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You're the winner! What will you do?
Published Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Quick, you’ve just won a $10 million sweepstakes. What will you buy first?
The possibilities are almost endless, aren’t they? But, unfortunately, such decisions are only truly offered to a handful of the select few — we’ll just call them lucky.
For millions of the rest of us, we mostly live paycheck to paycheck. Every penny counts. When the price of milk and bread goes up at the grocery store, we feel it. When the cost of a gallon of gas topped $3 per gallon, we swallowed hard and did the numbers on how it would affect our pocketbooks.
Well, your friendly federal government has stepped up to the plate to offer some assistance.
Many Americans will begin getting a mini-sweepstakes in the mail this week as the federal government’s “economic stimulus plan” begins to take effect.
Millions of Americans will receive what are, in effect, tax kickbacks in the amount of up to $600 for individuals and up to $1,200 for couples.
We’ll ignore for a moment that the stimulus plan — on the national level — is only adding to the ever-growing federal debt. On Monday, the total outstanding public debt amassed a staggering $9.3 trillion. For those of you with an interest, dividing the debt by the population shows that each citizen’s share is approximately $30,000.
But we digress.
Many of you are about to receive “free” money from the government. We hope you’ll do one of three things with the money. Either pay down your own personal debt, save the money or buy something locally.
If enough of us do the latter, the stimulus plan might actually work. Money spent here in our community will roll over several times and truly make a difference in our local economy.
It may not be the $10 million sweepstakes win, but it’ll be equally powerful for our local businesses.
Comments
Posted by sparky018 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 1:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Gettin caught up on some bills!
Posted by NtzMom55 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 2:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Got to pay down some credit cards.
Posted by redusmfan (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 6:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
pay bills.
Posted by sayitloud (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 7:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
pay bills and maybe a better ride?
Posted by Christian (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 7:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Ummm, give so much to my church, pay off house, car, give to my children and grandson. And Lord have mercy take a much needed cruise.
Posted by sandyman7 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 8:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
excuse me!!!! The first thing you will do is " pay " your taxes on the 10 million.Then I'd give a 10th of all of it to the church!!!!
Posted by harvest1 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 8:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Church, Wife, Children, Grandchildren, Stewpot, Home for victims of domestic violence, Myself. In that order.
Posted by harvest1 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 8:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh My Goodness ((sandyman)) I forgot taxes. Now in that order.
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Taxes first , then hire a reputable financial adviser .
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 9:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The goverment has something in mind for giving those checks out. You can bet that...they never GIVE anything without expecting it back 3 times over.....The little money they are giving will what fill up your vehicle buy a gallon of milk then you back to square one.....Just like all that fema money people thought was FREE!!
Posted by harvest1 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 9:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh Well That's That.
Posted by free_radical (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 1:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
OMG!!! "When i win the lottery" syndrome. :(
Pathetic that the newspaper eggs this stuff on!
Posted by mudzillaefi (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 3:13 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lets see we borrowed more money from China to pay our citizens to spend more so we can buy more chinese products? I am coming to the conclusion something is wrong here?
Posted by timnoklahoma (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 9:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I really don't quite understand the "spend it locally" syndrome!
Everybody is hawking to spend the money here or there, but honestly, folks, if you spend it at the local mall--or Wal-Mart--- or WHEREVER, the money still goes somewhere else. If you go buy $400.00 worth of groceries at Wal-Mart, $200.00 worth of goods at the mall (any store), get two tanks of gas at $75.00 each, a night on the town with the wife for $150.00, and part of a car payment for $300.00, you have spent all of the money and most of it locally.
Now when Wal-Mart, the gas station, the mall stores, and the chain restaurant that you took your wife to have to order new merchandise to replace what you bought----GUESS WHERE THE MONEY GOES?????
OUT OF TOWN---MORE DIRECTLY--OUT OF THE ENTIRE STATE!!!!
The money DOES turn over there, but it all leaves town pretty quickly.
I guess if you go to a local mom and pop cafe that buys all of their products fresh from a dairy farm there, the money might stay there a little longer. That means they would have to buy their meat from a local butcher shop. And their Cokes from the local plant.(Even this money would leave town immediately.) I guess they could have a leather purse section in the cafe to sell---from the cattle that the hamburger meat comes from.
Of course all of the other stuff---the cups, the grease, the building supplies, the plastics, the ice machines, the order pads, the pens, the cash register, the drink machines, and almost anything else in the mom and pop cafe come from an outside source. And ALL of that money goes somewhere else.
BOO-HOO-HOO!
If you put it in your bank there in a savings account---ask your bank what they do with YOUR money while it is in their bank? They loan your money out for a higher interest rate than you are being paid---and they might loan it to someone doing business with someone from China--or Russia--or Germany--or maybe even California. There is NO WAY that your money can be spent locally and STAY LOCAL!!!!!
GET REAL FOLKS!
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 10:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What I don't understand is all the folks normally against gambling giving ten percent to the church?...whats up with that?
I guess I'd just keep on practicing architecture until the money ran out...LOL.
BTW, glad to have you back timnoklahoma...never did find out if I was right in my identity guess.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on April 29, 2008 at 11:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, if I won 10 million dollars, I would travel around the world in pursuit of those down on their luck and share my fortune with them who weren't as fortunate as I to have won 10 million. But first, I would pay off all my bills and my mortgage loan, and have my mother come live in my paid off home, as long as she lives, and I would set up an account to pay her bills so that she would want for nothing. I would give each of my children a lump sum of money and tell them that when that was gone, don't come back asking for more, because that would be the end of it, so to spend it wisely.
So, if you feel that you may be needy in the future, let me know, as I will be making a list (just in case I win 10 million dollars), but I'm actually in a positive way expecting the amount that I'm going to win to be much much more. Afterall, I do receive daily emails from rich Africans attempting to sneak money out of Africa, and notices from foreign lands that I've won their lotto. I only have to respond back with the pertinent information like my name, address, and phone number, and the money will come sailing in right to my checking account...I just hope I'm not at the airport when it arrives.
Posted by Peace007 (anonymous) on April 30, 2008 at 12:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh, about that stimulous check. I'm sure we'll all give it back to the chinese who loaned it to us in the first place. Who's your daddy, now?
And, I can't help but remember that when Bill Clinton left office...he left billions in that old account that Bush has spent and left bankrupt...but that's what you wanted; you voted for him. And what's really bad about all that is he's taken so many things away from you that you just haven't even opened your eyes to see yet, but like they say...it's a recession when it's someone elses house, it becomes a depression when it's yours. I dunno, maybe it will slap you upside the head when gas hits $10/gal.
Posted by hotwatta (anonymous) on April 30, 2008 at 1:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
hmmm....what would i do with that much money??
SHOPPING SPREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
haha jk donate to charity, if your old you can pay your taxes and go grocery shopping, um....or like you can get a better car, and maybe get some cute animals,,,idk....but i don't know or you could like donate to the hosptial or the animal shelter or you can put it in your savings...yea thats what i'm talkin' about.......
:)
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