Helping the Economy

This was the last question on Nathan's Daily Language Review worksheet yesterday. He got it wrong, but maybe he got it right.


If the government gave the money to the people to spend, instead of obscure and questionably existing entities, we could make sure the economy really does get a boost. Imagine if the only motivation we needed to buy a new car was a flat tire!

My refrigerator has tape holding the bottom shelf of the door in place. I should go get a new one! (It would save me $$ on my power bill, so it's a doubly good idea.) My computer got a virus...clean, new computer, please. There's a rip in my sofa's fabric. It definitely needs to go!

I understand that this may put a big strain on landfills and the general health of the planet, but I choose not to acknowledge certain possible problem areas (still in line with gov't spending). And think of the jobs this could create...people to go around and flatten your tires (while inserting a stimulus check under your windshield wiper) so that you'd have a valid reason for the new purchase. Then the doctors would even benefit because we'd all get sick from the "new car smell" fumes we'd constantly be inhaling.

It really is a genius plan, and I give all the credit to my soon-to-be 8-year-old.

Maybe this post is really to help me feel better about the new washing machine we're 80% ready to purchase on Saturday. In my defense, our washer is 18 years old this year and STINKY. We repaired it once about 9 years ago. Part of me thinks that "stinky" is the same as a flat tire. But we're helping the economy, minus the stimulus check.

I wonder if Nathan's teacher thought his answer was a reflection of our lifestyle? If she's seen the holes in his knees (I keep telling him NOT to wear those to school), or noticed that he wears the same jeans the entire week (also something he doesn't hear me mention), then she probably thinks he just picked the wrong answer.

Stimulus Flimulus

I am not a Democrat. I am a Republican because it's farther from Democrat and closer to how I really feel, but there's no real category for my specific collection of (political) opinions. Truth be told, I hate political discussions. (That should really be "debates" because I've never witnessed a true discussion when conversation treads in political waters.) When family members start in on political views, I recoil and watch the clock. I've found that I don't often agree with either side of the family opinions (at least the ones being offered aloud).

So now that you know how I feel in that arena, let me next say that I am about to get political. And somewhere along life's path, some people that read my blog have gotten the impression that this is an open forum discussion. Let me set the record straight...it's not. You can agree or disagree (can you be adult and respectful?), but the floor is not open for Arlyn-bashing (as some of you seem to enjoy doing). I likely won't delete your comment, because I want everyone to see that you can't follow a simple guideline. But know that your attacks are being noted. It's my blog! I'm not in the military and we don't live in China; I can say it without running it by the censors. If you don't like it, PUT IT IN YOUR OWN BLOG. You can even give us the link in a comment if you really want to get something off your chest, but stay out of my space! This doesn't just apply to this particular post. It applies to the whole blog.

You know who you are (I hope) and so do the other smattering of readers.

And now...on to what I sat down to say in the first place.

I admit that I may misunderstand some of the government programs and their actual objectives. It's not hard to do since those folks seem to have a hard time talking straight most of the time. And I really have a hard time following anything too deep for too long because I have a hard time seeing how it's helping me accomplish the most important things in life: i.e., teach my children to share, be kind, not repeat the F-word that they learned in First Grade, show them how hard work gets you the best rewards (definitely not going to the government for that lesson), be honest (again...gov't issues), pay the bills so we have a place to raise the family and food to do it with, etc, etc.

So when the Presidential Candidates started spewing forth all sorts of promises about how to lift the nation up by it's financial boot straps, I tried to listen for understanding and what they really planned to do. Then Obama gets his big day and starts signing his name to every piece of paper he could, as soon as he could. One of them was a Stimulus bill. I'm pretty good with vocabulary. I understand the meaning of "stimulate." Is there a version I haven't heard of?

Suddenly, the country is flooded with the truckloads of money that will boost the economy. Who/what is the economy? (Again, another subject I have a hard time investing too much interest in.) Isn't it the consumer and his fat wallet walking through the malls, car dealerships and large retail chains? Isn't it the restaurants, airlines and online retailers that make it so convenient to part with our hard earned pennies? Apparently, it's the (mostly) government controlled projects scattered throughout our communities. It's the small airports that only a tiny percentage of us will ever use. It's pot holes in the roads, or not. (I saw a resurfacing project on I-15 last night going over a stretch of road they'd just finished repaving earlier this year. I saw the before and after and was confused.) It's improvement on bridges that don't need improving over bridges that are death-traps because it takes too long to redesign and prepare to fix the ones that really need it, therefore causing the city/county to loose the funding. I'm referring to this article I just saw this morning. It's money for the pet projects of those in Washington D.C. who see an easy way to secure a vote come election day.

What is really being stimulated? Even these jobs that create jobs for the average man don't really help. Chad is still going from his paying job to his original job most every day. His company that he spent 4 years working very hard to nurture and establish (in the construction field) still isn't making money. No one offered him part of the stimulus. A cash back program for first time home buyers? How many people looking to buy a home are really in that category? I wonder if most people looking to buy homes have owned one before and had to sell it (probably at a great loss...if they didn't lose it outright) in order to move because they had to find a new job after the economy knocked their first one out from under their feet.

Instead of making a tiny airport look fancy and nostalgic, just make it safe and use the rest of the stimulus funds to subsidize the price of an airline ticket for the patrons. Find ways to make the necessities of life cheaper so we CAN spend some money on something extra. Help the schools instead of taking from them. Our up and coming leaders are going to be fat, stupid, boring people because everything stimulating was taken out of the education program and the parents were too tired from trying to earn pennies on the dollar to notice or make up the difference.

Obviously, I could go on and on. But since I'm not even sure I'm making enough sense to make my point, I'll quit. Bottom line: the President/Gov't talks big but seems to be a little off course when it comes to reaching the goal. Time to admit something is broken and FIX IT.

Now this opinionated pregnant lady needs to go find out who is washing their muddy feet off in the bathtub and hop into the shower herself.