Crap, I was about to say that I was older than Ross.........but I'll keep my mouth shut
so I don't get into trouble.
so I don't get into trouble.
I know someones going to get angry about this post, but that's alright
- Thread starter Ross
- Start date
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I hate to say it but I believe it will happen until there is no souls or resources left to use/abuse - including people, animals, and land. I keep thinking of that old commercial about littering where there is an American Indian walking on the road with the tear in his eye...that is one culture that took care of their elders and didn't just throw people away. Not to say that most do,mostly responding to those unseen in control.
This time I won't say it,
since I don't know,but going thru proper channels won't work,I don't even believe anything will except for 'us' to begin working together,for each other instead of being the competitive and self-striving community that we have been and are. I do believe we can achieve it but not over night.
I think you like any womenPerhaps, but I do like older women.
gijanet
Well-known member
Yep, a very good friend of mine just finished her last day Friday and will be filing for unemployment. She worked for IBM who just moved a big chunk of their Dallas operation to the Phillipines, Manila, to be exact. Why? So they don't have to pay benefits and decent wages to American workers. Do we the customers even benefit from this by reduced prices? Well, hell, no.................it's just so the execs can pad their pockets further. This, too, has got to stop, but don't hold your breath for Congress to jump in and regulate by taxing the hell out of 'em. And yes, I am still really pissed about bailing out all these banks and corporations who have execs making obscene amounts of money. Have y'all e-mailed your congressional reps yet?
Ross
Well-known member
Sure have and just like the Government they are, they won't even respond to say that they've received the complaint.
Next elections should be really interesting.
K
Karlynn
Ross - I think you need to run for Congress in your area. If you only serve one term - you get a pension and benefits.
I'm beginning to think I might get put on the government watch list because I keep writing and calling my representatives.
As little as I trust big corporations - I trust the government less. I'm very disturbed that we now have, for all intents and purposes, government run banking and a government run auto industry. I'd like someone to sooth my fears with stories of all the huge successes our government has had in the past in running things and maybe I'll sleep better at night. I see all this as nothing but one huge power grab - away from corrupt big business to corrupt big government and very little to do with how to get our country back on track. When you put a 31 year old with absolutely no experience in running any business, much less an auto industry in charge of G.M.'s bankruptcy reorganization, it tells me that our government isn't all that serious about getting our auto industry back on track.
I'm beginning to think I might get put on the government watch list because I keep writing and calling my representatives.
As little as I trust big corporations - I trust the government less. I'm very disturbed that we now have, for all intents and purposes, government run banking and a government run auto industry. I'd like someone to sooth my fears with stories of all the huge successes our government has had in the past in running things and maybe I'll sleep better at night. I see all this as nothing but one huge power grab - away from corrupt big business to corrupt big government and very little to do with how to get our country back on track. When you put a 31 year old with absolutely no experience in running any business, much less an auto industry in charge of G.M.'s bankruptcy reorganization, it tells me that our government isn't all that serious about getting our auto industry back on track.
Ross
Well-known member
As usual, people believed what they wanted to hear in campaign promises. People never learn. They say what they want to hear to get elected, not to fulfill those promises. I'm having a really hard time getting my head around the fact that they can give billions to corrupt corporate entities, yet can't shore up Social Security or Medicare or even take care of the very people that pay taxes into such programs.
What's going to happen when there are no tax payers working? Someones going to have to dig into their own pockets instead of ours. Those that are so accustomed to spend others money, won't take to kindly to having to spend their own. Greedy gluttons.
What's going to happen when there are no tax payers working? Someones going to have to dig into their own pockets instead of ours. Those that are so accustomed to spend others money, won't take to kindly to having to spend their own. Greedy gluttons.
L
Lisa in Katy
Government successes? I have a list here somewhere, but I think it might be hidden under a postage stamp somewhere!
Actually, I found this list online, but some of their success stories are questionable, at least in my opinion! When I see Medicaid and the School Lunch program on a list of successes, knowing that these are two of the most abused system in our nation, it makes me say "huh?". I think this could also be a list of good ideas gone bad.
