One of my hubby's friends just sent him an email, and he forwarded it to me, with his comments. I am going to post those, along with my response.
Original email:
Subject: check this out
this is a comment from a story about NJ going down the crapper due to too many social programs
100.00 Bill
A tourist visiting the area drives through town, stops at the motel, and lays a $100 bill deposit on the desk saying he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs to pick one for the night.
As soon as he walks upstairs, the motel owner grabs the bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.
(Stay with this.....and pay attention)
The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to retire his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the $100 and heads off to pay his bill to his supplier, the Co-op.
The guy at the Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has had to offer her "services" on credit.
The hooker rushes to the hotel and pays off her room bill with the hotel Owner.
(Almost done...keep reading)
The hotel proprietor then places the $100 back on the counter so the traveler will not suspect anything.
At that moment the traveler comes down the stairs, states that the rooms are not satisfactory, picks up the $100 bill and leaves.
No one produced anything. No one earned anything. However, the whole bunch now thinks that they are out of debt and there is a false atmosphere of optimism and glee.
And that, my friends, is how a "stimulus package" works! Its that hopey changey thing in plain english!
call me a conservative, but if your not, go give the deadbeat with a cardboard sign your paycheck
hyperbole is meant to stir thought, not frame a given conversation
and where the hell is my gin!
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Hubby's comment to me on forwarding:
My friend has a very sound point.
A confidence based economy…
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My response back to hubby:
If you look at Depression era history, it shows that the government spending on necessary things, such as infrastructure creates JOBS, when businesses will not create jobs due to no demand.
The consumer does not have the money to create demand. The businesses will not hire due to lack of demand. If the government does not spend in order to create jobs, which broadens the tax base, and puts money in the consumers' pockets, therefore creating the demand that businesses need in order to hire due to increased demand, then how else is the economy going to move?
The stimulus was not big enough. There are roads and bridges (such as truck and weather beaten ones we drove on just today) which need more maintenance.
A private company will not just maintain that road. The government must say "this road needs maintenance", and contract with the private company to maintain the road, which will result in job openings.
On the human side, it is just inexcusable for the wealthiest nation on earth, the greatest world power, to allow its' citizens to be homeless and starve due to not having a job, or worse, because of catastrophic illness for which the person (read: family) either does not have health insurance, or cannot afford the copays and prescriptions even if they do have health insurance.
It is also inexcusable that there is plenty of money for endless wars, but money to educate and provide healthcare to all its' citizens is somehow un-American.
In this downturn, with 15 million people out of work, and the government unwilling to do what we know from history will work to turn the economy around, it is unconscionable for politicians to say we can't afford to extend unemployment benefits.
It is ridiculous for a politician to scream at the President "where are the jobs?", and then to turn to people who are unable to get jobs because there are 5 applicants for every opening to callously say "go out and get a job".
It's really easy to say that people on welfare are ALL, 100% on drugs or lazy. It's much harder to see that the hardworking people who would gladly work an 8 hour day for 8 hours of pay (LIVING WAGE pay, not MINIMUM or Right to Work wages (+/- $2/hour) should get unemployment benefits until such time as the cowards in congress feel that they can make the policy changes necessary to do the spending necessary for the economy to turn around.
This is why OWS is in the streets. If there were enough jobs, people would be working, and there would be no need for the Occupy movement.
Your friend's argument is not taking into consideration all of the empirical facts of this situation.
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I should have said "one of the reasons OWS is in the streets". But I think I made my point.
The media, politicians, and special interest groups are doing a serious disservice to the American people.
Just wanted to share this.
Peace all!