Economic Stimulus? ROFL!

You know, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. An extra check from Uncle Sam is jakers with me. But what baffles me is that we're so easily bought, and with our own money.

When is the last time you truly looked at your pay stub, and recognized the tax dollars going into our goverment's pockets as money we earned? We're completely oblivious to the 23ish % that gets taken from our income, probably because we're so conditioned to this practice. But really, take a minute and think about this. Our government takes it's cut of our money even before it gets into our hands. Doesn't that make your blood at least simmer a little? That the good old USA considers itself top priority, even before you feed and house yourself. A quarter of your check, gone. And what say do you have in where it's spent? None, my friend. It will go wherever our leaders, ever true (NOT), decide it will best line their pockets. It's sad, but you don't have to look very hard to see the truth in that statement. Heck, even the Reader's Digest outlines the pork barrel spending every third month or so.

So why are we so ecstatic about the $600 we'll be getting here in a few days? Does Bush really think, in this impending recession, that people are going to go out and buy a new car, or pay for a vacation? Purchase a new Plasma TV? Seriously? I know people who are in a good-enough financial position to pull that off, and I know more people who aren't, but are naive enough to buy into the hype. We're trying to be financially responsible with our $1500. We'll drop money into new tires for our old car, pay some bills, and sink the rest into a JIC cushion. A cruise to the Caribbean? Not on our agenda at this time. Or in this lifetime, apparently.

Since you're waiting for a gesture of grattitude, here goes...Mr. President, thanks for the stimulus check, which was really my money to begin with. Thank for giving me a little of my own money back to help our family stay afloat in the up-and-coming economic hiccup. Thanks for being foolish enough to expect me to spend this check frivilously, when in fact I will be saving it for the dark days to come. Now go do something even more meaningful, and fix this economy. Earn that fat paycheck you get from the sweat of my brows, and stop wasting my tax dollars.