Subject to Change

Boring topic, I know. But, watching our president deal with the debate over spending is providing much insight into his character. So far, Barack Obama has refused to put on his big boy pants and get serious about handling the country’s finances. Instead, he has resorted to fearmongering, finger pointing, and storming out of the room. Namecalling can’t be too far behind.

One talk show caller had a great idea, but I would take it further. He said we should allow the debt limit to increase $100 billion each month, provided the president identifies matching spending cuts. I like the plan, but the Republicans also need to consistently refer to the monthly increase as “Obama’s Allowance.” Even if the MSM trys to downplay the strategy, the imagery should stick. Obama is behaving like a child and he should be treated as one.

Maybe I’m having this idea too late. I’m not sure. I think there’s still stimulus money out there that hasn’t been assigned to any project, and I’ve thought of a way to use it that could actually stimulate the economy.

I’m not really on Madison’s must read list anymore, but if any of you guys are reading here’s a simple plan: Sales Tax Holiday.

State and local governments should use their stimulus money to forgo sales tax revenue until the “free” money from the federal government dries up. You can bet that this would encourage plenty of people to buy big ticket items they’ve been holding out on, like dishwashers (energy efficient ones, too), televisions, and CARS (some made by GM). No doubt restaurants and retailers would see an increase in business.

Or, we could try an alternate plan. This would also be an interesting social experiment, demonstrating the effect taxation has on the economy. The money is “free,” so we’ve got nothing (more) to lose. Why not lower taxes (property, sales, corporate, or whatever) in half of Milwaukee county while leaving them at current levels in the other half and we’ll see what happens?

Kelly went looking for a flower girl dress today, only to discover that David’s Bridal is sold out.

There’s a recall on most styles of girl’s dresses, which means that there’s been a run on the remaining dresses. They told her that the federal government issued the recall.

True or false?

Was it in the stimulus bill? If so, every knob who signed it just lost our vote!

Does anyone know where I can get a size 24M-2T flower girl dress?

I heard a commentator speculating that the reason the big three are failing is that they don’t make cars people want to buy.

Yeah, it’s just too bad that nobody wants to buy American cars.

The F-150 was just knocked down to #2 this year. I suspect that gas prices had a little bit to do with it, as does the fact that it’s only sold in the US. When I was working for a company that manufactured part of the F-150 I was stunned by how many orders we were expected to fill. I had no idea that so many cars were sold in one year, and this was only one model!

If you look at that list you’ll notice that quality, function, and price seem to be the criteria for people’s choice in cars. Is it any wonder that hybrids don’t sell well, when you have to sacrifice function and price for the technology?

Yet, this commentator was implying that the big three should make smaller (less function) cars or hybrids (increased cost) because that’s what people want to drive. What we would really like, of course, is to get the fuel economy without giving up anything. There are technologies on the horizon which seem to be a step in that direction. I’m hopeful that we’ll see real progress soon.