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Governmentsuccesses.htm
Actually, I found this list online, but some of their success stories are questionable, at least in my opinion! When I see Medicaid and the School Lunch program on a list of successes, knowing that these are two of the most abused system in our nation, it makes me say "huh?". I think this could also be a list of good ideas gone bad.
http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/Governmentsuccesses.htm
Ross
Well-known member
ctyguy
Well-known member
ugh....what a volatile thread this could turn into !!
Im going to go against the grain here a bit, will probably get kicked out of VR all together but since this is an "approved" non-VR oriented thread, I'll throw out my two cents.
I work for one of those big bad banks. Im not a fancy chair person, worker bee in the IT arena who is all too familiar with "globalization" and the outsourcing of jobs overseas. We have been told that by the end of 2010 we need to have 50% of our operations "globalized" (i.e. outsourced). We will get no raises this year, no bonuses either. Im simply happy to still eb employed. My butt may be on the chopping block as part of that transition Im sure. But I will deal with that when the time comes. While it frustrates me to see jobs leave the US for overseas I can't say I totally disagree with it. If a company has the ability to run its operation more cost effectively by outsourcing why should it be stopped ? Loyalty to employess ? Lets say your groceries at Kroger cost you $100. Then you go shopping at ShopRight and those exact same groceries cost you $75. Your gonna probably shop at ShopRight going forward right ? But what about loyalty to Kroger ? Shouldn't business be afforded the same right ? I think its nieve to think a company is going to sacrifice its profitability to keep people on the books that cost more than others. Is it fair to those folks that have worked for the company for 20 years ? Certainly not but that is the nature of beast. Corporations are going to do with is best for them and people need to do the same. If you see the writing on the wall that your job is going to be eliminated you should start looking for some other opportunity or look at getting a skillset that is not something that can be outsourced. It sucks that it happens but I don't think you can stop it. As consumers we can boycott that company and buy from a company that is based and ran out of the U.S. But odds are you will pay more because things simply cost more to make here. I know Im willing to pay 10 - 20% more for American made products. Given today's climate I think its a wonderful marketing opportunity "Made in America" would be something that I think many would take notice of and would be willing to pay a little more for knowing that they are employing American's in the process.
GM is now in Chapter 11 and part of the strategy they are looking to employ coming out of it is to open plants in China to build the small fuel efficient cars. We have kicked around buying a new car and one of the first questions I ask is where was it built, where did the parts come from ? If I buy a car it will be built in America, by Americans ? Racist ? I don't think so, pro-American is my perspective. And if my car costs me an extra 3K Im willing to accept that. If GM goes that route then I guess they won't have me as a customer. Unfortunately most people only care about price. What is the cheapest I can get something for and those products all seem to be manufactured overseas. Go to Wal-Mart, checkout the labeling on their products. Wal-mart is the 8th largest trading partner with China ! When the news refers to trading partners its usually about countries not companies ! Personally i avoid that store unless I have absolutely no choice in the matter. I've also been told that they pay their employees the minimum that they can get away with when it comes to benefits.
What can the government do about it ? First off we can tax companies on their overseas operations. I saw on the news that there is a building in the Cayman Islands that is all of two stories tall, maybe 4000 sq feet total that houses over 6,000 corporate "subsidiaries". Corporations run business through these fronts because they don't have to pay a corporate tax on them, same can be said with manufacturing. Supposably there is legislation in the works to fix this but I bet it never flys, special interest lobbies will take care of that. I don't think the government has any business telling companies where they get their employees from or what they pay them. Thats simply supply and demand. People in the US simply won't work for $8.00 per hour. The governments role should be limited to ensuring that the products being offered are safe to the public and that the company isn't doing something that puts the interests (physical or financial) of others in harms way. Can anyone say AIG ? Washington Mutual ? The people that made the decisions that brought those companies down should be prosecuted and sent to prison for a long long time and all of their assets should be seized. I know folks who worked for WaMu for over 20 years and had their retirements mostly in company stock. When the company failed, the stock became worthless and those folks are basically screwed with no retirement. THAT ticks me off to no end.
