Rich People Can Afford Ideology

A simple fact: If I had a billion dollars all in $100 bills, and placed each bill in a mayonnaise jar, and then buried those jars about town - leaving it up to the people to find and unearth those jars - allowing all those money finders to spend their new found fortunes as they like - this would in fact create jobs, and would result in a multiplier effect in the billions of dollars of economic activity.

All this Republican nonsense about how horrible Barack Obama's stimulus plan is is simply class warfare. The rich want to see the middle class fall into poverty, and then they can rule over them. There's no doubt about that.

For the rich an economic downturn is simply a bargain basement sale in which the rich get richer, and the middle class sell their family's china.

The entire amount should be spent on infrastructure, and it should be spent as soon as possible.

The New Car Purchase With Disappointments

The New Car Purchase With Disappointments

The Thrill of Buying A New (Used) Car

I purchased a new car. Actually it is two years old. It's a nice car. The best I have ever purchased. It has that new car smell. It gets good millage, and it looks good. It doesn't have that many miles on it either.

I went the whole route, and purchased a rather expensive service agreement. If anything goes wrong with this car over the life of the agreement it gets repaired at no cost. I could have gone cheap, but I bought the most expensive service agreement which made my payments much higher.

Still I'm happy I bought the car because it's the nicest and newest car I have ever purchased.

But I didn't buy it for myself to drive. Instead I bought it so I could let my teenager drive it. That's not to say it is a gift to her, because the car is in my name, but I want her to be able to use it.

It was to replace the car I let her use which was totaled by a cab on New Year's morning - our poor innocent Cavalier Z24 was totaled in our driveway by a cab at 4:25 A.M. We awoke to the sound of the crash. No one was in the Cavalier, and the cab driver wasn't hurt, but the crash did manage to keep my daughter from being behind the wheel for a month and one week.

I felt it was necessary to replace the car since my daughter goes to college, and works. Her hours at work have been curtailed during the day since it takes her so long to get back from her classes - and she needs to make enough money to pay her share of the auto insurance.

The transition between adolescence and young adulthood in the U.S. is very dependent upon having a set of wheels. And so despite my concerns over my daughter's immaturity I decided to replace the Z24.

My insurance has gone up since the car I just bought is newer, and more expensive - and this time I bought some GAP insurance. GAP insurance pays the difference between a total claim payout with regular auto insurance and the price to replace the car - this is different from having no deductible - GAP actually pays out whatever it cost to buy a replacement car of the same type and quality. Oh yes, I was required to purchase gap insurance by the financial institution which helped me purchase the car.

So I went with all the bells, and whistles - to be prepared, and to avoid what we went though with the last car - that is, the chronic auto repairs, and any problems replacing the car if it is involved in a crash.

Now I can only hope my daughter can appreciate what I have done.

Disappointed but not Shocked

I sort of doubt that she fully appreciates how many years I'll be paying on the car because tonight she broke curfew.

That's right, on the very first night she had a car again she came home two hours after curfew.

After having to go to extraordinary measures I have the keys back, and she won't be driving the car for at least one week, maybe longer.

I think I'll drive it to work this week (maybe more). It's such a sweet car, and it turns on a dime.

If I was smart I'd drop her from my insurance, and keep my SUV in the garage except for weekends, and use the newer more fuel efficient car I just bought during the week.

And I'd tell my daughter to go out, earn some money, save enough to get her own car, and if she has problems with our rules - to move out. Now that really is what I'd like to tell her, but her mother won't allow this - which is probably why things have become as bad as they have.

The End

An Actual Conversation? You Decide.

Girl: I've changed. All my friends are saying, "You're too smart to hang with us".

Old Man: That's good, I guess. Most of them are "drug friends" right?

Girl: Yes, all they want to do is get high all day long, and every day. What a waste.

Old Man: That's sad.

Girl: What losers. At least I'm in college now.

Old Man: Yes, that's a good thing.

Girl: The only friend I really respect is Tina (name changed).

Old Man: Tina? Why so?

Girl: She's like me. We're both smart. We can talk.

Old Man: That's good. I'm glad you have a real friend. Was that her I saw you with today?

Girl: No, Tina is down in Florida.

Old Man: Florida? That must be nice. Are her parents taking a vacation?

Girl: No, Tina stole her Mom's credit card, and took her boyfriend down to Florida.

Old Man: She did what?

Girl: Yes, Tina's boyfriend is a real loser, he's a heroin addict.

Old Man: And this Tina, this is the girl you're like, the one that's smartest among your friends?

Girl: Yes. Oh, but she steals her mother's credit card all the time so it's o.k.

Old Man: Right.