My wife and I recently returned from an Alaskan fishing trip. The fishing was good, the weather was OK (for Alaska it was great), and the friends we traveled with were a lot of fun. The not so fun part came when I totaled up the credit card bills and realized how much we had “stimulated” the domestic economy. I sure hope Sarah Palin appreciates it.
While pondering my cash flow damage I recalled an article I had just read regarding the Federal deficit, and how for the nine months ending Sept 30 the government will have spent over one trillion dollars more than it took in. Makes my problem seem trivial in comparison, unfortunately I can’t ignore it like politicians do.
But I may have stumbled on a solution to both the federal deficit and my own money issues: It was recently announced by Russia’s finance minister that they have similar budget problems, and he has gone public with a request that Russians smoke and drink more. It seems the Russians tax alcohol and cigarettes heavily (as do we), and although Russian per capita consumption of these things is already very high, he acknowledges that the sin taxes raised by increased consumption of alcohol and cigarettes would help solve their budget woes and supplement funding for social services.
I don’t know why we don’t have similarly open minded politicians in this country, but I think it’s about time that someone stood up and encouraged more of this type of spending. We could solve all manner of fiscal problems if we encouraged people to drink and smoke, and there wouldn’t be any complaining about paying taxes, either. Remember, it’s for the children!
For my personal situation, I doubt smoking would help, but I think a few stiff drinks certainly will make these credit card bills easier to swallow. So, after I write this I think I’ll start doing my part to reduce the deficit. I’m sure I’ll feel much better.