I know Social Security and Medicare are touchy subjects but the fact of the matter is we have 3 workers now paying in for every person receiving benefits. 20 years ago that ratio was 10 to 1. So we have a few obvious choices and one that is more subtle. Obvious - raise taxes on those that pay in, reduce benefits, or up the age for eligibility. All of those pretty much suck. Subtle - actually streamlining of the operations would save billions annually. Ever try to fire a government employee ? Good luck with that. I did a contract at a state agency and I saw first hand the amount of people who could give a lick about the quantity or quality of the work they did. They know they can't get fired. They have a mentality that their job is their birthright, not a priviledge. Quitting time was 4:45 each day and by 4:35 people had coats on, loitering at the stairwell waiting for the bell to ding. 4:50 the place was a ghost town. And if overtime was required for something a minimum of 4 hours was paid to the employee. Doesn't matter that it took literally 5 minutes to fix the issue, 4 hours of pay is what they get. How is that even allowed !! Holding state/federal employees to the same standards that private companies do in regards to employment productivity would go a long way in eliminating the inefficiencies within government AND reduce the amount of money that is wasted.
Im all about protecting American's jobs and interests but how many countries have transformed over the last 30 years to industrialized nations ? China ? India ? The fact is other countries are catching up to the US and we need to find new technologies to drive our economy or we have to compete with countries that don't play "fair" when it comes benefits and wages. My hope is the government does more to drive technological development. We need a Manhatten Project for Engery Technology. Take the best and brightest from the private industry and college campuses and give them the funding to do the research necessary to make bio-fuel, wind, and solar engergies cost effective and viable alternatives to coal/oil. That could be what drives our economy for the next 30 years and bring jobs back to the US.
Hopefully this doesn't end up with me getting beaten up, its only my perspective and to be honest its incomplete. I can talk about this stuff for hours. Back under my rock I go.
Im going to go against the grain here a bit, will probably get kicked out of VR all together but since this is an "approved" non-VR oriented thread, I'll throw out my two cents.
I work for one of those big bad banks. Im not a fancy chair person, worker bee in the IT arena who is all too familiar with "globalization" and the outsourcing of jobs overseas. We have been told that by the end of 2010 we need to have 50% of our operations "globalized" (i.e. outsourced). We will get no raises this year, no bonuses either. Im simply happy to still eb employed. My butt may be on the chopping block as part of that transition Im sure. But I will deal with that when the time comes. While it frustrates me to see jobs leave the US for overseas I can't say I totally disagree with it. If a company has the ability to run its operation more cost effectively by outsourcing why should it be stopped ? Loyalty to employess ? Lets say your groceries at Kroger cost you $100. Then you go shopping at ShopRight and those exact same groceries cost you $75. Your gonna probably shop at ShopRight going forward right ? But what about loyalty to Kroger ? Shouldn't business be afforded the same right ? I think its nieve to think a company is going to sacrifice its profitability to keep people on the books that cost more than others. Is it fair to those folks that have worked for the company for 20 years ? Certainly not but that is the nature of beast. Corporations are going to do with is best for them and people need to do the same. If you see the writing on the wall that your job is going to be eliminated you should start looking for some other opportunity or look at getting a skillset that is not something that can be outsourced. It sucks that it happens but I don't think you can stop it. As consumers we can boycott that company and buy from a company that is based and ran out of the U.S. But odds are you will pay more because things simply cost more to make here. I know Im willing to pay 10 - 20% more for American made products. Given today's climate I think its a wonderful marketing opportunity "Made in America" would be something that I think many would take notice of and would be willing to pay a little more for knowing that they are employing American's in the process.
GM is now in Chapter 11 and part of the strategy they are looking to employ coming out of it is to open plants in China to build the small fuel efficient cars. We have kicked around buying a new car and one of the first questions I ask is where was it built, where did the parts come from ? If I buy a car it will be built in America, by Americans ? Racist ? I don't think so, pro-American is my perspective. And if my car costs me an extra 3K Im willing to accept that. If GM goes that route then I guess they won't have me as a customer. Unfortunately most people only care about price. What is the cheapest I can get something for and those products all seem to be manufactured overseas. Go to Wal-Mart, checkout the labeling on their products. Wal-mart is the 8th largest trading partner with China ! When the news refers to trading partners its usually about countries not companies ! Personally i avoid that store unless I have absolutely no choice in the matter. I've also been told that they pay their employees the minimum that they can get away with when it comes to benefits.
