We the paupers

You've seen them. They occupy the corner at the light at the end of highway off-ramps. They wander downtown streets and take up position outside stadiums, arenas, concert halls ... anywhere there is a large crowd of people.

Ever wonder to yourself what it would be like to beg for loose change?

To our government, it's almost as if that's what we've become ... a nation of beggars, crowded along a sidewalk waiting for passing royalty on the off-chance they'll toss a tuppence our way.

The economy has slowed, sputtered, hiccuped ... call it what you like, a slowdown, a recession, worse than The Great Depression. Inflation is building steam. Perhaps not overall. But in terms of what means most to many of us ... groceries and gas ... the pinch is happening.

And so to help us through this "rough patch" our government hatched this Economic Stimulus rot. Oh sure, lots of us will be more than happy to cash a check for $300, $600, $1,000. And the idea is for us to go out and spend our money, thereby boosting the economy.

But at the end of the day, what do we have? More stuff, probably. And the numbers rise in a lot of places, giving economists happy news. For what? A month? Two months? For however long it takes the government to distribute checks and the subsequent amount of time it takes the recipients to run out and buy something? And don't even get me started on the fact that the government still has no idea how it's going to pay for this nonsense.

I remember reading poll stories when this plan was being bandied about in both chambers of Congress, stories that suggested the majority of people weren't going to spend their money. They were either going to save it or pay off debt.

And I laughed to myself. Save it? For what? Retirement? Invest it, perhaps? $600 or $1,000? What? Somebody's going to buy 15 shares of Exxon? (Actually not a bad idea all things considered, but more on that later.) Pay off debt? Yeah, $600 is going to make a huge dent in that 10 or 20 grand of debt Joe Citizen is laboring under.

So again I ask. While it might be nice to get a check, a bonus of sorts if you will, how is that going to have any effect whatsoever six months from now? Easy answer: It's not. It's not going to spell relief on the ridiculous electric bills that are a month away here in Texas. It's not going to help anyone more easily afford that weekly trip to the grocery store. It sure as hell ain't gonna help when you stop to fill the tank this summer.

No, it's a quick fix, a bucket under a leaky pipe. Leak's not gonna go away, folks.

We've made a number of quick fixes lately. And we've managed to devalue the dollar on the world market to levels not seen in 30 or more years. That, in turn, is driving up our cost when we buy overseas. Like oil. And that, in turn, drives up the cost of everything else, because oil, gasoline, is what helps makes commerce go. At least in parts of the country where goods aren't toted to market on the backs of mules.

It'd be bad enough if we just had our monthly gas bill doubling or more over the last 18 months. And, you got it! Our government has a quick fix for that one, too!

John McCain says we should suspend the federal gas tax for the summer. A whopping 18 cents per gallon. Yes, I know, it's something. Here's what it is to me: I fill up twice a week. If I knock 18 cents off each gallon I buy, at the end of the month, I'll have saved $18.72.

Not quite sure what exactly that would do for me on the ol' monthly budget to be honest.

And I say "would" because it's a smokescreen. Even McCain's plan, if implemented, would drive up consumption, which in turn would only serve to drive up the price. Like it or not, we live in a supply/demand world.

Hillary, aka The Shrill, has an even more debilitating scheme. Of course, to a Lib, we can't cut ANY tax. So in exchange for suspending the federal gas tax, she'd institute a windfall profit tax on Big Oil.

We've covered this ground before, people. You own a business, you stay in business by making money. You have a profit margin, and you stick to it. The cost of producing your product goes up, you charge more for your product.

Or ...

Say you and two friends each have an apple. Friend A helps you out by giving you his/her apple. But, Friend A recoups the lost apple by taking Friend B's apple. Well, Friend B wants an apple. So he/she, in turn, takes one of yours.

Where are you? You and your two friends each have an apple. But, I guess, you somehow feel better about Friend A, don't you? That's the Lib way. It's nothing more than smoke and mirrors. At the end of the day, you have no more than what you started with. Well, except good feelings.

Serve that up for dinner sometime.

I say we've had enough of the breadcrumb approach our elected "leaders" have been taking. We're not freaking beggars or serfs or some lower, ignorant form of life.

You want to stimulate the economy? How about letting us keep more of OUR OWN damn money to begin with. Keep that "stimulus" check and CUT taxes. I don't want a little more money ONE month. I want more of MY OWN money EVERY month.

Do that for businesses, as well. The confiscatory taxes on business in this country are hideous. And all they do is fuel inflation. (See four or five paragraphs up if you're lost.)

I don't give a rat's ass how much money somebody else makes. This is AMERICA, dammit. You don't have to apologize for making money. The more money more people make here, the better it is for everyone. That's the way it works. That's the way it's SUPPOSED to work.

And, for God's sake, stop fiddling with this gas tax nonsense, put a muzzle on the freakin' tree-hugging environmentalists once and for all, and tap into those oil-rich shelves in Alaska, the Dakotas, any number of places off shore and restore at least a measure of sanity to those bi-weekly stops at the gas station.

That is all.

(Imported from May 30, 2008)