...the question is, will it work? The simple fact is, we can't know; even if there was unanimous agreement on the economic merits (or demerits) of the bill, the more important factor is how it affects the national psyche. Will people be more willing to spend (and hire, and start new businesses, and lend out money, and perform all the other financial functions we need in our economy)? Or will the money disappear into various pockets, leaving us in essentially the same situation next year, as we debate what else we can do? I don't know, and until we actually see what happens, neither does anyone else (claimers of success or catastrophe included).
My husband is from Southeast Turkey and I can attest to hanging out the laundry to dry, as I have done this for my mother-in-law during visits. When the weather's rainy or there's a dust storm blowing up from Syria, she has special racks that she sets up inside the house and hangs the clothes on them instead of putting them outside.
I have even seen friends kiss bread if they happen to drop a piece when picking up the remnants after a meal. But this respect for bread i Turkey really extends to food in general. Creative use is made of leftovers for the next day's lunch. To this day my husband has a genuine horror of wasting any food.
I have not seen processed food used in my in-laws' home; fresh ingredients are purchased and food is made from scratch. I'm not able to cook every day as my mother-in-law does, but I rarely purchase processed food. Instead, I plan what I will make and spend at least one day of the weekend preparing most of the meals for the week, including for our lunch boxes.
And here's my husband's most-used Turkish saying on frugality:
Ucuz mal alacak kadar zengin değilim.
Meaning: "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap stuff." In other words, it's sometimes more frugal to spend a little more and purchase something of better quality that will last, than to spend on cheap stuff that has to be replaced frequently or just doesn't work.
It's depressing how many of these official answers advise (or imply) that you obfuscate, spin, avoid.. or just outright LIE to your interviewer.
If the truth isn't going to get you hired, you are probably working for crooks,
who lied their way into and to the top of their careers. Only a crook at heart would ask you a loaded question that requires you to LIE to pass.
After several generations of LIARS being the ones who pass this filter process, is it any wonder we have the banks, the mortgage companies, and the GOVERNMENT we see now?
ps- 5 years ago, did YOU see yourself where you are NOW?
Thank you, finally I was beginning to think everyone but me was buying into the **** storm the evening news is trying to make us believe. We live in one of the most open and safe times in history, its time to quit complaining so much and appreciate it.
My 16 year old son can afford to go out with friends & on dates more often using the BOGO for Restaurants, Movies & other local attractions like museums & zoos. These books are fantastic!
Sorry, had to share more accurate information (than what I said previously) about the mouse money.
• Several Republicans claimed this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put $30 million in a bill to protect the salt marsh harvest mouse. We looked into the issue and found that was not the case. There's no money for mice in the bill. There might — or might not — be money for a major coastal restoration project in California that could help out the mice. And a state agency submitted the project, not Pelosi. We rate the claim, made most plainly by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, as False.
More detailed information about which claims are true or not, on the stimulus and other government doings, available from http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ - run by The Poynter Institute.
This bill, like the previous "stimulus" bill, will do little to help our economy. I equate it to putting a bandage on a burst artery: the U.S. will bleed to death unless she goes in for major surgery! Unemployment benefits for people who QUIT their part-time jobs? These kinds of welfare programs will inspire others to sit on their seats and be unproductive because of the notion that "the government will take care of me" has been ingrained long past the days of FDR. Don't worry, though, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer continue to struggle for the good of others who won't think of repaying into the system.
Further proof: read "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" by Amity Shlaes
I see an expansion of government with this bill, making it impossible for the average citizen to get a voice in. This country was based on an idea that the people would have a say and that we ELECT REPRESENTATIVES to hold our best interests at heart (Remember "created by the people, for the people"?). Putting the country in debt, ruining our monetary system, and instilling socialist fundamentals is not the America I want to live in. And no, I won't accept the notion of others who say: "If you don't like it, get out!" I say, "If you like being told what you can and cannot do/say/feel, move to a country where you don't have any personal freedom. Don't bring it into mine!"
Unfortunately, we the people haven't had representation in the government for a long time. Instead we our "representatives" using our tax dollars like their own personal credit card, with no real thought on how this money is supposed to be paid back. Amazing that the same people who fly the flag of "It's for the Children" would sacrifice future generations' Pursuit of Happiness by burdening them with insurmountable debt.
I may not have a college degree from Harvard, but I do understand that in order to succeed in life, you must live below your means, work hard, pass on values and principles to your children, and never stop paying attention to the world around you.
Thanks for the tips. I spend a good 90% of my time typing alone at home, so it's good to see that 1) I'm not alone and 2) I'm not necessarily supposed to be depressed all day.
I'm using these tips as a starting off point for my own post on the environmental blog Super Eco.
Thanks for the ideas!
