We need to keep that money here in America.

The only way to kee p that money here at home is to spend it at

YARD SALES,

since those are the only businesses still in the US!

[Dave in Houston]

I can remember when WallyMart's advertsing touted their Made-In-America-ness (I know; that's not a REAL word).

Dave in Houston

[Dave Balderstone]

It's very, very frequent here that replies to a post labeled OT: or O/T has that label stripped from it, starting another thread and defeating the filters of people who want to NOT read off topic posts.

Dave, why did that happen in your reply? Was it something you did, or is it something OE does?

[evodawg]

That's freakin depressing. But freakin true. But I'm getting more and more customers with money that want me to build them furniture. Guess they're tired of throwing furniture out on the curb and sending money to china.

[Tim Southerwood]

evodawg coughed up some electrons that declared:

Join the club... I don't think the UK makes anything much either (I work at a firm that *does* do electronics, but we're small).

I agree on the furniture - I've just inherited a load of furniture since my father passed away. Most of it needs serious refinishing, but I've kept it precisely because it is made of decent actual wood. Still better than that chipboard and MDF crap than most of the sheds sell.

I was in Australia last month and they seem to be doing rather better - they make a big thing of "Made in Oz". Apparently all your (USA) builders are disappearing over there due a glut of housebuilding and a shortage of workers.

BTW - at least you get an IRS rebate. Gordon the Fat Contoller and his trusty manservant Captain Darling are making damn sure they're keeping all my money. Bastards!

Cheers

Tim

[Phil Again]

Not to put too fine a point on it, but don't we in the USA get most of our crude oil from Canada, Mexico, South America, and west coast of Africa? I mean the cost of shipping oil all the way from Saudi Arabia makes it even more expensive. We get some from there, but I thought it was only when Africa oil distribution has been interrupted.

(the following is soap box comment, you may ignore it if you choose) And this way (Canada, Mexico, Africa) the big oil companies owned by Friends-of-Bush-and-Cheney can make all those huge profits but pay so little taxes. (moved off-shore to hide profits and avoid taxes.)

[sweet sawdust]

I wonder if you are seeing a trend? I went to a low level Craft Show last weekend, Weather was HORRIBLE!!!! Cold, Rainy, Windy! Gate was supposed to be about 15000 but turned out to be about 500. All the vendors had to do was walk around and grip about sales. The crafts could be put into the following categories: High end crafts, midrange crafts, resale items, you can eat it, jewelry. I noticed that High end crafters made a profit, midrange went from making expenses to loss, jewelry was a loss, you can eat it did very well, resale didn't make enough to pay for gas to get home (show cost $150 and the best sales total from resale I heard of was $50). I have noticed this as other shows too. At a High Level show a few weeks ago the useable crafts such as furniture, pottery etc did well, decorations ( including jewelry) did from good to bad and food did from well to why am I here depending on whether it was for commercial sales or home use (Nearly everyone made expenses for the show about $700). The flea market nearby was dead with vendors willing to wheel and deal to make expenses (A couple of them I talked to in the smoking area didn't make booth fee ($100) and said it had been like that at other shows too). The customers seem to have cash, Credit card sales are down, and are willing to spend it but are getting more selective on what they buy and what the quality is. If it is a trend I would like to see it grow.

[Frank]

LOL, then take the proceeds from the yard sale and splurge at Wal-Mart. I would not describe yard sales as businesses, otherwise the profits go back to Uncle Sam via Schedules C and D which will do no damn good for this economy.

Regarding federal tax, years ago, we had a 10% investment credit and income average over a five period - that was a better and equitable stimulus.

This stimulus means the treasury prints more paper money which results in more federal debt - now at more than 9 trillion dollars. The Chinese just buy it up, over one trillion dollars so far, $330 billion is US treasury notes according to Wikipedia. This is a strange relationship - your enemy, ideology wise, is also your friend.

[Frank]

Why can we just drill offshore, plenty of oil in the ocean bottom? Why can we built more nuclear plants? Why we haven't built refineries for years? This political correctness is killing us.

I mean the cost of shipping oil all the way from Saudi Arabia

[Doug Winterburn]

Over $4 trillion of the $9 trillion is intra governmental debt - the result of taking the excess contributions of the 150 or so trust funds and replacing them with non negotiable government notes. That leaves the $5 trillion that is negotiable, some owned by foreign interests, some owned by US funds and some owned by individuals in the form of savings bonds and other government bonds.

BTW, if the debt were all paid off, it would require cashing in all those IOUs and investing the $4 trillion portion in other things - in short, privatizing the trust funds.

But all this is small potatos - the government has currently promised over $50 trillion in unfunded social programs with politicians dreaming up new ways to add to the tab to buy your votes.

[B A R R Y]

ummm... No.

We get a lot of mid-east oil.

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[B A R R Y]

I hear ya'!

Copy exactly!

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[Dave Balderstone]

Canada is the largest single energy supplier to the US, but we ship you more natural gas than oil.

However, in 2006 we exported more crude than natural gas (in dollar value, not energy units). In '05 we exported $16 billion of crude and $32 billion of NG. In '07 it was $25B crude, $24B NG.

[B A R R Y]

Canada provides lots of oil to the US.

However, the Mid-East _region_ supplies more oil to the US than Canada:

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[Doug Winterburn]

[Dave Balderstone]

I'm sure the REST OF THE ENTIRE WORLD supplies more oil to the US than Canada.

Have a nice life.

[Dave Balderstone]

Thanks for that link, Doug. Interesting figures.

Even more interesting as your Democratic Part candidates fall over themselves to talk about renegotiating NAFTS, innit?

They may want to read the agreement and see what it says about energy...

[Dave Balderstone]

NAFTA says nothing about tying the pump price of gasoline to the price south of the border.

It DOES say that Canada can't apply restrictions on our exports to the US that are more onerous than we apply on our domestic supplies.

THAT's the hammer we would have in any renegotiation of NAFTA.

Remove that clause, and we would have right to turn off the pipelines to protect domestic supply. Under the current agreement, that's not possible.

[willshak]

on 4/25/2008 8:04 PM Lew Hodgett said the following:

I spent mine a year or two ago. That and most of the money I'll make in the next few years.

[evodawg]

Hey don't blame them, blame the US Gov. for doing nothing and allowing our dollar to become worth almost nothing. The only one benefiting are the products that still are made in this country. Which are few and far between.