What can the government do about it ? First off we can tax companies on their overseas operations. I saw on the news that there is a building in the Cayman Islands that is all of two stories tall, maybe 4000 sq feet total that houses over 6,000 corporate "subsidiaries". Corporations run business through these fronts because they don't have to pay a corporate tax on them, same can be said with manufacturing. Supposably there is legislation in the works to fix this but I bet it never flys, special interest lobbies will take care of that. I don't think the government has any business telling companies where they get their employees from or what they pay them. Thats simply supply and demand. People in the US simply won't work for $8.00 per hour. The governments role should be limited to ensuring that the products being offered are safe to the public and that the company isn't doing something that puts the interests (physical or financial) of others in harms way. Can anyone say AIG ? Washington Mutual ? The people that made the decisions that brought those companies down should be prosecuted and sent to prison for a long long time and all of their assets should be seized. I know folks who worked for WaMu for over 20 years and had their retirements mostly in company stock. When the company failed, the stock became worthless and those folks are basically screwed with no retirement. THAT ticks me off to no end.
I know Social Security and Medicare are touchy subjects but the fact of the matter is we have 3 workers now paying in for every person receiving benefits. 20 years ago that ratio was 10 to 1. So we have a few obvious choices and one that is more subtle. Obvious - raise taxes on those that pay in, reduce benefits, or up the age for eligibility. All of those pretty much suck. Subtle - actually streamlining of the operations would save billions annually. Ever try to fire a government employee ? Good luck with that. I did a contract at a state agency and I saw first hand the amount of people who could give a lick about the quantity or quality of the work they did. They know they can't get fired. They have a mentality that their job is their birthright, not a priviledge. Quitting time was 4:45 each day and by 4:35 people had coats on, loitering at the stairwell waiting for the bell to ding. 4:50 the place was a ghost town. And if overtime was required for something a minimum of 4 hours was paid to the employee. Doesn't matter that it took literally 5 minutes to fix the issue, 4 hours of pay is what they get. How is that even allowed !! Holding state/federal employees to the same standards that private companies do in regards to employment productivity would go a long way in eliminating the inefficiencies within government AND reduce the amount of money that is wasted.
Im all about protecting American's jobs and interests but how many countries have transformed over the last 30 years to industrialized nations ? China ? India ? The fact is other countries are catching up to the US and we need to find new technologies to drive our economy or we have to compete with countries that don't play "fair" when it comes benefits and wages. My hope is the government does more to drive technological development. We need a Manhatten Project for Engery Technology. Take the best and brightest from the private industry and college campuses and give them the funding to do the research necessary to make bio-fuel, wind, and solar engergies cost effective and viable alternatives to coal/oil. That could be what drives our economy for the next 30 years and bring jobs back to the US.
Hopefully this doesn't end up with me getting beaten up, its only my perspective and to be honest its incomplete. I can talk about this stuff for hours. Back under my rock I go.
M
Mary
I thought the initial post was fine, Ross, but it's gone too far astray for me.
Taysgrama
Well-known member
Scott - I am not gonna get upset by what you said, since it is your opinion and you have a right to your opinion. Now, that might change if you lose your job and are unable to find another one. Living on unemployment is really hard to do. Believe me, I am trying to do it. I got laid off 3 weeks ago from a title company and there are NO jobs out there for me that pay much. Title companies are laying off left and right and the lenders are not doing many loans either. I am one of the lucky ones that has a spouse that works and has insurance coverage for me, but there are alot of unlucky ones out there, who can't work due to medical conditions that are beyond their control and their spouses get laid off....while the company they worked for sends all its production to China or wherever. The company executives get mega bonuses and still get paid while the company workers get laid off, lose their insurance and try to live on unemployment until they can find another job.