I think this so called stimulus is just going to make things worse down the road. This is still going to take time to see if it works. It may slow the declining economy. I think it's over rated but time will tell.
With due respect, ACORN didn't 'get caught' trying to register Mickey & Minnie as voters. They took registration forms filled out by canvassers they hired and flagged those (and others) as probably fraudulent. The state requires that all registration forms filled out be turned in and they complied with the law. The (Republican) Secretary of State praised their effort to separate out questionable forms. They are, besides their advocacy role, very good at helping people work out a way to avoid foreclosure and, on a wider field, to help people get into a first home. The money they get will likely produce better results, with less cost, than a Federal agency doing the same thing. As for funding Marsh Mouse research, it will produce some jobs and is a worthwhile effort, though I personally wouldn't have included it in a stimulus bill. It is more likely to produce results than giving a financial company the same amount of money to pay for a spa day. Of course, after the bank bailout fiasco, this bill faces a significantly lowered bar to be better.
I find it interesting that anyone is expecting Obama to be their economic savior. Particularly when he was one of the people who wanted that first round of checks that did nothing to go out. It was Edwards and Clinton who said we needed to spend on infrastructure(and wooweee weren't they right). Second, I'm not quite sure how funding ACORN(you know the group who got caught paying people to register Mickey, Minnie and Donald) and the salt marsh mouse is going to stimulate the economy. Finally, it was less than a decade ago people were insistent that a GOP congress and a GOP president meant the demise of the democratic party. How'd that work out? I suspect the pendulum will start swinging back as soon as Americans start to realize they've been had and the Democrats can't and won't deliver because at the end of the day they are just as beholden to special interests as the GOP(and if you think they aren't you aren't following the money and haven't been paying attention to legislation).
I'm not quite sure if this counts, but my frugality blog is based in France, where I live. I'm American, and I write for a mostly American audience, but I do often write about frugality and France.
I am less concerned with the spending portion of the bill, although it seems too small to make the difference that everyone touts, than the tax breaks that were shoved in. Both parties repeated the mantra that this bill had to be "targeted and temporary," but Republicans in the senate (my sneator Collins among them) shoehorned in a fix for the AMT, which is predicted, by economists including GWB's chief advisor, to return 22 cents on the dollar. The plan to help laid off workers maintain their health coverage, meanwhile, was cut from a 75% assist to 60%. The same economists gave that a return of $1.25 on the dollar, and it is inherently targeted (to those who would otherwise lose health coverage) and temporary (it sunsets in 2 years). While I think the AMT gets far too many people of relatively modest income, I can't understand how it was pushed into a stimulus bill.
I also find it incredible that, with so much talk of bipartisanship, less than 2% of Republicans voted for this bill in any form, even after many of their proposals were put in. At some point, the Repubs need to realize that they lost, massively, and pure obstructionism won't help get them back to power or help the country recover from an economic emergency that they are almost universally blamed for. Publicly cheerleading for the stimulus plan to fail, which at least 3 did, seems like the first step in organizing a circular firing squad for the party. I'm not a fan of the Repubs and give them a fair majority of the blame, but I don't look forward to their complete destruction as a national party, which seems the inevitable result of these tactics. Without any positive agenda, I fear that's where they're heading, and an effectively single-party system isn't good for anyone, the country as a whole, or the Democrats. (Think I'm exaggerating? There are no House members from New England at all, and the Repub senator from Maine ran her last campaign on the theme "She can work with the Democrats.")
Other countries pay their workers less... If you want to treat the economy as global with free trade instead of a protectionist attitude you better get used to making less. Also if we do that, we will have to relax laws for minimum wages, safety standards, benefits, and all the other things we have grown to like. Then we need to subsidize the industries that other countries do... to keep it fair. Only then can we begin to think that we have a fair trade system. A complex system like a car combines so many regulations, taxes, and subsidies that a fair market value is impossible to determine. I think when we say overseas is better and cheaper we are neglecting the real price for that product.
No, we need to help ourselves.. there is nothing apocalyptic in this situation. The USA and other countries have run much higher debt (as a % of GDP) in the past and things have improved over time. We need to be positive and use the tools that are before us. We need to build society up & not tear it down. We need to learn from our mistakes.
...the question is, will it work? The simple fact is, we can't know; even if there was unanimous agreement on the economic merits (or demerits) of the bill, the more important factor is how it affects the national psyche. Will people be more willing to spend (and hire, and start new businesses, and lend out money, and perform all the other financial functions we need in our economy)? Or will the money disappear into various pockets, leaving us in essentially the same situation next year, as we debate what else we can do? I don't know, and until we actually see what happens, neither does anyone else (claimers of success or catastrophe included).
