WB and 3894 agree with me in the same thread within a scant couple of posts of each other. I feel.....dirty.

Yeah - I was sort of agreeing with you too but thought I'd feel "dirty" if I posted that I did. Dang it. Now I need a shower don't I?

I think not taxing rent or food would help the poor immensely. A national sales tax would help discourage consumerism and encourage savings, but then there's the double-edged sword of reduced consumerism harming the economy.

Socialized medicine? Welfare? Right here, baby.

But also the effect of more $ in the consumer pocket.

And, rhetorically, I ask ... what good does that extra $5 do if that consumer works in retail and no longer has a job?


I'm reminded every Christmas season that our entire economy depends on rampant consumer spending, and that half the retail businesses in the U.S. would go out of business if the Grinch were to really steal the holiday when 80% of sales are made.


So I'm morally in favor of anything that stops people from spending money foolishly and recklessly ... but that also will generally reduce our average standard of living ... if retail suffers great losses, too much job loss will be a result.


It's a conundrum. Fortunately, I'm not in charge of running the world. But I'd have to say the better of two bad choices is for people to stop spending money like water, money that they all too often do not have ... but spend on credit.


Still, I'm doing better than the U.S. government. I owe about $20K to credit cards, but my share of the national debt owed to China, et al. is $480K.


Maybe I should run the world after all.

The 4 of you hop in a shower, I get it on video, and we make a ton of money :evil:

That's creepy, CM. REally, really creepy. I hope I have forgotten that by the time I take a shower in the morning.

ISM, I used to have a positive net worth by a whol lot, then my house lost some 25% of its value, putting me about even. Sigh. Thankfully, no credit card debt.

If this involves the use of a Ronald Reagan mask, it could be festive!

Actually, I think a Nixon mask would be of more use in the shower.