While I agree that companies have the right to do whatever they want to do with production, I do not agree that paying $3 a day (and yes, there are alot of places where they do that) for production workers is a good thing. If some of these executives had to live the way some of the workers do, there would be big changes everywhere. In regards to the government, I have worked for a state government in the past and you are right. There are a ton of lazy people there who think it is their God given right to do whatever they want and get paid for it. I also believe that the Federal Government needs to really tighten their belts, including the president who keeps spending thousands of our tax dollars for "date night" with his wife. How many of us can afford to have a "date night" with our spouses? My DH and I have a date night, once a month. You wanna know what we do? Have a nice dinner, that I cook, we do dishes together and then we watch a movie on DVD that we got for Christmas or our birthday. A little popcorn and some iced tea and we have our date night. Why can't the president do that? Because we, the people, have agreed to pay for his date night by not throwing a major fit when he spends thousands to take Michelle to NY for dinner and a show.
We all need to start living within our means and if that means that we stop spending money on dinners out, then so be it. The President and the entire White House need to start living within their means too and stop spending money that they do not have. We are so far in debt in the USA, we will never get out.
OK, I am done. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but I did want to voice my opinion. I am gonna go hide in my hole again too!!!!
While I agree that companies have the right to do whatever they want to do with production, I do not agree that paying $3 a day (and yes, there are alot of places where they do that) for production workers is a good thing. If some of these executives had to live the way some of the workers do, there would be big changes everywhere. In regards to the government, I have worked for a state government in the past and you are right. There are a ton of lazy people there who think it is their God given right to do whatever they want and get paid for it. I also believe that the Federal Government needs to really tighten their belts, including the president who keeps spending thousands of our tax dollars for "date night" with his wife. How many of us can afford to have a "date night" with our spouses? My DH and I have a date night, once a month. You wanna know what we do? Have a nice dinner, that I cook, we do dishes together and then we watch a movie on DVD that we got for Christmas or our birthday. A little popcorn and some iced tea and we have our date night. Why can't the president do that? Because we, the people, have agreed to pay for his date night by not throwing a major fit when he spends thousands to take Michelle to NY for dinner and a show.
We all need to start living within our means and if that means that we stop spending money on dinners out, then so be it. The President and the entire White House need to start living within their means too and stop spending money that they do not have. We are so far in debt in the USA, we will never get out.
OK, I am done. Sorry if I hurt anyones feelings, but I did want to voice my opinion. I am gonna go hide in my hole again too!!!!
ctyguy
Well-known member
Diana...
I feel for you being layed off because like I said, I may very well be next. I've been fortunate that I have never needed to collect unemployment (knock on wood) but I know that it would be a serious challenge to survive on it. I've been fortunate in that what I do for a living hasn't been "off-shorable" until recently. The manufacturing base in this country is toast because other countries can simply do it cheaper. I.T. is now going the same way. Whose fault is that ? Certainly not the American worker. Plenty of folks go to work each day, give the company an honest days work, and then they get zapped due to "globalization". Its cruel and not fair but what can we really do about it ? I know people freak about bonuses and Im with you on that. I find it hard to understand how one person can be worth millions of dollars. In our society I think alot of values are upside down completely. A kid coming out of college who can play football can get millions and millions of dollars in the NFL. Yet another kid coming out of school with a teaching degree will struggle to find a job that pays 35K. Is that right ? Which is really more important ? I think the teacher job is.
My point in that whole rant is that there needs to be more pro-active measures taken by the government to cut waste AND to have regulators in place who are watching over the banks, insurance companies, etc... who are making risky business decisions and ruining the lives of so many. Many say what brought the banking system to its knees is due to "credit default swaps". These are like insurance contracts between banks. Unfortunately there is nothing on the books by law which regulate how they are managed. Specifically there is no requirement to have X amount of monies in reserve in case one of these contracts goes bad and the insuree looks to get paid. That whole mess sounds like the Wolf guarding the Henhouse. Now there is a rush to get new rules in place, similar to the rush that occured during the great depression. Unfortunately for many it comes way too late.