My husband is from Southeast Turkey and I can attest to hanging out the laundry to dry, as I have done this for my mother-in-law during visits. When the weather's rainy or there's a dust storm blowing up from Syria, she has special racks that she sets up inside the house and hangs the clothes on them instead of putting them outside.
I have even seen friends kiss bread if they happen to drop a piece when picking up the remnants after a meal. But this respect for bread i Turkey really extends to food in general. Creative use is made of leftovers for the next day's lunch. To this day my husband has a genuine horror of wasting any food.
I have not seen processed food used in my in-laws' home; fresh ingredients are purchased and food is made from scratch. I'm not able to cook every day as my mother-in-law does, but I rarely purchase processed food. Instead, I plan what I will make and spend at least one day of the weekend preparing most of the meals for the week, including for our lunch boxes.
And here's my husband's most-used Turkish saying on frugality:
Ucuz mal alacak kadar zengin değilim.
Meaning: "I'm not rich enough to buy cheap stuff." In other words, it's sometimes more frugal to spend a little more and purchase something of better quality that will last, than to spend on cheap stuff that has to be replaced frequently or just doesn't work.
love it!
It's depressing how many of these official answers advise (or imply) that you obfuscate, spin, avoid.. or just outright LIE to your interviewer.
If the truth isn't going to get you hired, you are probably working for crooks,
who lied their way into and to the top of their careers. Only a crook at heart would ask you a loaded question that requires you to LIE to pass.
After several generations of LIARS being the ones who pass this filter process, is it any wonder we have the banks, the mortgage companies, and the GOVERNMENT we see now?
ps- 5 years ago, did YOU see yourself where you are NOW?
Thank you so much for sharing your story, Lillian! I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that. Sadly, you are probably not alone...
Thank you, finally I was beginning to think everyone but me was buying into the **** storm the evening news is trying to make us believe. We live in one of the most open and safe times in history, its time to quit complaining so much and appreciate it.
My 16 year old son can afford to go out with friends & on dates more often using the BOGO for Restaurants, Movies & other local attractions like museums & zoos. These books are fantastic!
an extra $52 a month is actually really helpful for me!
Sorry, had to share more accurate information (than what I said previously) about the mouse money.
• Several Republicans claimed this week that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put $30 million in a bill to protect the salt marsh harvest mouse. We looked into the issue and found that was not the case. There's no money for mice in the bill. There might — or might not — be money for a major coastal restoration project in California that could help out the mice. And a state agency submitted the project, not Pelosi. We rate the claim, made most plainly by Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana, as False.
More detailed information about which claims are true or not, on the stimulus and other government doings, available from http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/ - run by The Poynter Institute.
Chris
This bill, like the previous "stimulus" bill, will do little to help our economy. I equate it to putting a bandage on a burst artery: the U.S. will bleed to death unless she goes in for major surgery! Unemployment benefits for people who QUIT their part-time jobs? These kinds of welfare programs will inspire others to sit on their seats and be unproductive because of the notion that "the government will take care of me" has been ingrained long past the days of FDR. Don't worry, though, Mr. and Mrs. John Q. Taxpayer continue to struggle for the good of others who won't think of repaying into the system.
Further proof: read "The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression" by Amity Shlaes
I see an expansion of government with this bill, making it impossible for the average citizen to get a voice in. This country was based on an idea that the people would have a say and that we ELECT REPRESENTATIVES to hold our best interests at heart (Remember "created by the people, for the people"?). Putting the country in debt, ruining our monetary system, and instilling socialist fundamentals is not the America I want to live in. And no, I won't accept the notion of others who say: "If you don't like it, get out!" I say, "If you like being told what you can and cannot do/say/feel, move to a country where you don't have any personal freedom. Don't bring it into mine!"
Unfortunately, we the people haven't had representation in the government for a long time. Instead we our "representatives" using our tax dollars like their own personal credit card, with no real thought on how this money is supposed to be paid back. Amazing that the same people who fly the flag of "It's for the Children" would sacrifice future generations' Pursuit of Happiness by burdening them with insurmountable debt.
I may not have a college degree from Harvard, but I do understand that in order to succeed in life, you must live below your means, work hard, pass on values and principles to your children, and never stop paying attention to the world around you.
I love these books because they usually have great coupons for rental cars - pays for the book after just one use!
Govt has the credit card and is spending like a teenager.
Guess what is the collateral? You!!! Human Resources.
You don't think banks loan without collateral do you?
Solution: Take away the credit card.
Thanks for the tips. I spend a good 90% of my time typing alone at home, so it's good to see that 1) I'm not alone and 2) I'm not necessarily supposed to be depressed all day.
I'm using these tips as a starting off point for my own post on the environmental blog Super Eco.
Thanks for the ideas!
I think this so called stimulus is just going to make things worse down the road. This is still going to take time to see if it works. It may slow the declining economy. I think it's over rated but time will tell.
With due respect, ACORN didn't 'get caught' trying to register Mickey & Minnie as voters. They took registration forms filled out by canvassers they hired and flagged those (and others) as probably fraudulent. The state requires that all registration forms filled out be turned in and they complied with the law. The (Republican) Secretary of State praised their effort to separate out questionable forms. They are, besides their advocacy role, very good at helping people work out a way to avoid foreclosure and, on a wider field, to help people get into a first home. The money they get will likely produce better results, with less cost, than a Federal agency doing the same thing. As for funding Marsh Mouse research, it will produce some jobs and is a worthwhile effort, though I personally wouldn't have included it in a stimulus bill. It is more likely to produce results than giving a financial company the same amount of money to pay for a spa day. Of course, after the bank bailout fiasco, this bill faces a significantly lowered bar to be better.
Chris
I find it interesting that anyone is expecting Obama to be their economic savior. Particularly when he was one of the people who wanted that first round of checks that did nothing to go out. It was Edwards and Clinton who said we needed to spend on infrastructure(and wooweee weren't they right). Second, I'm not quite sure how funding ACORN(you know the group who got caught paying people to register Mickey, Minnie and Donald) and the salt marsh mouse is going to stimulate the economy. Finally, it was less than a decade ago people were insistent that a GOP congress and a GOP president meant the demise of the democratic party. How'd that work out? I suspect the pendulum will start swinging back as soon as Americans start to realize they've been had and the Democrats can't and won't deliver because at the end of the day they are just as beholden to special interests as the GOP(and if you think they aren't you aren't following the money and haven't been paying attention to legislation).
I usually use these the most. I would prefer totally free but B1G1 is the next best thing when you are buying for a crowd!
I'm not quite sure if this counts, but my frugality blog is based in France, where I live. I'm American, and I write for a mostly American audience, but I do often write about frugality and France.
Just like the last stimulus check that I didn't get. Gee, sometimes it's really nice to be the "ultra rich" (not!)
can anyone help me to set the insignisa ns-fs dvd region free
can not find anything on the web. thanks for the help
Guest M G
I am less concerned with the spending portion of the bill, although it seems too small to make the difference that everyone touts, than the tax breaks that were shoved in. Both parties repeated the mantra that this bill had to be "targeted and temporary," but Republicans in the senate (my sneator Collins among them) shoehorned in a fix for the AMT, which is predicted, by economists including GWB's chief advisor, to return 22 cents on the dollar. The plan to help laid off workers maintain their health coverage, meanwhile, was cut from a 75% assist to 60%. The same economists gave that a return of $1.25 on the dollar, and it is inherently targeted (to those who would otherwise lose health coverage) and temporary (it sunsets in 2 years). While I think the AMT gets far too many people of relatively modest income, I can't understand how it was pushed into a stimulus bill.
I also find it incredible that, with so much talk of bipartisanship, less than 2% of Republicans voted for this bill in any form, even after many of their proposals were put in. At some point, the Repubs need to realize that they lost, massively, and pure obstructionism won't help get them back to power or help the country recover from an economic emergency that they are almost universally blamed for. Publicly cheerleading for the stimulus plan to fail, which at least 3 did, seems like the first step in organizing a circular firing squad for the party. I'm not a fan of the Repubs and give them a fair majority of the blame, but I don't look forward to their complete destruction as a national party, which seems the inevitable result of these tactics. Without any positive agenda, I fear that's where they're heading, and an effectively single-party system isn't good for anyone, the country as a whole, or the Democrats. (Think I'm exaggerating? There are no House members from New England at all, and the Repub senator from Maine ran her last campaign on the theme "She can work with the Democrats.")
Chris
A trade war might be the first war since WWII that the US can win.
Other countries pay their workers less... If you want to treat the economy as global with free trade instead of a protectionist attitude you better get used to making less. Also if we do that, we will have to relax laws for minimum wages, safety standards, benefits, and all the other things we have grown to like. Then we need to subsidize the industries that other countries do... to keep it fair. Only then can we begin to think that we have a fair trade system. A complex system like a car combines so many regulations, taxes, and subsidies that a fair market value is impossible to determine. I think when we say overseas is better and cheaper we are neglecting the real price for that product.
No, we need to help ourselves.. there is nothing apocalyptic in this situation. The USA and other countries have run much higher debt (as a % of GDP) in the past and things have improved over time. We need to be positive and use the tools that are before us. We need to build society up & not tear it down. We need to learn from our mistakes.
"what if" is a question too late to ask, I'm afraid. The deed is done - God help us and our children.