I feel for you being layed off because like I said, I may very well be next. I've been fortunate that I have never needed to collect unemployment (knock on wood) but I know that it would be a serious challenge to survive on it. I've been fortunate in that what I do for a living hasn't been "off-shorable" until recently. The manufacturing base in this country is toast because other countries can simply do it cheaper. I.T. is now going the same way. Whose fault is that ? Certainly not the American worker. Plenty of folks go to work each day, give the company an honest days work, and then they get zapped due to "globalization". Its cruel and not fair but what can we really do about it ? I know people freak about bonuses and Im with you on that. I find it hard to understand how one person can be worth millions of dollars. In our society I think alot of values are upside down completely. A kid coming out of college who can play football can get millions and millions of dollars in the NFL. Yet another kid coming out of school with a teaching degree will struggle to find a job that pays 35K. Is that right ? Which is really more important ? I think the teacher job is.
My point in that whole rant is that there needs to be more pro-active measures taken by the government to cut waste AND to have regulators in place who are watching over the banks, insurance companies, etc... who are making risky business decisions and ruining the lives of so many. Many say what brought the banking system to its knees is due to "credit default swaps". These are like insurance contracts between banks. Unfortunately there is nothing on the books by law which regulate how they are managed. Specifically there is no requirement to have X amount of monies in reserve in case one of these contracts goes bad and the insuree looks to get paid. That whole mess sounds like the Wolf guarding the Henhouse. Now there is a rush to get new rules in place, similar to the rush that occured during the great depression. Unfortunately for many it comes way too late.
K
Karlynn
L
Lisa in Katy
Well, my company has learned the hard way that offshoring Customer Service isn't really the answer, even if it is less expensive. The first country we tried was India and we had lots of complaints about the accents. Then we tried Jamaica, but still complaints. Over the next year or so, most of those jobs are being brought back. Unfortunately, the money has to come from somewhere, so guess whose pocket they're digging into? I'm sure we'll still have complaints because these are low paid workers who use scripts and if your problem doesn't fit their script......
I agree with much of what you say, Scott, but when you find that Made in America car, let me know. My Nissan was assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee. My daughter's Jeep could have come from U.S., Austria, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Venezuela, Argentina or Egypt. The parts for both are made all over the place.
I agree with much of what you say, Scott, but when you find that Made in America car, let me know. My Nissan was assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee. My daughter's Jeep could have come from U.S., Austria, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Venezuela, Argentina or Egypt. The parts for both are made all over the place.
ctyguy
Well-known member
The only way offshoring really works is if you have well defined and highly repeatable tasks, like manufacturing ! Some computer programming tasks are the same way. We have some of our customer service in India also and people struggle with the accents but Indian companies understand this and they make big investments to get those people trained well trained in English.
Here in Ohio there is a Honda plant in Marysville. The basic frame of the car comes from Japan and many of the moving parts are manufactured here in the states. The folks out in Marysville put all the parts together for the finished product. So even though Honda is Japanese I am still willing to consider one. You can get the breakdown of where things were made on the specific vehicle, the dealers have that info and will share it if you ask.
Here in Ohio there is a Honda plant in Marysville. The basic frame of the car comes from Japan and many of the moving parts are manufactured here in the states. The folks out in Marysville put all the parts together for the finished product. So even though Honda is Japanese I am still willing to consider one. You can get the breakdown of where things were made on the specific vehicle, the dealers have that info and will share it if you ask.
Actually you are not cynical..you are honest with yourself,and I agreeSorry - I think government cutting waste is an oxymoron. But i'm not cynical at all.
with you , as usual
Ross
Well-known member
A Stimulus Story
It is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea . It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to choose one.
The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.
The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute that in these hard times, gave her "services" on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.
The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.
At that moment, the tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 Euro note, saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.
No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.
It is the month of August, on the shores of the Black Sea . It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.
Suddenly, a rich tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a 100 Euro note on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to choose one.
The hotel proprietor takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.
The butcher takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the pig farmer.
The pig farmer takes the 100 Euro note, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.
The supplier of feed and fuel takes the 100 Euro note and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute that in these hard times, gave her "services" on credit.
The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the 100 Euro note to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.
The hotel proprietor then lays the 100 Euro note back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything.
At that moment, the tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, and takes his 100 Euro note, saying that he did not like any of the rooms, and leaves town.
No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the United States Government is doing business today.
